according to law, exclusively and against any other person whatsoever, who lay claim subsequent to that date.

C. L. 1865, chap. 101, $8: Jan. 23, 1864. Tr. Contracts. under Mexican laws.

§ 2144. All manner of contracts celebrated under the laws of Mexico shall be and are hereby settled under the same laws, without being affected in the final decision of them by Jan. 9, 1852. Tr. the application of any territorial law.

C L. 1865. C. 43. § 1;

Contracts and grants by Mexican recourse to territorial law.

§ 2145. Each and every contract or grant celebrated by the civil, ecclesiastical or military authorities, under the gov- authorities, without ernment of Mexico, the terms of which have been fulfilled and complied with, are hereby declared without responsibility, appeal or recourse to the territorial laws or authorities, as actions in law or equity have no retroactive effect.

Whitney vs. McAfee, vol. 1, page 162, W. C. Rep.

Id. § 2.

Contracts, governed by law under

§ 2146. Contracts made in the territory from the time of its occupation by General Kearny, shall be governed by the which authorized. rule or law under which they were authorized, without being annulled in any manner; the same applies to grants of tillable lands made by the authorities of the same period.

Id. § 3.

Individual title in common grant: re

2147. No person shall in any case hold or possess under title, nor in any manner, a portion or portions of land within quisites of. the limits given to colonies under the government of Mexico, except the titles registered by the commissioner or commissioners for the government of Mexico, before belonging to the United States: Provided, That if the people give, or have given any grant, then in this case only can such right of com- 3; Jan. 30. Tr. mon property be exercised.

L. 1869, chap. 30. §

§ 2148. The owners or proprietors of any tract or grant of land in this territory, ceded or granted by the governments incorporate. of Mexico or Spain to any colony, community or town or to

Owners of munity grant

commay

March 18.

C. 54, L. 97. § 1; any person or persons, for the benefit of any town or colony community who shall accept the benefits of the provisions of this act in the manner hereinafter designated, shall become a body corporate and politic, with all the powers hereinafter granted and for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, and shall have perpetual succession.

How.

Id. § 2.

Duty of clerk of district court.

Id. § 3.

Notices to be in Spanish and English.

Id. § 4.

Notices to be posted in public places on grant.

Id. § 5.

§ 2149. Any ten or more of the owners and proprietors of any such land grant or real estate so held in common as a colony, community, or town grant, as aforesaid, may within five years from and after the passage of this act, and not afterwards, file in the office of the clerk of the district court of the county in which such land grant or real estate (or the greater part thereof, if the same be situate in two or more counties) is situate, a petition setting forth the names and places of residence of all persons claiming or owning any interest in the said land grant or real estate who are known to the petitioners, a description of the said land grant or real estate by metes and bounds according to an actual survey thereof, if the boundaries of such land grant have been definitely fixed by an actual survey, but if no such survey has been made by the proper authority, then such land grant may be described by any other description which will reasonably designate the land grant and the name by which it is commonly known in the vicinity of its location, and the nature and extent of the title under and by virtue of which such land grant or real estate is held and claimed; and praying that the owners and proprietors of such land grant or real estate may be created a body politic and corporate, under the provisions of this act. § 2150. Upon the filing of such petition it shall be the duty of the clerk of the district court to cause to be printed notices to the owners and proprietors of the land grant or real estate described in said petition, which said notice shall describe the said land grant or real estate by the name of which it is commonly known in the vicinity of its location, setting forth the filing and object of such petition, the names of the petitioners, and that on a day and at a place to be named in said notice an application will be made to the judge of said district court to grant the prayer of such petition.

§ 2151. Two copies of the notices provided for in the foregoing section, one in Spanish and one in the English language, shall be forthwith mailed by the clerk of the district court to each of the persons named in said petition as owning or claiming any interest in the said grant, to the post-office nearest to the place of residence of such person as alleged in the said petition, providing that it shall not be necessary to mail any copy of such notice to any person who shall join in such petition as a petitioner.

$2152. Five copies of such notice in the English language and five copies of the same in the Spanish language shall be posted in public and conspicuous places on the said land grant or real estate for at least sixty days next before the application shall be made to the judge of the district court to grant the prayer of the said petition, and no such application shall be heard by any such district judge until there shall be filed in the record satisfactory evidence of such posting.

$2153. Within thirty days after the filing of such petition, if it shall satisfactorily appear to the judge of the district court that the notices have been mailed as required by section two thousand one hundred and fifty-one, and that the notices remain posted upon the land grant or real estate as required by section two thousand one hundred and fifty-three, it shall be the duty of the judge of the district court, upon request of the petitioners to appoint three well qualified house holders, residing upon and having an interest in the said land grant or real estate, to hold an election by the persons owning and claiming to own an interest in the said land grant or real estate, to ascertain how many of such persons are in favor of the granting of the prayer of such petition, and how many are opposed thereto.

$2154. Every person owning or claiming to own any interest in the said land grant or real estate shall be entitled to vote at the said election: Provided, That if the right of any such person to so vote be challenged at the time the vote is taken, and a memorandum of such challenge is made at the time upon the poll book, it shall appear upon the hearing before the judge of the district court that the allowance or disallowance of such challenge, all taken together, may affect the result of any such election, it shall be incumbent upon every person whose vote is challenged, to prove that at the time of such election he was the owner of some interest in such land grant or real estate, and in default of such proof it shall be the duty of such judge to reject such vote.

§ 2155. The vote at any such election shall be cast by ballot, and it shall be the duty of each person casting a ballot to write his name on the back of such ballot: Provided, That if the voter is unable to write, his name may be written by another, if attested by two witnesses, who shall each sign as witnesses on such ballot.

