Milam County v. Robertson

Citations

• 33 Tex. 366

Syllabus

<p>1. The act of August 30th, 1856, (Paschal’s Digest, Art. 3470,) providing that limitation shall not run in favor of settlers on school lands, was probably designed to deter persons frdrn settling on such lands, and was of itself sufficient to put all settlers on inquiry.</p> <p>2. If the act ef February 10th, 1852, (Paschal’s Digest, Art. 4562,) requiring the field notes of all prior surveys to be returned to the General • Land Office by the thirty first of August, 1853, had any application to surveys of school lands granted to the several counties by the act of January 26th, 1830, (Paschal’s Digest, Art. 3464,) the omission by a county to comply with its provisions was a dereliction of which the State alone could take advantage.</p> <p>3. The counties are only trustees ot the school lands for the use of the people ; and when a county made a survey of its school lands in 1849 upon the domain afterwards comprised within the Mississippi and Pacific railroad reserve, but failed to return the field notes to the General Land Office by the thirty-first oí August, 1853, such survey did not become .subject to pre-emption when the reserve was opened to location by the act ol August 26th, 1856. (Paschal’s Digest, Art. 5038.) .</p> <p>A. The fact that four leagues had been surveyed in a single county as school lands must in the nature of things have been too notorious to be ignored :by any citizen of the county, and is considered by this court as a cogent (circumstance to charge citizens of that county with notice of the locality ■of-such surveys.</p>