Van Wyck v. Knevals

• Decision Date: 11 December 1882
• Citation: 1 S.Ct. 336,106 U.S. 360,27 L.Ed. 201
• Parties: VAN WYCK v. KNEVALS
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

106 U.S. 360

1 S.Ct. 336

27 L.Ed. 201

VAN WYCK v. KNEVALS.

December 11, 1882.

[Syllabus from page 360 intentionally omitted]

[Statement of Case from pages 360-364 intentionally omitted] E. E. Brown, for appellant.

J. M. Woolworth, for appellee.

FIELD, J.

The principal question for determination in this case is, when does the grant made to Kansas by the act of congress of the twenty-third of July, 1866, for the use and benefit of the St. Joseph & Denver Railroad Company in the construction of a railroad from Elwood, in that state, to its junction with the Union Pacific Railroad. or a branch thereof, take effect so as to cut off the right of pre-emption from subsequent settlers on the land? The grant is similar in its main features to numerous other grants of land made by congress in aid of railroads, and contains the same limitations, or, rather, exceptions to it. It differs from some of the grants in that it is made to the state, and not directly to the company to be benefited. The act of congress, however, provides, notwithstanding the designation of the state as grantee, that patents for the land shall be issued directly to the company upon the completion of every 10 consecutive miles of the road. The grant is of 10 alternate sections, designated by odd numbers, on each side of the proposed road, subject to the condition that if it appear, when the route of the road is 'definitely fixed,' that the United States have sold any section or a part thereof, or the right of pre-emption or homestead settlement has attached, or the same has been reserved by the United States for any purpose, the secretary of the interior shall cause an equal quantity of other lands to be selected from odd sections nearest those designated in lieu of the lands appropriated, which shall be held by the state for the same purpose. The grant is one in prcesenti, except as its operation is affected by that condition; that is, it imports the transfer, subject to the limitations mentioned, of a present interest in the lands designated. The difficulty in immediately giving full operation to it arises from the fact that the sections designated as granted are incapable of identification until the route of the road is 'definitely fixed.' When that route is thus established the grant takes effect upon the sections by relation as of the date of the act of congress. In that sense we say that the grant is one in proesenti. It cuts off all claims, other than those mentioned, to any portion of the lands from the date of the act, and passes the title as fully as though the sections had then been capable of identification. Nor is this operation of the grant affected by the fact that patents of the United States are subsequently, upon the certificate of the governor, to be issued by the secretary of the interior directly to the company and not to the state. This is only a mode of divesting the state of her trust character, and of passing the legal title held by her to the party for whose benefit the grant was made. The legal title under the grant goes to the state, but the equitable right vests in the company. The state cannot dispose of the lands; she simply holds them for the use and benefit of the company, the act of congress providing how her trust shall be discharged and the legal title be conveyed to the company. The act says that the land granted 'shall inure to the benefit of the said company as follows,' and then proceeds to declare that when the governor of the state shall certify that a section of the road of 10 consecu- tive miles is completed 'in a good, substantial, and permanent manner as a first-class railroad,' the secretary of the interior shall issue to the company patents for the sections of land granted which lie opposite to and coterminous with the completed road, and that similar patents shall issue upon a like certificate upon the completion of every successive section of 10 miles. It matters not, so far as subsequent settlers are concerned, in what manner the title, which has passed out of the United States, is transferred to the company from the state. When the route of the road is 'definitely fixed' no parties can subsequently acquire a pre-emption right to any portion of the lands covered by the grant. The right of the state and of the company is thenceforth perfect as against subsequent claimants under the United States.

The inquiry then arises, when is the route of the road to be considered as 'definitely fixed' so that the grant attaches to the adjoining sections? The complainant in the court below, who derives his title from the company, contends that the route is definitely fixed, within the meaning of the act of congress, when the company files with the secretary of the interior a map of its lines, approved by its directors, designating the route of the proposed road. On the other hand, the defendant,—the appellant here,—who acquired his interest by subsequent settlement on the lands and a patent therefor, contends that the route cannot be deemed definitely fixed, so that the grant attaches to any particular sections and cuts off the right of settlement thereon, until the lands are withdrawn from market by order of the secretary of the interior, and notice of the order of withdrawal is communicated to the local land-officers in the districts in which the lands are situated.

We are of opinion that the position of the complainant is the correct one. The route must be considered as 'definitely fixed' when it has ceased to be the subject of change at the volition of the company. Until the map is filed with the secretary of the interior the company is at liberty to adopt such a route as it may deem best, after an examination of the ground has disclosed the feasibility and advantages of different lines. But when a route is adopted by...