Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-10-24

sors. an absolute release of the State from all
Claims for work or for damages, as above
stated. Aud further, mat the act should not
be construed as admitting that the State was
in any way liable for anything growing out of |,
the Improvement
Martin and each of the other contractors I
named In the act, executed release OF the
State from all liability from all liability from
or by reason OF the improvement or any con-
tract IN relation TO il. and from all claims for
damages. And Martins release is on .iie in
the office of the Secretary Of Stale and was /
read to The Assembly before Mr.. King voted
on the claim. Martin also executed his bond
TO the State in the sum Of twenty-five thous.
and dollars to hold the state harmless, as re-
CURED by the act as did each Of his co.incor.
porators. And the title TO the lands and 10
ne improvements thereupon rested. IN them
In 1921 Congress granted 10 the State a
very large amount of other lands 10 AID in
Ia the construction of works of internal im-;l
provenent. These lands Martin and hi. as
socrates took possession of aud treated a.
their own, although they belonged without
question to the State 10 do with it as it pleased;
that is, 1t could devote them to one or anoth-
er Improvement as itmight see fit. -
In 1900 complaint was made 10 the Legis
azure mat tins Improvement company had
slezed these lands and appropriated them toll
lis own use and had not constructed the in,
provement as Il had agreedto do but ON the
contrary had allowed large part of what |
had previously been built to go TO decay A
committee Of the Legislature was annointed |
70 Visit the Improvement and report. That |
committee reported IN substance that the /
charges were true. Thet tile additional lands |
Which Congress had donated and this compa- |
ny mad sezed without authority or shadow |
OF right were reasonably worth a million OF |
dollars. # 4
This- report brought Martins company to
the Legislature begging for mercy. They brot |
as distinguished men as Horatio Seymour and |
hiram Barney, of n. Y, and Mr.. Dawson. of |
Pa, there oslog roll and intercede for them
and the result was that the legislature by ch. |
10, laws of 1856. donated to them this add. |
tonal million dollars worth of lands upon con |
oition that they should go on and in GOOD faith
construct the Improvement, and to some ex |
tent enlarge and widen the canal ard locks |
mat act was accepted, and by sec. it was
provided that the lands should be held in trust
among other things to pay off and discharge
al outstanding evidences Of indebtedness Is |
sueu on the part OF the state on account OF
such improvements, and all interest thereon,
and that was to be first lein upon the lands.
1t was further provided that the bonds OF
Martin, and his associates should not be com
sidered as released or discharged Nor should
anything II this act be construed as an ac-
encouragement that any OF said evidences of
debt were . charge against the State Treas
| ury.
During all this time, that is from August lst
1903, to July LIST, 1885, Martin was superin.
| tendant and general managing agent of the
company, and from July LIST, 1856, to Oct. /.
1908, he was its Vice Presidents and acting
fresident.-le Wis r., p. 554 and 555
about March 10th, 1862 Martin sued the
n w far htc ~
and agent, and as Vice President and acting
President also, for damages for the ALLEGED
non>fulfiment by the State of the agreement
made by the Governor in 1851, to certify the
scrip, claiming that the Company had agreed
| 10 pay u, also for some other matters.
In the Circuit Court of Brown county he
recovered judgment against the Company for
SIf, quo and interest, for the alleged damages |
also Tor large sums of money for his other
causes OF action. The Company appealed to
| the supreme court, and it was there held that
II ne ever had any cause of action against any
pody Tor those damages, which was not deci>
| ded, 1t was barred by the statute of limita-
lions As to that $4,000 and interest, there
lore the Judgment was reversed
| From this time until about February 5tb
| 1878, Martin seems to have remained quiet
| at any rate, it was not until about that date
that any claim of any kind was made by him
against the State Nearly 90 years had clap
| sed since Martin had, to get control of those
| lands, executed his release to the State from
| all claims for damages real or imaginary.
| growing out of his contract of 1851, and in all
| that time no claim, or even hint. was ever
made to the State that it was in any way in,
| debted to Martin
de, however, went to the legislature oflS73
and presented his claim. He found that there
was no hope OF success upon a direct applica-
ton Tor money and so he begged for commits
sion to investigate and report upon his claim.
and he agreed that he would pay all expenses
of the commission himself
The legislature yielded to this Importantly.
and passed an act, CHI. 243, laws of 1878, pro-
yidln9 Tor the appointment of three commits,
sioners to hear, try and determine his claim.
Messrs. Belden, of Racine, Eldredge, of Rock.
and Rodolf of Lacrosse counties, were an.
pointed commissioners. They met several
times. heard what evidence he had to offer.
and unanimously decided that he had no claim
and Mr. Beiden was instructed to prepare a
report to that effect, and did so. This was
done and the report was read and approved
Dec %, 1878. At that time Martin, by his
counsel appeared and begged for more time
this was granted and an adjournment had Mr.
Belden became disguised at the delays and
resigned his position. A near neighbor of
Martins was appointed in his place, aud upon
the same evidence as before, and the same us |
ed before the circuit court of Brown county. !
In Martins suit against the company, major, |
itY of the New commission thought he had |
been damaged $500 worth by the refusal of |
the Governors certificate. They then deduct |
ed from this his bond for $25, 900 and award |
ed MIN $4,000 and interest from June 1853, |
in all S24 ,67S.5
The Secretary of State, the Hon. Peter
Doyle, who was clothed by the act of 1878.
with the power to approve or disappreve of |
the award, approved it as to tile SIC, 600 and I
interest from February 5, 1878, when Martin /
first asked the State for payment and disap-
proved it as to interest for all the years dur
ing which Martin did not claim or pretendi
that ne had claim against the State, and he.
paid Martin 10,974l6
In refusing to pay the interest Mr.. DOYLE
was clearly right. 1t is the settled law of this
state that interest does not begin to run until
payment is demanded.
Martin then, after taking the So 74. l6.
and making sure of that, went to the Supreme
Court with his claim for the third time This
time he asked for a mandamus to compel the
Secretary State to draw his warrant and paw
him the remainder of that interest, and for
the third time he was beaten The court de-
cided that the legislature had clothed the
Secretary OF State with power to approve or
dlsapprove of the award of the commission
That as to the part of it he had approved that
had been paid, the part the court was asked
to compel him to pay, he had never approved
and without his approval it could not be paid,
and the court could not compel him to ap-
prove or pay what in his judgment, ought
not to be allowed orpaid. 3S Wis 90
This, it would seem, ought TO have ended
the matter. Butt did not
Martin in person, and by attorneys, went I
to the legislature of 1877. and persistently ;
urged his claim for this interest upon that ,
body. But it was then defeated
Last winter it came up again. and was even :
more persistently pressed than before. A long
debate epsued, The history of the claim sub
stantially as given above was fully given to the
Assembly. The release, bond, laws, contracts
journals of the legislature, decisions of the /
Supreme Court and letters from Messrs. Bel
den and Eldredge, two of the commissioners,
giving history of the proceedings of the