FOREST COMMISSIONER''s REPORT. IO7 



interest in the said islands in the shares assigned to them 

 respectively in severally/' 



I will digress from the narrative of this report at this time to 

 deal with the title of islands deeded by Massachusetts during 

 her period of joint ownership with the State of Maine, and I 

 think it will be of enough value to those tracing island titles in 

 the future to warrant incorporating in this report a list of 

 islands conveyed by Massachusetts during this period, showing 

 her right to convey the whole title. During the period from the 

 time Maine became a State and became a joint owner in the 

 public lands — March 15, 1820 — to the time Massachusetts dis- 

 posed of her interest — October 5, 1853, Massachusetts conveyed 

 many islands in severalty. As the deeds by which these islands 

 were conveyed made no mention of the title of the State of 

 Maine, and it is a possible construction that Massachusetts may 

 be deeding only her interest, — to one knowing of the joint own- 

 ership during this period, in an examination of these deeds at 

 our registries, it is not apparent where Massachusetts gets its 

 right to deed the whole title. I understand there have been fre- 

 quent inquiries on this point by owners and prospective pur- 

 chasers of islands deeded during this period. 



There are two ways by which Massachusetts after the x\ct of 

 Separation acquired or retained a right to deed the whole title 

 to these islands : 



First : By the Act of Separation itself. 



Section 7 of the Act provides as follows : 



"All grants of land, franchises, immunities, cooperate or 

 other rights, and all contracts for, or grants of land not yet 

 located, which have been or may be made by the said Common- 

 wealth before the separation of said District shall take place, and 

 having or to have effect within the said district, shall continue 

 in full force, after said district shall become a separate state." 



This section provides for those grants by the Commonwealth 

 made during the period between the date on which the Act of 

 Separation was passed, June 19, 1819, and the date on which 

 Maine became a State. The Act seems to clearly consider an 

 interval of time between its passage and a compliance by the 

 District of Maine with the conditions \yhich would make it 

 effective, and a possible failure of a suf^cient majority of the 

 voters of Maine to be obtained in favor of separation, and to 



