, 1865-01-27
THE GREAT EOHT LEAFEN.
WORTH LAND CASE.


Two or three years ago the attention Of
the public was called, by resolution Of Con"
| gress, to an attempted conveyance Of large
| part Of Fort Leayenworth Military Rcserva-
tion, Of immense value, to afr. James c.
Stone, Of Leavcnworth City, through the
agency ef three patents issued from
! the General Land OiIlco to thrco mem-
| bers Of the Delaware tribe Of In3i-
ans. The result Of the action taken
by the House Of Representatives WAS to stop
| proceedings under these patents and remit the
claimantssto their rights as they might be as
| certained in an action at Law. The case Was
tried in October, 1862. In the o. 3. District
Court of Kansas, and decided In favor Of the
United States. Mr. Stone took an appeal to.
the Supreme Court, which has inst been ar
| gued. The opinion Of the Supreme Court
affirming that Of the District Court, is given
below:
80. II, 1AlES c. STONE, APPELLANT, rs. TIE
UNITED STATE, APpELLEEs.
:. This is an appeal from decree In equity of
the Circuit Court Of the United States for
the District Of Kansas, rendered at the Octo-
ber term, 1863, declaring, null, void, and Of
no effect, three patents for land in Kansas,
issued to John Connor, Ne-con-he-con, and
tribe of Indians, and directing James c. Stone,
to whom they lad conveyed their patents, to
deliver them up for cancellation. By the
treaties of 1915 and 1929 between the United
States and the Delaware tribe Of Indians, tho
country In the fork Of the Kansas and Mis-
souri, rivers, extending up the Kansas to the
line Of the country reserved to the Kansas
Indians, and up the Missouri river to Carup
Leayenworth, and thence by line drawn
wcstwardly, Qcaving space OF ten miles
north Of the KANSAS boundary line for an out
let,} was forever secured to the Delaware na-
ton as u permanent residence.
IN 1927 Col. Lcavenworth, under authority
of the War Department, selected O site for q
permanent cantonment on the right bank Of
the Missouri river, aud lis selection was ap-
proved September 10th, 1927, being what Is
now called Fort Leayenworth. Pursuant to
the resolution Of the Senate ratifying the
treaty Of 1920, Isaac Mccoy WIS selected to
make survey Of the lands granted to the
Delaware Indians, and to set apart to them
certain lands. in which were not included the
tracts for which these patents were granted,
but they were within the limits selected for
Camp Leavenworth.
1t was claimed by the appellant that the
lands on which the locations were made were
not used for military purposes, although with
in the lands 80 reserved. The final reseyya-
1854. On the 11th or August of that year,
the military reservation was ordered to be
surveyed and laid OF, and the lines Of the sur
ycy received the Presidents approval Octo-
ber 10th, 1854. The Delaware Indians, on tho
Sth Mhsh Of uad May: :,asa asi b1 made ts treaty tseat
July 18th, 1854, relinqnishfng to the United
| States all their right, title, and interest to
the country west of the State Of Missouri,
| and situated in the fork OF the Kansas and
Missouri rivcrs, described In the previous
treaties, and also their right to the outlet
| rytpr nrai in Thorn and fIa TT13f 3foI -
agreed to have the ceded country surveyed
and offered for sale, and to pay to the Della
wares the moneys received from the sales
On tho 9oth Of May, 1860, another treaty was
made With the Denwa!cs, which was ratified
August ed, 1850, by the seventh article OF
=! 4 patent for SIX hundred ard forty acres
Necon.he.con, chief Of the Wolf band, upi
Henry 4iblow, Interpreter, were each to re-
celve three hundred and twenty acres Of land,
seve.alty. These Three Indians, by an lnstru-
ment dated January 14th, 1851, and acknowl-
edged Octobcr 9th, 1861, OH the part Of Con.
nor, and dated October 10Th, 1861,
On tho patt Of the Other two, conveyed to
lands and pateuts. By letter November sth,
1851, the Commissioner Of Indian AiraIrs iu.
formed the Commissioner of the General Land
Office that the Secretary Of the Interior had
decided that all that part Of what was before
known IS the military reserve at Fort Leay-
enworth, in Kansas, lying south Of direct
line drawn ,scstwardiy from Caatnnmcnt
Leavenworth to point ten miles north Of the
northeast corner Of .he old Kansas line, and
not before surveyed, belonged to the Della
wares. and that he h:si ordered the same to
ral Land Office, BY 1cttc: November 9th, 1851,
directed the Surveyor, General Of Kan-
| sas to cause tue survey to be made.
and the survey WAS accordingly made.
