The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-03-16
DEPARTMENT NOTES.
From Sundays Daily.1

of secretary of state an amendment
to their charter, increasing the. capt.
tai stock to $4,000.
The Southwestern agricultural
and sheep growers association, cap
ital stock $4,000, also filed a char
ter. The principal Office will be at
Waco. and the object is TO engage
in agriculture and stock raising in
Texas. The directors are F. j..
Fogel, Geo. b. Fryer, Benjamin F.
Kennedy, III. Z. Conger and G. G..
Conger.
Charter of st. Elizabeth society, of
Galveston, a charitable association,
composed of colored folks. also filed
charter.
CoMPTRoLLER'S OFFICE
Yesterday the comptroller ruled
that national banks were not COM
PEELED to render to the tax commits
sioners sworn statement of their
assets, for the purpose of taxation,
but that each stakeholder must
render to the tax assessor of the
county in which the bank is situated,
the amount ofhis stock, all of which
is subject to taxation.
The comptroller on yesterday re-
ceived notification from the Pullman
palace car company of their refu-
sal to pay the state tax, amounting to
upwards of $4,000. The attention of
the attorney general was called to
the failure, and suit will be entered
accor dinghy.
GENERAL LAND OFFICE.
In answer to certain questions
received at the general land office,
from the counties of La Sale, DIM
mitt, Angelina and Denton, Com
missioner Walsh yesterday replied
as follows:
GENERAL LAND OFFICE,
AUSTIN, TEXAS, March IL, 1882.
DEAR SIR: L have carefully ex-
amined your letter of the. 9th in
slant. From it L gather the follow
ing statement of facts: On the 22d
OF February, 1882, A"presented to
the person in charge of the county
surveyors Office, i'll the absence of
the surveyor, a written and legal
"file," or application, for the appro-
priation OF certain land therein
described under authority of the
act of July IA, 1879, that the person
so in charge of the office was not a
deputy surveyor, as contemplated
by law; but was simply a clerk.
That ON the night of the twenty
fourth of February, 1882, "B" made
file upon this same land with the
surveyor at the surveyors residence
who then and there received and
recorded it; that on March "a, 1881,
the surveyor endorsed the file of
"a rejected, for reason of a subse-
quent file ON same land received and
recorded prior to the presentation
of this file" Under the decisions
of our supreme court (Fowler VS..
Hilburn, 81 Tex, 400; Gilbear VS..
Mays, Is Tex. 416. 419; Lewis v.
burst, 10 Tex. 1913, and in several
other cases), a "file" received by q
surveyor at any other place than IN
his office, in office hours, is void. 1t
may be vitalized by being recorded
by the surveyor an has office at a SUBJ
sequent time, provided such record
does not prejudice other rights.
Under these decisions, the accept
ance and record of file by the sur
veyor at night, at another place than
his office, was illegal and void. The
only question in this case is whether
the 'file" of "a" made with
the person in charge of
the office during q surveyors
absence was a legal file. The stat
utes authorize but do not require
the appointment Of deputies. They
do not authorize or recognize a
surveyors clerk. If, then, "a" en-
tered the office and found person
in charge of the archives and re-
cords of the Office and exer-
cislng the duties which legal
ly pertain to the surveyor when
present the presumption of "a"
that the acts of this person are Off
cial would be perfectly natural. 1t
is not the duty of u person in the
position of "a" to examine the sur
veyor's archieves to ascertain who
may be his deputies, or the ar
chives of the county court to
learn if a bond has been filed
and approved for any one
as q deputy. That duty devolves
by law upon the county commits
sioners' court, and when "a" has
presented his file, properly made, to
the person in charge, he has done all
that the spirit of the law requires,
and the surveyor is bound to recog-
nize his file, if there is no previous
legal file on his records. L find no de-
cisions on this question by the courts
but it has been previously so ruled
by this department., and this ruling
will be adhered to until the courts
have declared it erroneous. Any
other position would enable the
surveyor, by absenting himself
from his Office, to prevent anyone ex-
cept such MS he selected, filing upon
vacant lands.
From the facts presented, the file
of "a" should have been respected,
and of course that of "B" rejected.
Very respectfully,
w. q. WALSH,
Commissioner.