42 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



together with various rights appertaining thereto and at the time 

 belonging to the EngHsh crown. . . ." 



All legal rights and title to these lands were claimed by the 

 Symes Foundation, by and from whom they were transferred to 

 the Lancaster Symes Estate on Staten Island. 



Pages 236-266 include a chapter on the Symes Foundation and 

 the Lancaster Symes Estate. The matter included in this chapter 

 was also printed in legal form as a separate publication under 

 date of July 2, 191 7, and more or less widely distributed. We 

 do not pretend to any knowledge in regard to what that august 

 entity, The Law, may think of the claims embodied in the legal 

 instruments that are given verbatim in this chapter ; but they are 

 interesting to any student of local history; and optimists, pessi-. 

 mists, or plain ordinary skeptics will find in them inspiration for 

 expressions of opinion in regard to the apparent altruism that 

 influenced those whose signatures are attached to and whose 

 names occur in connection with the instruments mentioned. 



The volume is replete with historical facts ; and the special 

 facts, discussions and arguments in relation to the grant of lands 

 on Staten Island to Major Lancaster Symes by Queen Anne may 

 be found in two chapters, one on under-sea lands and land grants 

 and one on an analysis of the Symes grant, on pages 129-135 and 

 182-202, respectively. The latter is of special interest to the 

 lay reader as an example of the course of reasoning employed 

 by the members of the legal profession in the interpretation of the 

 assumed intent and meaning of words and phrases. 



A. H. 



Petition and Protest in Regard to Riparian Grants etc. on 

 Staten Island^** 



This is a document, printed in legal form, " in the matter of 

 Riparian Grants by the State of New York to lands on Staten 



" State of New York | Petition | and | Protest | to | The Honorable Fran- 

 cis M. Hugo I Secretary of State, Albany, N. Y. [ by | S. L. Mershon. 

 Pamph. roy. 8°, 15 p. Mar. 25, 1918. 



