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- nar.01354
Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar to George S. Boutwell, 3 June 1870
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Be it enacted, etc. That section seven of the Act approved March 3, 1865, entitled "An Act further to amend an Act entitled 'an Act for the collection of Direct Taxes in the Insurrectionary Districts within the United States, and for other purposes,' approved June 7, 1862," be
amended by adding thereto the following words, to wit: And provided further that in all cases where the owner of any land sold by the Board of Commissioners, his heirs or assigns, shall recover the same from the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, by the judgment of any Circuit Court of the United States, by reason of a failure, without his or their fault, or neglect, of the title of the purchaser, derived from said sale, such owner, his heirs or assigns, shall pay to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, the amount of the taxes and penalties due to the United States on account of the land, when sold, together with interest on the amount of said taxes, at the rate of ten per centum per annum from the time the taxes became due, and all the costs and expenses of the sale, and of any subsequent proceedings by the Tax Commissioners before such purchaser, his heirs or assigns, shall be evicted from, or turned out of possession of the land so recovered, and no writ to put such owner, his heirs or assigns, in possession, shall issue, until such payment is made; and the Secretary of the Treasury, on being satisfied that any purchaser, his heirs or assigns, has been evicted from or turned out of possession of any such land, by the judgment of such Circuit Court, in the manner before mentioned, is hereby authorized, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to repay to the person or persons entitled thereto, the remainder of money originally paid by the purchaser
of the land so recovered, if the same has been paid into the Treasury, after deducting therefrom a sum equivalent to the whole amount which the owner, his heirs or assigns, is herein required to pay to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, before eviction, the amount so deducted to be retained by the United States, as a payment of the taxes, penalties, interest and costs, due on account of the land so recovered. And any suit or action now pending, or which may hereafter be brought, in any State court, to recover the possession of any such lands on account of any alleged failure in the title derived from the United States under such sale, may at any time before the trial, or final hearing of the cause, be, by the defendant, or, if there be more than one, the defendants, removed to the Circuit Court of the United States, next to be held in the District where the land is situated, in the manner prescribed by an Act approved July 27, 1866, entitled "An Act for the removal of causes in certain cases from State Courts," without regard to the citizenship of the parties, or the value of the land, or the amount in dispute—and all the provisions of the last named Act respecting the manner and effect of the removal, the offering of good and sufficient sureties, and all other matters and things to be done to effect such removal, and the right of said Circuit Court to hear and determine the cause of removal shall apply with full force and effect to the suits the removal of which is herein
provided for—Provided, the defendant, or, if there be more than one, the defendants, shall make it appear to the satisfaction of the Court of the State in which the petition for removal is filed, by filing an affidavit to that effect, or otherwise, that the validity of a title derived from a sale under the laws of the United States relating to direct taxes is involved in the suit, and that he is, or they are, interested in maintaining the validity thereof.
