Magee v. Chadoin

Citations

• 30 Tex. 644

Syllabus

<p>Where a party had been admitted as a colonist, and had selected land for which there had been no order of survey, but the land had been surveyed among the surveys of the colony, whose archives were returned to the general land office, and the colonist received his certificate in 1838, and applied that certificate to the previous survey, and without any unnecessary loss of time he procured the field-notes, and had his survey certified to the general land office, and paid the dues when it was patented: Held, that this legal title was superior to a location made in consequence of,a mistake of the commissioner of the general land office.</p> <p>Where the commissioner of the general land office was mistaken as to the boundaries of a county, the claimant of land, depending on the commissioner’s acts, ought not to be held responsible.</p> <p>Where a colonist had a survey, hut no order of survey, he was not embraced by the 12th section of the act of 1837, to reduce into one the several land laws, which required all orders of surveys of head-rights procured under the colonization laws, previous to the declaration of independence, to be submitted to the land commissioners. (Paschal’s Dig., Art. 4140, Note 593.)</p> <p>Where the 19th section of said land law was substantially complied with, under the instructions of the general land office, it was sufficient. (Paschal’s Dig., Art. 4528.)</p> <p>When no statute fixed the time of returning field-notes to the general land office, each case depended upon its own peculiar circumstances.</p> <p>The first act fixing a time for the return of field-notes was passed ón the 5th February, 1840, which required the return of field-notes by the first day of January, 1841, &c. This time was extended again and again, owing to the situation of the country. (Paschal’s Dig., Arts. 4114 to 4119.)</p> <p>Where field-notes had already been returned and rejected before the passage of the act, because of conflict with another survey, a second retur