Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 6.djvu/373

DALLKS CITY V. MISSIONABY SOCIETY. 361 �a case the section provicies that a patent may issue for the grant "upon a survey thereof, approved by the surveyor gen- erai," and "found correct by the commissioner;" subject, bowever, to the qualification that "such patent shall only operate as a relinquishment of title on the part of the United States, and shall in no manner interfere with any valid adverse right to the same land, nor be construed to preclude a legal investigation and decision by the proper jndicial tri- bunal between adverse claimants to the same land." �The patent in question expressly declares that it is issued to the defendant subject to this qualification. There is, then, no question in this case of the power of this court to investi- gate the grounds upon which this patent was issued, and to determine that they were insufficient or otherwise, either in law or fact, and deeree acoordingly. The patent and the subsequent action of the parties has had the effect to remit the case to this forum to try and determine to whom the pat- ent should have issued for the portions of the tract claimed by the plaintiffa. �It is admitted that the plaintiffs are entitled to the patent for the portions claimed by them, unless the defendant was entitled to the tract as a mission station under section 1 of the act of August 14, 1848. �On April 30, 1853, the defendant, by its agent, Eev. Thomas H. Peai'ne, notifie d the land department of its claim to a mis- sion station near Salem, in Marion county, the same being parts of sections 23 and 26, in town 7, of range 3 W., S. of the Wallamet meridian, and containing 97.39 acres, which claim was allowed. �And iiow the plaintiffs contend that under the act a relig- ious Society can only feceive a grant of one mission station, and the defendant, having eleeted to take the station at Salem, is therefore barred from claiming the one at The Dalles. I do not think this is the most reasonable con- struction of the statute. It grants the land "occupied as. missionary stations" to the several religions societies to which said stations respectively belong. It is true that this langnage- would be satisfied with the grant of one station to each society.. ��� �