Los Angeles daily herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1873-1876, 1874-04-25
Important Land Decision.
LAND OFFICE AT Los ANGELES, CAL,
ADril X IS7j

April 8, 1874.
Hon. Wills D1unamOnd, Com. General
Ldnd Office, Washington, ID. C..
Continued from yesterday.
None of the aforesaid requirements
have been complied with the alleged
location in behalf Of Edward Merrill.
On the contrary, it was shown that by
the production of the original warrant
No. l56 now in the hands of one Jaeger,
that said warrant had not been so filed
or endorsed.
If MerrilPs school warrant location
was made under the provisions of the
Act of the Legislature of May 3, 1852,
then it was necessary that the tract
should have been surveyed by the
County Surveyor and plot thereof
filed with the State Surveyor-General
and an entry of the same made with
the County Clerk of the county where
the land is situated. There is no evil
dence showing that these provisions of
the law were com piled with in Merrills
case. Moreover, it is stated by your
said letter of instructions of Novem-
Der 1G, 1858, that warrant locations
could be made at any time after survey
according to existing laws, and the
Courts OF this State have uniformly
held that such locations could only be
made on surveyed lands.
There is in evidence certified COPY
of location of school warrants for Ed
ward Merrill on the tracts in contro-
versy, bearing date June %, 1857, but
this cannot be considered as certiti-
cate of location under the Act of 80,
because the only evidence of a survey
as required by this Act is exhibit $,
bearing date Sept. Is, 1857. Further
more, If the location is claimed under
the Act Of '52, it is not in evidence that
q report of duplicate copy of the plot
and certificate of survey of said tract
was made and reported as required by
the 18th Section of said Act.
The location, therefore, must be con-
sidered as having been made under the
Act of the 30th of April, 1857, which
modified the Act of '52 in that school
locations could only be made on sur
veyed land after the plot had been on
file in the local land office 80 days.
The location of Merrill having been
made subsequent to the passage of
said Act of April 80, 1857, should have
conformed to its requirements. 1t is
required by said Act of '57 that loca-
tons OF school warrants should be made
by filing with the Register of the local
land office an application particularly
describing the tract located, accOmpa-
MED by an affidavit of the applicant
and one or more witnesses that there
is no valid claim to the tract located
adverse to that of the applicant. There
10 in, Il 4 No
records or files of this Office show that
such written application was ever filed.
1t is therefore rendered quite certain
that Merrill never complied with the
law in this very essential particular.
Exhibit 8, introduced in evidence, is
a certified copy of a certified copy of IL
certified copy of the original field notes
and certificate of location of warrants,
No. 227 and 1856, or, in other words,
document certified by Henry Hancock
as County Surveyor of Los Angeles
county, to be a true and correct copy
of the original field notes of survey;
and J. +. Houghton as Surveyor
General Of California, by A. S. Bendez,
Deputy, to be a correct copy of said GER
titled copy; and by Robert Gardner, as
Register of the State Land Office, to be
true copy of said copy, certified as
aforesaid.
This document is so remote from the
original that we can not with safety
regard it as other than very doubtful
evide ace.
1t is provided by the first section of
the Act of the Legislature, approved
April lG, 1859, that patents shall issue
to the holders of school warrants issued
under the provisions of the Act of May
3, 1852, and the Act of April 80, 1857,
and to the holder of a certificate of
purchase under the provisions of the
Act of April %. 1858, upon complying
with the provisions of the said Act of
April Is, 1859.
1t is not shown or attempted to be
shown that the State had refused or
was not ready to perfect the alleged
location in behalf of Merrill, or that
he made any effort to procure title un-
der said. location as provided by the
aforesaid Act of April l6, 1859.
To be continued tomorrow.