Somo

It appears from the record that a patent was issued by the state to the defendant for the lands in controversy on the second day of April, 1873; that on the seventh day of April, 1873, a certificate of survey in the name of plaintiff was filed in the office of the surveyor general; that on the same day the plaintiff filed his protest against the issuing of a patent to the defendant for the portion of the lands embraced in the plaintiff’s survey; and that upon the demand of the plaintiff, the contest was referred to the district court for determination. It is provided by section 3414 of the Political Code that “when a contest arises concerning the approval of a survey or location, before the surveyor *13 general, or concerning a certificate of purchase, or other evidence of title, before the register,” the officer before whom the contest is made may in certain cases hear and determine the same, and in other cases he must certify the contest to the proper district court for determination.

The question which we regard as the vital one in the case is, whether the district court has jurisdiction of a contest set on foot in the state land office by a party seeking to purchase lands…