Case: John Pollard et al., Lessee, Plaintiff in error, v. John Hagan et al., Defendants in Error
Abbreviation: Pollard v. Hagan
Decision Date: 1845-01
Docket Number: 
Citation: 3 How. 212
Volume: 44
Reporter: United States Reports
Court: New York Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: New York
Parties: John Pollard et al., Lessee, Plaintiff in error, v. John Hagan et al., Defendants in Error.
Judges: 
Pages: 212–235

Head Matter:
John Pollard et al., Lessee, Plaintiff in error, v. John Hagan et al., Defendants in Error.
The stipulation cbntainedjn the 6th section 'of the act of Congress, passed, on the 2d of March,1819, for the admission of the state of-Alabama into.the union,-viz.: “that all navigable waters within the said state shall forever remain public highways, free to the citizens of said state, and of the United' States', without any tax, duty,-impost, or toll therefor, imposed hy .said state,” conveys no more power over the navigable waters of Alabama, to the government of the United Statés, than it possesses over the navigable waters of other statés under the provisions of the Constitution.
And it leaves as much right in the state of Alabama over them - as the original • sthtes possess over navigable waters within their respective limits.
The shores of navigable waters, arid the soils under them, Were not granted by the Constitution to the United States, but were reserved to the states respectively-; and the new states, have the same rights, sovereignty, and jurisdiction over this subject as the original states. ■
The United'States never held any municipal sovereignty, jurisdiction, or right of soil in and to the territory of which’Alabama,, or any of the new states, were formed, except for temporary purposes, and to execute the trusts created by the acts of the Virginia and Georgia legislatures, and the deeds of cession . executed by them to the United States, and the trust created by the treaty of the 30th April; 1803, with the French republic, ceding Louisiana.
Upon the admission of Alabama1 into the. union, the-right- of eminent, domain, which had been temporarily held by the-United States, passed to the state. Nothing remained in.the United States but the p'ublic lands.
The United States now hold the public lands in the new states by force of the deeds of cession and the statutes connected with them, and not .by any municipal sovereignty which.it maybe supposed they possess or have received by compact with the new stales for-that particular purpose.
That part of-the compact respecting thé public lands, is. nothing more than the . exercise of a constitutional power vested in Congress, and would'havé been binding on the people of the new states whether they consented to be bound or not. . .
Under the Florida treaty the United States did not succeed to those rights which the King of Spain had held by virtue of-his royal.prerogative, but possessed the territory, subject to1 the institutions and laws-of its own government.
By the acts of Congress under which Alabama was erected a .territory and a state, the common law was. extended over it to the exclusion of all other law, Spanish or French.,..
The treaty of 1795 was not á cession of territory by Spain to-the United States, but-the recognition of a boundary liñé, and an admission, by Spain, that all the territory; on the American’ sidp of the line was originally withiD the . United-States. -.’’’’ ’ ■'
The United States have never admitted that they derived title from the Spanish governmen t; to any portion of territory included within the limits of .Alabama; for, by the treaty of Í795, Spain admitted that she had no claim’ to any territory above the thirty-first degree of north latitude, and the United States derived its title to. all below’ that’ degree from France, under the Louisiana treaty.', -
It results, from these principles that the right-of the United States to the public lands, and the power of Congress to make all needful rules and regulations for the sale and disposition1 thereof, conferred1 no power to grant land in Alabama which was below usual, high water-mark- at the time’ Alabama was admitted into the union. '
This case was brought up by writ of error from the Supreme Court , of Alabama. .
It wás air ejectment brought by the plaintiff in error in the Chs cuit Court [State Court) of Alabama, to recover a lot in the city of Mobile, described as follows, viz.: Bounded on the north by the south boundary of what was originally designated as John Forbes & Co.’s canal, on the west by a lot now or lately In the occupancy of,Tor claimed by,-Ezel, on the east by the channel of the river, and on the south by Government street.
.The case was similar in its character to the two cases of City of Mobile v. Emanuel et al., reported in-1 Howardj 95, and Pollard’s lessee v. Files, 2 Howard, 592. In the report of the first of these cases' the locality of the ground and nature of the case are explained.
In 1 Howard, 97, it is stated that the court charged the jury, that “ if the place in controversy was, subsequent to the admission of this State into the union,, below both high- and'low water-mark, then Congress'had no' right to grant it; and if defendants were in possession, the plaintiffs could not oust them by virtue of the act of Congress.”. And' at page, 98 it is remarked, that “the Supreme Court of Alabama did not decide the first point raised in the bill of exceptions, viz.: that'Congress had-no right to grant the land to the city-of Mobile.”
In the case of Pollard’s lessee v. Files, it is remarked (2 Howard, 601) that “ the arguments of both ■ counsel as- to .the right of the state'of Alabama over navigable water in virtue of her sovereignty, are omitted, because the opinion of the court does not touch' upon that point.
■In the present case, there-were objections made upon the trial, below to the admission of certain evidence which was offered by the defendant; but these objections were not pressedj and the whole argument turned upon-the correctness of the charge of. the court, which was as -follows: “;That if they believed that the premises sued for were below usual high water-mark, at the time the state of Alabama was admitted into the union, then'the act of Congress, and the patent in pursuance thereof, could, give the plaintiff no title,' whether the' waters had receded by the labour of man only, or by-alluvion ; -to which plaintiff excepted, and'the court signs, and seals this bill of exceptions.” ■
Under these instructions the jury found for the defendant, and the Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed the judgment. From this lastf. court tire case was brought up, under the 25th-section of the Judiciary Act, and .the only question was upon the correctness of the above instructions.
Coxe, for the plaintiff in error.
Sergeant, for the defendant in error.
