REPORT Of the Committee on the Public Lands, on the petition of James Hughes, accompanied with a bill for his relief. DECEMBER 16, 1819. Read, and, with the Bill, committed to the committee of the whole house, to-morrow. The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the petition of James Hughes, beg leave to REPORT: That the petitioner sets forth that he purchased two hundred acres of land within about three miles of Kaskaskia, in the then Illinois territory, of a certain John Reynolds, who purchased the same of John Fowler. That the said Fowler was entitled to the same in consequence of his having improved and cultivated the said lands prior to the year 1791. That William H. Harrison, whilst Governor of the Indiana territory, under the authority of an act of Congress of the third of March, 1791, confirmed Reynolds's title to the said two hundred acres; by reason of which confirmation, the petitioner was induced to believe the title good, and purchased. That Governor Harrison, on the 22d November, 1803, issued a patent for said land to the petitioner; and that, since that time, he has made further and more valuable improvements thereon. That the commissioners appointed, in pursuance of an act of Congress of the 20th of February, 1812, to inquire into the validity of titles, confirmed by the Governors of the Northwest and Indiana territories, and report thereon, have, without proof that the patent was fraudulently, or otherwise improperly, obtained, reported his claim as rejected; and that the land has been surveyed and sold by the United States, and he has been under the necessity of purchasing it a second time; and prays relief. It appears to the committee, that, by the act of the 3d of March, 1791, the Governors of the Northwest and Indiana territories were fully authorized and empowered to confirm lands in those territories, that had been actually improved and cultivated, to the persons who had made such improvements, their heirs, or assigns. The petitioner, on the fourth of September, 1804, filed, with Michael Jones, the Register of Land Titles at Kaskaskia, the patent above mentioned for said tract of land, as appears by his receipt, and likewise gave notice, in writing, of the nature and extent of his claim. It is proved, to the satisfaction of the committee, that the petitioner, and those under whom he claims, have been in possession and enjoyment of the said lands ever since the year 1791. From a certificate of Michael Jones, the Register, and one of the Commissioners, it appears that the claim was rejected because it was not supported. The committee cannot conceive how it would be possible to support a claim with much stronger evidence than attends this; upwards of twenty years possession, and a patent issued by competent authority, and regularly filed with the proper officer. It does not appear to the committee that there is any foundation for a belief that the patent was obtained by fraud or collusion, or that it has ever been supposed or alleged to have been so obtained. They therefore report a bill for relief.. REPORT Of the Committee on Private Land Claims, on the petition of Philip C. S. Barbour, accompanied with "a Bill for the relief of the legal representative of Philip Barbour, deceased." DECEMBER 16, 1819. Read, and, with the Bill, committed to a Committee of the whole House on Monday next. The Committee on Private Land Claims, to whom was referred the petition of Philip C. S. Barbour, have had the same, together with the accompanying documents, under consideration, and beg leave to present, with a few alterations, the report made, on the same subject, on the 4th of December, 1818. REPORT: It is stated by the petitioner, in his petition, that his father, Philip Barbour, who was a native of Virginia, served as a captain in the provincial service of Great Britain, during her war in America, which terminated in 1763-That his father went to the then colony of West Florida, now state of Mississippi, in 1768, and located, there, 2000 acres of land, by virtue of warrants obtained from the governor of West Florida, for his services during the aforesaid war; had the same regularly surveyed, and, in 1770, obtained, from the proper authority, grants therefor; 1500 acres of which were located at the confluence of the Big Black, or Little Yazous, river, and the Mississippi, on the east side of the latter, and south side of the former, on which tract he immediately settled, and on which he lived until the commencement of the American revolutionary war; when, for espousing the cause of liberty, he became obnoxious to the British government, by the order of which he was incarcerated for many months, and all his personal estate sacrificed on account of his attachment to his country-That, in 1789, when, by the treaty of peace, Spain had acquired the sovereignty of West Florida, to the 31st degree of north latitude, and claimed the territory north of that line, including his 1500 acre tract, he took the precaution to obtain, from the Spanish government, a confirmatory grant for the said 1500 acres, for the purpose, and under the hope, of securing, thereby, a complete indefeasible title thereto— That, in 1794, his father died, the undisputed proprietor of the said 1500 acres of land, leaving the petitioner, then an infant, only seven years old, his only legal heir and representative; shortly after which event, Col. James Barbour, of Kentucky, who has long since died. was appointed the guardian of the petitioner-That his said guardian, after it was ascertained that the country including the said 1500 acre tract of land was within the jurisdictional boundary