Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1863-02-11
Title to Court House So.
III the Mayor AMI Common Council OF
-, ga, IF Mineral Point.

a.
/. rr;ves Mt The conclusion that the title is
either in his client, the courty of Iowa, or
in Nessrs. Hoard, Lindsay anil Derrin9
k.r,,,e;r hers he con c.udes as follows.
Il am not unmindfuI of the fact that
"tIon. N. M,..Strons has given an oPihIoa
exactly tn. reverse OF the vie" ! IA ;,
..taken of tie question | have carefully
i.,unsiderei that opinion and have arrived
.at the conclusion that his premises are
assumed instead Of being facts, and that
therefore his reasoning, however marx
eddy abby, must fail Hs promises
ARE,
LIST .--rha. this public square was gran
ted for publ use.
ad. That this square was by the act
of concrss So reserved from sale, Tor pup
II can fni no such thing in the act OF
Congress. but the very reverse rs nave
.'tried to shosy
h It wonld be just as true. and quite As
modest for ME To say of Mr hno"iton
reasoning, that his premises are assam
instead of being facts. Tae whole iao-
rie of his reasoning Is based upon the
construction he places upon tue last pro
,;so of the first section oh tue act oil ION
gress of July. 2d, 1889, and particularly
to words which he puts IN parentnesis
l.s.s shall also the public squares j
These words he argue 81 might say as :
snmes-do not apply to the town OF Mn
III Point hut ealy to the towns OF Fort
Madison Bel,iew, Burlington, Dubuque.
and Peru; and to place the point which
he makes in clear light us he thinks. he
H., IF 10 so
insist that when Ia en- IN connection WITH
the whole section, and confined, as MT
Knowlton confines them, to ire pFoc'so
alone the reservation from sale oil me pap
lie squares, and their dedication for pub
lie use, applies to all the towns MENTION
ed i'm the section, aud IS not coht,ned 20
those mentioned in the pforaso. MS Is
purely question oil grammattcal CON
s.ructiou and that it may be fairy pre-
sented. quote the whole section, yeroa-
tim. observing the punctuation OF the act
as published BY order of Congress re
marking that the words IN question: are
not accompanied in the act OF CONGRESS,
a. they n-e in Mr. I'm wltons opinion
and perhaps in mine-by any parentheti-
cal nsrks
faSec. l1"Be IL enacted by the Senate
and House of Representatives. Of the t'l-
lied States o America an Congress as
.sembied
eThat the tracts of Land in the ter
ritorT of WISCONSIN, including the towns
of Fort Madison and Burlington, IN the
comfy of Des Moiues Beleview, Dubr-
Que and Peru, in the county OF Dubuque
and Peru in the county of Iowa, shall,
uuder the direction of the Surveyor t'en-
eral of the public lands, be laid oil INTO
town lots. streets aYenues, and the lots
for nnbiic use, called the public squares,
and into on, lois, having regard to the lois
and streets already Surveyed, ih such
manner a,ed such dimensions as be may
think rro2er for the public good and the
equitable ri shts OF the settlers ana occu-
PANTS Of the SAID towns
Prorjdsf That the tracts of land so
"a b, laid edf into town lots, &c, shall not
exceed the quantity OF QUO entire section
nor the town lots one half an acre nor
shall the cut lots exceed Tour acres ca IN.
When the Survey ST the lots shall be com
pletcd plat thereof shall be returned
TO the Secretary OF the treasury anu
within six months thereafter the i>tS shaii
lie offered to the highest bidder, at puonc
sale under the direction OF the President
of the United States, AMI at such {, her
times as he shall think proper: pr6rided,
That no town lot shall be sold tor sum
i,ss than five dollars:
And pro riCled. { rther, That aquantl-
Il of land Of proper width, on the river
banks, at tho towns of Fort Madison
Belyiew, Burlington, Dubuque and Peru,
and running With the said rivers the whole
length of said towns, shall be reserved
from sale, as shall also the pubic squares.
for public use, and remain forever Ter
nablic use. as public highways, and ier
other public uses.
Il annears to M, j: it lad been the in
,ent:on of Congress to cnntIne tue appl
alton If the words 1.-The public squares
,tbe Ey., towns menti med in the pTori
80. that il would have inserted them be-
fore the words "shall be reserved from
sale or would have applied to them some
qualifying words. such as IN the last
uameI towns" or "in the towns named IN
tbs proyiso. or some similar qu2llhca-
tion No reference had previously been
made iu this proriso To pu6ttc squares,
AMI Il IS necessary to 80 back to the hrst
mart or the sicti0n TO learn what pnhhc
SQUARES are Intended, when we find that
the reference TO the public squares ap-
niles to town of Mineral Point, In com
mon with the five other towns Alter the
uroriso had secured the reservation from
sale. of quantity of land of the proper
width on the river banks, and Running
with the said rivers the whole length OF
said towns in all the towns Ii which there
we're anv such rivers, it had exhaus;e It's
object. 50 far as that object was peculiar
20 those towns and the, proceeds TO ex.
tend the reservation to the pubic squares
which in the prior part OF the section Il
had enacted should be laid on IN ali the
six towns. AMI provides, as thinA, thai
in all those towns, The pebtac squares as
also the land on the river banks in the
towns mentioned in the proriso, shall b5
reserved from sale. for public use, and re
main fott yer for public use, "a pubic
highways, and Tor other public uses.
1t would be inconsisters with the whole
tenor Of the act; is it not absurd? TO sup
pose that Congress would solemnly ensct
that there should be lad of lots for p,tb
tic use. called the 'pnbiic square, an
in tho same paragraph euaet that sre3
'lots should "be offered 10 the hiChes
bidder at public sal" I; thereby author
King any person to acquire the zee sinlpi
- tra,,, III