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SUPREME COURT.
FLETCHER')
c.v. V JOHNSON, 7,
PECK. j
hi this case, I entertain, tin two
points, an opinion different Trout that
which has been delivered by the
court.
I do not hesitate to declare that a
state does not possess the power of
revoking its own grants. But I do
it on a general principle, on the rea
son and nature of things—a princi
pic which will impose laws even on
the Deity.
A contrary opinion can only be
maintained upon the ground that no 5 , ons
existing legislature can abridge the
powers of those which will succeed
it. To a certain extent this is cer
tainly correct; but the distinction
lies between power and interest, the
tight of jurisdiction and the right of
coil.
The right of jurisdiction is essen
tially connected to, or rather identifi
ed with, the national sovereignty. To
part with it is to commit a species of
political suicide. In fact, a power to
produce its own annihilation is an ab
surdity in terms. It is a power as
Utterly incommunicable to a political
as to a natural person. But it is not
so with the interests or property of a
nation. Its possessions nationally
are in no wise necessary to its politi
cal existence ; they are entirely ac
cidental, and may he parted with in
every respect similarly to those of
the individuals who compose the
community. When the legislature
have once conveyed their interest or
property in any subject to the indi
vidual, they have lost all control o-
verit—have nothing to act upon—it
has passed from them—is vested in
the individual—becomes intimately
blended with his existence, as essen
tially so as the blood that circulates
through his system. The govern
ment may indeed demand of him the
one or the other, not because they
are not his, but because whatever is
his is his country’s.
1 As to the idea, that the grants of a
cgislature may be void because the
legislature are corrupt, it appears to
me to be subject to insuperable diffi
culties. The acts of the sup
power of a country must be consider
ed pure for the same reason that all
sovereign acts must be considered
just—because there is no power that
can declare them otherwise. The
absurdity in this case would have
been strikingly perceived, could the
pai ty who passed the act of cession
continues afterwards to be nothing
more than the evidence that a certain
act was done.
I enter with great hesitation upon
this question, because it involves ;■
sub ject of the greatest delicacy and
much difficulty. The tates and the
United States are continually legis
lating on the subject of contracts,
prescribing the mode of authentica
tion, the time within which suits
shall be prosecuted for them, in ma
ny cases affecting existing contracts
by the laws which they pass, and de
ed after a tec simple. In fact, it tin
Indian nations be the absolute pro
prietors of their soil, no other natioi
can be said to have the same interesi
in it. What then, practically, is the in
terest of the states in the soil of the
Indians within their boundaries ?
Unaffected hv particular treaties, it is
nothing more than what was assumed
at the first settlement of this country,
to wit, a right of conquest or of
purchase, exclusively of all competi
tors within certain defined limits.
All the restrictions upon the right of
daring them to cease or loose theirjsoil in the Indians, amount only to
effect for want of compliance, in the.an exclusion of all competitors from
parties, with such statutory provi-jtheir markets and the limitation upon
sions. All these acts appear to be their sovereignty amounts to the right
within the most correct limits of le- of governing every person within their
gislative powers and most beneficial- limits except themselves. If the in-
For Sale,
A House and half acre Lot
situated on Wayn-
street, near the mar
ket; at prerent occu
pied by Doctor Wil
son.
Alfo, a House and
half acre l ot, joining
For terms apply to Messrs.Hill
and Ponce of Augufta, or to
A. M. Devereux.
Milledgeville, March 20. 81— tf
Sheriff’£ .Sullco.
have got again into power and declar
ed themselves pure, and the interme
diate legislature corrupt.
The security of a. people against
the misconduct of their rulers must
lie in the frequent recurrence to first
principles and the imposition of ade
quate constitutional restrictions. Nomical principles.
ly exercised, and certainly could not
have been intended to be affected by
this constitutional provision ; yet
where to draw the line, or how to de
fine or limit the words, “ obligation
of contracts,” will be found a subject
of extreme difficulty.
To give it the general effect of a
restriction of the state powers in fa
vor of private rights is certainly go
ing very ftfr beyond the obvious and
necessary import of the words, and
would operate to restrict the states in
the exercise of that right which eve
ry community must exercise of pos
sessing itself of the property of the
individual, when necessary for pub
lic uses, a right which a magnani
mous and just government will never
exercise without amply indemnifying
(he individual, and which perhaps a
mounts to nothing more than a pow
er to oblige him to sell and convey,
when the public necessities require
it.