Co:re, for plaintiff in error, said, that the only point presented upon the record grew out of the charge of the court. The plaintiff-gave in evidence a patent from the United States for the premises in question ,* an act of Congress, July 2d, 1836,. and an act of 26th May, 1824.- Proof was given' that the waters of Mobile bay, at high tide, overflowed the premises during all the time up to 1822. .
This same title has been before the court already and confirmed. 1 Howard, 95; 2 Howard, 591.
The act of Congress admitting Alabama into the union is in 6 LawsU. S. chap. 458,- p. 380.. The 6tti section contains a,proviso,., that all navigable waters shall remain, public highways, &c.. Unless this section prevents the land' described in the patent from belonging to the United States,'the plaintiff must recover under it.
In 14 Peters, .361, the'land in question was situated just like this, and 1he title was confirmed. So'in 16 Peters, 234, 245. In these two cases there is an implied' opinion of the court upon the point now under consideration, ánd the expressed opinion of one judge. 16 Peters, 262, 266.
In|2 Howard, 599, the point was expressly raised by the counsel on the other side. .
If the land did not belong to the United States, it belonged to no-. body. Neither the state of. Alabama nor the city of Mobile had any title to it. Many lands are in the same'situation,.subject to be overflowed, and if they belong to nobody, there is an end to all improvement' of them, and they must remain, public nuisances.
Sergeant, for defendant in enor,
stated the following points:—
1. The plaintiff rested his case-entirely upon the act of Congress of the 2d July, 1836, and the. patent'issued under it, showing no previous or other jrightr The act and the patent gave him no title to the premises, because,
1st. The United- States had nothing to grant; or to release; the right, if any, between high and low water-mark being in the state' of Alabama,-and not in the United States' ;'and if ever'in the United States,' after Alabama became a state, was passed .away and parted with by the-act of Í824.
2d.' The right and title' in 'and to the premises in question-were vested in those under whom defendant claims, by a valid grant from Spain béfore the-treaty of 1803, namely, by the grant of June 9th, 1802.
3d. The grant from Spain, calling for the river as a boundary, maintained the same boündary and followed the river.
4th. The length of the line referred to in the grant does not limit defendant’s right, because it is not stated for the purpose of limiting the right, but only as the then distance to the river; because it actually went 'into the river, and also because the call for the- river controls both course and distance.
2. The act of Congress could not operate as a release or confirmation, because there was no right or colour of right for a release or confirmation to operate upon.
3. The, right of. the defendant was sawed and confirmed by the act of 1824, so as to place it thenceforward beyond doubt or question.
(All of Mr. Sergeant’s remarks which bear upon other points than the one.upon which the opinion,of the court rested are omitted.)
Had the United States' any jitlé tó land cowered by navigable water, after the admission of Alabama into the union ? Judge Catron has decided in fawour of the United States, but the court has expressed no opinion in preceding cases. The land in question was a part of the shore of the riwer when Alabama, was admitted, and was so when the act of 1824, passed. It was a part of the riwer. What is a river ? Are not its bánkS included ? Tn the language of courts, there are two distinct parts of a river, its shore and its channel. The shores sometimes extend a mile out. They may be left bare at low tide,, but are still a part of the river, either for the purposes of navigation or fishing. Beyond that is the channel.. The record describes this land as being bounded by the channel of the river. The. question, whether the United States had a title- after 1817, was not decided in 14 Peters, nor in 16 Peters, nor in Pollard V. Files. It is of little importance to the United States, because free ■ navigation is secured, but of great magnitude to the state. . It has been said, that if the decision be. against the United States, the shores must remain unimproved. But not so. Their improvement requires local regulation. They áre avenues to navigation, and want a nearer guardian than the United States. Other states have the control of similar property.. The Unitéd States describe the limits of a port in. their revenue laws, and if they want a local property they, buy it. A state can manage this sort of property better than the United States, who have never done any thing with it. The question is important to the new states, as involving an attribute of sovereignty, the want of which*makes an invidious distinction between the old and new states- In 9 Porter, 577, there is an outline of the argument upon this subject, and Ihe authorities are cited. See also 589, 591. It is not material for me to examine the power of the King of Spain, because after the transfer, in 1803, the country became, subject do the common law and statute laws of the United, States,-except .as to previous grants.
At page 596, this- particular question is examined, and the ease in 10 Peters referred to.
It appears, therefore, that the Supreme Court of Alabama studied the Subject, and there, is no adverse decision in this or any state court. On the contrary, the decision of Alabama has béen sustained by filis court in principle. - -
A right to the shore between high and low water-mark is a sove reign right, not a proprietary one. By the treaties of 1803 and 1819 there is'no cession of river shores, although lánd, forts, &c'., are mentioned.' Why.? Because rivers do-notpass by grant, but. as an attribute of sovereignty. The right passes in ¿- peculiar mían- - ner; it'is'held in trust .for every individual proprietor.in the state of the' United States, and requires-a trustee of great dignity; ' Rivers must be kept open ; they are hot land, which maybe-sold, and the' right to them passes with a transfer of sovereignty. 16 Peters, 367; ■ 413,410,416. ....... ' .
. ' It -follows from this’ decision,, that the rights over rivers became’ severed from the rights oyer property. .In Pennsylvania, after the Revolution, an act f/ás passed confiscating the property of the Penn' family; büt no act was passed transferring the sovereignty of'the state.' The reason is, that no act was necessary. ■ Sovereignty transferred itself, and when this passes, the. right over rivers passes^too. Not so with public lands.' The right which New jersey acquired in 16 Peters, was precisely the right- which Alabama claims now; There can be no' distinction-between those states which ¿cquiréd their independence .byjqrce of arms and those which acquired it by the peaceful consent "of older states! The Constitution says, the latter must be~¿dmitted'into the- union oh an equal footing with the rest. The' dissenting opinion of Judge Thompson (page 419) is not inconsistent with this.
