Opinion ID: 112480
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: On June 9, 1732, nearly 260 years ago, King George II, describing himself as King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, issued letters patent constituting the Charter of the Colony of Georgia. These letters described the boundary between that colony and the existing Colony of South Carolina as the most northern part of a stream or river there, commonly called the Savannah. See F. Van Zandt, Boundaries of the United States and the Several States (Geological Survey Professional Paper 909) 100 (1976). The precise location of segments of the boundary, however, proved to be a matter of continuing dispute between South Carolina and Georgia. Much of the controversy originally concerned navigation rights on the river. Shortly after the United States emerged as a Nation, commissioners appointed by each of the States met at Beaufort, S. C., and produced a Convention known as the Treaty of Beaufort of April 28, 1787 (hereinafter Treaty). See Van Zandt, supra, at 99; see also Georgia v. South Carolina, 257 U. S. 516, 518 (1922). The Treaty stated that the boundary was the most northern branch or stream of the river Savannah . . ., reserving all the islands in the said rive[r] Savannah . . . to Georgia. . . . [1] The Treaty was ratified in due course by the legislature of each State and by the Continental Congress. See 33 Journals of the Continental Congress 467 (1936). [2] Past Litigation The very existence of the present suit, of course, demonstrates that the Treaty of Beaufort did not resolve all river-boundary questions between South Carolina and Georgia. Indeed, this is not the first, but the third, occasion that some issue concerning that boundary has come before this Court. The first case is South Carolina v. Georgia, 93 U. S. 4 (1876). South Carolina filed a bill in equity for an injunction restraining Georgia and certain federal officials from obstructing or interrupting navigation on the Savannah River. This Court dismissed the bill. It ruled that the 1787 Treaty had no effect upon the power of Congress to regulate commerce among the several States. Congress' power over the river was the same as it possessed over other navigable waters. Thus, Congress could close one of the several channels in the river if, in its judgment, navigation thereby would be improved. The second case is Georgia v. South Carolina, 257 U. S. 516, decided in 1922. There, the Treaty of Beaufort was central to the controversy. The Court held, among other things, that (1) where there is no island in the Savannah River, the boundary is midway between the banks when the water is at ordinary stage, (2) where an island is present, the boundary is midway between the island bank and the South Carolina shore, with the water at ordinary stage, (3) where a navigable or nonnavigable river is the boundary between the two States, and the navigable channel is not involved, then, in the absence of contrary agreement, each State takes to the middle of the stream, and (4) the location of the boundary under the Treaty was unaffected by the thalweg doctrine because of the Treaty's provision that each State shall have equal rights of navigation. The ensuing decree is set forth at 259 U. S. 572 (1922). [3] It is to be noted that this Court did not discuss the problem of emerging islands, that navigability was not itself a factor in determining the boundary, and that no map or chart illuminated the Court's reported opinion. Neither of these cases bears directly upon the specific issues presently before us. The 1876 case, however, illustrates the type of boundary problem the Savannah River is capable of producing, and the 1922 case reveals generally this Court's approach to the Treaty of Beaufort. The decision in United States v. 450 Acres of Land, More or Less in Chatham County, 220 F. 2d 353 (CA5), cert. denied, 350 U. S. 826 (1955), must be mentioned. This was a condemnation proceeding instituted by the Federal Government in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to acquire an easement to enter upon Barnwell Island, one of the islands of a group discussed in Part III hereof, for the deposit of spoil excavated from Savannah Harbor. The complaint was served upon E. B. Pinckney, who claimed ownership of the island, and upon certain Beaufort County, S. C., officials. Only Pinckney made an appearance. He moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that the land was in South Carolina. The motion was granted, and the Government's complaint was dismissed. Georgia then was allowed to intervene. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed. It observed: The boundary line between Georgia and South Carolina is not in dispute as between these sovereigns. . . . There is, there can be, no doubt that the land here involved is in the State of Georgia. Article I of the Beaufort Convention specifically reserved to Georgia all the islands in the Savannah River and the Supreme Court by its decision and decree in State of Georgia v. South Carolina, 257 U. S. 516 . . . confirmed that reservation. 220 F. 2d, at 356. Although South Carolina did not participate in that case, it sought leave to file an original-jurisdiction complaint in this Court to confirm its claimed sovereignty over the Barnwell Islands. Leave to file was denied. South Carolina v. Georgia, 350 U. S. 812 (1955). This took place while Pinckney's petition for certiorari, noted above, in the Fifth Circuit case was pending in this Court. Later, another application by South Carolina for leave to file also was denied. South Carolina v. Georgia, 352 U. S. 1030 (1957).