The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1908-06-27

of the national executive committee.
Francis connection with the Standard
Oil Company is given as the reason.
covered by. water made by the State
of Mississippi to that corporation by
section II of its charter of doubtful
validity, and that the object of the
memorial was to secure a CONFIR-
NATION OF A DOUBTFUL GRANT
OF LAND. Nothing could be further
from the facts. The State of Missis-
sippi was and is the only power that
could grant any submerged lands
to any person or corporation. If there
is any question well settled in the
! jurisdiction of the United States it
is that the state, AND THE STATE
ALONE OWNS ALL OF THE SUB
MERGED LANDS AND CAN ALONE
GRANT THEM, and for the benefit of
those who desire to Investigate this
question refer to the cases of
Goodlittle VS. Pollard, 9 Howard U.
| S. 471
Doe VS. Kennedy, 10 Howard U. s..
25
Pollard VS. Haiyan. 3 Howard U. s..
212 from the syllabus of which last
case Isquote as follows:
"The shores of navigable waters
and the soils under them, were
not granted by the Constitution to
the United States. but were re-
served to the states respectively;
and the new states have the same
rights, sovereignty and jurisdic-
tion over this subject as the origi-
nal states.
"And 1.-THE onstitution-leaves
as much in the State OF Alabama
ms the original states possess,
over navigable waters within
! their respective limits"
This doctrine was afterwards re.
1 iterated in the famous Chicago Lake
Front Case, being the case of the 1. c
tR. r. VS. the State of Illinois and the
i City. of Chicago, 146 U. 8. Ss7, from
4 which syllabus also quote as follows:
"The owenrship of and dominion
and sovereignty over lands cover
Il ed by tide waters, and the fresh
j waters OF the great lakes within
4 the limits of the several states,
4 belong to the respective states
i, within which they are found,
/ with the consequent right to use
/ or dispose of any portion thereof,
when that can be done without
Il impairment Of the interest of the
public in the waters, subject to the
right of Congress to control their
7 navigation for the regulation of
commerce.
sl But while this is true. and while !
) lis perfectly clear that no power bu
/ f the state can give or take awayLSub
y merged lanS Ms also true, as stated
above, thak y United States CON
81 Trolls THE RIGHT OF NAvIGA
sITION in The waters over the land
/. and that grant made by the stat
/ conveys Only the lands which arr
J covered by water and not the. waite
4 over them.
h The title to the land under the wat
| er was complete, and the only pur
\ pose Of the memorial referred to wa
h to procure the governments assen
to such operations in theS water tha
might interfere with navigation an
that were necessary to execute tn
Legislative purpose Of digging a hal
Dor. The terms Of the memorial wer
perhaps general, but every lawye
knows that the land passed by tn
states grant. and that the govern
fments permission was necessary oni
in so far as the operations inciden
to the work affected navigation. Will
the bill introduced under this memo
rial ives pending in Congress, 8. !
Bulls took a>contract from the State
authorities fixed harbor line out I
which point It would permit the wor
Of reclamation to go. This settle
the question ant save all needle
authority and the ploposed Iegisl'
81 tion became unnecessary.
i II is idle to talk about memora
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