If these -positions are fight, the United States had nothing below high water-mark. They-might have reserved jt in'the compact with the state;'- The third article of the treaty with Spain (1 Land Laws, 57}'contains such a reservation.' ,But as it. is, the-United States have nothing in 'Alabama but proprietary rights. They cannot put their foot-'in- a state to claim jurisdiction without its consent. No ' principiéis more familiar than this, that whilst a-state has granted a portion of its sovereign power to'the United States, it remains in the, enjoyment of all the sovereignty whiéh it-has not voluntarily parted with. This Court, though inexpressibly valuable to the country, is ' yet a- court'of limited'jurisdicti.on. In the Constitution, what power . is given to the United-States over the subject wé are now discussing ? In a territory they are sovereign, but when a state is erected a change, occurs. A new sovereign comes in!- -Where-the power of taxation ■occurs,-it is because it has been yielded by compact. • 1.McLean’s Rep. 337, 339, 343, 344, 354, 371, 374, 378;
Thé- case in 10 Peters, 731, New Orleans w. The United States, sanctions the idea, that the power of which wé-háye been spéaking ' must be held in trust; that the kings of France had jurisdiction over the store, but it-vtas ¿ police power,-and used for' the common :benefit, riot-as a proprietary right; If the trust bé in thé -state of Alabama, the United- States cannot defeat that trust. The right of • accretion could- not belong to thé United States,- because it belongs • to the adjacent proprietor.
Coxe, in reply, insisted, tbát former decisions of. this court cover this cáse. The nature of the ground in question is folly shown in 9 Porter, 580, 581; that the tide rises óne ánd,a half or two feet. In 10 Peters, 667, property similarly situated, is described, where the water would overflow unless confined, by-banks. It has been said, .that the United States cannot exercise acts of ownership over it; but-it. is conceded :that Spain had "ánd exercised jurisdiction to -foe extent of granting it to individuals. 10 Peters, 679, 680, 681.;. attorney-general’s opmion, 16 Peters, 252 ; 9 Porter, 591.
• In 10 Peters, 662, no question like the present'was raised, as to the power to grant, but whether the property ever had been granted.
The case- of New Orleans ?;. United Státes involved mérely foe question, whether the land had been dedicated to. foe public.. It . was liké foe Pittshurg' ánd Cincinnati cases, differing only as to foe facts proved' to substantiate such dedication- and foe code of law which was to govern it. The citations ..from Domat (723) are de-: signed merely, to point. out the places which belong to the public.. No question-was presented or ’ decided, nor was; any opinion indi-, cated as to foe -points involved in,this controversy;
Prior tp the treaty by -which foe United States acquired this territory, foe former sovereign claimed and exercised foe rights which foe United States have undertaken to exercise. But it is. said, that we must show that our government could be the recipient of this power. Suppose we cannot. Then the right must remain-in Spain, which would be a strange result. But we say,
T. That portion.of sovereign-power which is vested in foe United States by our. Constitution and laws is unlimited.
2. The exercise of power by any'department, or functionary of the government, as amongr and operating on ourselves, is.limited..
3. The sovereign power as a nation in its foreign-intercourse is-subject to no constitutional restraint;
But it is contended, that foe-right to foe-shore is a sovereign and political, not a proprietary right.- In what' foe distinction exists,-so far as it is applicable to-this controversy, has-not been explained,. ' and-is not easy to be understood. That there is an immense body of lands in. all our alluvial territory, from the North.river to the Sabine, including foe .meadows between Newark .and NewYork, those .on the Delaware,-the nee plantations of Carolina and . Georgia, foe. marshes'of Flóridá, foe' swamps of Louisiana, is -a matter of fact. They are subject to periodical inundations, some daily, some by occasional freshets, some with thé semi-annual rise of waters; Accord^, ing to foe -argument on .foe;'other. side, ..all these áre to. be considered part -of the -shore. How'canija political power,bé said to exist without a proprietary, right over marshes where no .one can live ? ■.
Tt is said thé treaties of. 1803 arid'1819 nowhere specify rivers, and from this foe conclusion is drawn .that they passed as,part of foe sovereignty. It seems more probable that they .-passed as. part of 'tibe territory. Islands are mentioned, out- in the ocean, under which we hold Key West, Tortugas, &c. Why should théy be conádered merely as incidents to sovereignty and.not part of the territory? The language of the grant is, in “ full • property and -sovereignty.”
The treaty of 1795, with Spain, (1 Laws U. S. 264,) in designating the boundaries, speaks of them-which separate the territories of the contracting parties, and establish part of this line of territory in the middle of a river.. Article 4th designates the middle of the channel, or bed of- the Mississippi, as- the western boundary. In this treaty, as in that of 1819, a river is the boundary, and its free navigation is'secured.' Did anyone ever suppose that either party precluded itself from using the highway, or from holding or disposing of the lands on the banks subject to inundation ?
. It Is said that the land which was in question in- Martin v. Waddell, 16 Peters, 369, was similarly situated to the present5 that it was., below high water, and thence it is inferred that it was above low water-mark. But the special verdict indicates no such- thing. It says, “covered with water,” “where the tide, ebbs and flows.” Nor is there any thing in the passages cited (410, 413., 416) conflicting. with this idea. New Jersey, who asserted the right sus-tainéd' in that case, 'would be astonished to learn the construction now placed upon it, denying the right of private property in the flats left bare at low' water, or in the valuable meadows protected by banks from daily inundation, and converted into productive property, conducive equally to health and wealth.
In the lands thus situated, which had not been severed from the public domain, the United States had the capacity, to acquire, and did acquire, a proprietary interest. Nor is this repugnant to our constitution or laws, or the principles of bur government/ Throughout the union such property is held by individuals under titles -sanctioned by legislative acts and judicial décisions.
