Forfeiture of Land Grants. 315 
feit the entire grant when all the conditions had not been com¬ 
plied with. 1 
Here were three, and probably the only three, possible plans 
for the forfeiture of land grants. In equity that of the Senate 
seems the only just one. The long acquiescence of the govern¬ 
ment in the continued building of the land grant roads and its 
failure to assert a forfeiture, should have estopped any action 
as to the portions of the roads already constructed. And it 
may be doubted if such an action would have been constitutional. 
While the question never came before the Supreme court, the 
language used in the case of Van Wyck v. Knevals probably car¬ 
ried that implication. 2 The majority amendment, however, was 
adopted and the bill passed by a vote of 179 to 8. 3 The Senate 
would not agree to the amendment, and, after a conference ex¬ 
tending through the remainder of that session and all of the 
next, no agreement was reached. 
In 1890 the Senate passed a forfeiture bill very similar to 
that of two years before. 4 This time the House committee was 
willing to agree to the Senate proposition as the only practi¬ 
cable one. 5 Mr. Holman again offered his plan of forfeiture but 
it was twice rejected by the House. 6 The plan of a complete 
forfeiture was submitted in a modified form so that the Attorney 
General was to bring suit to enforce such a forfeiture. 7 This 
was also rejected 8 and the bill, with some amendments, passed. 9 
1 Ibid. The amendment proposed by the committee would have for¬ 
feited lands along 4,598 miles of road. The amount forfeited by the 
minority amendment was not estimated. 
2 “ So far as that portion of the road which was completed and accepted 
is concerned, the contract of the company was executed; and as to the 
lands patented, the transaction on the part of the government was closed 
and the title of the company perfected.’’ 106 U. S., 360. See also speech 
of Mr. Oates, Record , 1st Sess., 50th Cong., 5929-5931. 
3 Record , 1st Sess., 50th Cong., 5935, 5939. 
4 Record, 1st Sess., 51st Cong., 3971. 
6 House Reports , 1st Sess., 51st Cong., No. 2215. 
6 Record , 1st Sess., 51st Cong., 7012, 7382, 7387, App., 574. 
1 Ibid., 7013. 
* Ibid., 7387. 
9 Ibid., 7389. 
