Railroad Company v. Fremont County

The case was submitted on the record, with briefs of Messrs. Rohrer and Strong for the plaintiff in error, and of Mr. Harvey, contra. It will be seen from an examination of the grant made to the railroad company by the act of May 15th, 1856, that the reservations annexed to it are very full and explicit. They are first found in the enacting clause itself, where provision is made for the selection of lands beyond the lines of the six sections on each side of the road, in case any of the sections have been previously 'sold or otherwise disposed of;' and then again in the general proviso to the trant. These reservations clearly embrace the previous grant of the swamp and overflowed lands for the purpose of enabling the States to redeem them and fit them for cultivation by levees and drains. At the time of the passage of this act (May 15th, 1856), a moiety of the lands in controversy had been selected and reported to the land department; and the authorities of the State, under instructions from that department, were engaged in the selection of the remainder. The lands already selected and returned had been withdrawn from sale, and were not in the market at the time of the passage of the act; and as soon as the remaining lists were returned, which was January 21st, 1857, they were also withdrawn from the market. In the language of the railroad act, the whole of the lands in controversy were 'otherwise appropriated,' and were 'reserved' for the purpose of aiding the States in their objects of internal improvements.