The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1882-05-25
DALLAS COUNTY
Ana nor disputed boundary Line. between


w. hnuinau anh DostOD C0uluos.
'' Ithppcars that thore are a grolt mn
counties IN the state whose boundary lir
have meyer been definitely determined, al
. IL has caused considerable trouble A. Il
Y. cncral land office. In order 20 adju
T. these things Commissioner Welsh OF IL
ANA Oiliec has addressed q circular letter
I ne surveyors aud commissioners counts
j. counties whose bUlnuAry lines haze ncYc
q uecn definite y fixed. Among thcse COul
} ! ucs. are Dallas, Kaufman and Denton.
r. Tho circular reads as follows:
Q ClRCTLAY,
GENEEAL LANS OFflcE Arsiln--To Surveyor
! and Commissioners Courts Of ihe Counties o
Texas
Section of he act of April %, 1870, sC
provide for asOertauing and establishing
the boundaries Og counties, prescriDes thn,
whenever IL sheilappear to the Satisfaction
Oi The county court of any county in tins
state, or notice shall be given suen court by
the commissioner Of The general land office,
hat the boundary or any part thereof, OF
the county is not Sufficiently definite and
Weii defined, such court shall appoint an
experienced ana competent practical sur
yeyOr, whose duty il shall be to ascertain
by actual survey the boundary orany part
| thereof of said county" The succeeding
! Sv'bAoiAS IlcpIllDc llt lndllleT o. carrying
the above into effect, and section SiRposes
upon the. land commissioner the duties Of an
| arbitrator IN case the surveyors appointed
| by the respective counties should fail TO
| agree.
| From correspondence between this Office
and various county courts of the state, it is
| apparent that, in many instances, the i'm.
portance Of This act is not appreciated The
careless and irregular mannerin which sur
yeys have heretofore been made, especially
| in the earlier period of our history, is now
causing confusion and litigation. As the
country settles up and the lands enhance
in value, efforts are made in all parts OF
| the state TO change old corners aud bounda-
ries, and to locate or otherwise acquire title
to what is often merely a surplus and not a
vacancy.
10 enable this Office to act advisedy on
these questions, and to prevent expensive
lawsuits, all the information is needed
which can possibly be secured. The first
step towards final solution of these gues-
lions is to establish, III definite manner,
the various county boundaries, especially
in relation to the lines and corners of sur
veys intersected or passed. When this is |
done, and each county surrounded by a
chain OF fixed surveys, the work of olsen |
tangIement is one-halt accomplished. 1t
must be remembered that many of the acts |
creating counties are general and indefinite |
III lltlT ldileudbe. ANU lldG III IlOSG Ill |
stances this Office has no dafa, other than |
such act, from which to locate the boun-
Diary. The law may designate the mouth |
of some stream or corner of some survey as |
the beginning corner of county, which in |
i,iai point, placed upon our maps from no
fixed Or base Inc, may be mile or half |
mile from its actual position on the ground |
Plotting frln such erroneous beginning |
will, Of coursc misplace all the lines Of the
county ana adjoining counties dependent
upon it for connection. III the lines are run
and Ehe corners and lines Of intsrSectet
surveys called f,r and described, the evil is
remeded, and the county properly placed |
on the map, and The Office then knows e5-
aCtly what territory and surveys are en-
oraced within its limits and whether vacan-
cies or coYtics exist. Otlcr questions of
less ultimate importance, but entiJlttl 10
immediate considerations depend upon
me early establishment of the county
liGes:-
l. The question of jurisdiction in both
civil and criminal cases.
. The removal of county seats, l. e. to
determine whether a county seat is within |
or without the radius OF five miles from the |
geographical centre mentioned in the Con- |
sttution.
3. To determine in which county the bor-
der surveys, or portions Of them, shall be |
assessed for taxation.
UnEef llIS last iltdu, uOuDllul OF llCO- |
rect county lines have already caused |
loss, expense and litigation, and the evil is |
growing.
For The above reasons, would respect |
fully. hut most earnestly, urge upon the |
county authorities that prompt action be
taken in this matter, snd request that the
urveyors selected be instructed to C inject
the lines they run with the IlneS aud cor
ners OF surveys intersected, and give the
width and course of streams crossed,
Without connecting, as above requested,
with surveys as found, the survey will
furnish no data to the office however care.
fully made aud permanently marked in the
field.
IfsurveyOrs disagree as to the line to be
established, would suggest that such dis
agreement be first reported to their respect
We courts for adjustment by mutual con-
cession aud compromise. The county COM
missioners, 2pnversant with all the facts,
and sctuated only by a desire to benefit
tueir neislDurs and fellow-cilzens, would
seem to De the best tribunal to whom APP
,ell snpuid be made. If 1 satisfactory set.
tlrmcn5 cannot thu5 be made, let the sur
yeyors report tn this office as specified in
section 5 OF the act named, and a final de-
cl.ion Will be rendered as speedily as pos
siole. Respectfully,
w. C. WALSH,
Commissioner.