The other point, on which I dis
sent from the opinion of the court, is
relative to the judgment which ought
to he given on the first count. Up
on that count we are called upon
substantially to decide, 44 that the
state of Georgia, at the time of pas
sing the act of cession, were legalh
seized in fee, of the soil (then ceded)
subject only to the extinguishment
of part of the Indian title.” That is,
that the state of Georgia was seized
of an estate in fee simple in the lands
in question, subject to another estate,
we know not what, nor whether it
may not swallow up the whole estate
decided to exist in Georgia. It would
seem that the mere vagueness and un
certainty of this covenant would be
a sufficient objection to deciding in
favor of it, but to me it appears that
the facts in the case are sufficient to
support the opinion that the state of
Georgia had not a fee simple in the
land in question.
This is a question of much delicacy,
and more fitted for a diplomatic or
legislative than ajudicial inquiry.—
But I am called upon to make deci
sion and I must make it upon techni-
tcrest in Georgia was nothing more
than a pre-emptive right, how could
that be called a fee-simple, which
was nothing more than a power to ac
quire a fee-simple by purchase, when
the proprietors should be pleased to
sell ? And if this e% r er was any
thing more than a mere possibility,
it certainly was reduced to that state
when the state of Georgia ceded to
the United States, by the constituti
on, both the power of pre-emption and
of conquest, retaining for itself, only
resulting right dependent on a
purchase or conquest to be made by
the United States.
I have been very unwilling to pro
ceed to the decision of this cause at
all. It appears to me to bear strong
evidence, upon the face of it, of be
ing a mere feigned case. It is our
duty to decide on the rights, but not
on the speculations of parties. My
confidence, however, in the respecta
ble gentlemen who have been enga
ged for the parties has induced me to
abandon my scruples in the belief that
they would never consent to impose
a i^iere feigned case upon this court
EAGLE T WERN.
The Subset i.jci' informs his friends
and the public in general, that he has
purchased the house formerly occu
pied by Major Edwin Mounger,
where he intends to continue his for
mer line of business, and hopes by
due attention and industry to merit
their patronage.
Roger Olmstead.
MUedgevillc, Jan. 9,1810. 11—tf
would it he difficult, with the same
view, for laws to be framed which
would bring the conduct of individu
als under the review of adequate tri
bunals, and make them suffer under
the consequences of their own im
moral conduct.
I have thrown out these ideas, that
I may have it distinctly understood,
that my opinion on this point is not
founded on the provision in the con
stitution of the United States rela
tive to laws impairing the obligation
of contracts. It is much to. be re
gretted that words of less equivocal
signification had not been adopted in
that article of the constitution. There
is reason to believe, from the letters
of Publius, which are well known to
be Entitled to the highest respect,
that the object of the convention was
to afford a general protection to indi
vidual rights against the acts of tlu
state legislatures. Whether tlu
words “ acts impairing the obligati
on of contracts,” can be construed to
have the same forcejas must have been
given to the words, 44 obligation and
effect of contracts,” is the difficult}
in my mind.
There can he no solid objection tc.
‘adopting the technical definition o(
the word, “ contract,” given In
Blnckstone. The etymology, tin
classical signification and the civi.
law idea of the word will nil support
it. But the difficulty arises on th>
w on!, 44 obligation,” which certain!;,
imports an existing moral or physi
cal necessity. Now a grant or con
veyance by no means necessarily in;-
j'lies the continuance of an obligati
on beyond the moment of executii
it. It is, most generally,but the co •
summation of a contract, is functus
firio the moment it is executed, at.c
The question is whether it can be
correctly predicated on the interest or
state which the state of Georgia had
in these lands, 44 that the state was
seized thereof in fee simple.”
To me it appears that the interest
of Georgia in that land amounted to
nothing more than a mere possibility,
and that her conveyance thereof could
operate legally only as a covenant to
convey 6r to stand seized to ft use
The correctness of this opinion
will depend upon a just view of the
state of the Indan nations. This will
be found to be very various. Some
have totally extinguished their nati
onal fire, and submitted thertiselves
to the laws of the States : others have,
by treaty, acknowledged that they
fiold their national existence at the
will of jhe state within which they re
side : others retain a limited sove
reignty and the absolute proprietor
ship of their soil. The latter is the
case of the tribes to the west of Geor
gia. We legislate open the conduct
of strangers or citizens within their
limits, hut innumerable treaties for
med with them acknowledge them to
!>c an independent people, and the
uniform practice of acknowledging
-heir right of soil, by purchasing from
hem and restraining all persons from
encroaching upon their territory
makes it unnecessary to insist upon
heir right of soil. Can, then,onena
ion be said to be seized of a fee
Ample in lands, the right of soil ol
•vhich is in another nation ? It i?
wkward to apply the technical ider
•I a fee-simple to the interests of a na-
mi ; but I must consider an absolut.
glit of soil as an estate to them an
heir heirs A fee-simple estate mat
■* held in reversion, but our law wi
mt admit the idea uf its being linn
Georgia Cincinnati.
