Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1892-12-17
L. s. LAND COURT.
Several Cases Passed Upon This Fore
noon-Opinion in the Case of
the Alameda Grant.

The land court to-day made several
rulings in the cases before it. In the Gal
van grant an application to present
further testimony was allowed.
The Antonio Sedillo grant, which was
so ably argued last week by Mr.. Frank
W. Clancy, was confirmed, The northern
boundary Of this grant was claimed to be
coincident with the Montana grant, but
the court restricted the latter and, if to-
days decision is upheld, the intervening
space will be declared public land and
open to settlement.
The De Vargas grant was taken under
advisement by the court
The decision in the Antonio Chavez
grant was also withheld until the opinion
of the supreme court IS known as to the
eleven league clause.
In the Nolan grant an application to
take evidence was granted, and testimony
was heard by Justice Stone this after
noon.
The San Marcos case was suspended,
and will come up again next term,
the question being whether the bounda-
ries of the grant fixed by the alcalde were
correctly described.
The argument IN the Algodones case
was concluded to-day and the grant sub
mitted to the court.
IN THE ALAMEDA GRANT,
confirmed by the court yesterday, follow
lowing is the opinion as rendered by
Mr.. Justice Sluss, the entire bench con-
curing:
There is but one question involved In
this case, upon which we wish to ex-
press an opinion at this time, and that
| is, whether at the time of the acquisition
of this territory by the United States the
grant under which the plaintiffs claim
title was a complete and perfect title
within the meaning of the act of congress
creating this court, so as to authorize
confirmation for more than eleven square
leagues of land.
Under the law of Spain it appears to
have been required that all grants of land
issued by the governors of territories
should be approved and confirmed by
some designated official or authority be-
fore becoming finally valid, so as to pass
the legal title from the crown.
The question is raised in this case,
whether such confirmation was had of
this grant, so as to make it a complete
and perfect title.
In order to determine this question it
is necessary to examine the laws and
regulations of Spain upon the subject
This grant was issued in ITO: the grant
was made by the governor, the grantee,
Vigil, placed in possession and thereafter
he conveyed the land described in the
grant to Gonzales, under whom the pres
ent occupants and claimants derive title
On October Is, 1854, a royal regulation
was issued by the crown, Tor the purpose
of having the outstanding titles to lands
investigated. Officers and tribunals were
therein designated for the purpose of
having these titles which had been legally
issued confirmed, and as to those which
had not been legally issued, of having
the lands retorted to the crown.
A very full system of investigation was
provided for by the regulation. By the
second section it was provided that the
judges and officers to whom jurisdiction
tor the sale and composition of the royal
lands may be sub delegated, should PRO
coed with mildness, gentleness and mod
Grafton, with verbal and not judicial
proceedings, in case of those lands which
the Indians shall have possessed; but in
regard to those granted to towns no
charges shall be made. the towns shall be
maintained in possession OF them and
those that may have been seized shall
be restored to them, and their extent en-
larged; nor shall severe strictness be used
toward those already in possession OF
Spaniards, or persons of other nations
and in regard to all the requirements OF
law IA, Is, II, IS and 10, title u, book
of the recopilacion de midas, shall be
observed"
In our opinion this is an express dec
laration making the provisions of law II
part of this royal regulation, to the
same extent as if it had been incorporated
in it, This law II is found on page 50 o
2 White. 1t appears to be portion of
prior regulation issued for the same pur
pose and under the same circumstance
as that of October 10, l754, and makes
provisions for the investigation of out
standing titles to lands similar to thos'
provided in that of 1854. 1t provided 70
the investigation of these titled by auden
cias and other authorities, and also pro
vided the manner of such investigation
and among others contained this pro
vision: For all this we order and com
mand the viceroys, presidents and pre-
torial audencias, whenever they shall thinl
fit to appoint a sufficient time for tn
owners OF lands to exhibit before then
and the ministers of their audience, whom
they shall appoint for that purpose tn
titles to lands, estates, huts, caballerias
who after confirming the possession o
such as hold the same by virtue of goot