New Orleans Pacific Railway Co. v. United States

Citations

• 124 U.S. 124
• 8 S. Ct. 417
• 31 L. Ed. 383
• 1888 U.S. LEXIS 1843

Syllabus

<p>Under the provision of the act of July 81, 1870, c. 240, 19 Stat. 121, “ that before any land granted to any railroad company by the United States shall be conveyed to such company, or any person entitled thereto under any of the acts incorporating or relating to such company, unless such company is exempted by law from the payment of such cost, there shall first be paid into the Treasury of the United States, the cost of surveying, selecting and conveying the same by the said company or persons in interest,” the New Orleans Pacific Railway Company, as the owner, by conveyance from the New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Vicksburg Railroad Company, of its interest in the land grant made to the latter company by § 22 of the act of March 3, 1871, c. 122, 1G Stat. 579, was bound to pay the cost of surveying the land, before receiving a patent for it, although such cost had been incurred and expended by the United States before March 3, 1871, the construction of no part of the road having been commenced before the expiration of the five years limited for the completion of the whole of it.</p>