From this report it will be seen that this grant was acted upon by the
surveyor-general of New Mexico, under the provisions of the act of July
22, 1854 (10 Statutes, page 308), and that his recommendation in
relation thereto was transmitted to Congress December 11,1880, where the
matter is yet pending, awaiting the action of that body. “While thus
pending, it would be,” says Mr. Vilas, “improper for this Department
(Interior), if it had the power, to take action in relation to the same
by ordering a survey as requested.” He also remarks in regard to the
report of Surveyor-General Julian, complained of, that it was a
communication from an official of his Department in relation to the
validity and extent of said grant, which it was entirely proper to
transmit to Congress for its information.
[Inclosure.]
Mr. Stockslager
to Mr. Vilas.
Department of the Interior,
Washington, D. C., March 15, 1888.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt, by departmental reference, of letter from the Department of
State, dated December 17, 1887, covering a copy of a note from the
Mexican minister resident, and also the petition of a Mr. J. Escobar
y Armendariz, a Mexican citizen, in relation to his title to a
private land claim in New Mexico, known as the “Santa Teresa”
grant.
These papers are also accompanied by the brief of Hon. J. W. Foster,
of this city, bearing upon the title of said J. Escobar y Armendariz
to said grant, and you direct this office to “report in duplicate
and return papers.”
The facts in the case are, generally, as set forth in the copy of
petition referred to, as well as in the accompanying brief of Mr.
Foster, and may be epitomized as follows (so far as they are
authenticated by the transcript and the report of the
surveyor-general of New Mexico, dated December 11, 1878), viz:
The grant is claimed to have been made to one Francisco Garcia, prior
to the year 1790, by the Spanish authorities of what was then New
Biscay, and now the State of Chihuahua.
The original muniments of title are alleged to have been lost or
destroyed during
[Page 1295]
the
occupation of El Paso del Norte by the United States troops in 1846.
The land claim is situate on the west bank of the Rio Grande del
Norte, in the county of Doña Ana, New Mexico, and in that portion
thereof embraced by the Gadsden purchase.
By the sixth article of the treaty with Mexico, dated December 30,
1853, and which included the Gadsden purchase, it was provided
that—
“No grants of land within the territory ceded by the first article of
this treaty hearing date subsequent to the day—25th of
September—when the minister and subscriber to this treaty on the
part of the United States proposed to the Government of Mexico to
terminate the question of boundary will be considered valid or be
recognized by the United States, or will any grants made previously
be respected or be considered as obligatory which have not been
located and duly recorded in the archives of Mexico.”
Nearly nine months prior to this limitation in the treaty the grant
claimants made application to the judicial authorities at El Paso
del Norte for perpetuation of title. The application and proof
submitted seem to have been in accordance with the laws and customs
of the State of Chihuahua, in whose jurisdiction the claim in
question was situate.
In pursuance of this application and upon the evidence of several
witnesses showing the previous existence of the grant to the tract
claimed, the loss of the title papers during the American occupation
of El Paso del Norte in 1846, and the occupancy of the land by the
grantee and his heirs from time immemorial, the second civil justice
of the cantonment of Bravos, Bentura Lopez, rendered a decree
declaring the property to belong to José Maria Garcia and his
co-heirs under and by virtue of the grant to Francisco Garcia, their
father.
It also appears that this same jurisdiction, on the 16th of January,
1853, went in person upon the claim, and in the presence of
witnesses as to the old boundaries and monuments proceeded to
relocate the grant and place claimants in possession by certain
legal formalities.
The transcript of these proceedings was presented to the
surveyor-general as the basis of the claim. It was duly
authenticated as required by the laws of the United States relative
to documents offered in evidence in the United States courts from
foreign countries; and other corroborative evidence of the
genuineness of the grant being on file in his office, he proceeded
to rule as follows:
“The evidence of occupation of the tract by Francisco Garcia, and
after his death by his widow and heirs for a continuous period from
prior to, or about, the year 1790 until recently, raises a strong
presumption in favor of the validity of the grant, independent of
the documentary evidence referred to, and it is believed to be a
good and valid grant. The claim is therefore approved to the heirs
and legal representatives of Francisco Garcia and their assignees,
according to the boundaries as herein set forth, and as described in
the resurvey or act of possession of January 16, 1853, executed at
El Paso del Norte by Bentura Lopez, second justice and of first
instance of the cantonment of Bravos.”
