Opinion

Thomas v. Moore

  • 46 Tex. 433
Court
Texas Supreme Court
Filed
Jul 1, 1877
Status
Published
Author
Gould
On the bench
Gould
Cited by
2 cases
Authority
More cited than 83.2%

The opinion

Gould, Associate Justice.

On August 7, 1824, Isaac Jackson received a grant for a league of land in Austin’s colony, and on November 3,1831, he executed his bond to *434 make title to the same to John W. Hall, “so soon as the laws of the land will permit or authorize the same to he clone.” Appellant contends, that at the date of this bond, Jackson was prohibited by law from alienating his land, and refers to Hunt v. Robinson, ( 1 Tex., 748 ,) and other similar cases, as supporting his position. The construction of the colonization law of Coahuila and Texas, enacted March 24, 1825, has been, that the prohibition against a sale ceased at the expiration of six years from the date of the colonist’s title. (Desmuke v. Griffin, 10 Tex., 115 ; Clay v. Cook, 16 Tex., 73 ; Atkinson v. Bell, 18 Tex., 478 ; Clay v. Clay, 26 Tex., 29 .) As more than six years had elapsed after the issuance of title to Jackson, at the time of his sale to Hall, he was not prohibited from selling, even if the restraints on alienation, imposed by the colonization law of 1825, applied to colonists who had received titles under former laws. Jackson, however, received his title under the colonization law of 1823, and, under that law, it has been held, had the power of alienation at any time after receiving the grant. (Portis v. Hill, 14 Tex., 71 ; Emmons v. Oldham, 12 Tex., 27 .) In the long line of decisions on this subject, some of which have already been cited, no case can be found supporting the proposition that Jackson, holding, as he did, under a grant issued on August 7, 1824, was, on November 3, 1831, more than seven years thereafter, prohibited from alienating his land. (See Robbins v. Robbins, 3 Tex., 497 ; Spillers v. Clapp, 3 Tex., 498 ; Hunt v. Turner, 9 Tex., 385 ; Burleson v. Burleson, 11 Tex., 2 ; Box v. Lawrence, 14 Tex., 555 ; Emmons v. Oldham, 12 Tex., 19 ; Harris v. Hardeman, 15 Tex., 468 ; Johnston v. Smith, 21 Tex., 725 ; Moore v. Bullard, 24 Tex., 151 ; Williams v. Chandler, 25 Tex., 10 ; Ledyard v. Brown, 27 Tex., 404 .)

As the sale by Jackson was legal and valid, without subsequent ratification, the charge of the court on the subject of ratification becomes immaterial.

What has been said disposes of the only questions dis *435 cussed by counsel for appellant, and, in regard to other questions presented only in the assignment of errors, it is deemed sufficient to say, that we have found no error calling for a reversal of the cause.

The judgment is affirmed.

Affirmed.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.