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CURRENT DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME
COURT. Continued from page 262.

I. P. BLEDSOE, Plaintiff in Error;

Vs:

C. S. WORTMAN, and R. W. CANFIELD,
Defendants in Error.

(Rendered January 7, 1913.)

Error from District Court of Mayes County. T. L. Brown, trial Judge.

No. 1944

Affirmed

1. F. an adult, not of Indian blood, but a member of the Cherokee tribe of Indians, on January 27, 1905, but prior to the time of the selection of his allotment, conveyed a certain forty acres of land, which was then a part of the public domain of the Cherokee Nation, but which was afterwards selected by him as a part of his surplus allotment. HELD, that the Act of April 24th, removing "all restrictions upon the alienation of lands of all allottees of either of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indians, who are not of Indian blood, except minors" except as to homesteads, had no application to him until after he had selected his allotment.

2. Section 642, chapter 27 of Masnfield's Digest of Arkansas (1884) providing that.

"If any person shall convey any real estate by deed, purporting to convey the same in fee simple absolute, or any less estate, and shall not at the time of such convey. ance have the legal estate in such lands, but shall after. ward acquire the same the legal or equitable estate afterwards acquired shall immediately pass to the grantee, and such conveyance shall be as valid as if such legal or equitable estate had been in the grantor at the time of the conveyance." Has no application to said conveyance, the same being at the time of execution invalid, being expressly prohibted by law.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

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MARY LEAGUE, Plaintiff in Error

VS.

No. 2123

THE TOWN OF TALOGA, Defendant in Error.

(Rendered January 7, 1913.)

Error from District Court of Dewey County.

G. A. Brown trial Judge.

Affirmed

1. The devolution of title to lots on townsites in the Cheyenne and Arapaho county reserved for county seat purposes by the Secretary of the Interior, is governed by sections 2387 and 2388, Revised Statutes of the United States and the townsite laws of the State of Kansas as modified by the act of March 3, 1891, (26 Stat. 1026.)

2. The construction placed on statutes or constitutional provisions by officers in the discharge of their duties, either at or near the time of the enactment, which has been long acquiesced in, is a just medium for its judicial interpretation.

3. The authority to reserve not to exceed one-half section of land in each county in the Cheyenne and Arapaho country for county-seat purposes conferred upon the Secretary of the Interior by sec. 17 of the Act of March 3, supra, embraced the power to set aside for public purposes such lots or parcels of ground situated upon such townsite as in the judgment of the Secretary, would be necessary for the municipal needs and conveniences of county-seat town.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

MIDLAND VALLEY RAILROAD COMPANY,

Plaintiff in Error.

VS.

H. G. EZELL, Defendant in Error.

(Rendered Jan. 7, 1913.)

Error from District Court of Osage County.

Hon. John J. Shea, trial Judge.

Reversed and Remanded.

No. 2449

1. Upon the arrival of cattle at their destination, the

carrier unloaded them into a receiving pen, then dipped them in oil according to custom, and then turned them into another pen and held them for several hours after the consignee had demanded possession. While in this last pen, it is alleged, that the cattle drank crude oil which had been allowed to collect there, and died as a result of it The carrier contended that the cattle had been delivered to the consignee upon their arrival at destination. Held, that under the circumstances of this case the cattle had not been delivered until the consignee had been permitted to remove them from the pens of the carrier.

2. In an action to recover damages for loss of the, cattle, the only evidence of the value of the cattle was the following: Q. What was the value of the cattle? Ans. "$16.80." Q. "You mean $16.80 each" Ans. "Yes, sir." As the evidence did not show that the witness was qualified to give opinion evidence, and as the evidence did not disclose the market value, and as it did not fix any time or place, it is inadmissible.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

GRANT MCPHERRIN, Plaintiff in Error,

V8.

J. M. TITTLE, et al., Defendants in Error.

(Rendered January 7, 1913.)

Error from District Court of Adair County.

J. H. Pitchford trial Judge.

Reversed and remanded.

No. 2445

1. The owner of a negotiable promissory note, who obtains it before maturity, for a valuable consideration, without knowledge of any defect of title, valid, and in good faith, holds it by a title against all the world.

2. Suspicion of defect of title, or the knowledge of circumstances which would excite such suspicion in the mind of a prudent man, or of circumstances sufficient to put him upon inquiry, will not defeat his title; that result can be produced only by bad faith on his part.

3. A negotiable promissory note is not dishonored by reason of a failure to pay interest prior to the maturity of the principal, in the absence of a stipulation in the note to that effect, but the fact that interest is due and unpaid is a material circumstance bearing on the question of whether the purchaser acquires the note in good faith and without notice of prior equities or infirmities in the title.

DECISIONS OF KANSAS SUPREME COURT.

KIMMERLE, et al.,

VS.

CITY OF TOPEKA, et al.

(Rendered Dec. 7, 1912.)

Appeal from District Court of Shawnee County. Reversed and Remanded

Railroad Corporations.

1. The rule that a railroad corporation is to be regarded as a resident of every county in which it operates its road or exercises its corporate franchises applies in the interpretation of a statute only in situations where such construction accomplishes the substantial purpose sought by the act involved.

Municipal Corporations.

2. Within the meaning of a statute which makes the inprovement of a street depend upon the action of such of the owners of the abutting property as are residents of the city, a railrord corporation is not to be deemed a resident of any other city than that in which its chief offices and principal place of business are located. Residence of Railroads Relative to City Improvements.

A foreign railroad corporation whose principal offices are in another state cannot be regarded, for the purpose of such statute, as a resident of a city in Kansas by virtue of the location there of office from which are

controlled the operations of the road throughout a district which includes this state, notwithstanding it has been granted all the privileges conferred by the laws of Kansas upon domestic railroad corporations.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

PENROSE, vs. COOPER.

On Rehearing.

-O

(Rendered Dec. 7, 1912.)

Reversed and Remanded.

Bonafide Purchaser-Diligence.

1. Before filing an action in ejectment, plaintiff without actual notice of an unrecorded deed, enquired of the tenant on the premises, and learned the name of the person to whom the tenant paid rent. Relying upon his knowledge that the same person had acted as the attorney for the record title holder, and had been until a few days before renting the premises as agent for the record owner, he made no further inquiry. It did not appear that further inquiry of the tenant would disclose the existence of the unrecorded deed or the claims of the grantee therein. Upon these uncontroverted facts it be came a question of law whether he exercised due diligence; and, upon the facts as stated, it is held that he was not bound to make further inquiry.

REVIEWS.

BUSINESS LAW FOR BUSINESS MEN.
By Hon. Utley E. Craine, LL. B., B. S.
Published by The John C. Winston Company,

Philadelphia, Pa.

This is an octavo volume of 608 pages, well printed and neatly bound. The object of this work is to furnish a safe guide to business men in the ordinary business affairs, and this the author has accomplished beyond question; the purpose has not been to make a technical book but a book that a merchant, mechanic, or farmer may turn to and find a reliable form for a contract of employ. ment, a lease, a notie, notce, or mortgage; and at the

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