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United States, Appellants v. Juan Percheman, Appellee, The 51 (1833)

handle is hein.slavery/ussccases0126 and id is 1 raw text is: JANUARY TERM 1833. 51 THE UNITED STATES, APPELLANTS V. JUAN PERCHEMAN, AP- PELLEE. Juan Percheman claimed two thousand acres of land lying in the territory of Florida, by virtue of a grant fromthe Spanish governor, madem 1815. His title consisted of a petition presented by himself to the governor of East Florida, praying for a grant of two thousand acres, at a designated place, in pursuance of the royal order of the 29th of March 1815, grant- ing lands to the mlitary who were in St Augustine during the invasion of 1812 and 1813, a decree by the governor, made 12th December 1815, in conformity to the petition, in absolute property, under the authority of the royal order, a certified copy of which decree and of the petition was directed to be ispuedto him fromthe secretary's office, in order that it may be to him m all events an equivalent of a title in form a petition to the governor, dated 31st December 1815, for an order of survey, and a certificate of a survey having been made on the 20th of August 1819 in obedience to the same. This claim was presented, according to law, to the register and receiver of East Florida, while acting as a board of commissioners to aseertain claims and titles to lands in East Florida. The claim was rejected by the board and the following entry made of the same. -In the memorial of the claimant to this board, he speaks of a survey made by authority in 1829. If this had been produced it would have furnished some support for the certificate of Aguilar. As it is, we reject the claim. Held: that this was not a final action on the claim in the sense (hose words are used in the act of the 26th of May 1830, en- titled an act supplementary to, &c. Evdn in cases of conquest, it is very unusual for the conqueror to do more than to displace the sovereign and assume dominion over the country. The modern usage of nations, which has become law, would be violated; that sense of justice and of right, which is acknowledged and felt by the whole civilized world, would be outraged; if private property should be generally confiscated, and private rights annulled on a change in the sovereignty of the country. The people change their allegiance, their relation to their ancient sovereign is dissolVed, but their relations to each other, and their rights of property remain undisturbed. Had Florida changed its sovereign by an act containing no stipulation re- specting the property of individuals, the right of property in all those who became subjects or clitizens of the new government would have been unaffected by the change. It would have remained the same as under the ancient sovereign. The language of the second article of the treaty between the United States and Spain, of 22d February 1819, by which Florida was ceded to the United States', conforms to this general principle. The eighth-article of the treaty must be intended to stipulate expressly for

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