Hastings & Dakota Railroad v. Whitney

Citations

• 132 U.S. 357
• 10 S. Ct. 112
• 33 L. Ed. 363
• 1889 U.S. LEXIS 1884

Syllabus

<p>So long as a homestead entry, valid upon its face, remains-a subsisting entry of record whose legality has been passed upon by the land authorities, and their action remains unreversed, it is such an appropriation of the tract as segregates it .from the public domain, and precludes it from a subsequent grant by Congress.</p> <p>A defect in a homestead entry on public land in Minnesota made by. a soldier ■ in active service in Virginia during the war, caused by want of the requisite residence on it, was cured by the act of June 8, 1872 “ to amend an Act relating to Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Homesteads,” 17 Stat. 333, c. 338, ’§ 1 (Rev. Stat. § 2308).</p> <p>While the decisions of the Hand Department on matters of law are not binding on this court, they are entitled to great respect.</p>