The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-10-13

These patS anu cefG'HcdGeS are
necessarily void. There is no
authority fer them. The decree of
Claiborne is too vague to found sur
vey. If the Houmas claimants re-
gard that decree as an order OF sur
vey, they can not maintain that La
fon's proceedings are justified by it,
because Lafan made no survey under
the order. He only made plats and
certificates of survey-proceedlngs
which, independently OF surveys pur-
suant to the decree, are unwarranted
by the decree. Marenner's surveys
were void, because he was an owner
of the lands Surveyed. The surveys
of Andry and the measurements of
Lafon were void, because they do not
appear to have been made under an
order of survey. And the plats and
certificates are void, because, in re-
gard to the operations of Marenner
and. landry, those operations If legal,
should have been represented by
plats and certificates originating with
those men and because in regard to
the measurements of Lafon, those
measurements can not be justified by
a subsequent order of survey. The
measurements and surveys subse-
quept to the treaty of San Ildefonso
on 1st October, 1900, and before the
Goth of March, 1904, are expressly
avoided by the 18th section of the act
of Congress of the latter date, Ut. u.
s. Statutes at Large,J which, refer
ring to the lands coded by the treaty
of San Ildefonso, declares that
q every act and proceeding subse-
quent thereto, of whatsoever nature,
towards the obtaining of any grant,
title, or claim to such lands, and un-
der whatsoever authority transacted,
or pretended, be, and the same are
heIeby declared to be, and to have
been from the beginning, null, void
and of no effect i'll law or equity"
And the measurements and surveys
after the 26th of March, 1904, are inn
pliedly avoided by the same section,
which declares, that " if any citizen
of the United States, or other person,
shall make a settlement on any lands
belonging to the United States, with
in the limits of Louisiana. or shall
survey, or attempt to survey such
lands, or to designate boundaries, by
marking trees, or otherwise, such
offender shall suffer fine and impris-
onment )" because prohibitory laws
imply the nullity of things done in
conGravention of them. (CiUit Code Of
Louisi ana, Art. -.
On the End of March, 1905, the first
act of Congress was passed for as
certaining and adjusting tho titles
and claims to land within the Terri
tory of Orleans and the District of
Louisiana" III u. s. Statutes at
Large, 324.) The fourth section of the
act provides 6 Tint every person
claiming lands in the above men,
toned territories, by virtue of any
legal French or Spanish grant, made
and completed before the first day of
October, one thousand eight hundred,
and during the time the government
which made such grant had the
actual possession of the territories,
may, and every person claiming lands
in the said territories, by virtue of
the two first sections of this act, or
by virtue Of any grant or incomplete
title, bearing date subsequent to the
LIST day of October, one thousand
eight hundred, shall, before the first
day of March, one thousand eight
hundred and six, deliver to the Reg
lister of the Land Office, or recorder
of land titles, within whose district
the land may be, notice, in writing,
stating the nature and extent of his
claim, together with plat of the
tracts claimed,n &c. AS the I4th
Section of the act of the 26th of
March, 1904, avoided, ab iRitio, every
proceeding after the lst of October,
1900, towards obtaining any titles to
lands in Louisiana, legislative con-
sistency demanded that all titles con-
sisting wholly or partially of such
void proceedings, should be excluded
from the category of perfect titles.
Hence it was that the fourth section of
the Act of the End of March, 1905, dis
tinguished between grants completed
before the 1st of October, 1900, and
all other grants-treated such other
SIlHtS its tICiiOdtC, anu ttCHui!tItCtt
their exhibition to the Federal Com
missioners appointed under the act.
Nothing is more essential to COM
plete patent, than IL Severance of the
land patented from the unappropria-
ted domain. United States Y. King,
III HoWdrd's reports of the Supreme
Court Of the q. s. p. 1857. The Hou-
mas claimants, aware of this prinei-
pie, and knowing that Andryis plat
either indicated no severance in fact,
or "a severance at war with their ex-
travagant pretensions, ignored that
plat, and filed, under the act of the
2nd of March, 1905, the plats of La
tony which, as we have seen, are all
founded on proceedings dating after
the lst of October, 1900. Applying,
therefore, to the double concession of
the Houmas claimants, their own
chosen testimony, as viewed under
the light of the acts of the Goth of
March, 1904, and the End of March,
1905, that concession is at best an in