“ A further contention is that there could be no laches, nor any adverse possession, prior to the issue of patent, because the claimants were prohibited by the Act of March 3, 1807, c. 46, 2 Stat. 445, from exercising acts of proprietorship until their claim was 'recognized and confirmed' by the United States. A complete answer to this is that their claim was both recognized and confirmed by the act of 1828, and the confirmation became effective when the claim was surveyed and the survey approved in 1851. ”

“ The grant was made in 1815 by Spain to Miguel Marcos, purported to cover 5,500 acres, and described the land in terms which made a survey essential to give precision to its boundaries. There was no survey during the Spanish dominion. After the cession to the United States, the heirs of the grantee presented a claim for confirmation to commissioners charged by Congress with the duty of examining and reporting on such claims. The commissioners found that the grant valid and recommended it, with others, to Congress for confirmation. ”

“ The contention is made that the decision on that appeal proceeded on the assumption that the survey was approved by the Surveyor General in 1951, whereas according to the record the approval was given shortly before the patent issued, which was in 1895. ”