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United States, Appellants, v. Joseph Delespine, Appellee, The U.S. 319 (1841)

handle is hein.slavery/ussccases0334 and id is 1 raw text is: JANUARY TERM, 1841. 318 THE UNITED STATES, APPELLANTS, V. JosEPH DELESPINE, APPELLEE. A grant by the Spanish authorities was made of ninety-two thousand one hundred and sixty acres of land at Now river, in Florida, in 1813, afterwards the grantee de. termined to locate the grant on a river seventy miles south of New river. The grantee proposed erecting mills for sawing timber. No survey was made of land at New river, and the grantee claimed to have- the grant confirmed, and to locate the same, by survey, at the 'place last selected. No mills were erected on the lands claimed, nor was any thing done by him under the grant, for the purpose of using or improving the land claimed to have been granted. Held, that the grant made inr 1813, of land at the mouth of New river, imposed no obligation on the government of Spain, at the date of the Florida treaty, in 1819, to confirm the title claimed by the grantee; and that none rests on the government of United States, as the succes- sor of the government of Spain, to the rights and obligations of Spain. A concession of lands by the Council, at St. Augustine, was not authorized by the laws of Spain, relative to the granting and confirming land titles. When i grant of land is indefinite as to its location, or so uncertain 'as to me plade where the lands granted are intended to be surveyed, as to make it impqssible to make a survey under the term of the grant with certainty, the grant will not be confirmed. The act of Congress of 26th May, 1830, requires, that all claims to lands which have L.ep presented to the Commissioners, or to the Register and Receiver of East Florida, and had not been finally acted upon, should be adjudicated and settled, as pre- scribed by the act of 1828. There was no direct limitation as to the time in which a claim should be presented. When a petition for the confirmation of a claim to lands in Florida, was presented, and wasdefective, and the Court allowed an amended petition to be filed, it would be too strict to say the original petition was not the commencement of the proceeding, but that the amendment allowed by the Superior Court, should be taken as the date when the claim was first preferred. When certain testimonials of title, under a Spanish grant, have been admitted without exception, before the Commissioners of the United States for the adjustment of claims to lands in Florida, and before the Superior Court in Middle Florida, without objection as to the mode and form of their proof; the Supreme Court, on an appeal, will not interfere with the question as to the sufficiency of the proof, or the authen- ticity of the acts relating to the title, which had been admitted by the authorities in Florida, which was the tribunal to judge of the evidence. The case of The United States v. Clarke, 8 Peters, 454, cited. APPEAL from the Superior Court, Southern District of Florida.

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