226 



DELAWARE. 



local traditions as to where the original bound- 

 ary was really located. It would have been an 

 upsetting of all preconceptions as to the bound- 

 ary, because the original line never followed a 

 true 12-mile circle, owing to inaccuracy in the 

 work of Taylor and Pierson, who first surveyed it 

 in 1701, by order of William Penn. to whom had 

 been deeded by the Duke of York, in 1690, the 

 " three lower counties of Pennsylvania." As the 

 survey was undertaken some years later merely 

 to ascertain approximately the extent of Penn's 

 new territory, and as it was not dreamed that 

 it would ever become the boundary between the 

 two States, it is not surprising that it was inac- 

 curately done. 



It is the desire of the interstate commission 

 that the new line shall largely conform to popu- 

 lar traditions, so as to change the State alle- 

 giance of as few as possible of the residents on 

 the border. This will necessitate a little devia- 

 tion, in that, instead of following a true 12-mile 

 circle, the surveyors will have to make a com- 

 pound curve, made up of the arcs of two differ- 

 ent circles. 



In the matter of the long-disputed flatiron or 

 triangular territory, containing about 700 acres, 

 the joint commission has decided to cede this to 

 Delaware, which has long exercised jurisdiction 

 over it, notwithstanding the dictum of Col. Gra- 

 ham, a Government engineer, who, after the sur- 

 vey of 1849, officially declared it Pennsylvania 

 territory. At other points on the line Delaware 

 will make considerable gain in territory. The 

 new line will be marked by stone posts at each 

 half mile. 



The World's Fair. The contract for the 

 State building at the Columbian Exposition was 

 let in June for f 7,441. The agricultural exhibit 

 promises to be large ; it is to include more than 

 one hundred exhibits of wheat, hay, and grasses. 

 There will be a full exhibit of the timber of the 

 State and of the fisheries. The latter will in- 

 clude models of boats and implements used in 

 the oyster business. The commission has been 

 seriously embarrassed by the small appropria- 

 tion with which it had to work. 



Fire and Flood. A severe storm in June 

 caused great damage in Wilmington. During 

 one hour and ten minutes of the most violent 

 rainfall on June 27, the rain gauge at the city 

 engineering department registered a precipita- 

 tion of 3-^j inches, by far the heaviest on rec- 

 ord. What incidentally aided in causing the 

 great damage in the lower part of the city was 

 the fact that 2.42 o'clock was the hour of high 

 tide. 



On Aug. 16 the little town of Deltnar was 

 completely destroyed by fire. It was 6 miles 

 south of Laurel and 7 miles north of Salisbury. 

 About 1,100 people lived there, according to the 

 last census, and during the past year it had been 

 growing faster than any other town in lower 

 Delaware or upper Maryland. For many years 

 it has been a great fruit-shipping point. Seven 

 persons were missing, and were supposed to 

 have perished in the flames. 



Court Disagreement. An important ques- 

 tion of law came up in April on the trial of a 

 man who had been arrested for alleged burglary, 

 for an assault with intent to kill the constable 

 who made the arrest. The jury were charged by 



Judge Grubb, who said, in reference to the claim 

 of the defense that the arrest was unlawful. 



This ground of defense, in view of the facts dis- 

 closed by the evidence in this case, directly raises the 

 question whether or not a county constable can, alone 

 or with the aid of such persons whether peace offi- 

 cers or private individuals as he may call to his as- 

 sistance for the purpose, lawfully arrest without a 

 warrant any one within his county, in order to de- 

 liver him where there is probable cause to believe the 

 party has recently committed a crime, and that with- 

 out such arrest he would escape justice. This is a 

 question of very grave importance ; for if a constable 

 may not lawfully arrest, under such circumstances, 

 without a warrant, then a total failure of justice must 

 inevitably result in very many cases, especially in 

 a State of small territory. . . . Our wise system 

 of law does not require the absurd, but the reason- 

 able, nor the impossible, but the practicable, to be 

 done. On one hand it makes reasonable provision 

 for the protection of the liberty of the private citizen, 

 and on the other for the due support of the conserva- 

 tors of the public peace and security ; hence, when a 

 warrant of arrest is reasonable it is required, but 

 where it would be impracticable and unsafe to re- 

 quire it before making an arrest it may be dispensed 

 with. This conclusion is founded upon reason and 

 maintained by authority, as shown by the adjudica- 

 tions of courts and the treatises of text writers of the 

 highest repute. By these it is held and declared that 

 a peace officer, such as a county constable, etc., has 

 authority at common law to arrest without a warrant 

 any one he has reasonable ground to suspect to be 

 guilty of felony, whether he acts upon his own knowl- 

 edge or upon facts communicated by others. 



Judge Cullen. the only other justice on the 

 bench, arose at the close of Judge Grubb's charge, 

 and said that the constable had no right to ar- 

 rest the supposed burglars without a warrant : 

 and that, if the suspected men had killed the 

 constable or any of his companions, they could 

 not have been convicted of murder in the first 

 degree. The jury, presumably in consequence 

 of this conflict of authorities, failed to agree up- 

 on a verdict. 



Payment of Poll Taxes. The courts have 

 decided that in the design of the law an elector 

 must pay his poll tax with his own money. 

 This is in consequence of a movement to stop 

 the payment of poll taxes by political commit- 

 tees, who have been in the habit of buying the 

 receipts and distributing them gratuitously 

 among voters since the tax law of 1873, which 

 was decided to be constitutional by the courts 

 in a test case two years ago, disfranchises delin- 

 quent poll-tax payers for twelve months. 



Political. A Representative in Congress was 

 to be chosen at the November election, and a 

 State Legislature which will elect a United 

 States Senator in place of Hon. George Gray. 



The Republican State Convention met at Do- 

 ver, May 5. The platform expressed approval 

 of the administration of President Harrison, 

 commended the McKinley tariff act, favored 

 American shipbuilding and a strong navy, and 

 contained also the following declarations : 



We are unreservedly in favor of the free coinage of 

 silver whenever, but* not until, by a proper agree- 

 ment between the nations we are assured of a resto- 

 ration of the parity of silver with gold : and we com- 

 mend the efforts of President Harrison by an interna- 

 tional conference to secure this end so much desired. 



We are in favor of just and liberal pensions for the 

 soldiers and sailors who fought for me preservation 

 of the Union. 



