“ We do not so understand the law. If, at the time of the commutation entry, there had been no fraud or lack of good faith, and the only defect was in the matter of time, we do not think the confirmation authorized by the act of 1896 is destroyed by anything like that shown to have been done by Jacobus in his effort to protect the title he had conveyed to McCord and McLeod. In other words, if the commutation entry was rightful save for the fact that it was premature, the act of 1896 does away with that objection and confirms the entry ”

“ If other grounds were relied on than those stated in the opinion of the local land officers, they would have been distinctly stated, and the fact that the decision was based upon the character of the occupation and improvements prior to the original entry would have been made clear. This conclusion is strengthened by the final declaration of the Commissioner:
'The sale and conveyance of the land is clearly proven, and it is also as clearly shown that the land was reconveyed to defendant so that he could submit his final supplemental proof for the benefit of McLeod and McCord ”

“ While the power of reexamination is not to be doubted, yet a decision upon a question of fact, once made in a special proceeding finally terminated, should not be regarded as overthrown by findings in a subsequent proceeding in the Department unless it appears that those findings directly overrule, or are necessarily inconsistent with, the prior decision. The application of Hill, in 1893, to contest the entry of Jacobus, charged as a basis of contest that Jacobus never settled on the land in good faith, but for the purpose of speculation ”