O'Donnell

This case began in a bill filed by the United States for the cancellation of two patents granting certain swamp and overflowed lands in the State of California to that state, the patent from that state to one Darlington, and the successor deeds thereto, and for the quieting of the title of the United States against the successors in interest to California in the patented lands. The lands are a part of Mare Island, northwesterly of the main plant of the Mare Island Navy Yard. The District Court held for the United States, and this appeal followed.

Preceding the reasoning and extended consideration of the authorities of this opinion is a brief chronological statement of the facts and successive issues presented and our holding in each.

The United States asserts it has deraigned title from one Castro, claimed grantee from the Mexican government. Also, if the Castro title is not valid, it claims title by virtue of reservations of the land for naval purposes, made after the lands were ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( 9 Stat. 922 ). Appellants, deraigning title from the State of California, claim Castro had no title and that the lands were granted by…

(dissenting).

The decision in this case is important, not for the mere fact that the government has expended $2,000,000 on improvements on the land in question, but because under the doctrine of the majority opinion, none of the hundreds of Mexican grants in California are immune to attack. As the statement of facts is somewhat scattered throughout the majority opinion, I restate them for a better understanding of the case.

I. Statement of Facts.

(a) The Land in Question.

The land in controversy was at one time designated as “swamp and overflow Land Survey No. 34.” There is involved a question as to whether or not the land is a part of Mare Island; if it is not, it is very close to the island, being depicted on most maps as a part thereof. The southern part of the island is used by the government as a navy yard. The northern part of the island obtained by certain claimants in San Francisco Sav. Union v. Irwin (C.C.Cal.) 28 F. 708 , affirmed 136 U.S. 578 , 10 S.Ct. 1064 , 34 L.Ed. 540 , was known as “Swamp and Overflow Land Survey No. 569.” The southern boundary of No. 569 is the northern boundary of the land in' controversy, and the southern boundary of this latter tract is…