Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-07-01
the County Recorder, the record of

the County Recorder, the record OF
A DOCUMENT
In Spanish, which cannot be found
among the City Auditors books, which
being translated is as follows: "Ygna-
clio PalomareZ, President of the Illus
trious Ayuntamiento of the Pueblo of
Los Angeles. certify: That in conform
ity with the petition of Sefiora Maria
Ygnacio Verdugo de Feliz, the illustri-
Gus Ayuntamiento of this city decreed
that there be granted to her the use
of the water of the river of cur Lady
of Los Angeles, to cultivate the land
of the pasture of the Feliz or plain of
San Jose.
Angeles, February II, 1s41."
(SignedD
YGNACIO PALoMAREZ, President.
YGNACIO CORONEL, Secretary.
This as l am informed is the docu-
ment by virtue of which the parties
living on the Feliz Rancho claim
their right to take out water for irri-
cation.
For several reasons believe that
this confers
NO RIGHT WHATEVER.
Certainly nothing more than a
privilege which may be revoked at
any time.
Late complaints Of the scarcity of
water for irrigation in the city have
been produced by its excessive use
upon tract of land known as the
Corralitos.
AS this land is wholly Or, in part
within the city limits, the title
to it derived from the, old Pueblo
in 1910, it is, so far as it lies within the
city limits, entitled to the same priv
ileges of water as other portions of
the city, but should be required to
bear proportionally the burdens and
be subjected to the same regulations.
Some parties living upon the
SAN ANTONIO RANCH
On the east bank of the river and
southeast of the city have, for many
years irrigated their lands from
the waters of the river, but
as their rights were subordinate to
those of the pueblo, both in point of
time of the appropriation of the water
and location of their lands upon the
stream, / apprehend that there can be
no dispute on their part of the right
of the city to the reasonable use of all
the water in the river if required by
its citizens.
When the Mexican war was ended,
the treaty of peace known as the
Guadalupe Hidalgo treaty was ratified,
the Mexican regime had passed away,
the Constitution of this State adopted,
California admitted into the Union
and the first Legislature assembled, a
law was passed incorporating as city
what had prior to all this been known
as the Pueblo of Los Angeles; pro-
vided that the land embraced therein
be not more than four square miles,
and the city succeeded to all the
rights, claims and powers of the old
pueblo in regard to the property.
[Acts of 1850, page 155.]
On May 1st, 1852, an Act supplement
tary to the foregoing was passed pro-
viding for the extension of the limits
so as to embrace all the lands belong
ing to the former pueblo,
Another Act was passed by the next
Legislature, April 5. 1851, which pro-
vided that " the corporation of the
city Of Los Angeles shall retain ali the
POWERS AND PRIVILEGES
Possessed by the former Ayunta-
miento of said city over the
public lands belonging to said
city and not included within
its present incorporated limits,
to lease, sell or otherwise dispose of
said lands, as also to take from the
river of Los Angeles the water needed
for irrigation of said lands, by
means Of dam or dams built
without the incorporated limits
aforesaid, but the said corpora
ton shall exercise no municipal
authority over said lands, except to
regulate the taking and distribution
of water for irrigation, as aforesaid.
There have been some other Acts of
the Legislature passed since the date
of this last Act above referred to which
relate to the water question in this
city: e. g. Acts of April 2, 1870, and
Acts of 1872; but as the last of these
Acts restored to the city all of its
rights, powers and privileges over the
zanjas, water courses, etc., which the
Legislature had formerly taken away,
or had attempted to take away, from
her, am of
THE OPINION
That the old Pueblo had acquired, by
virtue of its appropriation and long
continued use, although there may
have been no specific grant of the
water to the Pueblo nor any reserva-
tions in grants of other lands to other
parties protecting its interests,) the
right under the law to the reasonable
use, if needed, to all the water flowing
in the Los Angeles river, and had the
right to prevent anyone from diverting
the water or diminishing the supply
to the injury of its citizens, and that
the present city, the corporation, has
succeeded to all the rights and privi-
leges of the old Pueblo.
Respectfully submitted,
II. w. HUTTON, City Atty.