2f FEDERAL nmromnn. —
with delegated powers, and if they act beyond the scope of those del-
egated powers their acts do not bind the principal. Thus, if a grant
was made of a specific section of land, and on the authority of such
grant a patent was issued for two sections, it could not be claimed
that the government was bound thereby, and could not set aside the
patent so far as it included the second section. That, it seems to me,
is parallel with the case at bar. The confirmation was of the grant
_ with certain named out-boundaries, and the allegation is that the
lines of the survey did not follow those out-boundaries, but extended
far beyond them, so as to embrace 270,000 acres of public lands lying
within the limits of this state. Such action of the surveyor, although
confirmed by the commissioner and followed by a patent, seems to
me to have been outside the jurisdiction and not binding on the gov-
ernment. I do not think the surveyor general, the commissioner of
. the general land-office, the secretary of the interior, _or the president,
or all together, can give away public lands, either directly or indirectly;
and when they have executed instruments apparently conveying lands
not granted by congress, the government can come into the courts for
relief.
But it is said that the present owners have acquired title since the
patent, have bought on its faith, and that as between them and the
government the latter ought, therefore, to suffer for the conduct and
mistakes of its ofhcers and agents. The bill alleges, in a general way,
notice by the defendants of all thesmistakes and wrongs charged.
But I do not lay so much stress on this, to defeat the application of
~ the principle suggested, as upon the fact that the patent on its face
recites the terms of the original petition and grant, gives the descrip-
tion in full, as well as the lines of the survey based thereon; and I
take it that every one who purchases a title under such a patent is
· chargeable with notice of whatever it contains. The purchasers,
therefore, had notice that congress only confirmed the grant   orig-
inally petitioned for, and that the officers of the government had no
authority to issue a patent for any land outside those boundaries.
They knew, or at least are chargeable with knowledge of, the fact now
alleged in the bill, that the lines of this survey run way outside of the
out-boundaries as given in the grant. Of course, this precludes them
from occupying the position of innocent purchasers.
I think, therefore, that the demurrer to the bill must be overruled.
The defendants will have leave to answer by the October rules.