The sea-snore and arms of the. sea, “ like other public property j may be granted by the king or government!» individual proprietors.” 2 Dane’s Abr. 690, 691.
The Massachusetts colony act of 1691 grants numerous pieces of flats to the proprietors of the adjoining uplands. This was in strict conformity with the English law. The soil on which the sea-flows and ebbs, that is, between high and low water-marks,.may be parcel of a manor. Where the tide flows, it is within the jurisdiction of the admiralty; where the tide ebbs, the land may belong to a subject. Every thing done on the land when the sea is out, shall be tried at common law ; 5 Co. 107, Constable’s case. In New York and: New Jersey, the inlets of the sea on Long Island and between the Passaic and Hackensac, have all been reclaimed and converted into meadows. When New York elaimed the entire jurisdiction of the North river, she never thought of claiming the meadows and marshes on the Jersey side, although they were covered at every high tide by the waters of that river.
On the Delaware, in the states of Delaware,- New Jersey , and Pennsylvania, the same law prevails.
In Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia, valuable private. property has been thus reclaimed from the water.
Throughout our western country, Ohio, -Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, no question has ever been raised oh this point until these cases first presented it. Millions of acrés-are thus held. The right has been uniformly, asserted- by the United States.- It was so in the- act of 20th April, 1818, for the sale of Fort Charlotte lands, which ¡gave rise to the-suits in.Peters and Porter. 9 Porter; 16 Peters, 250; 6 Laws -U. S. 346.
The áet .Of May 26th, 1824, expressly grants land of this dé- ■ scription, and the act of July, 1836, does the same.
All the. titles under these acts are now in controversy. It is said that the United States have little or no interest in this question,; hut their interest is of incalculable value. See Barley’s Louisiana,, as to the-amount of overflowed lands. . 4
The right has been judiciously recognised. In 16 Peters, 408, United States v. Fitzgerald, where there was a claim under the preemption .laws. In the five different cases in which this very grant has been .disputed. . Pollard v. Kibbe, 14 Peters, 355, where the title of both parties was presented.'' So far as. the plaintiff’s title appears^ it was identical with that now exhibited, with the only addition of the Spanish origin, which had been rejected, by the board of commissioners. The defendant’s title the samé as now. All the objections now urged to the plaintiff’s title were then appa- . rent on the record. Mobile v. Esclava, 16 Peters, 234; 9 Porter; Mobile v. Hallett, 16 Peters,-261; Mobile v. Emanuel, 1 Howard, 95; Pollard «. Files, 2 Howard, 592.

Opinion:
Mr. Justice McKINLEY
deliyered the .opinion pf the court.
•This case comes-before this court upon a-writ of error to the Supreme. Com# of Alabama.
An action of ejectment was brought by the plaintiffs against the défendants, hi the Circuit Court of Mobile county, in said' state; and upon the trial, to .support their action, " the plaintiffs, read in evidence ¿.patent from the United States for the premises in question,. and án act-of Congress passed the 6th day of July, 1836, confirming to them the premises in the patent mentioned, together with afi act of Congress passed the 20th of May, 1824. The premises in question .were admitid by the defendants to be compre- - hended withixr the patent; and-there was likewise an admission by bóth-parties that the-land lay befweeq. Church street and North Boundary street,, in the city of Mobile;; and there the plaintiffs rested their case."-
. " The defendants, to maintain the .issue on their part, introduced a witness to prove that the'premises in question, between the years 1819 and i823,. were covered by. water of the Mobile river at com* mon high tide' ;"' to which evidence the plaintiffs by their counsel objected; but the court overruled the-objection; and permitted the evidence to go to the jury. " It was. also in proof, on the part of the defendant, that at the date of the Spanish grant to Panton', Leslie & Co., under which they claim, the waters of the Mobile bay, at high tide, flowed over what is now Water street, and over about- . oné-third of the .lot west of Water street, conveyed by the Spanish '.grant to Panton, Leslie.&. Co.-; and. that the waters continued to overflow-Water street, and the premises sued for,.during alL.the •time, up to 1822 or 1823; to all which admisáons of evidence, on part of the defendants, the- plaintiffs excépted." "-The court-charged the jury, that if they believed the -premises sued- for were below usual, high water-mark, at the time Alabama was admitted into-the union, then .the act of Congress, and the- patent hi pursuance thereof, could give the.plaintiffs no title, whether, the waters had receded by the labour.- of man only, or by alluvion; to which the plaintiffs.excepted.; Whereupon a verdict and judgment were . rendered in. favour of the defendants, and which-judgment was afterwards affirmed ,by the. Supreme Court of the state."
• This. question, has been heretofore raised, before this court, in • cases-from, the same state, but they went off upon other points. ' As now presented;-it is the only question necessary to the decision of the -case, before, us, and must, therefore, be-decided. And We ' now. enter into its examination with a just sense of its great importance to all the-states of the union, and particularly to the new ones. Although this* is the first-time we have, been called upon to r draw the line that separates the sovereignty and. jurisdiction of the government of the-union, and-the state governments, over the- subject in controversy, many of the principles which enter into and-form'the elements of the question have been settled by previous, well considered,-.decisions, of this-.court, to which we shall-have occasion to refer in the course of this
The. counsel- for- the plaintiffs insisted, in argument, that the' United States derived tide to that part of Alabama, in which the land, in controversy lies, from the King of' Spain; and that they succeeded to-all hisrights, powers, and jurisdiction, over the- territory céded, and therefore hold the land and1 soil, under navigable .waters,, according-to the laws-and - usages bf- Spain; and by those-•laws-and.usages the-.fights of .a subject to-land derived-from the-' crown could hot extend' beyond high -water-mark; oh navigable waters, without' an express grant;.' .and that all alluvion belonged to the crown, .and might be granted by this king;, together with all between high, water and the channel of such navigable waters;' and; by the' compact- between the United States and Alabama, on her admission into the union, it was agreed, that the people of Alabama for ever disclaimed all right or title to the waste or unappropriated lands lying within, the state, and that the sáme slfeuld remain at the sole -disposal of the United States,; and that all the navigable waters within .fee' state should for ever remain public' highways, and free to the citizens of that state and the United States^ .without any tax, duty, or impost, or toll therefor, imposed by that state. That by these articles of the compact, the land under the navigable waters, mid the public domain above, high water, were alike reserved to the United States, and alike subject to be sold by them; and to give any other construction fe these compacts, would be to yield up to Alabama, and the other new states, all the public •lands within their limits.
