A fractional section of land, on the left bank of the Missouri River, in Iowa,
was surveyed by United States surveyors in 1851, and lot 4 therein was formed, and so designated on the plat filed, and as containing 37.24 acres, the north boundary of it being on the Missouri River. In 1853 the lot was entered and paid for, and was patented in June, 1855, as lot 4. Afterwards, by ten mesne conveyances, made down to 1888, the lot was conveyed as lot 4, and became vested in the plaintiff. About 1853 new land was formed against the north line, and con- tinued to form until 1870, so that then more than 40 acres had been forined by accretion by natural causes and imperceptible degrees within the lines running north and south on the east and west of the lot, and the course of the river ran far north of the original meander line. The defendant claimed to own a part of the new land by deed from one who had entered upon it. The plaintiff filed a bill to establish his title to the new land, claiming it as a part of lot 4. On demurrer to the bill: Held, (1) The bill alleging that the land was formed by “imperceptible degrees,” the time during which the large increase was made being nearly 20 years, the averment must stand, notwithstanding the character of the river, and the rapid cha. .- con- stantly going on in its banks; (2) Where a water line is the boundary of a given lot, that line, no matter how it shifts, remains the bound- ary; and a deed describing the lot by its number conveys tho lan up to such shifting water line ; so that, in the view of accretion, le water line, if named as the boundary, continues to be the boundary, and a deed of the lot carries all the land up to the water line; (3) Accretion is an addition to land coterminous with the water, which is formed so slowly that its progress cannot be perceived, and does not admit of the view, that, in order to be accretion, the formation inust be one not discernible by comparison at two distinct periods of time; (4) The patent having conveyed the lot as lot 4, and the successive deeds there- after having conveyed it by the same description, the patent and the deeds covered the successive accretions, and neither the United States, nor any grantor, retained any interest in any of the accretion; (5) Where a plat is referred to in a deed as containing a description of land, the courses, distances, and other particulars appearing upon the plat are to be as much regarded, in ascertaining the true description
of the land and the intent of the parties, as if they had been expressly enumerated in the deed. Jefferis v. East Omaha Land Co., 178.
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ADMIRALTY.. 1. The provision of the act of March 3, 1887, c. 373, § 1, 24 Stat. 552, that
no civil suit” shall be brought before a Circuit or District Court against any person in any other district than that of which he is an inhabitant, does not apply to cases in admiralty. In re Louisville
Underwriters, 488. 2. A libel in admiralty in personam may be maintained against a corpora-
tion in any district by service there upon an attorney appointed by the corporation, as required by the statutes of the State, to be served with legal process. •16.
AMENDMENT OF RECORD. When it is found by a Circuit Court of the United States that the clerk
has failed to put in the record an order which was made at the next preceding terin of the court, remanding a case to the District Court, the Circuit Court may direct such an order to be entered nunc pro tunc. In re Wight, 136.
1. When the term at which an appeal is returnable goes by without the
filing of the record, a second appeal may be taken, if the time for
appeal has not expired. Evans v. State Bank, 330. 2. If an appellee does not avail himself of his right, under the ninth rule,
to docket and dismiss an appeal for neglect of the appellant to docket the case and file the record, as required by the rules, the appellant may
file the record at any time during the return term. 16. 3. The failure to obtain a citation or give a bond within two years from
allowance of an appeal, the appeal ceases to have any operation or effect, and the case stands as if it had never been allowed. Small v. Northern Pacific Railroad, 514.
See DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; JURISDICTION, D, 3, 4.
ARMY AND NAVY.
An officer in the army or navy of the United States does not hold his office by contract, but at the will of the sovereign power. Crenshaw v. United States, 98.
See CONSTITUTIONAL Law, 10, 11.
ASSIGNMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF CREDITORS.
See PARTNERSHIP, 2, 3.
BURNT RECORDS ACT. See EQUITY, 5.
CASES AFFIRMED OR APPROVED.
1. Liverpool and London Insurance Co. v. Gunther, 116 U. S. 113, affirmed. Gunther v. Liverpool and London Ins. Co., 110.
2. Pennsylvania Railroad v. Locomotive Truck Co., 110 U. S. 490, again affirmed. Howe achine Co. v. National Needle Co., 388.
3. The case of Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Minnesota, 134 U. S. 418, affirmed, on substantially the same state of facts. apolis Eastern Railway Co. v. Minnesota, 467.
