The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-12-01
fHE NeGIRRIHLy CLAIM.
New and Important View OF the Case
bT Gen. ButleF-NeItheP Claimant
Entitled TO the Property.
LOWELL. Nov. Il, 1870

tween Secretary Cox and the Presi-
dent do not think the merits and
the position of the case are exactly un-
derstoOd by the country; certainly one
view of them has nOt, to my know
ledge, been stated.
1t became my duty, as member Of
the Judiciary Committee Of the
House, TO take part in the investiga-
tiOn of the case and TO hear the very
long and able arguments on either
side in behalf of the McIaFrahan
claim and that of the New Idria Com
pany for many days during the last
/ Congress; and after the fullest inves-
tigatiOn and the most patient thought
l could give to the subject-and,I will
add, from motives Of personal friend
ship to those urging the claim on the
part Of MeGarrahan-If found myself
unable TO come to the conclusion that
MeGarrahan had any rights TO the
premises.
His claim may be briefly stated in
a few words. Almost at the very mo-
mentCf the abandonment of Califor-
MIA by Michael TOrrena. the Mexican
Governor, one of the clerks in the Of
flee of his cOmmissary, Vincente P.
Gomez, claims that Michael TOrrena
gave him a grant of the large amount
Of land now in dispute, containing
many leagues and alleged to be worth
many millions. The proper and doc
umentary evidence, however, of title
was found in the Mexican archives.
l The claim was brought before the
Land Commission established by Con-
gress to adjust such titles, and was by
them rejected. Upon appeal to the
District Court, however, after the de-
eisiOn of the Fremont case, the claim
was adjudicated by that court in fa-
vor of Gomez, the clerk ia the Com
missary Department, under whom
McGarrahan claims. But the unfOr-
tunate fact was that one Pacificus
| Ord, the United States District AttOr-
ney, who ought to have protected the
rights of the United States, was at the
same moment joint owner in the
claim, having purchased half of it of
Gomez-a fact which, in the judg-
ment taints the whole proceeding,
and this taint is not in any way les
sened because in other Mexican grants
Gomez admits that he was aceustom-
ed to forge the title grants in such
claims, showing his capability in that
line by doing it in open court in pres
ence of the Judge. After adjudica-
ton of the District Court, and before
any appeal was taken, McGarrahan,
without any notice Of the fraud of
Gomez, for aught that appears, except
that the papers show that Ord, the
District Attorney, was owner of an
interest in the claim, bought the
claim for valuable consideration.
But the United States, represented
by the late Edwin NJ. Stanton, after
wards appealed the case to the Su-
preme Court, and after proceedings
| there of great length and cOst-sOme
of which could well have been differ
/ ent, and which it is unnecessary to go
| intO-the claim was adjudicated as
/ wholly void and set aside.
In the meantime, some four persons
had entered upon the land under the
mining laws of California, and under
| the name of the New Idria Mining
Company had developed the quick
silver mine in the land in dispute,
worth, as alleged, some five millions
of dollars. This company has always
appeared in the courts and before Con-
gress in various forms as the oppO-
nents of McGarrahan claiming title to
! the land, and the question has always
been dealt with as if it was one inter-
esting only to those two claimants.
McGarrahan sought an act of Con-
gress comforting the title of the land
to himself upon the ground that he
bought without knowledge of any de-
feet in the Gomez title, if any exists,
after the judgment of United States
Court had been given confirming that
tisle The majority of the committee
were not convinced of the validity of
the claim or of his equitable rights,
because, first, Gomez did not appear
to have had any title, and secondly,
that the vero ingenious and able at
tempt to import the principles of law
securing the rights of purchasers,
without notice, of commercial paper
before it is due, into the law eoncean-
| ing real property, could scarcely sue
ceed. Upon that point the commit
tee were inclined to hold that a pur.
chases of land bought no greatet title
than the seller had to sell, however
much title the seller might have ap-
peared to have; and, for that, and be-
cause the matter had been fully adju-
dicated in the courts, reported against
/ the pretensions of Mr.. McGarraban.
Before going on with the hearing,
| however, the Committee directed its
chairman to request the Secretary of
the Interior not to issue a patent TO
anybody to the land until the Com
mittee had finished the investigation
in the premises. This request of the
Co-,skEoo ha GaoraToru Of fret
promised to comply with, but after
wards was very unwilling to adhere
to his promise, being quite desirOus,
apparently, to give patent to the
New Idra Company, and asked the
opidion of the Attorney General
whether he was bound to withhold
the patent at the request of the Com
mittee. OF course the Attorney Cen
eral replied that he was not so bound
by law: but the Committee came to
the conclusion that they would make
it very inconvenient for Mr.. Cox if
he would not listen to their sugges-
ton and keep his promise to them.
The Secretary, however, upon cOnsid-
Grafton, thought it best not to issue
the patent till the Committee had fin
ished their labOrs.
When the committee had agreed
upon a report as to the rights Of Nc
Garrahan, not with unanimity, how
ever, one of their number suggested
another consideration as seeming to
him worthy of investigation, which
was, that while the United States had
spent some quarter of a million of dol
lars, more or less, in defending this
land from McGarrahan's claim, all
that money seemed to have been
spent in the interest of the New Idra
Mining Company, and that a merl-
Der of the committee desired to in
uuire by what title the New Idra
Mining Company claimed to hold the
land, and was informed that it was
only under the mining laws of Cali
fOrnia. He then raised the question
in the committee how it was that four
persons, who could only hold, under
the mining laws of California, as it
was understood, one thousand feet
each of mining lands, could claim
| many leagues of land against the
| United States.
In the waning hours of the session,
lust then closing, there was no time
to summon the New Idra Mining
Company to make good their title, or
further to investigate the same, and
| it was suggested that the whole mat
ter lie over until the next Congress,
and that in the meantime no patent
of the United States could be deter
mined.
1t seems that during the vacation
the New Idra Company pressed upon
Secretary Cox, and he was about, as
his letter shows, to issue a patent to
them, which would have been good
as against the United States. The
President interfered to prevent it. 1t
is generally understood that that in
| reference is in behalf of McGarrahan.
I do not believe that McGarrahan has
any interest in the matter whatever,
but that the people of the United
States have of right millions of prop
erty in that claim, which an earnest
and careful investigation, in which
the government should be represent
ed, will show to belong to it. The
President has only been holding the
title to the land in abeyanee until the
Committee of the house Of Represen-
tatives get through with the investi-
CATION, and determine what the rights
of the United States are in the prem
ises. For this think he ought to
have the thanks of all honest and ju-
diciOus men.