We think a proper, examination of this subject will show, that the United States never held any municipal sovereignty, jurisdiction, or right of'- soil in and to the territory, of which Alabama or any of -the new states .were formed; except, for temporary, purposes, and to execute the trusts created by the acts of the Virginia- and Georgia- legislatures, and the deeds of cession executed by them to. the United States, and the trust created by the treaty with the French republic, of the 30th. of April, 1803, . ceding Louisiana.
All that part of Alabama which lies between the thirty-first and thirty-fifth degree of north, latitude, was ceded by the state of Georgia, to the United States, by deed bearing -date the 24th day of April, 1802, which is substantially; in-all its principles and' stipulations, like, the deed of cession executed by' Virginia to the United States; on the 1st day of March, 1784, by which she-ceded to fee-United States the territory'north-west of the river-Ohio. Roth oft these , deeds of-cession stipulated, that all the'land's within the territory ceded, and- not reserved or. appropriated- to other purposes; should be considered as. a common fend for the use and benefit .of all the United States, to. be faithfully and bona fide disposed of for that purpose, and for no .other use or purpose whatever: ' And the statute passed by Virginia authorizing hér delegátes to execute this deed, and which is recited in- it, authorizes them, in behalf of the state, by a proper deed.tó Convey to the United States, for the benefit of said states, all the- right; 'title , and claim, as well of .soil as jurisdiction, "upon'condition' feat fee. territory so ceded' shall be .laid put .and formed into states, containing a-suitable extent of territory, not.less than 100, nor miore than 150 miles, square, ór as near thereto as circumstances will-admit: and that, fee states so formed shall be republican states and- admitted members of fee federal union,- having fee same- rights of sovereignty-, freedom,, únd- .independence, aS the other states.'' And fee delegates, conclude the deed thus: "Now know ye,feat we, the said- Thomas Jefferson,. Samuel Hardy, Arthur'Lee, and James. Mónroéy by virtue of the power and authority committed to us-by the act of the said general assetnbly of Virginia before recited, and in the name and for and on behalf of the said commonwealth^ do by these presents convey, transfer, assign, and make dver unto the United States' in. Congress assembled, for the benefit of said states, Virginia inclusive, all -right, title, and claim,, as well of soil as-of jurisdiction, which the said •commonwealth-hath! to the territory or tract of -country within the limits-of the Virginia charter, situate, lying, and being to the northwest of the river- Ohio, to and for the. uses and purposes, and on the conditions of the said recited act," '
And in the deed of .cession by Georgia it is' expressly stipulated, "That the territory-thus ceded shall form,a state and be admitted as such into the union ás soon as it shall-contain sixty thousand free inhabitants, or-at an earlier period if- Congress shall think it'expedient, on the same-conditions and restrictions, with the same privileges, and in the same manner,, as is provided in the ordinance of Congress of the 13th day of July, 1787, for the .government of the . north-western territory of the United States, which ordinance shall in all its parts extend to the territory contained in the present act of cession, that article only excepted which forbids slavery.'' The manner ,in-which the new states , were to be admitted into the union, according to the ordinance of .1787, .as expressed therein, is as follows: " And'whenever any of thé.said states shall have-sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, such state shall be admitted, by its delegates into the Congress of the United States, on an equal footing'with the original states in all respects' whatever." Thus it appears that the stipulations; trusts, and conditions, are substantially the samé, in- both'of these deeds of cession, ; and the acts of Congress, and of the state legislatures in relation theretoj-are founded, in the same reasons of policy and interest, with this exception, however — the cession made"by Virginia was before'the adoption of. the Constitution of the United States, and that of Georgia, afterwards. Taking the' legislative acts of"the United States, and the states of Virginia and Georgia, and. their deeds of cession to the United . States, and giving to each, separately, and to all .jointly, a fair interpretation, we must come to the conclusion that it was. the intention of the .parties to invest the United States with the eminent domain of the Country ceded, both national -and municipal, for the purposes-of temporary government, and to hold it in -trust for the performance of the stipulations and condition's expressed in the deeds of cession and, the legislative acts connected with them. To a correct understanding-of the rights, powers; and duties of the par.ties-tó, these' contracts, it is necessary to enter into a more minute examination of the- rights of eminent -domain, and the right to the public lands. When the Unite'd States accepted the cession of the territory, they took -upon themselves the trust to hold the municipal eminent domain for the new states, and to invest them with it, to the same extent, in all respects, that it was held by the states ceding the territories.
The right which belongs to the society, or to the sovereign, of disposing, in case of necessity, and for. the public safety, of all the wealth contained in the state, is called the eminent domain. It is evident that this right is, in certain cases, necessary to him who governs, and is, consequently, a part of the empire, .or sovereign power. Vat. Law.of Nations, section 244.. This definition shows, that the eminent domain, although a sovereign power, does not include all sovereign power, and this explains the sense in which it is used in this opinion. The compact made between the United States and the státe of Georgia,.was sanctioned by the Constitution of the United States; by the 3d section of the 4th article of which it is declared, that "New states, may be admitted by the Congress into this union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of ary other state, nor. any state be formed by the junction of two or more states or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned, as wéll as of Congress."