On December 81, 1861, tic Commissioner Of
Indian Affairs reported to the General Land
under the provisions Of the scvcnth article Of
the treaty Of 1850, in favo, Of the Indiaus
named and stating that ths selections had
been approved, and tiesirsngpatents therefor
to be transmitted to the Indiin Office for de-
| livery, which was done J anuoy 4, 1862. On
entees, by separate deeds, conteyed to James
c. Stone the lands patented totaem. On the
11th Of June, 1SCee, the Secretary Of the Inte-
rio1 decided that the patents hadbeen issnea
without legal authority and wen therefore
void, and on thc 18th ofJuly, ,lsGa, ,t1s Commits
cancellation for record in the County In
which the lands we're situated and bylnttcr to
the Secretary Of the Interior Connor sal Nc
con-he-con declared that they had ae1cr Sc
lected the lands nor requested nor ryeeiye;l
patents therefor, and desired that tbct should
suually delivered to the parties in whose
namts they were Issued, nor coustructycly
except by the previous sale Of their ciai5 AZ
s'tloa:s'' in 1861. The lands patented 1ere
not part Of the permanent home reserved br
the Delaware Indians by the treaty Of lSS.
north Of the north boundary Of that pcr1na,
nent home, and the United States allegs that
the lands arc located on the military reserra
tion Of Fort leAvenwortl.
1t VAS argued for. the appellant that the
patents were properly issued under the di1ec
tion of the Commissioner Of the General
Land Office; that the knowledge or author-
ity Of the Secretary Of the Interior WAS mol
requisite; that any defects in the preliminary
steps we're cured by the Issuing Of the pa
tents that the seventh article OF the treaty
| Of 1SG0 contained grant in present. to ths
allottees named In it, subject to alienation
and that their conyc5ances in January, 1861
were sufficient to secure the lauds. and tha
the subsequent deeds to the allottee ratsftt
and confirmed the selections. It was alst
subject TO patent, because they we're not in
; c'uded within tho limits Of tho fort actual,
used by the Government Tor military put
, poses that from 1920 to 1854 the right q
Occurany was in the lndians and the fec il
! tue Government that the 1nlians could sci
! their land only through the United States
. and the order Of the War Department Of 1851
. By which the lands in question we're include
y With the military reservation for q fort, wa
breach of faith with the Indians.
The United States commended tlat th
!; seventh article of the treaty Of 1860 eonfezrc
u On the Indians named the right to selec
= their respective, portions Of :and only fro'
i the body Of the land .-s.erved =. to the tribe f
l. 'ts 's =. .u.uvut home BY the treaty Of Ia
: | and that the lands in question being W1tno'
!. that body could not be selected oI tnen
II but that oven # it were otherwise tho pa
, ents wc1c null an1 vf';''
J. tiele the Unit .sa States bSeaase a Sc " !nas
&c grant any part Of the land actna11v n.ea ncena
ia w I.oper 70 be included in fhe nermana,
l. faasao f,on.nenI Or military reservation Of cam
t. t,en"ostu; and that cYen alu;tt;n
?. ~ Icy propositions TO be Incorrect, tie rIaI
t On themselves only, which eoni5 IontdffS nnt !;
: transferred to Others, and that il the patent
Issued were unauthorized by law On an
ground, it was competent ior the Circnj
t.. III, On tie application Of tho United State
by BIZ. ID equity, to decree that they be ear
cellcI a49d delivered back to the proper b
The suprere Court, By its decision. a,
flrmcd the decree OF The court below and dis
missed the appeal.
Go1dv1n Smith On Rebel Prisoners;
Professor Goldwin Smith resumed his I'D
yocacy of our cause Immediately after his re-
turn home. In letter from Manchester tc
the London Daily Nsws, ha thus exposes the
latest fa1Rehood Of tue friends Of the rebeli
In England:
"To the editor Of the Daily News:
"S1R: Lord Wlarnclif1e, in his letter pub,