Kimball v. Reclamation Fund Commissioners

Citations

• 45 Cal. 344

Syllabus

<p>Object oe Congress in Granting Swamp Lands to States.—The object of the Pederal Government in donating the swamp lands to the several States was to promote the speedy reclamation of the lands, and thus invite to them population and settlement, thereby opening new fields for industry and increasing the general prosperity.</p> <p>Obligations oe the State in Accepting the Grant.—In accepting the grant of swamp lands, the State of California was bound to carry out in good faith the objects for which it was made. The Legislature has, at all times, recognized the binding force of this obligation.</p> <p>Presumption as to Party Claiming Title to Swamp Land.—A party claiming title to swamp lands under a patent from the State which conveys a title without conditions, is deemed to have acquired Ms title with a full knowledge of the terms, conditions, and purposes of the grant, and to have accepted the title in subordination to the paramount right and duty of the State to cause the land to be reclaimed.</p> <p>Idem—Cost oe Reclamation. — He is presumed to have taken the title with the consent that the Legislature might afterwards modify the system of reclamation, and that, if the proceeds of the sale should prove to be insufficient to accomplish the reclamation, he would submit to the imposition of such burdens on the land to effect the object as the Legislature might deem expedient.</p> <p>Assessing Swamp Lands to Ray Cost oe Reclamation.—The Legislature may provide for dividing swamp lands into districts and having an estimate made of the cost of reclamation, and for the issuing of bonds and sale of the same to pay the expense of the reclamation, and the levy of an assessment on the lands in the district to pay the same, even after it has sold the land and given a patent which does not contain any conditions.</p>