Jones v. St. Louis Land & Cattle Co.

Citations

• 232 U.S. 355
• 34 S. Ct. 419
• 58 L. Ed. 636
• 1914 U.S. LEXIS 1363

Syllabus

<p>The act of June 21,1860, expressly reserved the adverse rights of parties to the Mexican and Spanish grants confirmed thereby and provided that the confirmations should only be considered as quitclaims and relinquishments on the part of the United States.</p> <p>The act of June 21,1860, confirming Mexican and Spanish grants, was intended to be a discharge of the obligations of our treaty with Mexico and a confirmation of existing rights as they existed; it was not a gratuity like the railroad land grant acts, nor are overlapping rights in grants confirmed thereby to be shared equally as overlapping railroad grants are shared. Southern Pacific B. B. Co. v. United States, 183 U. S. 519, distinguished..</p> <p>Where two grants confirmed by the act of June 21, 1860, overlapped, the rights of the owner of each as against the other were reserved by the act, and the judicial inquiry extends to the character of the original concessions, and the court must determine which gave the better right to the disputed premises.</p> <p>In this case held, that of two overlapping Mexican grants both confirmed by the act of June 21, 1860, the earlier grant was in all of its steps prior to the other grant and included all of the overlap.</p> <p>A survey was necessary to the accurate segregation and delimitation-of a Mexican grant confirmed by the act of 1860. Stoneroad, v. Stoneroad, 158 U. S. 240.</p>