AT a meeting of the Cincinnati
Society of Georgia, held at the Ex
change, on the 22d instant.
On motion,
Resolved, That a special meeting
of the Society be held at the Ex
change, in the City of Savannah, on
the 19th day of April next, at which
time the members are requested to
attend, as business of importance will
on that day be laid before the Society.
By order of the President,
Thomas E. Lloyd, Sec’ry.
The several printers in this
state will publish the same, and for
ward their bills for payment.
March 26. 23—3t
100 Dollars Reward.
Strayed or stolen from the plantation of
Capt. Samuel Tinsley, the latter part of laft
month, A ROAN HORSE, eleven years
old, between fourteen and fifteen hands
On the first Tuesday in May next,
WILL BE SOLD, between the
usual hours at Monticello,
One Lot of Land,
No. 101, in the 12th district of for
merly Baldwin, now Randolph coun
ty, levied on as the property of Ro
bert M’Gee, to satisfy an execution
in favor of Fields Pruett, property
pointed out by J. D. Fannin. ALSO,
The Half of Lot
No. 150, in the 13th District of for
merly Baldwin, now Randolph coun
ty, levied on as the property of Ma
thew Gregory, to satisfy sundry ex
ecutions against him. ALSO,
One Negro Girl
named Lucy, levied on as the pro
perty of Joseph Carter, to satisfy
sundry executions against him, pro
perty pointed out by the defendant.
Also, Lot No. 21,
in the 15th District of former
ly Baldwin, now Randolph coun
ty, one Whip-saw, and one Rifle
Gun, levied on as the property of
James Oberry, to satisfy an executi
on in favour of William Goodson.
Also, Lot No. 6,
in the 18th District of former
ly Baldwin, now Randolph coun
ty, levied on as the property of Sher
wood H. Gay, to satisfy an executi
on in favour of Richard Strother,
property pointed out by plaintiff’s
attorney. ALSO,
101 1-4 Acres of Land
being the part of Lot No. 132, in the
17th District of formerly Baldwin
county, now Randolph county, levied
on as the property of Jacob Sansom
and Joseph Carter, to satisfy sundry
executions against them. Levied
on and returned to me by a Consta
ble. ALSO,
One Bay Horse,
levied on as the property of Russel
Jones, to satisfy an execution in fa
vour of Joseph Smith, property point
ed out by the defendant, ALSO,
One Black Mare,
levied on as the property of Samuel
Heard, to satisfy an execution in fa
vour of A. Httson.
Also, Lot No. 173,
in the 18th District of formerly
Baldwin, now Randolph county, le
vied on as the property of Edward
Walthall, to satisfy an execution in
favour of John Hanson. ALSO,
One Lot of Land,
No. 139, in the 17th District of
Baldwin, now Randolph countv, le
vied on as the property of David
Smith, to satisfy an execution in fa
vour of Gabriel Colley, levied on and
returned to me by a Constable, and
pointed out by the plaintiff.
Conditions, CASH.
J. Evans, D. S.
March 27. 22—tds.
Notice.
NINE months after date I flia!l apply to
the honorable the Inferior Court of Wilkin-
fon county, for leave to sell the following
tracts of Lmd, (lying near the mouth of
Little Black Cretk. in the 5th diftrict said
Wilkinson county) vi z Lot, No. 803, No.
■J54, No. CSS. and one half of Lot, No. 234.
Alfo, about ICO acres on Keedv creek,
Warren County, all belonging to the eftate
of JelTt Matthews, deceased, for the bene*
fit of the heirs and creditors. i
JACOB MERCHANT, Adm.^
Warren county, Jan. 15,1810._^ 12—9m
GEORGIA, Laurens County.
W HF.REAS Mary McCaul has applied
to me for letters of administration oa
'he eftate of William McCaul late of this
county, deceased.
Thefe are therefore to cite and admonifh
all and s npilar the kindred and creditor!
of said dec’d, to be, and appear at my (fir-
fice within the time required by law, to
(hew cause if any they can, why said let*
ters (hould not be granted. Given under
my hand the 17th day of March, 1810.
A. Love, C. C. 0.
March 27, 22 --:
GEORGIA, Putnam County.
