Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 3.djvu/752



Augustine, in East Florida, under the rules, regulations, and conditions, hereinafter prescribed.

. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of said commissioners to appoint a suitable and well qualified secretary, who place; and then in order that he may not receive any prejudice from the expensive expenditures which he is preparing, he will have the facility of using the pines and other trees comprehended in the square of five miles, or the equivalent thereof, which five miles are granted to him in the mentioned place, the avails of which he will enjoy without any defalcation whatever.” By the Court—The judge of the superior court construed this concession to be a grant of land, and we concur with him. United States v. Richard, 8 Peters, 470. A grant of land in East Florida was made by the governor, before the cession of Florida by Spain to the United States, on conditions which were not performed by the grantee within the time limited in the grant; or any exertions made by him to perform them. No sufficient cause for the non-performance of the conditions having been shown, the decree of the Supreme Court of East Florida, which confirmed the grant, was reversed. United States v. Mills’ Heirs, 12 Peters, 215. A grant for land in Florida by governor Coppinger, on condition that the grantee build a mill, within a period fixed in the grant, was declared to be void; the grantee not having performed the condition, or shown sufficient cause for its non-performance. United States v. Kingsley, 12 Peters, 476. Under the Florida treaty, grants of land made before the 24th January, 1818, by his Catholic majesty, or by his lawful authorities, stand ratified and confirmed to the same extend that the same grants would be valid if Florida had remained under the dominion of Spain; and the owners of conditional grants who have been prevented from fulfilling all the conditions of their grants, have time by the treaty extended to them to complete such conditions. That time as was declared by the Supreme Court in Arredondo’s case, 6 Peters, 691, began to run in regard to individual rights, from the ratification of the treaty; and the treaty declares, if the conditions are not complied with, within the terms limited in the grant, that the grants shall be null and void. Ibid. A grant by governor Coppinger of fourteen thousand five hundred acres of land, in East Florida, part of thirty thousand acres granted in consideration of services to the crown of Spain, and the officers of Spain, which had been surveyed by the appointed officer, confirmed. United States v. Levy, 12 Peters, 218. The court refused to allow a survey of land to be made to make up for a deficiency in the survey of fourteen thousand five hundred acres, in consequence of part of the land included therein being covered with water, and being marshes. Even if a survey had not been made under the concession, it would not be competent for the superior court of East Florida, or for the Supreme Court, to designate a new location varying from the original concession, as any such variation would be equivalent to a new grant. Ibid. A concession was made by the governor of Florida, before the cession of Florida to the United States, on condition that the grantee should erect a water saw-mill, “and with the precise condition, that until he executes the said machinery, the grant to be considered void, and without effect, until that event takes place.” The mill was never erected, and no sufficient reason shown for its non-erection. The court held that the concession gave no title to the land. United States v. Drummond, 13 Peters, 84. A grant of land in East Florida, by the Spanish governor, on the condition that a water saw-mill should be erected on the land, declared void; the condition of the grant not having been performed according to the terms of the grant. United States v. Burgevin, 13 Peters, 85. A grant by governor Coppinger of fourteen thousand five hundred acres of land, in East Florida, part of the thirty thousand acres, granted in consideration of services to the crown of Spain and the officers of Spain, which had been surveyed by the appointed officer, confirmed. The United States v. Moses E. Levy, 13 Peters, 81. The court refused to allow a survey of land to be made, to make up for a deficiency in the survey of fourteen thousand five hundred acres, in consequence of part of the land included therein being covered with water, and being marshes. Even if a survey had not been made under the concession, it would not be competent for the superior court of East Florida, or for the Supreme Court, to designate a new location varying from the original concession, as any such variation would be equivalent to a new grant. Ibid. A grant of land by Estrada, the governor of East Florida, was made on the 1st of August, 1815, to Elizabeth Wiggins, on a petition, stating, that “owing to the diminution of trade, she will have to devote herself to the pursuits of the country.” The grant was made for the quantity of land apportioned by the regulations of East Florida to the number of the family of the grantee. It was regularly surveyed by the surveyor general, according to the petition and grant. No settlement or improvement was ever made by the grantee, or by any one acting for her, on the property. In 1831, Elizabeth Wiggins presented a petition to the superior court of East Florida, praying for a confirmation of the grant; and in July, 1838, the court gave a decree in favour of the claimant. On appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, the decree of the superior court of East Florida was reversed. The court held, that by the regulations established on the 25th November, 1818, by governor Coppinger, the grant had become void, because of the non-improvement, and the neglect to settle the land granted. The United States v. Elizabeth Wiggins, 14 Peters, 334. The existence of a foreign law, especially unwritten, is a fact to be proved like any other fact, by appropriate evidence. Ibid. A copy of the decree by the governor of East Florida, granting land to a petitioner while Spain had possession of the territory, certified by the secretary of the government to have been faithfully made from the original in the secretary’s office, is evidence in the courts of the United States. By the laws of Spain, prevailing in the province at that time, the secretary was the proper officer to give copies; and the law trusted him for this particular purpose, so far as he acted under its authority. The original was confined to the public office. Ibid.