The New York herald., 1868-01-30
THE GAINES WILL CASE.
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.

Tie Status and Title Of Mrs. Gaines-The
'Citizenship" Of Free Pcrsons of COiOr-Will
the Court Now Recognize n Claim Tor the
Pmst Services of Snvef
Mira Clark Gaines, appellant, rs T. De La Croir ct dl
and Same Lilardl a, and Same city Of NeD Or
edns-These constitute the seventh, eighth and
ninth appeals In the celebrated controversy known
the .Gaines case" For moro than third OF Gen.
tury in one form or another this cause has been the
subject OF judicial decision in this court until the present
complicated aud volumnous record reaches nearly eight
thousand printed pages. 1t was before the court on
mandsmus In 1885, and again in 1S41 upon certificate
OF division OF opinion II was here upon demurrer in
1914 and again 1S4S upon its merits when the dec
sion was In favor OF the complainant as "forced heir'
of Daniel Clark This decisionvas partially modified in
1851 and In 1885 the will Of Clark having been probated
BY the Supreme Court Of Louisiana, the here
again in 1860, when the oomplanauts rights as univer
sal egaee under the will Of Clark Of 1913 and her status
his only legitimate child fully established. The
Court In giving its opinion IN that particular issue In the
Court adjudicated the principles applicable to her
thlrs Gaines) rights In her fathers estate They are
these three seek reversal Of the principles
that 'nay settled her rights" In that decision, and
that they come, too upon the very same Issues raised
by the pleadnSs and supported by the nden
tica evidence upon which that was decided There
than thousand defendants, 1t Is said, IN
the Circuit Court OF louisiana ready 10 come here for
the purpose unless this Court shall or
affirm that decision in such terms shall conclude the
controversy forever One brief presented for all three
and peaiings, aud depend upon the same evidence
They come hcre upon appeal from the Circuit Court for
the district Of louisiana in which judgment
rendered against the complainant IN 1885 and 1850.
They are bills in equity, ed against the defendants
the rents and and civil fruits thereof which
belonged to Daniel Clark the father OF The complainant
who died In New Orleans In 1918, the complainant claim
ing tts under hts last will and testament The
material allegations are that the complainant is the only
legitimate child Of Clark ,ha, all the property sought
that At his death he left valid last Will and testament,
In which the complainant was declared his oniy leg
mate child and made his universal egatee subject TO
certain payments &c. In which Pito De La Croix and
gellechasse were appointed executors; that the Will
having been lost, il was duly recognized and admitted
to probate, above stated, in 1885, and ordered
cutcd; that Clark made provisional will In 1911, In
which he made his mother Mary Clark, his universal
legatee and sole her and appointed Richard Ref and
Beverly Chew the tostanentary executors thereof which
Will was revoked BY tho will Of 1915 but that Relf and
Chow frauduenty obtained tho probate OF the will Of
lSl and Illegally administered tue estate under IT, that
all the deiendants are In possession Of some
through sales made By Rolf and Chow, execu.
tors OF the viii Of lsll, aud as agents OF
Mary Clark claiming under that wil all OF which sales
are Illegal and made fraudulcnty aud with notice OF
companants equities &c. that complainant minor
chld until 1871 and ignorant OF her parentage and
rights in her fathers estate until 1884 and from that
time to the present she peraisteny claimed this estate
aud diligently sought its recovery by a legal means In
her power
TO maintain her bill she seeks discovery from de.
PENDANTS and pIays for detcry OF tho properly her
and for OF the and profit and general
relief The answer Of the defendants admits the pos
session o. the property by them. aud that the legal
ts thereof in CLARK At his death but the defend.
ants ciaim t1at Cark's title passed 20 them their
gran!su by virtue OF sales made By Rcif aud Chew,
as tesacniay executors, as above stated; they also
set up ceran outstanding titles in Mary Clark and
Caroline Baraes forced heirs Of Clark and equa.
bic title TO two "a rds Of the property 10 Rs aud chew,
a% o s. c sS q s6 sy ss
nui.y OF The probate u ts WI Of is3 and sai up the
decision OF this Court ID sass "a psf q a. l2 How, p
~ as di dtI both az TO soinpsiLants status and
on twenty aud ss thirty years. and ns ihoy arc pur
,nassrs 10 good faith, without Ao'ce log vsiussle
hasers N good faith, without notice. ,or valuable con.
dera'ion Thoy also get up formal objections TO the
bal c,-ulsnan. has 40 adequate % renee u ~ and
he wan, Q, Yro2ss parties 40, Tho nA0S.
points, bu, those most impor-
-, urst, tts, certain Of the defendants are free
people OF color and such, not citizens oil the state OF
.ouis ana nor OF the United states Their mother was
at the time they respectively oeeolisn ana o2tn
eS rsoo 9, oseS Africans and nS hoy do not
therefore possess the saus OF citizens IN tue sense used
y the constitution 10 defining ana ,mns sno Ja
that The state OF Louisiana, loo, regulated by Law the
status OF tree people OF color within her limits, aud
adopted aud promulgated q SPECIAL system Of jurispru
iencs for their eovornmsnt aud the protection Of their
rights, by which they are positively excluded from all
T,gn.s Q, znsaP ,sso there srs WAS Certainly no law
under which they could claim such citizenship AT no
in the story Of the government have free people
Of CO or euoyed the status Of citizens The defendants
say they do not propose discuss the question OF cti
zcnshp hero presented, because tue legislation Of
created Il stsd at ALL is familiar aud has been called
TO the attention OF the court recently In various forma
The tight cannot claimed under the third article OF
The treaty OF cession BY which the territory Of Lous
ana acqured because the Inhabitants thereof were
TO be admitted 10 those rights according to the prnc
pos OF the federal constitution, and because does not
that the defendants their ancestors were In
habants OF the territory at the period Of cesson
submitted that those alleging the citizenship OF such
persons must show whence cmanates and that II u
has been created by legislation, then rests upon them
to show that such legislation not repugnant TO ho
law Of the land. Another plea shows that
the property claimed from one OF the defendants con-
sst OF two gangs OF slaves and their increase and he
ON th,s II N said the question will be whether THIS court
viii now recoQn nze enforce claim for slaves or heir
hire Il is not perceived that thee aay legal ground
NJ bc tho claim for slave and the claim
FOR The miro of slave and IL Is submitted that u one
cannot now be recovered the other cannot The Discus
sion Of this question also left 10 the Court The moss