The papers, in duplicate, were forwarded to your Department for
transmission to Congress on the 7th of December, 1880, and, as will
appear from your records, were transmitted to Congress December 11,
1880, where the case is still pending, awaiting the action provided
for in eighth section of the act of July 22, 1854, U. S. Statutes,
v. 10, p. 309.
It appears from the records of this office that on the 3d of
December, 1885, Hon. George W. Julian, then and at present United
States surveyor-general of New Mexico, addressed a personal note to
Hon. William A. J. Sparks, former Commissioner, desiring to know
what policy he should pursue in respect to the examination of
private land claims which had been reported by his predecessors. On
the 11th of December, 1885, Mr. Sparks replied:
“In my annual report I have recommended that all claims heretofore
transmitted to Congress pro forma, through
this office, be remanded for re-examination. Should any cases
reported upon by your predecessors be brought to your attention, in
which it appears that an investigation is desirable in the public
interest, I know of no objection to your making snch investigation,
but, on the contrary, think it ought to be made for the information
of this office and Congress.
“Any supplemental reports sent up by you will be transmitted to
Congress for consideration.”
Accordingly on the 16th of October, 1886, Surveyor-General Julian
made a supplemental report on the grant under consideration, and
after stating the facts substantially as already submitted, and
quoting the sixth article of the Gadsden treaty of December 30,
1853, supra, reported as follows:
“According to this language, as I understand it, no grant of land
comprised within the territory covered by this treaty can be
recognized by the United States as valid, whether the date of the
grant be prior or subsequent to the time specified, unless the grant
shall have been duly recorded in the archives of Mexico. As there is
no proof that this was done I can not recommend the approval of this
claim by Congress, nor
[Page 1296]
could I do so if the grant had been produced and shown to be
genuine, because the record of it in the archives of Mexico is made
an indispensable condition of title. Neither can I recommend the
recognition of an equitable claim. In my opinion, it could not be
founded on a grant which is made invalid by a treaty between the
United States and Mexico. Congress is precluded by this treaty from
respecting the grant or considering it obligatory, and the equity
which the case would otherwise have presented is lost.”
This report was forwarded to the Department, with the concurrence of
Commissioner Sparks, for submission to Congress, on the 4th of May,
1887.
It appears that the petitioner is a claimant of the aforesaid grant
by purchase from the legal representatives of the original grantee,
and he prays you for a report to the following effect, in brief:
- First. That the documentary evidence on file in the
surveyor-general’s office, and before Congress, shows a good
and valid title under the laws, usages, and customs of
Mexico, etc.
- Second. That Congressional action be expedited looking to
the final confirmation of the grant.
- Third. That a resurvey of the grant be made, corrective of
the survey thereof now before Congress.
As regards the first prayer, I deem it sufficient to say in addition
to the foregoing statements that, in my judgment, no further
expression of opinion on the part of the Executive is called for in
advance of any indication by Congress of a desire therefor. As
regards the second, that what it is proper for Congress to do, and
when to do it, is a matter for itself to determine, and I see
nothing remaining to be done by which the Department can expedite
the action of Congress.
As to the third, it might be proper to state that the survey of the
grant now before Congress is merely a preliminary one; and if
Congress should confirm the grant by the boundaries set forth in the
documentary evidence on file in the case, the survey must be made to
conform thereto. In other words, the survey must correspond with the
terms of the confirmatory act, whatever they may be, should Congress
see proper to confirm the grant.
Moreover, there is no appropriation at this time for the survey of
unconfirmed private land claims in New Mexico.
The papers referred are herewith returned.
Very respectfully, etc.,
S. M. Stockslager,
Acting Commissioner.
