Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1871-08-31


Resotved, That as this pretended Kan
kakee Drainage { onpany knew, as they
must know, that they laye no power to|
lower the kankakee river, at the State
line, one inch, that they cannot accom-
plish what they propose TO 10, therefore
il is an. effort ON their part to rob the peo-
pie of their lands upon an absolute false
pretence. as
On motion, the resolutions were unafii-
meiisly aelopted..sa-ss-s- s.-.-s~-zs -..essss-s.
At mass meeting of the citizens of La
porte, Porter, Lake, Jasper, St Joseph,
Newton, and Stark counties, held at La
porte, August 18th. 1871, for the purpose
of devising means TO defeat the kankakee
Swindle, the following resolutions were
unanimously adopted:
WHEREAS, Certain persons have or
ganized u company called The Kanka-
Zee Valley Draining Company" for the
alleged purpose al draining aud. RECLAIM
ing the vet lands in said valley in Ibis
State, and have caused assessments of
Dement'S 10 tue lands in said valley BY the
proposed work OF said company, to the
amount,of S4,631, la2 : have 1iled said as
sessments i'll the counties in hich such
lands are situated, and claim the same as
valid liens upon the lands therein nlenr
toned; have executed amortgage thereon
to trustees 10 secuie the sum of $4,000, Co.,
and caused the same to be recorded in Inc
| Recorder offices OF the several counties,
and are now seeking to negotiate loans
predicated upon such assessments and
Mortg cages; therefore, be il lii.s.ss e.
| kesotoed, That We, the owners of lands
situate in said valley, warn the public
against lending any money on the credit
Oh such assessment or MOI gage, as we
shall resist the enforcement and collection
thereof by all legal and proper means
Res@red, That in the opinion of this
meeting, said company has no legal au-
thorlty to construct the work proposed
under aud by its organization, and that the
assessments made by its appraisers, and
the mortgage executed By the company
are Invalid, and, constitute no legal en-
cumDrlnce or liens upon the land therein
mentioned
Ifes0lred, That we viii individually and
collectively, resist the collection and en-
fofcement of the assessments and mort
cages made as aforesaid, and the constIuc-
ton of said proposed work by said com
pany, by all legal and proper means with.
in our power
.Resolrel. That instead Of adopting &
method proposed by VIM c. Hannah, late
President of said company, recently pub
lislIed in the Laporte 1l7yus and H,rald
tits the deliberate judgement OF thi. meet
ing that said company ought to dissolv.
and surrender lis pretended charter i'm
medlately.
Resotred, That the Secretaries of Thu
meeting be requested To furnish the city
, papers. and Indianapolis Joarnd anC
Sefetinel, and the Chicago Tribune ant
Times copies of these resolutions, With ;
request for their publication, and all pa
pers III the district are requested 10 copy
The above resolutions were signed b,
A. L. Osborn, I. J.. Thompson, VIM
, Miller, George Hall, Sidney 5. Sabin
j NJ. Ridgeway, Committee.
Judge Osborn was called on for
speech, and said that he had to argue tn,
questions presented, before the lega
tribunals Of the country but he would
ask if ever any one on the $4,000 acre
assessed had seen the Assessors who ha,
sworn that they had examined the land
The answer came, with emphatic unani
nifty, from all quarters, Mo-. He sal,
:. if the company has The power which
claims 10 have, it can take every brick il
the city of Laporte, which power he de
:. MED, and gave it as his deliberate opinion
that 1t had not the powers ii claimed, ant
that the courts would so decide.
a committee was appointed to brin
suit in the United States Court to ties: til
constitutionality of the law, and to rails
funds. 1t consists of Isaac Esmay, s.
Joseph County; S. s. Sabin, Laport
County; Jason Osburn, Porter County
Alfred Thompson, Jasper County; Davi
Turner, Lake County; ". H. Martor
! Newton County; and Jacob Keller, {
Starke County.
: General Packard, NJ c., was loudl
) called for, and promptly responded b
y saying that his poverty did not consist i
e the ownership of Kankakee lands H
/ pronounced the law fraud, and gre,
) wrong. The company says it will ben
IL fit the lands by carrying out the propose
y scheme; but neither ne nor his hearers b
lieved it, and the courts ought at once
declare the law unconstitutional. II
:, did not believe that people should be take
IS tor private corporations, which is nothir
y less than confiseation. Their rights we
E soon to be legally adjudicated upon, ar
he believed the courts would susta
he them. ~. a'
N The meeting then adjourned.
I'd