When Alabama was admitted into the union, bn an equal footing with the original states, she succeeded to all the rights of sovereignty, jurisdiction, and eminent domain which Georgia possessed at the date of the cession, except so far as this right was diminished by the public lands remaining in the possession and under the control of the United States, for the temporary purposes provided for in the deed of cession and.the legislative acts connected with it-. Nothing remained to the United States, according to the terms of the agreement, but the public lands. And, if an express stipulation had been inserted in the agreement, granting the municipal right of sovereignty and eminent domain to the United States, such stipula-. tion would have been void and inoperative; because the United States have no constitutional capacity to exercise municipal jurisdiction, sovereignty, or eminent domain, within the limits of a state or elsewhere, ex;cept in the cases in which it is expressly granted.
• By the 16th clause of the 8th section of the 1st article of the Constitution; power is given.to Congress "to exercise exclusive legislation-in all cases- whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over.all'places purchased, by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same may be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards,, and other needful buildings." Within the District of Columbia, and the other places purchased ánd used for the purposes above mentioned, the national and municipal powers of government, of. every description, are united in the government of the union. And these are the only cases, within the United States, in which all the powers .of, government are united in a single government, except in the cases already mentioned of the temporary territorial governments, and there a local government exists. The right of Alabama and every other new state to exercise all the powers of government, which belong to and may be exercised' by the original states of the union, must "be admitted, and remain unquestioned, except so far as they are, temporarily, deprived of contrpl over the public lands.
'We wül now inquire into the nature and extent of the right of the United States to .these lands, and-whether that right can in any manner affect or control the decision of the cáse before us. This right originated in voluntary surrenders, made by -seyeral of the old states, of their waste and unappropriated lands, to'the United States, under a resolution of the old Congress, of the 6th of September, 1780, re- . commending such surrender and cession, to aid in paying the public debt, incurred by the-war of the Revolution. The object of all the parties, to these contracts of cession, was to convert the land into, money for the payment of the debt, and to erect new states over the' territory thus ceded; and as soon as these purposes could be.accomplished,the power of the United States over these lands, as property, was to cease.
Whenever the United States.shall have fully executed these trusts, 1he municipal sovereignty of the new states will be complete, throughout their respective borders, and they, and the original states, will be upon an equal- footing, in all respects whatever. We, therefore, think the United States hold the public lands within the new states by force of the deeds of cession, and the statutes connected with them, and not by any municipal sovereignty which it may be supposed they possess, or have reserved by compact with the new states, for that- particular purpose. The provision of the Constitution above referred to shows that no such power can be exercised by the United States within a state. Such a power is not only repugnant to the Constitution, but it is inconsistent with the spirit and intention of' the deeds of cession. The argument so much relied on by the counsel for the plaintiffs, that the agreement.of the people inhabiting the new states, "that they for ever-disclaim all right and title to the waste or unappropriated lands lying within.'the said territory; and that the same shall be and remain at thewsole and entire.disposition of the United States," cannot operate as a contract between-the parties, but is binding.as a law. Full power is given.to Congress "to make all' needful-rules' and regulations respecting the territory or other property of the United States." This authorized the passage of all laws necessary, to. secure-the rights of the United States to the' public lands, and to provide for their sale, and to protect them from taxation.
And alLconstitutional laws are binding on the-people, in the new states and the old ones, whether they consent to be bound by them •or not. /Every constitutional act of Congress is passed by the will' of the people of the United States,; éxpressed through-their repr.e- sentatives, on the subject-matter of the enactment; and when so passed it becomes the supreme law of the land', and operates by its own force on the subject-matter, ip whatever state or territory it may. happen to be. The proposition, therefore, that such a law cannot operate upon the subject-matter of its enactment, without the express consent of the .people of the new state where it may happen to be, contains its own refutation, and requires no farther examination. The propositions submitted to the people of the Alabama territory, . for their acceptance or rejection, by the act of CongresSvauthorizing them to form a constitution and state government for themselves, so far as they related to the public lands'within that territory, amounted to nothing-more nor less than rules and regulations respecting .the ., sales and disposition of. the public lands. The supposed compact relied on by the counsel for the plaintiffs, conferred no authority, therefore, on Congress to pass the act granting to the plaintiffs the land in controversy.
And this brings us to the. examination of the question, whether Alabama-is entitled to the shores of the navigable waters, and the soils under them, within her limits. The principal argument relied on against this right, is, that the United States acquired the land in controversy from the King of Spain. Although there was no direct reference to any particular treaty, we presume the treaty of the 22d of February, 1819, signed at Washington, was the one relied on, and shall so consider the argument. It was insisted that the United States had, under the treaty, succeeded to all the rights .and powers' of the King_of Spain; and as by .the laws and usages of Spain, the king had the right to grant to a subject the soil under navigable, waters, that, therefore, the United States had the right to grant the land in controversy, and thereby the plaintiffs-acquired a complete title.
If it were true that thfe United States acquired the whole of Alabama from Spain, no such consequences would result as those contended for. If cannot be admitted that the King of Spain could, by ' treaty or otherwise, impart to the United States any of his royal prerogatives; .and.much less can it be admitted that they have capacity to receive or power to exercise them. Every nation acquiring territory, by treaty or .otherwise, must hold it subject to the constitution and laws of its own government, an dm ó t according to thoseof the government, ceding it;. Vat. Law of Nations, b. 1, c. 19, s. 210, 244,245, and b. 2, c. 7, s. 80.
