Decree in Baker v. Fairfax
Decree text, March 1802
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Between Baker, plaintiff, and Denny Fairfax, Charles Lee, and Thomas Bryan Martin and Gabriel Jones, of whom the two last named are executors of Thomas lord Fairfax, defendents, In this cause, the bill of the plaintiff, this day of march, in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and two, is taken for confessed against the defendents Denny Fairfax and Charles Lee, who reside out of the limits of this courts jurisdiction, and against the plaintiff hath proceded in the mode prescribed by law. Whom,^ when such are parties; and the same day, the court, after perusing the bill, answers of the other defendents, exhibits and examinations of witnesses, and after considering them with arguments of counsil, pronounced the following sentence: Thomas Berrvick and Joshua Baker in the title of them or either of them to the six-ty five acres of land demanded by the bill were forfeited, might^have redemed them in equitie, by compensation of the detriment which the proprietor suffered by failure^of those men to observe the rules prescribed by him in parceling out
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out the lands within the limits of his dynastie. this is an accommodation, which, in ordi-narie cases, the spirit of equitie breathes, and of which sanctions appear in judici-al examples numberless, and, except a few, where the representatives of our claimaints un-der this potentate were parties, monomorphous, uniform. for this distinction between him and other citizens the reasons alleg-ed, namelie, that the revenue of the propri-tor depended upon his quitrents, which not being demandable before a grant was made it was proper that the partie should within a limited time place him-self in such a situation as to render the contract as obligatorie upon himself as it was upon lord Fairfax, or that he should leave the propertie open for subse-quent appropriations; Washingtons re-ports, 2vol:pa'112; and ' he was the proprietor of an extensive countrie, and therefore he could not make particular agreements with the different individu-als who desired to purchase portions of his lands. on this account he established an of.fice, emploied different officers to trans-act the business of it, and laid down cer-tain general rules defining the terms upon which he would grant his lands; and in
- forming
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forming these regulations, he appears to to have assimilated them as nearly as possible to those established in the crown-office with respect to lands lieing in the the other parts of Virginia? Washingtons reports, 2vol:pa' 113; these reasons are thought to be inadequate and incon-clusive. whilst one readeth the latter, is he not disposed to enquire, first, since this domi-nion was too extensive for the lord of it to transact^personaly the business of an office opened for the purpose of granting parcels of it^his territorie, were not acts of his ministers imputable to him? and, secondly, how can the regulations of his office be assimilated to those of the crown-office? by these was a man convicted of a for-feiture without being heard _ heard by an impartial judge? but when he included in a survey for himself the plot in question, did the despot give Joshua Baker an oppor-tunitie to open his mouth against it? Of those who can establish precedential Wash-ingtons reports, 2vol:pa253, one will not undertake to say, what ought to be con-sidered as a reasonable time to indulge the owner of a survey in completing his title; Washingtons rep. 2vol'pa'124; and what may be considered a reasonable time for the owner of a survey to com-plete
