The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1877-10-20


Grymes. That message is as follows
TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 8, 1872.
have the honor, in conformity with
the act respecting claims to land III the Ter
ritories of Orleans and Louisiana, TO trans
nit copy of the report made by the Com
missioners for the Eastern District OF the
Territory of Orleans, on the claims to lands
within the said district which they have not
confirmed, &C. (Americdn State Papers
Public Lands, II, 224.
Following the word " confirmed I"
in this quotation, is an asterlsk re-
ferring to a note appended by the
compilers of the State Papers. The
note is this:
" The reports now published embrace the
claims confirmed, as well as those rejected"
That the HOumas claims had not
been reported to the government be-
fore the passage of the act of the
18th of April, 1914, is also clear from
statement of all the reports actually
made before that date. The first re-
port of Louisiana claims ever submit
ted before that date, is that commu-
nicated by Mr.. Gallatin, as above
stated. The second report submitted
is that of the 10th of October, 1872,
by the Commissioners of the Western
District, embracing Concordia claims.
(AmericaR State Papers.-PubLc IL.
II, 6I7, GREEN'S ed. The third. re-
port is that the 18th of December,
1912, by the same board, embracing
Washita claims. 10. 637.) The fourth
report. is that of the 9th of March,
1913, by the same board, embracing
Rapides claims. 10. 642.) The fifth
report, is that of the 9TH of June,
1918, by commissioner James 0. Cos
by, embracing Greensburg claims.
(I6. III, 69.) And the sixth report,
is that of 1914 generally, by Cosby,
embracing Greensburg claims. 10.
35.) Indeed there is no Evidence that
the Hounds claims haze eUer been Off
cialty reported to Congress by any
Board of Commissioners.
The next act on which the Houmas
claimants rely, is that of the 18th of
April, 1914, III. U. s. Statutes at
Large, J under which patents actually
issued in the claims of Daniel Clark
Donaldson and Scott. T0omb'S Re
port, ~ But in suit instituted by
the United States i'll the Circuit Court
of the United States for the Eastern
District of the State of Louisiana, in
Clark's case, the government obtained
Judgment declaring the patent to
be null. (Ioomb's Report, 49, The
justice of this judgment and the null
lily of the patent, appear by inspec-
ton of the act of the 18th of April
1914. The first section of the act de-
clares, THAT in all cases where GER
tificates of confirmation to lands,
lying in either of the land districts es
tablished by law in the State of Lou
isiana have been issued Ggreedbly
with the provisions of the act entitled
An act respecting claims to lands in
the Territories of Orleans and Louisi-
ana, passed the third of March one
Thousand eight hundred and seven,'
&C., surveys of the claims shall he
made and returned. And the second
section provides, "That so soon as
the said tracts of land shall lave been
thus surveyed aud the surveys thereof
returned to the Office of the proper
register together with the original
certificates of the Commissioners, it
shall be the duty of the said Register
to issue certificates IN favor Of the
claimants entitled thereto, which he
shall transmit to the Commissioner of
the General Land Office; and if it
shall appear to the satisfaction of the
said commissioner, that the certificates
have been fairly obtained,n etc.,
patents shall be granted, etc.
But, the Houmas claimants are
without this statute. 1t is IL histori-
cal fact, that no certificates of con-
firmation" ever issued in these or any
claims exceeding league square OF
superficies. Aud had such certifi-
Gates issued, it could not be said that
they issued agreeably with the pro-
visions of the act'' of the Sd Of March,
1907, because, as We have already
seen, the commissioners assumed to
confirm the Houmas claims before the
passage of the act. and because that
act, as has been already shown, pre-
cludes the exercise of confirmatory
powers by the board in all claims ex-
ceeding league sqnare. Nor, in such
claims, can it be said that the certiti-
Gates alluded to III the second section
of the act of the 18th of April, 1914,
have been fairly obtained"
The last act on which the Houmas
claimants rely is that of the 2nd OF
June, 1858, entitled, An act to pro-
vide for the location of certain con
firmed private land claims in the
State of Missouri, and for other pur-
poses" The second section of this
act declares, " That the decisions in
favor of land claimants made by z.
Grimes, Joshua Lewis, and Thomas
| b. Robertson, commissioners APP
pointed to adjust private land claims
in the eastern district of the Terri
tory of Orleans, communicated to the
House of Representatives by the Sec
rotary of the Treasury, on the ninth
day of January, one tIiBusand, eight