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1 Lock. Rev. Cas. 124

Jackson ex dem. Erwin v. Moore

Court for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · decided 1799-07-01

This was an action of ejectment, and the case arose upon the construction to be given to a conveyance of two certain tracts of land described as follows: “Two tracts or parcels ef land lying, &c,,… Held: that the whole 6 by 8 miles in .each tract passed to the grantee by this conveyance.

Decided 1799-07-01

¶1But the Court of Errors reversed the judgment of the Supreme Court, on the ground that it was the manifest intention of the parties that the townships should be but “ six miles square, and contain twenty-three thousand and forty acres, and no more.” The court held therefore, that the township should be re-surveyed, and a correction made of the boundaries, so as to reduce each, township to 6 milpa square, and to the contents specified in the deed.

¶2It was also held, that the grantees would have a right of election to locate their grant in any part of the two townships as surveyed at the date of the deed, the only restriction being to locate in a square form.

¶3Judgment unanimously reversed.

¶4The Chancellor in delivering his opinion, observes that “the judges of the Supreme Court appear to have supposed the verb ‘ to beas having been inserted instead of the participle ‘ being,’ by the conveyancer, who copied the description from one in existence before the townships were surveyed.”

¶5The Chancellor denies the right of that court to resort to *126such evidence to ascertain the meaning of words, which are clear and positive on the face of the deed.

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