Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-30
THE GAZETTE: FORT WORTH TEXAS SUNDAY. DEcEMBERS 80

familiar with the manner in which the
lands in this county were attempted to
be sold in the latter part of 1888 and
early part of 1884, that no classification
or appraisement of the lands was made
by the land board or Dy any one under
its direction, under the act of April
II, 1888; and there is no resolution or
order of the land board adopting or rati-
flying the appraisement made by the
county surveyor under the act of 1881
(Which might have been legally done by
the board) nor were the lands sold in the
county where situate, at public cutlery,
under a system of competition, b ut after
the registry of written applications for
purchase in the county surveyors office,
the bids were accepted or rejected and the
awards finally made by the board itself
in Austin. This failure then to make
classification and file the evidence of
the same in the county surveyors office
and then awarding the lands to appli-
cants in Austin and not III the county
where the land is situated, have under
the decision of the supreme court rem
dered invalid and of no effect, the entire
proceedings under which the purchaser
attempted in good faith to acquire title
The payment of the first installment of
principal, the execution of the obliga-
ton for the balance, the prompt payment
of the annual installments of large
amounts of interest, the fencing and i'm
provement of the lands, inducing the ut
most good faith on the part of purchasers
to comply with the law, as promulgated
by the resolutions of the state land board,
all go for nothing, by the failure of the
state S agents to perform their part of a
contract to which the citizen had no
voice
1t cannot be doubted that the decision
of our supreme court is correct decision
of the law, it is certainly entitled to
higher respect than the orders, resolu-
tions and DEGREES of the state land board,
and the only source to which our people
can look for relief is to the legislature
soon to convene.
Under the law as now declared by the
highest court, a purchaser of school land
under the resolution of the land board,
cannot get into court on his title, nor can
he show himself entitled to a recovery
against naked treSpasser.
This being the case, and large ma
jority of the citizenship of Western
Texas being directly interested in lands
held by Just ssuch tenures as Martin 8
uSSiol Sb IOuIl llIC
lature should not hesitate as matter of
simple justice to ratify, by healing act
the sales made by the land board, where
the purchasers are not at fault and where
the state is certainly receiving money on
the contracts of purchase.
The state owes it to it, citizens to Sc
cure them in the property for which their
money is taken and to adopt the acts of
the land board in making the sales,
where there has been good faith on the
part of both the land board and the pur-
chasers, notwithstanding there may have
been technical irregularities in consum-
mating the sales.
1t is not the purpose of the Standard to
abuse the land board, but by an intel
ligent discussion of this subject to induce
legislation at the coming session that will
secure our citizens in their property
rights and correct irregularities and de-
fects in the administration of the former
law for which the citizen is not to blame.