David Josiah Brewer

“ With respect to the suggestion of counsel that it is a hardship that one who has changed wild land into a farm, and greatly improved it, should, after the lapse of many years, be deprived of the benefit of those improvements by reason of an undisclosed defect in the record title, it is sufficient to say that there is nothing in this record to indicate that the defendant ever made any improvements, or expended a dollar otherwise than in paying for the tax title. ”

“ We cannot, of course, take the intimation of counsel in the brief as evidence of a fact not appearing on the record. Further, so far as the money paid for taxes is concerned, it is familiar law that a purchaser of a tax title takes all the chances. ”

“ If no equitable right passed by the surrender of the land warrant and the certificate of location in 1858, but only by the payment of the money in 1888, the legal title created by the issue of the patent has no relation back of this later day. In other words, the United States does not part with its rights until it has actually received payment, and if, by mistake, inadvertence, or fraud, a certificate of location (which is equivalent to a receipt) is issued when in fact no consideration has been received, no equitable title is passed thereby ”