Goudy v. Meath

• Decision Date: 04 April 1905
• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Parties: GOUDY v. MEATH, Assessor.

80 P. 295

38 Wash. 126

GOUDY v. MEATH, Assessor.

Supreme Court of Washington

April 4, 1905

Appeal from Superior Court, Pierce County; W. H. Snell, Judge.

Action by James Goudy against Edward Meath, assessor of Pierce county. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Geo. T Reid, for appellant.

F Campbell, for respondent.

MOUNT C.J.

Appellant brought this action to restrain the officers of Pierce county from assessing his lands for taxation. The only question in the case is whether or not appellant's lands are taxable by the state. The lower court found that they were taxable and entered a judgment dismissing the action, and plaintiff appeals.

The facts are submitted upon an agreed statement, from which it appears: That the appellant is an Indian, and was formerly a member of the Puyallup tribe. That he came by his lands under the provisions of the treaty of December 26, 1854, between the United States and the Puyallup and other tribes of Indians. That he lives upon and cultivates said lands, and holds them in severalty. That he has entirely severed his tribal relations, and is a citizen of the United States, with all the privileges and immunities of any other citizen. That the patent, dated January 30, 1886, from the United States for these lands, to appellant, contained the following provision: 'Now, know ye, that the United States of America, in consideration of the premises and in accordance with the direction of the president of the United States under the aforesaid sixth article of the treaty of the 16th day of March, Anno Domini 1854, with the Omaha Indians, has given and granted, and by these presents does give and grant, unto the said James Goudy, as the head of the family as aforesaid, and to his heirs, the tracts of land above described, but with the stipulation contained in the said sixth article of the treaty with the Omaha Indians that the said tracts shall not be alienated or leased for a longer period than two years and shall be exempt from levy, sale, or forfeiture, which provisions shall continue in force until a state constitution embracing such lands within its bondaries shall have been formed and the legislature of the state shall remove the restrictions, and no state legislature shall remove the restrictions without the consent of Congress.' (For other provisions of the deed and of the article of the treaty therein referred to, see Bird v. Winyer, 24 Wash. 269, 64 P. 178.) That a state constitution embracing such lands within its boundaries was adopted on November 11, 1889. That the legislature of the state passed an act, approved March 22, 1890, the title and first section of which are as follows: 'An act enabling the Indians to sell and alien the lands of the Puyallup Indian reservation, in the state of Washington. Section 1. That the said Indians who now hold, or who may hereafter hold, any of the lands of any reservation, in severalty, located in this state by virtue of treaties made between them and the United States, shall have power to lease, incumber, grant, and alien the same in like manner and with like effect as any other person may do under the laws of the United States and of this state, and all restrictions in reference thereto are hereby removed.' Laws 1889-90, p. 499. That on March 3, 1893, Congress passed an act relating to the Puyallup Indian reservation, which act provided, among other things 'that the Indian allottees shall not have the power of alienation of the allotted lands * * * for a period of ten years from the date of the passage of this act' (27 Stat. 612, c. 209). That in March, 1899, the Legislature of this state passed 'An act relating to the sale of allotted lands by Indians,' which provided that any Indian who owns within this state any land or real estate allotted to him by the government may sell and convey by deed the fee thereof, it being the intention of this act to remove from Indians residing in this state all existing disabilities relating to alienation of their real estate' (Laws 1899, p. 155, c. 96). That the Secretary of the Interior, in February, 1903, construed the Indian appropriations act of Congress of March 3, 1893, supra, and the act of the Legislature of this state of March 22, 1890, supra, as removing all restrictions upon the alienation and sale of lands allotted to the Puyallup Indians after the expiration of the 10-year period, and that said department of the government has ever since acted upon such construction.

Appellant contends that the lands in question are not subject to taxation, because the restrictions against 'levy, sale and forfeiture' have not been removed. It is conceded that the Indians may now sell their lands voluntarily,...