Winter et al. v. United States.
the subject of surveying lands, are found in the twelfth clause of the general regulations of Count O'Reilly, civil and military governor of the Province of Louisiana, promulgated on the 18th of February, 1770. That clause is as follows: "12. All grants shall be made in the name of the king, by the governor-general of the province, who will at the same time appoint a surveyor to fix the bounds thereof, both in front and depth, in presence of the judge ordinary of the district, and of the adjoining settlers who shall be present at the survey; the above-named four persons shall sign the process verbal which shall be made thereof, and the surveyor shall make three copies of the same; one of which shall be deposited in the office of the scrivener of the government and cabeldo, another shall be delivered to the governor-general, and the third to the proprietor to be annexed to the title of his grant." 2 Land Laws, App. 206.
The regulations of O'Reilly probably stand upon higher ground than those of any of his successors, because they were expressly sanctioned by the king himself, on the 24th August, 1770, the same year they were promulgated; and the governorgenerals of Louisiana were specially required by the monarch to conform thereto, until it was his royal pleasure to change them. 2 Land Laws, App. 530.
There is no evidence that they were changed or modified at any subsequent period as far as surveys of grants were concerned. On the contrary, the instructions of Gayoso, dated the 9th September, 1797, and the regulations of Morales, intendant general of Louisiana, published 17th July, 1799, very clearly indicate that surveys were essential. In fact the fifteenth article of the regulations of Morales, is almost literally copied from the twelfth clause of O'Reilly's regulations already referred to, The general practice of the government conformed to these regulations; and it is known that there was a surveyor-general in upper, and another in lower Louisiana, each of whom had authority to constitute as many deputies as they pleased, with a view to execute surveys. Undoubtedly the Spanish regulations show, that when a concession was made, the duty was imposed on the grantee of having the order of survey executed at his own expense; and a return of the survey was to be made to