The United States have hfever claimed any part of the territory included in the states of Mississippi or Alabama, under any treaty with Spain, although she claimed at different periods a considerable portion of the territory in both of those states. By the treaty between the United States and Spain, signed at San Lorenzo el, Real, bn the 27th of October, 1795, " The high contracting parties declare and agree, that the line between the United States and East, and West rlorida,. shall be designated by a line, beginning on the river Mississippi, at the northernmost part of the thirty-first degree of north latitude, which from thence shall be drawn due east to the middle of the Chatahouchee river," &c. This treaty declares and agrees, that the line which was described in'the treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States, as their southern boundary, shall be the line which divides their territory'from East and West Florida.' The article does not import to be a cession of territory, but the adjustment of a controversy between the two nations. It is understood as an admission that the right was originally in the United States. .,
Had Spain considered herself as ceding territory, she could not have neglected to stipulate for the property of the inhabitants, a stipulation w'hich every sentiment of justice and of national honour would have demanded, and which the United States would not have refused. But, instead of requiring an article- to this effect,* she expressly stipulated to withdraw the settlements then within what the treaty admits to be the territory of the United States, and for perithission to the settlers to take their property with them. " We think this an unequivocal acknowledgment that the occupation of the territory by Spain was wrongful, and we think the opinion thus clearly indicated was supported by the state of facts. It follows,_ that Spanish grants made after the treaty of peace can have no intrinsic validity." Henderson v. Poindexter, 12 Wheat. 535.
Previous to the cession made by Georgia, the United States, by the act- of Congress of the 7th of April, 1798, had established the Mississippi territory including the territory west of the Chatahouchee river, to the Mississippi river, above the 31 sl^ degree of north latitude, and below the Yazous river, subject to thexclaim of Georgia to any portion of the territory. And the territory thus erected was subjected to the ordinance of the 13th of July, 1787, for its government, that part of. it excepted which prohibited slavery: 1 Story's Laws, 494. And by the act of the 1st of March, 1817, having first •obtained consent of Georgia to make two states instead of one within the ceded territory, Congress authorized the inhabitants of the western part of the Mississippi territory to form for themselves a constitution and state government, "to consist of all the territory included within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning on the river Mississippi at the point where, the southern boundary line, of the state of Tennessee strikes the samé; thence, east along the said boundary line to the Tennessee river; thence up the same to the mouth' of Bear creek; thence by a direct line, to the north-west qomerof Washington county; thence due south to the-Gulf of. Mexico; thence westwardly, including all.the islands within six léagues- of the shore,- to. the junction of Pearl river with Lake Borgne; thence up said river to the thirty-first degree of north latitude ; thence west along said degree of latitude to the Mississippi river; thence up the same to the beginning." 3 Story's Laws, 1620. Aiid on the 3d of March, 1817, Congress passed an act declaring, "That all that part of the Mississippi territory which lies within- the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the point where the line of the thirty~first degree of north latitude intersects the Perdidt river; thence east to the western boundary line of the state of Georgia thence along said line to the southern boundary line of the state of Tennessee; thence west, along said boundary line, to the Tennessee river; thence up the sam~e to the mouth of Bear creek; thence by a direct line to the north-west corner of Wash- ington county; thence due south to the Gulf of Mexico; thence eastwardly, including all the, islands within six leagues of~the shore to the Perdido' river; thence up the same to the beginning; shall, for the purposes `of ~emporary government, constitute a separate ter- ritory. and be called Alabamn.
Alabamn. And by the 2d section of the same act it is enacted, "That all offices which exist, ai~d all laws which may be in force when this act shall go into effect, shall continue to exist and be in force until otherwise provided by law." 3 Story's Laws, 1634, 1635. And by the 2d article of the compact contained in the ordinance of 1787, which was then in force ~n the Mississippi territory, among other things, it was provided, that "The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury, and of judicial proceedings according to the course of the common law. And by tl~e. proviso to the 5th sec- ~ion of the act of the 2d of March, 1819, authorizing the people of the Alabama territory to form a constitution and state government, it is enacted, "That the constitution, when formed, shall be republi- can, and not repugnant to the ordinance of the 13th of July, 1787, between the states and the people of the territory north-west of ;the Ohio river, so far as the same has been extended to the said tetri- tory [of Alabama] by the articles of ~greemeat between the United States and the state of Georgia; By these successive acts on part of the United. States, the common law . has been extended to all the territory within the limits of the state of Alabama, and therefore excluded all other law, Spanish or
It was. It was after tbe date o(the treaty of the 22d of February, 1819 bet-ween the United States and Spain, but before its ratification, th people of the Alabailla territory were authorized to form a tution; and the state was admitted into the. union, according to below established when the country was erected into a territo rial government. But the United States have never admitted thai they derived title from the Spanish government to any portion of the territory included within the limits of Alabama. Whatevei claim Spain maThave asserted to the territory above the thirt~firsI degree of north latitude plior to the treaty of the 27th of October 1795 was abandoned by that freaty as has been already- shown. We will now inquire whether she had any right to -territory below the thirty-first degree of north latitude, after the treaty between France and the United States, signed at Paris on the 30th of April, 1803, by which Louisiana was ceded to the United States. The legislative and executive departments of the government have constantly asserted the'right of the-United States to this portion of the territory under 'the .1st article of this treaty; and sa series of measures intended to maintain the right have been, adopted. Mobile was taken possession of, and erected into a collection district, by act of the 24th of February, T804, chap. 13, (2 Story's Laws, 914.) In the year 1810, the President issued his proclamation, directing the governor of the'Orleans territory tq take possession of the .country, as far as the Perdido,.and hold it for the United States. In April, 1812, Congress passed an act'to enlarge the limits of Louisiana. .This act includes -part; of the country claimed by Spain, as West Florida. And in February, 1813, the President wasauthoriaed to occupy and hold all,that tract of .country called West Flofidaj which lies west of the river Perdido, not then in the possession-of. the United States. And these meásures having been followed' by the erection of Mississippi-territory into a state, and the erection of Alabama into a territory, and afterwards into a state, in the year 1819, and extending them both over this territory: could it be doubted that these measures. were • intended as an assertion of the' title of the United States to this country?'
