The herald., 1894-12-20
OAKLAND's POSITION.
Facts Shown by = Brief Recently
Filad.

Filed.
The position OF the the city of Oak
land is fully set out in brief filed by
the attorneys. The case is of particular
interest in this section OF the state, as q
similar condition OF affairs exists in re-
gard to the ownership OF the San Diego
water front.
The facts following warrant the state
ment that there never before was as
serted q claim OF private ownership OF
lands covered by tide and navigable
waters under any grant approaching in
magnitude and enormity the private
grant here involved. The Chicago
lake front claim was OF modest limits
compared with that here involved.
A square mile is but $40 acres. Here
defendant relies upon municipal
grant of 1862. in gross to one grantee,
II. w. Carpenter, OF 1870 acres-over
II square miles of tide land and
navigable waters thereon, extending
from ordinary high tide line to ship
channel In the bay OF San Francisco,
embracing all and more than all the
water front OF the city of oakland. and
actually underlying and inclosing the
whole Of the Unite1 States government
harbor and Improvements (npon which
$1,000. 900 have already been expended)
in the bay of San Francisco and estuary
OF San Antonio. an arm OF the bay. Two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars will
complete the work. This government
hsrbor is entirely within and a part of
this 1870 acres. The facts below will
show the enormity OF this attempted
private grant.
This action is brought by the state OF
California against the Southern Pacific
company, Kentucky corporation, to
quiet the title to eeven unsegregated
pieces OF this 7S70.acre tract of land and
navigable water, commonly known as
the Oakland water front, 80 designated
in deeds relied ON by the defendant. All
seven pieces described in the amended
bill lie between the line Of ordinary high
tide and ship channel, or extend from
the one to the other.
The lands and waters were granted by
the state of California to the town OF
Oakland by the Incorporating act of
May 4, 1852. Csrpentier's hand was in
the framing OF the act.
Ths ceding or granting words are:
"The lands lying within the limits
aforesaid. between high tide and ship
channel. are hereby released and grant.
ed to said town."
The habitabls upland (including
little salt marsh) was practically a par.
allelogrsm lying opposite the city of
San Francisco and abutting upon the
eastern shore OF the bay, i. O., bounded
on the west by the bay of San Francisco,
south by the estuary of San Antonio,
east by the north arm thereof, and north
by the eastern or landward end OF the
northern charter line. This northern
or northeastern charter line was about
eight miles long, the eastern two miles
OF which ran across marsh and upland,
and the western five and one.haif miles
OF which ran from ordinary high tide
line, on the eastern bay shore, out
northwenterly five and one-half miles
into tbs waters of the bay to ship chan
mel. a claimed depth of "a fset Of ocean
water at low tide.
This habitabls parallelogram is about
snies miles long east and west, two
miles wide north and south, and lies
from nve to forty feet above tide level.
Inc upland, or parallelogrsm, was very
small part OF the Incorporated area, the
great poik OF which was the Oakland
wafer iront proper. covered by the navi-
gspie wsters OF the bay. The 1870 acres
IL the water front alone. The natural
EMP channel frontage in the bay alone
n'eeven miles, outside the estuary. The
municipal shore line is 1856 miles long
three on the bay and ten in the estu-
kry.
The. defendant, to support its claim
here, invokes an alleged municipal grant
tne entire 1870 acres, IL square miles,