Middletown transcript., 1894-02-24
THE NEW BOUNDARY LINE.

ioiio"ihg interesting account of our
state lines:
Within few days past joint action
mas been taken by the Commonwealths
OF pennsylvania and Delaware. finally
settling the vexed question of the
boundary between the States. a cues
tlon which runs back to the year 17O1.
Ihls action was the final report of the
Boundary Commission, appointed under
The act of May 4, 1899; and the dispute
IS now permanently settled, unless the
Courts shall be asked to pass upon
the validity of the Commissions de-
cislon, which, from present appear
ances, seems quite possible. The estab-
llshment of the new line has had the
result OF transferring NE houses of
nine farmers, which were thought to be
In Pennsylvania, into the State of Della
ware, and Of making about eight sup
posed Delawareans citizens of Pennsyl-
vania. One of the latter has ALREADY
announced that he will pay no taxes in
Chester County, his new home; and
another declares that his rights have
been illegally taken away, and that he
will carry the matter to the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania.
On May 4, 1889, an act was passed
at Harrisburg declaring "that it shall
be the duty of the Governor to appoint
three competent persons as Commits
sioners, representing this Common
wealth, who are hereby authorized to
act in conjunction with a similar Com
mission from the State of Delaware, to
examine, survey and re-establish the
boundary line that separates this Com
monwealth from the State of Delaware,
and when said line shall have been prop
erly relocated, to mark its location by
the erection of enduring monuments. :"
Under this act Hon. Wayne Mac
Veagh, of Philadelphia; g. E. Mona
CHAN, of West Chester, and W. III. Mil
Ter, of Media, were appointed to repre-
sent Pennsylvania, and these gentle
men, with Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, J.
II. Hoffecker and DR.. B. L. Lewis, del
egates from Delaware, composed the
Boundary Commission. Two surveyor
Daniel Farra, of Delaware, and BenJa-
min II. Smith, of this city, were en-
ployed to execute the practical part of
the work.
On the better maps of this Common
wealth the southern boundary line to-
ward, its eastern end has decidedly
jagged appearance. At the northeast
ern corner Of Maryland the Pennsyl-
vania line runs suddenly due south only
to turn northward again after few
miles, following the arc of great
circle which lands it in the Delaware
River. The jagged triangle thus left
pointing southwark contains about 400
acres of land The boundary lines in
closing this triangle were the source of
bitter dispute as early as the beginning
of the eighteenth century. The three
couui les now comprising the State of
Delaware had then recently passed into
the proprietary of Penn, and two ur-
veyors, Isaac Taylor and Thomas Pier
son. we're employed to lay out for the
dividing line between the northernmost
of these counties, New Castle, and
Chester County, in Pennsylvania, the
arc of circle whose radius should be
12 miles lol.g and whose centre should
he the CITY of New Castle. These men
chose as the exact point from which to
draw their circle the southern end of
mound. known as the 'horse dyke.
That SPOT is now supposed to be about
300 feet south of the Court House.
WAS SETTLED IN ENGLAND.
Early in the eighteenth century a Bit
ter contention arose between Loud Bal
timore and Penn's descendants in
regard to the boundary between Mary
land and Pennsylvania and Delaware,
both of which was then in the Penn
Proprietary. So strenuously were the
claims of each eide insisted upon, that
tho question was carried to England
fnr settlement and Judge Hardwicke
repdered a decision which was declared
tn he satisfactory. 1t was agreed that
the dividing line between the Penn
tracts should begin midway between
the bays Of Chesapeake and Delaware
bo;no drawn northward SO as to form
tanoent TO the "twelve mile circle"
already described by Taylor and Pier
con From the point of tangency the
boundary was to run due north to an
cast and west line drawn at distance
of fifteen miles south of Philadelphia.
This due north line and portion OF
the s.twelye mile circle" are the boun-
d.ries inclosing the sharp triangle pro-
;ectine southwark from the State Of
Pennsy,vania above referred to.
The representatives Of Lord Balti-
more made every endeavor to outwit
penn,s agents, holding, for instance,
that the initial point should be midway
batveen Delaware Bay and an Inlet
into the Chesapeake; and again that
III uodi,s Of the stwelve mile clrcle,1
sbonld be measured on the surface OF
the land uphill and down. Ihey IN
- tbe;r match, however, in the
legal talent from Philadelpnla, ane
ability shown by these phllaaelpn'a,lS !,
is said to have been the origin ., .he
famous saying: "It would takea phlla'
driphia to find that ia,f,I.. out" svprO. ptsy
wears ago this was familiar expires
s sion in parts of England and young ,l'
men member Be Of the bar of this city while 1.s in
York was asked by an English aJs Judge g
to sit sit wit with him on the bench and in: in.
:. oea ~ - the assemblage, to bis