Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-12-21
WASHINGTON.
Report of the Chief of Engineers
Regarding Goat Island.
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.

CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.
California. Land Case Decided by the
Supreme Court.
ESPECIAL By TELEGRAPH TO raR RKcoRD-uNIeN.l
WASHINGTON, December 2Oth.-The Sec
rotary of War to-day transmitted to the
House of Representatives an elaborate report
from the Chief of Engineers of the United
States Army, upon the bill introduced last
session by TAFT of Connecticut, which. under
title of Sc A bill to quit title to Yerba Buena
Island" proposes TO relinauish and grant all
the United States title to the Island of
Yerba Buena, or Goat Island, to the CITY of
San Francisco. for uses and purposes speci-
fed in the city ordinances ratified by Act of
the California Legislature, approved March
IL, 1858. The bill also declares in a pre-
ambie that the Presidents order of October,
1854, seeking to preserve this island for public
use, was in coDtraventien of the Act of Con-
gress of July l, 1864, relinquishing United
States title to lands within the corporate
limits of the city of San Francisco, and that
the rightful owners of Yerba Buena Island
were wrongfully elected therefrom in Febru-
airy, 1867. The Chief OF Engineers report
upon this bill (which is now in the hands of
the subcommittee of the House Judiciary
Committee). emphatically protests against
its passage. General Wright reports that
Yerba Buena Island was reserved for public
uses by a Presidential order in November,
1850, and that in pursuance of this reserva-
ton it was occupied by the military authori-
ties in 1854 for "public uses,n namely. the
quarrylng of stone for the Alcatras bat
teries, Major Tower then employing
one Thomas Bowling, squatter on
the island, to quarry the stone. "This
Downing says General Wright, has been
for many years, and is now by his successors,
a persistent claimant to the island" The re-
port after stating that Dowling's claim has
never been recognized, proceeds to show that
the uses and purposes specified In the State
laws of 1858 were confined to the mainland,
any piece or parcel of land situated northeast
or south of the water-let front of the city
being excluded from its operations. It ID
further argued that the Act of 1864 was not
operative as to the islands in the harbor, even
if they had not been occupied for public pur-
poses, or should not be so used thereafter,
although the Act provided for exceptions,
and also that no private title to the island could
have been established between the conquest of
California and the Presidents reservation of
up land in California to presumption Except
lands reserved by competent authority were
not entitled until March, 1858. The Presi.
Dental order of 1866, again reserving this
island, was therefore unnecessary, and only
made assurance doubly sure General
Wright adds that the island is of very great
Importance to the defense of the United
States, and especially of the city of San
Francisco, and even if the proposed Act were
intended to cede it to the city for its corpo.
rate use, which is not the fact it would no
doubt be for the best interests of the
city for Congress to refuse such ces-
sion, since this island occupied pre-
cisely the point which is necessary to be
fortified to prevent its capture or destruction
by an enmy's vessel, which in thick weather
or a fog might run past the outer batteries.
In confirmation of this view of the irnpor.
lance of the retention of the island for de-
fensive purposes, the report cites number of
reports heretofore made by military author
tiles, and continues, in conclusion cit
should be stated that the question of title to
Yerba Buena Island, as well as other de.
fensive positions in San Francisco bay, has
frequently been before Congress, the Courts
and the War Department, but the claims Of
those whose cupidity had prompted them to
obtain those positions by every means. re-
gardless of the fact that the United States,
aftert the conquest. gave up all except those
positions to the citizens of California at
nominal price, and regardless of the best in
terests of the State OF California and the city
of San Francisco. have uniformly been re-
jected after full investigation, and it should
be further stated that at various times offers
have been made to lease or purchase the
Island of Yerba Buena, and some of these Of
fers have been accompanied by offers OF large
sums of money; but the United States has
always refused to part with its title.n In
transmitting this report to Congress, Secre-
tary Ramsey invites attention to the i'm.
portance of the subject. and recommends the
report and its yoluminous appendices be
printed.
PUBLIC LANDS IN CALIFORNIA.
A bill introduced by Representative Berry
to-day proposes to grant to the State of Cali
fornia, for common school purposes, five per
centum of the net proceeds of all sales of pub
lie lands heretofore or hereafter made within
her boundaries. 1t is accompanied with
preamble citing that California is the only
one of the public land States for whose bene-
fit that percentage has not been granted.
The others are Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida,
Arkansas Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, Ne
vada and Oregon.
Berry also to-day introduced bill to ex-
tend to the State of California the provisions
of the Acts of Congress approved March 2,
1855 and March 3, 1857. both of them relat-
ing to swamp and overhowed lands, and the
latter expressly confirming to these various
States selections made under the Acts of 1919
and 1850 The main purpose of this bill is
to enable the General Land Office to approve
the plans of the California segregations fur
nished by the Surveyor General of California
under the creative Act of 1866, and calls at
tention to the fact that no feld-notes were
furnished with them, the fact being that the
surveys were actually made in the field by
the State authorities, the segregation map
having been compiled upon the basis of
United States surveys.
THE HOLIDAY REsoLUTIoN-cALL OF COM
MITTEEs.
Representative Page introduced to-day the
joint resolution described in last nights dis
patches to make the anniversary of the dis
covery of America national holiday, so far
as is possible, by Act of Congress.
Speaker Randall to-day decided to call
committees in regular order for motions, to
pass one bill from each under suspension of
the rules, and as the Private Land Claims
Committee is not down on the list it was not
reached, and consequently the expected at
tempt to pass the Sansillan bill under sus-
pension of the rules cannot regularly be made
before the third Monday in next month.
SHERMAN ON FOSTERS WITHDRAWAL.
CHICAGO, December Goth. = The Inter-
Oceans Washington correspondent called on
Secretary Sherman, who said regarding Eos
ter's withdrawal that he was not surprised
but gratifed. He had never doubted his own
election, and had no fears of injury from the
contest, fer it would have been made in a
friendly way and left no wounds behind.
LIABILITY OF SHAREHOLDERS.
WASHINGTON, December 20th.-The Su-
preme Court of the United States to-day de-
cided that an individual shareholder of an
insolvent national bank cannot be compelled
to pay more than his full proportionate share
of the banks liabilities in order to make
good the deficiency caused by the inability of
stockholders to pay their proportionate
| shares.
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS.