“SAMUEL WARE.
February 18,1876.–Committed to a Committee of the Whole House and ordered
to be printed.
Mr. POWELL, from the Committee on Private Land-Claims, submitted
the following
REPORT:
[To accompany bill H.R. 97.]
The Committee on private-lands claims, having under consideration the bill (H.R. 97) directing the Commissioner of the General Land-Office to issue certificate or relocation for six hundred and forty acres of land in the Territory of Missouri, to Samuel Ware, or his legal representatives, respectfully report:
That they find the following facts substantiating the statements set forth in the preamble to said bill, viz:
That the original claim was entered as No. 438 for six hundred and sixty arpents, and was confirmed by act of Congress the 29th of April, A.D. 1816; that said lands having been injured by earthquakes, the said Samuel Ware, availing himself of what was commonly called the earthquake-act, which provided that ‘persons owning lands in the county of New Madrid, in the Missouri Territory.’ and ‘whose lands had been materially injured by earthquakes, are authorized to locate a like quantity of land on any of the public lands of said Territory, the sale of which is authorized by law,’ did relinquish his claim to the land confirmed as No. 438, and on the 6th day of August, 1816, to satisfy his claim, a certificate of location was issued to him, and was located upon a portion of Wolf Island, in the Mississippi River, upon the supposition that said island was in the State of Missouri.
By a decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, at its December term, 1870, in the case of Missouri vs. Kentucky, it was decided that the State of Missouri had no just claim to Wolf Island, consequently the location of said certificate on Wolf Island was not authorized by law, said island being outside the Missouri Territory.
The law of Congress, approved April 26, 1822, expressly provides ‘that all such warrants shall be located within one year after the passage of this act, in default whereof the same shall be null and void,’ and he General Land-Office having no power to authorize the relocation of said certificate, nor issue a new one in its stead, the legal representatives of Samuel Ware have no relief except such as may be granted by Congress.
Your committee, therefore, respectfully report back said bill, and recommended its passage with folllowing amendment: Strike out in the fifth line the words, ‘said Samuel Ware or his legal representatives.’ and insert the words, ‘the legal representatives of Samuel Ware.’ ”
Reference Data:
Congressional Serial Set, by US Government, 1876, page 105
