The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-23
LINES OF HARBORS.
preliminary Maps of Sidney
and Gray's Harbor Ready.
QUESTION At ISSUE AT TACOMA.
POINTS Of Law Involved in Northern Pa.
cine Cisim-Rich Discoveries in
Kootenai Country.

Ex-Governor Eugene sempIe and Colonel n
uaiietson, OF the harbor line commission, re-
sulneu yesterday from Sidney, where they held
meeting OF citizens on Saturday to discuss the
naIDor line as proposed by the commission.
cpeaking OF the meeting with PosT -ISrELLr-
S.nChE reporter, Colonel Garretson said:
ana an s. c,.lzens OF Sidney turned out in body
q regard 20 harbor lines. There is a pretty gen
-. agreement In regard to the line we propose
snu no friction ID likely We shall order the
Mnicn viii be held some time this week SID.
nex has one Of the finest hsrbors in the state
enc xno PRELIMINARY maps of the Gray's harbor
SSvwns-noquiam, Aberdeen, Cosmopolis and
Ux 80 completed, and our engineer, Cap
an I'm 2. ". de Courcey, viii so to Olympia with
c cnsm somorrow Our next work will be the To-
&c9 ns. o. the lines at Hoquiam and Ocosta
The commission has not decided what action
g taAe IN view OF Attorney General Jones' opin-
Lon on the claims of the Northern Pacific rail-
toeo on the Tacoma water front. We are not
pound py that opinion, but have not considered
y togefner The matter involves a nice point
q law. Congress granted to the Northern Pa
clnc Ieilroad right-of-way extending 200 feet
On each side OF the center OF its track through
Sne PUBIC domain as far as tide water, which
Includes the tide land in dispute. The state
ma asserted It's right to these tide lands In the
Sonsstutions excepting only such as have been
patented by the secretary OF the interior, who
3 mas admitted the claim OF the state, holding
tnaS congress only acted as trustee for the flu
ture state in the management OF them The
x1ght-of-way of the Northern Pacific road
ynrough the public domain was only in the ma
tuIe OF an easement-the land was not granted
20 the railroad company, but the company was
allowed the use OF IL for specific purpose
on certain conditions. SO also with
AZ right-of-way across the Tacoma
tide lands-the fee simple never passed TO the
51ilroad company. These being the facts, the
question IL whether the word patented as APP
piled to the transfer of land by the secretary of
the interior on behalf OF the United States, as
empowered by congress. does not include the
Grant OF the right-oi.way. Congress, which
gave the secretary of the interior power to issue
patents to public land, itself by direct act
granted this easement TO the railroad company.
Cannot congress do directly what il empowered
the secretary OF the interior TO do? Ii the word
"patented" covers this grant of right of- way,
then the provision of the state constitution con-
drming title to all tide lands already patented
by the United states covers the Northern Pacific
Kight-ol-way at Tacoma.
have not reached any conclusion on the sub
1ect. but am simply stating the points at issue
IN the case as have discovered them in read
ing up the subject. / have not yet read the
attorney generals opinion on the matter, but
shall do SO tomorrow