“ That the plaintiff, in his petition, had fraudulently stated the value of his land, the extent of his damages, and the joint character of defendants' action in entering and taking possession of his land, and had done this for the purpose of conferring jurisdiction upon the court.
If the last finding of fact was warranted by the evidence there is no need of going further, because such a state of facts would demand a dismissal of the action. ”

“ The error into which the judge in the court below has fallen is shown by an analysis of his findings. He did not find that the land which the plaintiff claimed to recover was not of a value in excess of $2,000, but that parts of that land which each defendant claimed that the plaintiff ought only to recover against him were each of less than the value of $2,000. ”

“ Rep. 754. It follows, therefore, as has been said, that if the third finding of the judge in the court below was warranted, his action in dismissing the case should be affirmed. But, after an examination of the evidence, we are of the opinion that nothing in it warranted any such finding. ”

“ Such an authority obviously is not unlimited, and its limits ought to be ascertained and observed, lest, under the guise of determining jurisdiction, the merits of the controversy between the parties be summarily decided without the ordinary incidents of a trial, including the right to a jury. ”