WHEREAS James Singleton of
said county, has filed information in 1
my office, that John J. Jones of
Clarke county', did fraudulently and
contrary* to law, enter his name in
said county for a draw or draws in
the first land lottery, whereby he
drew lot No. 96 in the third district
of Baldwin county, (formerly) now
lying and being in the county ol Put-*
nain, and whereas it appears front
the sheriff’s return, that the said
John J. Jones is not to be found in
Clarke county ; all persons therefore
having any interest in the land in
question, arc hereby required to be
and appear at a Superior court to be
held in Sc for the county of Putnam,
on the second Monday in Sep
tember next, and make themselves
parties in said suit, to answer the al
legations, and shew cause if any they
have, why the proceedings had un
der such fraudulent returns, or the
grant itself if it be issued, should not
be set aside and made void. Given
under my hand this 17th day of
March, 1810.
Wm. Williams, Clk-
March 27. 22——6m.
I wish to sell low for CASH f
Four Tracts of I^and,
Nov. 149, 4th Diftridt Wilkinson—t"4, 22d
Diftridt Wilkinson—233, 19th Diftrict Wil
kinson— 4, 27th. Diftrict Wilkinson.
S. M. Mordecai.
April 3 23—3t.
Found,
A pair of SADDLE-BAGS. The owner
may have them by applying at this office,
and paying the expense of advertising,
Aprils ■ 23—ot
W anted,
A sober, induftrious Weaver. One who
underftands his bufinefs may receive
the higheft wages in ca(h, and his board—
for particulars, enquire at this Office.
April 10 24—//
The Elegant Horse
high, strong made, with thick mane ■ndlTTTJLL BE SOLD on the firft Tuesday'doUarg to ensure a mare will Ifo with
tail; trots and pares, but goes roughly— VV *" May next, at the Court house inVi * l ra , mar will be witti
u. ».... .u_ .—r........ ” ifoal ; should the property of any
He is branded, but the brands not recollect-Laurent county, "* jloal ; should the property
ed. If strayed, a liberal reward will be gl-Two Horses nnri TVr. rv.1** mare be changed, the insurance
ven on hi. being delivered to the subscriber ^vied on a. the orooTtv , ’ N demanded. If a mare ins
living near the mouth of Little river. And .. , 28 ine P ro P er ‘y °* Francis Holton,! , ,, . , f , ,
if ol„,lb,abo*creward onconvictlonof"*'»£“ «"“<»»» '*«>' of Tbom.. sh ° uld l™™ »', lh
the thief Meuriff. K “ 1 1 —
Isaac Kirksey, Sheriff.
M " rch »• 22-tdl.
Hines Holt.
Baldwin county, March 20. 21—-tf.
.Sale.
BRYAN O’LYNN,
(Imported by Governor Turner in the
Jail of 1803J
WILL STAND the ensuing season
at my stable in Greensborough, at
Twenty Dollars the season, (to com-’
mence the 1st of March and end the
1st of August)—notes for the season
payable the 1st of December, to be
ent with the mares; Thirty-five
Estray Mare.
Came to the Eagle Tavern, Milledgeville,
on the 5th inst. a Sorrel Mare, about fifteen
hands high, 7 or 8 years old, short switch
tail, a star on her forehead, and snip on the
nose. The owner is requested to come
torward pay all cspcncesand take his pro
perty.
Roger Olmstead.
March 13. 20—tf
Holt’s Ferry.
All persons travelling on horse-back,
nay cross at nn Terry for half price.
Thaddeus Holt.
March 13 20—tf
For Sale,
An elegant
Fowling Piece.
Enquire at this office
November 28. 5-—tf.
Notice.
The Subscriber, has appointed
THOMAS FITCH, Esquire, his
agent lor the collection of debts due
him by note ; and HORATIO L.
^ OOS1 ER to settle his unliquida
ted accounts, of which all persons
concerned, are requested to take no
tice.
Charles Williamson.
December 12. 7 , t j
forsaiTe;
vt this office, Fifty Reams
Medium printing paper.
ff good quality Price fc4 50 cts.
«er Ream.
February 20. 17 tf
2?l.mh ©ccOa
ELEGANTLY 1RINTED,
. OR SALE AT THIS OFFICE.
will
insured
mo
ney will be returned. Ten Dollars
the single leap, to be paid down
with liberty to continue the season
by the payment of Ten Dollars
more. Good and extensive pastu
rage gratis, and the greatest care
shall he taken to prevent escapes or
accidents, but I will not be liable for
either. Wheat lots well enclosed
for mares with young colts—servants
sent with marcs boarded gratis. If
requested mares will be fed with
grain at the market price. Where
any one becomes responsible for five
mares, the season will be Sixteen
’ollars each. Fifty cents to the
groom in every case, to be paid
down. (For performances and pe
digree, see bills.)
Benjamin Weaver.
Greensborough, J 13- 2t
Jan. 23 1809. J from 1st March I2t
B R 1 N T I N c7~
OF EVERY DESCRIPTION,
Neatly executed at this Office.