Rock Island daily Argus., 1888-12-18
Land Claim Decided.
Secretary Villas Makes an I'M
portant Ruling.
THE STATE OF MICHIGAN BEATEN

In a Claim That Involved 1. 700. 900 Acres
of Land-Springer's Additional Sections
to His Omnibus BiIl-Riddleberger and
His ResoIution-A Sensation Over the
Appointment of the Successor to At
torney SeIIers-A Copyright Decision.
WASHINGTON Cry, Dec. 1S.-Au impor-
tant decision was rendered by Secretary
Villas yesterday in what is known as the
Michigan swamp land case. This was
claim brought by the state against the
United States, involving the right to about
1900 acres of land in the Red City and Mar
quette land districts of the state, under the
swamp land grant of 1859 The lands in
question were reported under dates OF March
~ 1852, and Feb 10, 1858. to the general
land office by the surveyor general OF Michi-
gan as swamp and oyeia0wed land Lists
embracing large part OF these lands were
approved 10y the secretary of the interior,
but none Of them went to patent. The state
legislature, in 1851. passed an act by
which it was agreed that the designation of
the swamp lands under the act OF 1850 should
be made from the field notes of the survey
on file in the surveyor generals Office.
ated by joint resolutions of the Michigan
legislature, re-surveys were made, it
being represented that the surveys already
made were valueless because of their inac.
curacies By these re surveys large tracts
| of land originally reported as swamp were
not so classed, and in subsequent lists these
lands were not included The patents were
all based upon tie tisid notes of the corrected
surveys.
Now the state claims that the first certifi-
cations were conclusive of its right, and that
it Is entitled to the lands described therein,
notwithstanding the amended and substi.
tuted lists subsequently, certified aud patent
ed. 1t also claims that the act of March G.,
1857, absolutely confirms its title to all the
| lands described in such certificat!nn made in
correction and substitution thereof. While
| this claim directly involves about ], 3 70 acres
the questions involved in its decision are
said to apply to other eases in which the
state claims about !, 090 acres, including
a large part of the lands granted to the state
for the Grand Rapids 4 Indiana. the Flint
& Marquette, and the jackson, Lansing &
Saginaw Railroads.
The secretary ST ties that the records sh ow
positition that the corrected re-surveys
should form the basis of the grant and that
the state did not protest against this position
prior to about 1881, when movement began
looking to the prosecution of the present
claim. He thinks now that the intervention
of the department in favor of the state would
in most cases operate only as the expression
of the opinion that the state possesses a bette,
title than has been conveyed to the grandee.
of the government, and would be an attempt
to invest the state with a title by patent
after other patents have already been issued
The secretary adds that no evidence is
furnished to show that the lands claimed
now are, or at the date of the act were. il
fact, swamp or overhowed.
The secretary denies the obligation on th,
part of the government to follow the orig
iual surveys because of an alleged agreement
between the land office and the state t,
adopt the field notes as a basis The depart
ment could not add to tho granting act o.
congress; and further the action of the de
partment and its acceptance by the state
during so many years can leave little doub
that the field notes referred to were INTENDED
to be those which furnished the best evidenc
of the fact, and this meaning of the sup
posed agreement must be accepted accord
ingly.
! The decision further points out the in
equity of the claim to lands which are no
! in fact such as were described in the grant
| and which never passed to patent, and tC
which no right exists, except such as may b
drawn from a mistake arising from false ey
idence.
! The general land commissioners decisio
is affirmed