§ 2156. It shall be the duty of the persons so appointed by the judge of the district court to hold an election at some central and convenient point on the said land grant or real estate, for the purpose of this act, and to give notice of the time and place of such election by posting notices thereof in both the English and Spanish languages, for at least thirty days, in five public and conspicuous places on said land grant or real estate, and to certify the result of such election to the judge of the district court within five days after the holding of such election: such persons shall also return to the clerk of the district the original poll book and all ballots cast at any such election.

§ 2157. If it shall appear by the certificate of the persons appointed to hold such election, that two-thirds of all voters voting at such election voted in favor of granting the prayer of the petition, the judge of the district court shall, on the day named in the notice issued by the clerk of said court, proceed to hear any objections that may be interposed in writing by any person to the fairness of such election, or the right of any person voting, to vote thereat, and shall continue such hearing from day to day and from time to time until the same is completed.

C. 54. L. 97, § 6: March 18.

Duty of judge.

Who entitled to vote.

Id. § 7.

Vote to be by bal

lot.

Id. § 8.

Election to be held at central point.

Id. § 9.

Judge to hear objections: when.

Id. § 10.

C. 51. L. 97, § 11: March 18.

be entered.

2158. If no objections be made on the day of such hearing, or if the objections made are found by the judge of the When deeree to district court to be not well taken, and it appear that twothirds or more of the qualified voters voting at such election voted in favor of the granting of the prayer of said petition, the judge of the district court shall enter up a decree granting such prayer, and setting forth that the petitioners and their associates and successors are by the said decree created a body politic and corporate under a name to be therein stated.

When petition shall be dismissed.

Id. § 12.

Powers of poration.

Id. § 13.

cor

How powers exercised.

Trustees to elected.

§ 2159. If less than two-thirds of the qualified voters voting at any such election shall have voted in favor of the granting of the prayer of such petition, the same shall be dismissed at the cost of the petitioners.

§ 2160. Upon the entry of the decree of the district court granting the prayer of any such petition, the petitioners, their associates and successors, shall thereby be and become a body corporate and politic, under the name designated in the said decree, and shall have and possess the following powers:

First. To sue and to be sued in their corporate name. Second. To sell, convey, lease, mortgage or otherwise dispose of so much of the land grant or real estate described in the said petition as is held in common by the owners and proprietors.

Third. To make such rules and regulations not in conflict with the constitution and laws of the United States or the laws of this territory, as may be necessary to the protection and improvement of such common lands and real estate and the use and enjoyment thereof, and of the common waters there

on.

Fourth. To assess against the owners and proprietors thereof such taxes and other assessments as may be necessary to defray the expenses of conducting the business of said corporation, and to enforce the payment thereof by such owners and proprietors.

Fifth. To have a common seal and to alter and amend the same at pleasure.

Sixth. To determine the number of animals that may be permitted to graze upon the common lands aforesaid, and the price which shall be paid by any owner or proprietor for the privilege of grazing thereon: Provided, Such price shall be uniform as to all its owners and proprietors.

§ 2161. The corporate powers of such corporation shall be exercised by a board of nine trustees, who shall be owners and proprietors, reside upon the land grant or real estate, be and the heads of families. Such board of trustees shall be elected by the owners and proprietors of such land grant, or real estate, and the first election for members of such board of trustees shall be held within sixty days after the entry of such decree by the persons appointed by the district judge to hold the election provided for in section two thousand one hundred and fifty-four, who shall give notice of such election in the same manner as provided in said section for the notice of election therein referred to: Provided, That if any one of such persons shall be for any reason disqualified or refuse to act, the re

maining two may hold such election, and if two or more of such persons shall be for any reason disqualified or refuse to act, the judge of the district court shall designate other qualified persons to act in their stead: And provided, further, That the persons receiving the highest number of votes at such first election shall respectively hold their offices until the election and qualification of their successors, as hereinafter provided.

§ 2162. A majority of such board of trustees and of their successors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and the corporation shall be in all respects bound by the acts of the majority of its board of trustees, done in pursuance of the provisions of this act within the scope thereof.

§ 2163. The board of trustees of every corporation created under the provisions of this act shall hold four meetings in each and every year, on the first Saturdays in the months of January, April, July and October for the transaction of all business of the corporation, of which meetings all persons shall be required to take notice; but the corporation shall not be bound by any sale, mortgage, conveyance, lease or other disposition of its common property unless the same be made and executed in pursuance of a resolution of such board passed by the affirmative vote of all of the members present at any of the stated meetings of said board, and duly entered upon the record of such meetings and attested by the president of said board.

§ 2164. The said board of trustees may hold special sessions at such times as the business of the corporation shall render necessary, but at such special meetings the only business transacted shall be such as may be necessary to protect said land grant or real estate from trespassers, the levying of taxes or other assessments for special purposes, and such other business as shall relate only to the general routine of corporation, and shall not dispose in any way of any part of the said common lands.

§ 2165. Each board of trustees elected under the provisions of this act, shall, at the first meeting held after such election, select one of its members to be president of the board, and another of its members to be secretary and treasurer thereof, and shall adopt rules for the government of such corporation and the use of the common lands of such corporation and the common waters thereon; and such rules so adopted shall be uniform as to all the inhabitants thereon. The secretary shall reduce to writing, in a book to be kept for that purpose, minutes of the business transacted at each special meeting of the board.

When conveyance to become opera

§ 2166. No sale, mortgage, lease, or other disposition of the common property of any corporation created under the tive. provisions of this act, shall take effect or become operative until the regular meeting of the board of trustees held next after the meeting at which the resolution authorizing the sale is passed, as provided by section two thousand one hundred and sixty-three, at which time, if such resolution is not objected to in writing, as provided in the next succeeding section of this act, it shall be the duty of the president and sec