Minne-
4. Gibson v. Shufeldt, 122 U. S. 27. Wheeler v. Cloyd, 537.
5. Austin v. Citizens' Bank, 30 La. Ann. 689, approved and applied to this case. Mendenhall v. Hall, 559.
6. McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, 436; Weston v. City Council of Charleston, 2 Pet. 449; Henderson v. Mayor of New York, 92 U. S. 259; and Brown v. Maryland, 12 Wheat. 419, in no wise conflict with the points decided in this case; and the court fully assents to those cases, and has no doubt of their correctness in any particular. Home Ins. Co. v. New York, 594.
CASES DISTINGUISHED.
1. Van Ness v. Van Ness, 6 How. 62; and Brown v. Wiley, 4 Wall. 165, distinguished. Ormsby v. Webb, 47.
2. Robertson v. Bradbury, 132 U. S. 491, distinguished from this case. Lit- tle v. Bowers, 547.
CASES EXPLAINED.
1. Hart v. Sansom, 110 U. S. 151, explained. Arndt v. Griggs, 316.
2. The case of Bate Refrigerating Co. v. Hammond, 129 U. S. 151, explained. Pohl v. Anchor Brewing Co., 381.
CASES QUESTIONED OR OVERRULED. Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 Dall. 419, questioned. Hans v. Louisiana, 1.
CERTIFICATE OF DIVISION IN OPINION. The court again declines to answer a certified question which contains no
clear and distinct proposition of law. United States v. Lacher, 624.
CIRCUIT COURTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
See AMENDMENT OF RECORD;
COMMISSIONERS OF CIRCUIT Courts; JURISDICTION, B.
COMMISSIONERS OF CIRCUIT COURTS. 1. The decision of a commissioner of a Circuit Court of the United States,
upon a motion for bail and the sufficiency thereof, and his decision upon a motion for a continuance of the hearing of a criminal charge, are judicial acts in the “hearing and deciding on criminal charges' within the meaning of Rev. Stat. & 847, providing for a per diem com-
pensation in such cases. United States v. Jones, 483. 2. The approval of a commissioner's account by a Circuit Court of the
United States is prima facie evidence of its correctness, and, in the absence of clear and unequivocal proof of mistake on the part of the court, should be conclusive. Ib.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. 1. A State cannot, without its consent, be sued in a Circuit Court of the
United States by one of its own citizens, upon a suggestion that the case is one that arises under the Constitution and laws of the United
5. The provision in Article III of the Constitution of the United States
respecting the trial of crimes by jury relates to the judicial power of
the United States.. Ib. 6. Article VI of the Amendments to the Constitution of the United States
respecting a speedy and public trial by jury; Articles V and VI re- specting the right of persons accused of crime to be confronted with the witnesses; Article VIII respecting excessive fines, and cruel and un- usual punishments; and Article XIV respecting the abridgment of privi- leges, the deprivation of liberty or property without due process of law, and the denial of the equal protection of the laws, are not infringed by the statutes of Iowa authorizing its courts, when a person violates an injunction restraining him from selling intoxicating liquors, to
punish him as for contempt by fine or imprisonment or both. Ib. 7. Proceedings according to the common law for contempt of court are not
subject to the right of trial by jury, and are “due process of law,” within
the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Ib. 8. All the powers of courts whether at common law or in chancery may be called into play by the legislature of a State, for the purpose of
sup- pressing the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors when they are prohibited by law, and to abate a nuisance declared by law to be such ;
and the Constitution of the United States interposes no hindrance. Ib. 9. A District Court of a county in Iowa is empowered to enjoin and re-
strain a person from selling or keeping for sale intoxicating liquors, including ale, wine, and beer, in the county, and disobedience of the order subjects the guilty party to proceedings for contempt and pun-
ishment thereunder. 16. 10. The provision in the naval appropriation act of August 5, 1882, c. 391,
$ 1, which directs, in certain cases, the honorable discharge of naval cadets from the navy, with one year's sea pay, is not in conflict with the contract clause of the Constitution of the United States. Crenshaw
v. United States, 99. 11. It is not within the power of a legislature to deprive its successor of the
power of repealing an act creating a public office. Ib. 12. The auditor of the State of Louisiana was sued in his official capacity,
in order to compel him, in that capacity, to act to raise a tax, author- ized by a former law, but contrary to subsequent legislation, and to the present laws of the State ; Held, it was a suit against the State.
New York Guaranty Co. v. Steele, 230. 13. The Fourteenth Amendment was not intended to compel the States to
adopt an iron rule of equal taxation. Bell Gap Railroad Co. v. Penn-
sylvania, 232. 14. The act of the legislature of Minnesota, approved March 7, 1887,
General Laws of 1887, c. 10, establishing a railroad and warehouse commission, being interpreted by the Supreme Court of that State as providing that the rates of charges for the transportation of property, recommended and published by the commission, shall be final and con-
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