Stupendous Land Suit

It is weu Known uow enthnsuisticalJy the French cbeered in 1719 the foundation of the "Canipagniw des Indis" for the purpose of cultivating and developing the immense licbe"; of tho Mississippi valley ; every bit of land tnrned into shares -was qnoted st tbc Jtourso of Paris. Fonr years nftraward, hovever, au unparalleled panie followod this enthusiasm, and the shares which had been changing hands at 40,000 francs, wero sold at one frane each ; the real estato then was of no valué and this exp)ains the importance of the grant made by Messrs. de Boisbrians and des Ursina in the names of the "Campagnie des Iudes" to Mr. Philippe Francois Eenaut, general manager of the mines of Louisiana ttnder date June 14, 1723. The graut, which was conrirmed by the French Government in 1731, coroprised, first, two leagues square, or thirty-six square miles, at a place callcd Mine Lamothe ; pecond, one and one-half leagues frout by six leagues deep, or eiglity-ono square miles, ou the Little Meramec, at Eenaut 's Fork ; tbird, one league front by two leagues deep, or eigliteen square miles, at Fort Chartres, and foirrth, ono league front by five leagues deep, or forty-five square miles, at Peoría, 111-, beginning one mile and a half from the old fort on Peoría, or Piiniteau Lake, being in the aggregate 180 square miles. This grant has at tliis day the same guarantee it had in 1723 and 1731. being protected by tho treaty of cession of Louisiana by France to the United States, signed in 1803 by Marquis d Lassus, whose son at this time is living at St. Louis, üntil lately no seriou-i reclamations have been madeby the heirs of Benaut to recover pcssession of the lands granted to their aucestors. Tho Government of the United States, however, which canceled or sold the snme, carefully inserted in all its deeds tho clause, " subject to French claims," so that the present holders have only conditioual titles, over which the sword oL Damocles is constantly suspended by the heirs of Renaut. It is impossible to sum up the immense interests dispoi'sed all over Iilinois and Missouri, which are ?.epending upon this Renaut inheritance. A few examples will suffloe : In 1872 the Mine Lamothe waa sold to an English company for L1,000,000; the bargain fea suspended for a year, in order to give tho sellers time to procure a clear title, and was canceled afterward, aa they were unable to obtain a quit claim deed of tho Benaut heirs. The city ef Peoría, which was f ounded by the French in 1C73, and which is at present one of the most important cities of Illinois, is entirely built on land be! longing to said heirs, and from Peoria to the Mississippi a great many villages nro in the same condition. From this it i i easily understood that of late serions efforta have been made to hunt up the lieirs of Renaut aud to obtáin their power of attorney. We know a large banking house in Chicago, Mesara. MeMullen Brothers, who have expended $60,000 for this purpose during the las-t two years in this country as weil as in France. Count do Tonrnon, living in Paris, who is one of the principal heirs, offered to sell his interest to Messrs. McMuilen ; an essentiai point in this transaction, however, is to establish by authentic documents the complete genealogy of the Eiaut family, und to know all the surviving heirs, in order to be able to exhibit before the courts the power of attorney of all the heirs. We don't bclieve that the McMulléns are in possession of these documents. The want of a single signature will set at naught all proceedinga, and as Messrs. McMullen are going to begin their suit, we advise all parties concerned to take care of their interests. We have in our possession all the letters aud proofs of -whRt we have stated in regard to the Benaut sion. - New York C'ourríer des Mats ; Unís.