State ex rel. Pindall v. Ross

Citations

• 55 Wash. 242
• 104 P. 216
• 1909 Wash. LEXIS 741

Syllabus

<p>Public Lands — Mines and Minerals — Leases — Statute — Construction. The commissioner of public lands is not limited in the execution of leases of state mineral lands, for prospecting purposes, to the government legal subdivisions of a section, by the proviso to Laws 1901, p. 313, authorizing the changing of boundaries to conform to the section lines, since the law permits a lease for “any amount not to exceed eighty acres,” and should not be construed to authorize the leasing of other than mineral lands.</p> <p>Statutes — Construction bt Executive Departments. The construction placed upon a statute by the executive department does not control the courts when it deprives a citizen of valuable rights accorded him by the law.</p> <p>Public Lands — Mines and Minerals — Leases—Discretion. Laws 1901, p. 313, providing for the leasing of state lands to the discoverer of previous minerals, leaves no discretion in the commissioner of public lands where the law has been complied with.</p>