In the case of Foster and Elam v. Neilson, 2 Peters, 253, the right of the United States to . this country underwént a very able and thorough investigation. Arid Chief Justice Marshall-, in delivering' the opinion of the court, said; " After these acts of sovereign power over the territory in dispute, asserting the American construction ' of the treaty, by which the government elaims it, to maintain the opposite construction in its own courts would certainly.be an anomaly in the history and practice of nations. If those departments, which are intrusted with the foreign intercourse of-the-nation, which assert and maintain its interests against foreign powers, have unequivocally asserted its rights of dominion over a country of which it is in possession,, and which it claims under a treaty; if the legislature has acted on the construction thus asserted, it is riot in its own courts that this constriction is to be denied.". The chief justice then discusses.the validity of the grant made by the Spanish government, after the ratification of the treaty between-the United States and France, and it is finally rejected on the ground-that the country , belonged to the United States, and riot to Spain, when the grant • was made. The same doctrine was maintained by this court in the case of Garcia v. Lee, 12 Peters, 511. These cases establish, b'eyqnd controversy, the right of the United States to the whole of this territory, under the treaty with. France.
- Alabama is, therefore, entitled to the sovereignty and jurisdiction. Over all the territory within her limits, subject to the common law, to the same extent that Georgia possessed it before she ceded it to the United States. To maintain any other doctrine, is to deny that Alabama has been admitted into the union on an equal footing, with the original states, the constitution, laws', and compact, to the contrary notwithstanding. But her rights of sovereignty and jurisdiction ai'e not governed by the common law of England as it pre-. vailed in the colonies before the Revolution, but as modified by our own institutions. In the case of Martin and others v. Waddell, 16 Peters, 410, the present chief justice, .in delivering the opinion of'the court, said: "When the Revolution took place, the people' of each state became themselves sovereign; and imthat character .hold the absolute right to all their navigable waters, and the soils, under them for their own compaon use, subject only to the rights since surrendered by the. Constitution.",, Then to Alabama belong the navigable waters, and soils under thém, in controversy iji this case, subject to'the rights surrendered by the Constitution to the United States; and no compact that might be made between her • and the United States could diminish or enlarge these rights.
The declaration, therefore,- contained in the compact éntered into between them when Alabama was admitted into the union, " that all navigable waters within the said state shall for ever remain public highways, free to the.citizens of said state, and of the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll therefor, imposed by the said state," would be void if inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States.. But is this provision repugnant to the Constitution ? By the 8th section of the 1st article of -the Constitution," power is granted to Congress " to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states." If, in the exercise of this power, Congress can impose the same restrictions upon the original states,, in relation to their navigable waters, as are imposed, by this article of the compact, on the state ofj, Alabama, then this article is a mere regulation of commerce among the several states, according to the Constitution, and, therefore, as binding on the other states as Alabama.
In the case of Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 196, after examining the preliminary questions respecting the regulation of commerce with foreign nations, and among the states, as connected with the subject-matter there in controversy, Chief Justice Marshall said: " We are now arrived at the inquiry: What is this power ?
"It is the power to regulate, that is, to prescribe the- rule by-which commerce is to be governed. This power, like all others vested in Congress, is complete in itself, may be exercised to its utmost extent, and acknowledges no limitations other than are prescribed in "the Constitution. These are expressed in plain terms, and- do not affect the questions which arise in this case. If, as has been always understood, the sovereignty of Congress, though limited to specified objects, is plenary as to those objects, the power over commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, is vested'in Congress as absolutely as it would be in a single government having in its constitution the same restrictions on the exercise of the power as are found in the Constitution of the United State.s." As the provision of what is called the Gompact between the United States and the state of Alabama does not, by the above reasoning, exceed the power thereby conceded to Congress over the original states on the same subject, no power or right was, by the compact, intended to be reserved by the United States, nor to be granted to them by Alabama.
This supposed compact is, therefore, nothing more than a regulation of commerce, to that extent, among the several states, and can have no controlling influence in the decision of the case before us. This right of- eminent domain over the shores and the soils • under the navigable waters, for all municipal purposes, belongs ex- • clusively to the states within their respective territorial jurisdictions,' andjfhey, and they only, have the constitutional power to exercise it. To give to the United States the right to transfer to a -citizen the title to the shores and the soils under the navigable waters, would be placing in théir hands a weapon which might be wielded greatly to the injury of state sovereignty, and deprive the states of the power .'to exercise a numerous and important class of police po.wers. But in the hands of the stales this power can never be used so as to affect the exercise of any national right of eminent domain or jurisdiction with which the United States have been invested by the Constitution. For, although the territorial limits of Alabama have extended all her sovereign power into the sea, it is there, as on the ' shore, but municipal power, subject to the Constitution of the United States, " and the laws which -shall be made in pursuance thereof."
By the preceding course of reasoning we have arrived at these general conclusions: First, The shores of navigable waters, and the soils' under them, Were not granted by the Constitution to the United States, but were reserved to the states- respectively. Secondly, The new states have the same rights, sovereignty, and jurisdiction .over this1 subject as the original states. Thirdly, The right of the United States- to the public lands, and the power of Congress to make all needful rules-and-regulations for the. sale, and disposition thereof, conferred no power to grant to the plaintiffs the land in controversy in this case. The judgment of the.Supreme Court of the state of Alabama is, therefore, affirmed.