“ It is a well-established principle of law that land assessed for the purpose of taxation must be so described that it may be identified. * * * The lands granted to the railroad company were the odd-numbered sections within the limits of 20 miles on each side of the railroad, except such as had been sold or otherwise disposed of by the United States, or to which a homestead or pre-emption claim had attached, or mineral lands. ”

“ But a joint resolution was passed by congress in January, 1864, declaring 'that no act passed at the first session of the Thirty-Eighth congress [that being of the year 1864] , granting lands to states or corporations to aid in the construction of roads or for other purposes, or to extend the time of grants heretofore made, shall be so construed as to embrace mineral lands, which in all cases shall be and are reserved exclusively to the United States, unless otherwise specially provided in the act or acts making the grants.' 13 Stat. ”

“ As was said by this court with respect to an act of congress declaring intoxicating liquors to be subject to the laws of each state, upon their arrival therein, 'congress did not use terms of permission to the state to act, but simply removed an impediment to the enforcement of the state laws with respect to imported packages in their original condition, created by the absence of a specific utterance on its part. ”

“ This question had theretofore been considered by the supreme court of Nevada in the case of State v. Railway Co. (Nev.) 25 Pac. 442, and probably the court, in delivering its opinion in this case, did not deem it necessary to restate the distinction there made. In the opinion of the court in that case it was said: 'A reason for withholding the right to tax unsurveyed lands may be found in the fact that it is impracticable to assess them. ”