Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“ On February 23, 1905, the act of 1893 was amended so as to allow defendant claimants to file deeds or certified copies of deeds made under an order of court in previous proceedings for the sale of school land, or patents from Virginia or West Virginia, purporting to convey any part of the land in suit ”

“ The Constitution of the state provides as follows: 'It shall be the duty of every owner of land to have it entered on the land books of the county in which it, or a part of it, is situated, and to cause himself to be charged with the taxes thereon and pay the same. When for any five successive years after the year 1869, the owner of any tract of land containing 1,000 acres or more, shall not have been charged on such books with state tax on said land, then, by operation hereof, the land shall be forfeited and the title thereto vest in the state.' Art. ”

“ The statute further provides for bringing in parties interested, and enacts that land already sold under the statute, on which taxes since have been regularly paid, or land transferred by the Constitution, shall be dismissed from the suit, and thus exempts it both from sale in that suit and from the redemption incident to the proceedings for a sale. § 6. The redemption allowed is only from the title still remaining in the state, and does not affect titles under previous sales or the Constitution ”