“ Their purpose is to cast upon the Secretary the duty of ascertaining whether the selector is acting within the law, in respect of both the land relinquished and the land selected, and of approving or rejecting the selection accordingly. The power conferred is 'judicial in its nature' and not only involves the authority, but implies the duty, 'to determine the lawfulness of the selections as of the time when the exertion of the authority was invoked by the lawful filing of the list of selections.' Weyerhaeuser v. ”

“ The state appealed to the Secretary of the Interior and he affirmed the Commissioner's action. Both officers proceeded on the theory that the validity of the selection was to be tested by the conditions existing when they came to examine it and not by those existing when the state made it-in other words, they conceived that although the selection was lawful when made they could and should disapprove it and direct its cancellation by reason of the elimination of the base tract from the reservation a year later. ”

“ In the brief for the officers it is frankly and rightly conceded to be well settled that 'a claimant to public land who has done all that is required under the law to perfect his claim acquires rights against the government and that his right to a legal title is to be determined as of that time,' and also that this rule 'is based upon the theory that by virtue of his compliance with the requirements he has an equitable title to the land ”