McKee

This is an appeal from a judgment denying appellant’s petition for a writ of mandate directed against the State of California, the Department of Finance and the members of the State Lands Division. All of the respondents will be referred to as the State.

The transactions involved here have to do with proceedings taken by appellant with the purpose of acquiring as lieu land, under the School Land Grant, 440 acres of land in Lake County belonging to the federal government. Appellant’s contentions are that he purchased from the State an indemnity certificate, commonly called scrip; that he paid therefor ; that the scrip was issued to him and that he then proceeded to have it applied to lieu lands on an acre-for-acre basis, thereby becoming entitled to a certificate of purchase. The contentions of the State are that the transactions were not “scrip” transactions, but instead that appellant made application to purchase the lieu lands for cash on an appraisal basis under which method of acquisition a preliminary deposit is first made and later, and after the lands have been clear-listed to the State and have been appraised, the purchaser pays any sum by which the appraisal exceeds the…