Pioche daily record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1872-1876, 1873-04-02

the first Panaca location and you DESTROY
the title of nearly every valuable mine in
this district.
Col. Thornton came to his feet when
these concluding remarks were being
made, and stated that they did not deny
that numbers of the first locations had
been abandoned under the old law and
mining rules: that the pending case
could not, under any circumstances,
affect more than l, $50 feet of ground;
that they did not contend for an inch of |
ground that was not fairly theirs by con-
tinuous possession and development.]
AFTERNOON SESSION
Judge CARRIER, counsel for the plaintiffs said |
that those who made the laws OF Meadow Valley |
District were miners in the true sense of the |
term. Taking the original minutes of the meet |
ing in which the laws were made to Salt Lake |
City, and there copying them into book, and |
bringing that book back with them when they |
returned, did not invalidate the laws, or impair |
their force, as no conflicting interests came into
existence il the district during their short and
temporary absence. The laws thus created.
and the minutes OF the meeting in which they |
were adopted, would be, of course, the best evil
dence that could be procured; but the most dill
igent search has been made for them unavailing-
ly. One of the objections urged is that the no.
tice of location was not recorded exactly as
posted. The stake is only to fix metes and
bounds; whether it has notice on it is not ma
terial The record is an independent act-a no.
tice to the world Of appropriation-and the stalk
ing of the ground is not necessarily concomit-
ancy of it. The three stakes on the Panaca ledge
fixed the boundaries of the various appropria-
tons with sufficient accufacy-so accurately and
satisfactorily that the claimants never contro-
verted each others interests for all legal pur-
poses and so fur as private justice was involved
the location of the Panaca ledge was full and
complete Included in this location, and clearly
defined are the $50 feet which are contended for,
and all that is contended for. in this action.
There are to-day landmarks on the ground which
| are fully identified as having been there at and
Immediately subsequent to the time of location.
And they took with them to Salt Lake substantial
copies of the notices posted on the ground, and
then the law was complied with by max
| ing public records of them. No irregu-
lariy in the record defeat the rights of those
| who purchased subsequently in good faith
Could subsequent corners, reading that record
| have been mistaken MS to the ground claimed?
| Then was the record suihcient-the aim and OBJ
| lect of the law of public records had been
reached. Is the honest locator to suffer from ir-
| regularity of the record, when the identical
| ground claimed is sufficiently specified? Could
| future corners, in the face Of that record have
been led astray? If the inquirer is correctly no.
| tilted by the record of the ground claimed, the
| record law has been fully vindicated. Reads
| from the California Reports, showing that rights
of presumption cannot be defeated by irreguarity
| of record-that it is sufficient If the spirit of the
| law of public records has been complied with
| Those who did not take the trouble to ascertain
| the description of the ground from the records
| which they might have done-cannot now, after
the lapse of many years, and after vast sums Of
| money have been expended, come into Court and
plead irregularity OF record. They could not do
so if u deed for long-surveyed agricultural
ground, the TITLES to which reached back through
decades, were involved, instead OF first appropr
alton OF mining ground. The record, the op-
| posing counsel say, contradicts itself. In that
thal ttpy, nf thA iku
out the contradictory portion, and thus make it
| unimpeaC liable. Suppose the Panaca ledge had
not been surveyed by II County Surveyor Is the
record invalidated by reference to such survey!
Was not the reference made with the object Of
more clearly defining the ground claimed? The
record in this case, is sufficient without such
reference. Will substantial rights be defeated
by an immaterial error of this kind? The loca-
| lions of the Panaca ledge make their
record the first opportunity they have Of doing
So come back and work two months in their
mine, spending in it all the money they have or
can control, amounting in all to 81 900; then
Raymond purchases and expends $4,000 more
in development, all the capital he can com
mand, and organizes a company to raise more
means for development; the company sink the
Lghtner shaft GOO feet and then, after nine
years elapse and these vast sums have been ex
pended other parties come in and claim the
|, | property on technical grounds. The claim SET
up embraces some of the very ground developed
by Raymond in 1870. Reason and justice recoll
hollow, even viewed from technical stand.
point. The location would be good, made be-
, fore or after the adoption of the laws the record
and laws conform with each other before adj
verse rights intervene and no substantial rights
are affected by any alleged irregularty. The
world was notified of appropriation, and thai
was sufficient. READS from Nevada Reports
showing that clerks docket of judg
ment before the date of the Sherih's re
turn was held to be good. being free OF error il
itself. after the return is received notwithstand
ing that it antedated it, because the substantial
rights Of the parties We're not affected.
Judge Mesic followed, saying, substantially
? that the statements Of law in their objections tt
, the introduction of the documentary evidence
. had not been answered. They characterize GU
I objections as technical. This is intended to dc
g tract from our accuracy and dignity They ma
: call me technical if they wish have no objec
ton to that. Good lawyers are always technical
> Technically is the very essence of law Tech
. nicality means accuracy. In all branches o
e science the most technical man is the most rel
4 able. 1t is SO in mechanics. The carpenter canno
: make u JOINT the shoemaker fit, without bein
technical. We must be technical in applyin
:, principles Of law to great property interests
e location pretending to be made according t
|, law is as irregular and invalid made day pre-
L cedins the creation of the law, if it had pr,
IL coded it a month or year; in law difference c
r day is total difference. The Panaca location
r. were made without any law; and could not hay
g been made outside of law, as they We're not su
"a ticiently indicated by possession. l admit tn,
y locations may be made without law, but nj
st without either law or possession. Location
10 outside of law amount to nothing withol
i, actua, possession. The claimed locators of IL
II Panaca ledge put up an ambiguous notice witt
10 out any law, and then went off to Salt Lake. hui
Of d eds of miles away from the property sought
y, be appropriated, to record their rights and law
!" Suppose other locators had arrived on Il
'e ground the day after they left, and had mat
so new locations, under and in compliance vii
10 law, could those first on the ground have pr
=, tected themselves by laws afterwards adopte
~ Certainly not The first notice of location
III the Panaca ledge must stand or fall on the &c
n eral law OF appropriation, without reference
va laws subsequently created. Then the learn
gentleman proceeded with great subtlety, al
10 not without force, to illustrate the ambiguitit
IS. contradictions and inaccuracies of the laws al
e. location notice as compared with the fac
h. ELECTED on the witness stand, occupying,
~, doing so, a considerable portion of his speak,
ne time The momentous question at this time,
ed continued, is whether the locations thus loose
es and irregularly made, are good or bad. HE
=. Col. Thornton of counsel for plaintiffs, int
~ rupted, saying they did not deny the theory
or abandonment, and were only contendi
ng for ground which had never been abs
Nv doned.l The question, then Is, whetf
~ this copy of the original location notice is tr
~ representative of what was done on the day
ed discovery. They bring us record of what tn
nd did month later, and hundreds of miles aw,
arc and call it their notice Of appropriation. 7
- gentlemen on the opposite side try to support
he by laws that had no existence on the day Of
Q o cation. Is that accuracy and correctness2 I
kv | record il false as il contradcts the fa