Texas Almanac, 1949-1950 Page: 80
[674] p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
80 TEXAS ALMANAC.-1949-1950.
Article XIll.-(Continued); Article XIV.
or delineated on the maps, or used as evi-
dence in any of the courts of this State, and
the same are stale claims; but this shall not
affect such rights or presumptions as arise
from actual possession. By the words "duly
recorded" as used in Secs. 2 and 4 of this
article it is meant that such claim of title
or right to land shall have been recorded in
the proper office, and that mere errors in the
certificate of registration, or informality, not
affecting the fairness and good faith of the
holder thereof, with which the record was
made, shall not be held to vitiate such
record.
Sec. 5. Certain Claims Declared Void.-All
claims, locations, surveys, grants and titles
of any kind which are declared null and void
by the Constitution of the Republic or State
of Texas are, and the same shall remain for-
ever, null and void.
Sec. 6. Forgers of Land Titles.-The Legis-
lature shall pass stringent laws for the detec-
tion and conviction of all forgers of land
titles, and may make such appropriations of
money for that purpose as may be necessary.
Sec. 7. Certain Sections Not a Repeal of
Laws.-Secs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this article shall
not be so construed as to set aside or repeal
any law or laws of the Republic or State of
Texas, releasing the claimants of headrights
of colonists of a league of land, or less, from
compliance with the conditions on which their
grants were made.ARTICLE XIV. - PUBLIC LANDS
LAND OFFICE.AND
Sec. 1. General Land Office; Grants to Be
Registered in; Land Office to Be Self-Sus.
taining.-There shall be one General Land
Office in the State, which shall be at the seat
of government, where all land titles which
have emanated or may hereafter emanate
from the State shall be registered, except
those titles the registration of which may be
prohibited by this Constitution. It shall be
the duty of the Legislature at the earliest
practicable time to make the Land Office
self-sustaining, and from time to time the
Legislature may establish such subordinate
offices as may be deemed necessary.
Sec. 2 Revival, Survey and Location of
Genuine Certificates.-All unsatisfied genuine
land certificates barred by Sec. 4, Art. X. of
the Constitution of 1869, by reason of the
holders or owners thereof failing to have
them surveyed and returned to the Land
Office by the 1st day of January. 1875, are
hereby revived. All unsatisfied genuine land
certificates now in existence shall be sur-
veyed and returned to the General Land
Office within five years after the adoption
of this Constitution, or be forever barred:
and all genuine land certificates hereafter
issued by the State shall be surveyed and
returned to the General Land Office within
five years after issuance, or be forever
barred; provided, that all genuine land cer-
tificates heretofore or hereafter issued shall
be located, surveyed or patented only upon
vacant and unappropriated public domain
and not upon any land titled or equitably
owned under color of title from the sover-
eignty of the State. evidence of the appro-
priation of which is on the county records nr
in the General Land Office: or when the ap-
propriation is evidenced by the occupation of
the owner, or of some person holding for him.
Sec. 3. Grants to Railways.-The Legisla-
ture shall have no power to grant any of the
lands of this State to any railway company
except upon the following restrictions and
conditions.First. That there shall never be granted to
any such corporation more than sixteen sec-
tions to the mile, and no reservation of any
part of the public domain for the purpose of
satisfying such grant shall ever be made.
Second. That no land certificate shall be
issued to such company until they have
equipped, constructed and in running order
at least ten miles of road; and on failure of
such company to comply with the terms of
its charter, or to alienate its land at a period
to be fixed by law. in no event to exceed
twelve years from the issuance of the patent,
all said land shall be forfeited to the State
and become a portion of the public domain,
and liable to location and survey. The Le is-
lature shall pass general laws only, to give
effect to the provisions of this section.
Sec. 4. Sale of Lands to Actual Settlers.-
No certificate for land shall be sold at the
Land Office except to actual settlers upon
the same, and in lots not to exceed one hun-
dred and sixty acres.
Sec. 5. Alienation of Railroad Grants;al Duty
of Attorney General.-All lands heretofore or
hereafter granted to railroad companies,
where the charter or law of the State re-
quired or shall hereafter require their alien-
ation within a certain period, on pain of
forfeiture, or is silent on the subject of
forfeiture, and which lands have not been or
shall not hereafter be alienated, in conform-
ity with the terms of their charters, and the
laws under which the grants were made, are
hereby declared forfeited to the State. and
subject to pre-emption, location and survey.
as other vacant lands. All lands heretofore
granted to said railroad companies to which
no forfeiture was attached, on their failure
to alienate, are not included in the foregoing
clause, but in all such last named cases it
shall be the duty of the Attorney General.
in every instance where alienations have been
or hereafter may be made, to inquire into
the same, and if such alienation has been
made in fraud of the rights of the State, and
is colorable only the real and beneficial In-
terest being still in such corporation, to
institute legal proceedings in the county
where the seat of government is situated, to
forfeit such lands to the State, and if such
alienation be judicially ascertained to be
fraudulent and colorable as aforesaid, such
lands shall be forfeited to the State and be-
come a part of the vacant public domain.
liable to pre-emption, location and survey.
Sec. 6. Grants to Heads of Families and
Single Men.-To every head of a family with-
out a homestead there shall be donated 160
acres of public land. upon condition that he
will select and locate said land, and occupy
the same three years and pay the office fees
due thereon. To all single men of 18 years
of age and upwards shall be donated eighty
acres of public land. upon the terms and con-
ditions prescribed for heads of families.
Scc. 7. Mines and Minerals Released to
Owners of the Soil.-The State of Texas
hereby releases to the owner or owners of
the soil all mines and minerals that may be
on the same, subject to taxation as other
property.
Sec. 8. Time Extended to Comply With Act
of 1870.-Persons residing between the Nueces
River and the Rio Grande and owning grants
for lands which emanated from the Govern-
r:ent of Spain. or that of Mexico, which
gr" is have been recognized and validated
r" he State, by acts of the Legislature.
zoved Feb. 10. 1852: Aug 15, 1870. and
o'oer acts, and who have been prevented from
complying with the requirements of said acts
by the unsettled condition of the country,
shall be allowed until the 1st day of January,
1880, to complete their surveys and the plots
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Texas Almanac, 1949-1950, book, 1949; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117167/m1/82/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.