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

nlas+ic Commissioners 2 Their sub
seaaeat misconduct may enable us to
solve the question. On the 80 OF
March. 1906, the Beard OF Cenlmis-
sioners confirmed the claims OF Con-
way and Clark, and on the Iotsi OF
March, 1906, they confirmed the CLAIM
of Donaldson and Scott. (1Oese6s he
port, 1877 These decisions are re-
pol ted in the american State Papers,
public lads, II. 297-Grees's edition.
Commissioner Thomas B. Robertson
dissented from them. The remaining
Commissioners were z. Grymes, the
Register of the Land Office, and
Joshua Lewis. Their act in assuming
to confirm these claims, is fraudulent
and void and it is difficult to COM
prehend the motives which induced
them, or the l,ardihood which enabled
them, to dare so gross an infringe
ment of the law. They had, at the
time, no confirmatory power. The
5th Section of the End of March,
1905, which created the Board, de-
clares, that its decisions shall be
laid before Congress in the manner
hereafter directed, and be subject to
their determination thereon" III u.
S. Statutes at Large, 324, aud that
final determination has been rem
dered by Congress, as will be shown
hereafter. The Houmas claimants, as
if aware of the insufficiency of the act
of the End of March, 1905, to justify
the extraordinary confirmation by
Grymes and Lewis, attempt to sns-
tain that confirmation by appealing
to the er post fdctO protection OF the
fourth section of the act of the Sd of
March, 1907, III U. s. Statutes at
Large, 440), to the first section of the
act of the 18th of April, 1914, I'll 10.
1927, and to the act of the 18th OF
April, 1914. (III. Ib.) But these acts
afford the claimants no abiding con-
ISOLATION. The fourth section of the act
of the Sd of March, 1907, empowered
the board of commissioners on land
claims to render decisions final
against the United States, "where
the claim is made by any person or
persons, or the legal representatives
of any person or persons, who were,
on the twentieth of December, one
thousand eight hundred and three,
Inhabitants of Louisiana, and for
tract not exceeding the quantity of
acres contained in league square,
and which does not include either
lead mine or q salt spring. &c. If
the tract claimed contained Il lead
mine, or salt spring, or more than
square league, the Board had no
power to adjudicate on the claim,
even as to the league square, or as to
the part OF covered by the mine or
spring. In such case. there was fail
IRE of jurisdiction. and their decision,
therefore, would be not voidable, but
void. Elliott rs. PeirsOl, ! Peters,
340) II the decision for Donaldson
and Scott be good for a league
square under the act of 1907, then the
decision of Justice of the Peace in
suit for $1,000 is good TO the amount
of 500 and the same reasoning is
applicable to each of the three HOu-
mas claims, because each is claim
for more than n square league. A
lineal league is 81 arpens. (Mendrd
o. Massey, VII .HoWard, BIZ A
square league is therefore 7056 arpens.
A thousand arpens is equal to 846.28
American acres. fAmerican State
Papers. Public Lands, II, 685, b.
2I9-Green's editiOn.) A square league
contains, therefore, 5,97l.35 acres.
Now, the claim of Donaldson and
Scott contains more than Sc, $50. 10
acres. (Senate Document 45, PIP. "a,
1927 That of Daniel Clark contains
more than 29,I17.60 acres Ib. PIP.
80, 132, and that of William Conway
contains more than 100, 1912 acres
Qb. p. 1872.
TO BE CONTINUED.