Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-04-13
TELEGRAPHIC.
A Suit Against the
State,
TO RECOVER SWAMP LANDS
The Very Clever Manner in
Which Large Body of Land
Was Obtained.

Especial 10 The Herald bU the Associated Press
SAN FRASoIsco, April l2.-United
States Attorney. Geaeral Garland has In
s'iuted suit in equity in the United
States Circuit Court to set aside letters
patent granted by the United States TO
the state Of California, conveying to tho
State Kern Lake aud Buena Vista Lake,
In Kern county. The defendants are j.
b. Haggin, VIM. b. Carr, George Hearst,
Alfred Il. Davis, CELSIUS Brewer, Murray
r. Taylor, Duncan Beaumont, George
Sloneman, Governor of California,
Thomas l.. Thompson, Secretary OF
State, II. /. Wiley, Surveyor.General,
and Edward &. Marshall, Attorney.
General. The bill Of complaint recites;
"rhat Kern Lake and Buena Vista
Lake, and the connecting channel be-
tween them, are large bodies of water
some forty-four square miles 10
area; that around the margin
OF the said lakes, and said chan.
mel and between thes9 margins and
the high land there was belt or strip
of land within which belt and surround
ed by il are said lakes and channel
which contain no islands nor any land
at all; that on September 20, 1850, all
land bordering on the lakes and the
channel and for great distance around
them was unsurveyed public land be-
longing to the United States. Congress
on the date last named passed an ACT
commonly called the Arkansas Act,
which is entitled ian act to enable the
State OF Arkansas and other States Ia
reclaim swamp lands within their
limits. BY virtue OF this act the
United States granted to the State oil
California all swamps and overlooked
land within her limits. The bill further
states that in the years 1888 and 1904
the high land around the said
lakes and channel and immedi.
ately outside of the belt OF
swamp and Overlooked land mentioned,
was surveyed by the United States au'
thorities into townships and sections,
and line OF segregation run which sepa.
rated the swamp and overlooked land
from the surrounding highland. The
field notes of this survey were sent to
the office OF the United States Surveyor.
General for California, where three plats
were prepared from the data Of the field
notes. The bill alleging that these
plats, however, did not show the extent
of the belt OF swamp and overflowed
land. The complaint further charges
that the United States Surveyor Cen
eral of California, in pursuance of the
act of Congress and instructions from
the General Land Office to transmit lists
to Washington of all swamp and over
flowed lands in California, did, in the
year 1866, liter the lines of the survey
on the plats remaining in his office.
causing the lakes aud channel mentioned
to be designated us so much land.
In 1869 the United States authorities,
as the bill alleges, inadvertently issaed q
patent to the State of California for GER
tain sections OF land enumerated in the
bill of complaint, and embracing the
lakes and channel mentioned. 1t is
claimed that the patent is void becau
of fraudulent acts perpetrated by the
surveyors. Defendant Beaumont, 1t is
charged. on April 7, 1873, made two
applications to the State Land Office at
Sacramento, California, to purchase
Is. 600 acres of what he termed swamp
and overnowed lands. Afterwards in
the same month the County Surveyor
of Kern county certified to the
State Surveyor General that no had
surveyed the swamp and Overlooked
lends mentioned in Beaumonts appllca'
ton. The Register of the Land Office
issued to Beaumont certificates OF pur-
chase, and, rs the complainant states, Tor
"a small sum Beaumont transferred all
his interest In his $4,000 acres to
Haggin. The complainant prays for an
injunction to restrain Haggin and some
of his co.defendanis from asserting title
under the Beaumont certificates OF pur-
chase, and also to prevent the Governor,
Secretary of State, and the other State
officers mentioned, from parting with
the States title to the land in question.