108 STATE LAND LAWS 



SECS. 123-124 OYSTEB LANDS REVERSION. 



SEC. 123. CITIZENS ONLY MAY PURCHASE. 



No person shall be entitled, directly or indirectily, to the priv- 

 ileges of this act* who is not an actual resident and citizen of the 

 United States and State of Washington, and no person not a 

 citizen of the State of Washington shall be competent to acquire 

 deeds to any lands sold by the state under the provisions of this 

 act.* (Laws '95, p. 38, sec. 8 ; sec. 6804 Rem.-Bal. ; 873 sec. 

 57 Pierce.) 



* 118-124. 



NOTE: The rights of non-resident planters were saved by the fol- 

 lowing clause of the foregoing section: 



Any citizen of the United States, and not a citizen of the State of 

 Washington, or any corporation organized under the laws of any other 

 state other than the State of Washington that has planted and culti- 

 vated and planted in oysters any tract or tracts or parcels of such 

 lands for the period of five years next preceding January 1, 1895, shall 

 have .the exclusive right to purchase such tract or tracts or parcels of 

 land so planted and cultivated as aforesaid, but not exceeding 100 

 acres in the aggregate, such prior right to be within six months after 

 the approval of this act. And failure to make application to pur- 

 chase said lands within said six months by such person or corpora- 

 tion shall forfeit the right hereby granted to such person or corpora- 

 tions to purchase any of such lands. 



SEC. 124. ABANDONMENT FORFEITURE AND REVERSION. 



If from any cause any tract or tracts, parcel or parcels of 

 land purchased under the provisions of this act* shall become 

 unfit and valueless for the purposes of oyster planting, the party 

 having so purchased and being in the possession of the same 

 may upon certifying such fact under oath to the Commissioner 

 of Public Lands and to the auditor of the county wherein such 

 lands are situated and also upon filing under oath a certificate 

 of abandonment of such tract or tracts, parcel or parcels of land, 

 in the office of each of said officials, such party shall then be en- 

 titled to again make purchase, as hereinbefore provided; or if 

 said land be used by the purchasers or any successors in interest 

 of such purchaser in whole or in part for other than the purposes 

 specified in this act, then upon application by any citizen to the 

 State Land Commissioner such sale may be canceled, and the 

 said land shall revert to the state and shall be subject to sale as 