of the United States, and the commissioners were appointed to adjust and report on certain claims to land in the Mississippi territory, employed a lawyer of that country, named Bullock, to lay before the commissioners the claim of the petitioner to the said 1500 acres of land, and other tracts, and attend to the proper management thereof That the said lawyer attended to the claims, and filed them with the commissioners, within the time required by law, but was unable to exhibit any other evidence of his father's title than the surveys and warrants; the patent, or patents, having been removed, with the Florida records, to England, or lost, so that it could not be procured; and, by reason of the death of the said lawyer, during the pendency of the claims before the commissioners, and of his said guardian shortly thereafter, no other evidence of his father's perfected titles was laid before the commissioners, who, for want of such evidence as the law required, rejected the aforesaid claims; and that, lately, the most valuable part of the 1500 acre tract has been sold by the United States. Upon the case thus stated, and for the reasons thus exhibited, the petitioner asks the interposition of Congress to sustain the prayer for relief. As to the three 250 acre tracts mentioned in the petition, there is no satisfactory evidence, upon which it would be proper for Congress (in the opinion of the committee) to act. It is, therefore, recommended, that, as to them, the petitioner have leave to withdraw his papers. But, in regard to the right of the petitioner to the relief sought for, in relation to his 1500 acre tract, the committee think the evidence amply sufficient. Every material statement made by the petitioner, in his petition, is substantiated, by the documentary evidence filed therewith, to the entire satisfaction of the committee. It is proven, by the affidavit of the late Gov. Wood, of Virginia, that he was at the house of the petitioner's father, on the 1500 acre tract, on the Mississippi, in 1773; that the place exhibited the appearance of several years' improvement and cultivation; that the said Barbour had been living several years in that country, and informed him he had been living on the farm on which he then lived for some years, and had obtained, from the British government, a large grant, including it: and that, from the acknowledged veracity of said Barbour, he has No doubt of the truth of all those statements. A part of this affidavit is fortified by the letter of Judge Bey, whose hand-writing is well known to the honorable John Gaillard, of the Senate. That the petitioner was only twenty-one years of age, on the 9th of November, 1807, is well supported by the testimony of Mr. Pollock, the register of his birth. That the father of the petitioner had a grant from the British government of West Florida, for 1500 acres of land, at the mouth of the Little Yazous, on the river Mississippi, for services, as an officer, during the provincial war of 1763, is abundantly confirmed by the letters of Bullock, the aforesaid lawyer, and of Judge Bey, of South Carolina; in addition to which, the latter states, that it was generally believed that the grant for said land had been taken to England, on the transfer of Florida to Spain, and was deposited,. with the Florida archives, in the plantation office at London. If additional evidence were wanting to prove the grant of the 1500 acres, it is furnished, most conclusively, by the certified copy of the official act of the governor and council of West Florida, in 1770, which grants to Philip Barbour the 1500 acres of land mentioned in the petition, and, by the certified abstract of the British grants in West Florida, taken from the records of Florida, and filed in the office of the Department of State, both of which are certified by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and accompany this report. That the claim to the 1500 acre tract was, in due time, filed with the commissioners, and was rejected by them for want of the grant, or the transcript from the colonial records of West Florida, appears sufficiently clear; from the letter of the receiver of public moneys in Mississippi, Park Walton; and the letters of the register of the land office in said state, Mr. Clarke; both of which are also herewith filed. And that all of the said 1500 acres, that is of much value, has been lately sold by the United States, is established by the certificate of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with an accompanying plat, and by the letters of Mr. Burnett and Mr. Patterson, which all accompany this report. This mass of evidence is not all of the most formal and legal character; and parts of it would not be admissible in a court of justice. It all emanates from sources highly credible; is characterized by the strongest indications of verity; and is, perhaps, as strong as the nature of the case is susceptible of. The only object of human testimony being the conviction of the mind, and the testimony in this case, on every material point, holding claim to the fullest credence, the committee cannot, for a moment, hesitate to conclude that the facts stated in the petition are sufficiently established. Nor can they, from any view which they have been able to take of the subject, perceive any injustice or unreasonableness in the appeal which the petitioner has made for relief. It is believed that it is one which addresses itself not more to the magnanimity than to the justice of Congress. It is true that, although the petitioner's father had acquired, from proper authority, a complete, vested, and unconditional right to |