28 Kan. 376 | Kan. | 1882
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The facts in this case are -as follows: The congress of the United States, by an act approved July 2, 1862, granted to the state of Kansas 90,000 acres of land for the endowment, support and maintenance of an agricultural college. The state of Kansas accepted this grant by a joint resolution approved June 2,1863, (Comp. Laws 1879, p. 80,) organized the Kansas State Agricultural College, and provided that these 90,000 acres of land should be used solely for the endowment of said college. (Compiled Laws 1879, pp. 81, 83, §16.) Authority was.given by the state legislature for the sale of these lands, and for the investment of the proceeds of the sales in notes secured by mortgage on real estate. In pursuance of this authority the authorities of the college loaned a sum of money on note and mortgage. The mortgagor failing to pay, the mortgage was foreclosed, and no one else bidding and the mortgagor being insolvent, the mortgaged premises were bid in by the college authorities.
The act establishing the college provides for its government by a board of regents, and creates such board a body corporate. (Comp. Laws 1879, pp. 81, 82, §§ 2, 3.) The note was taken in the name of this body corporate, the foreclosure was in its name, and the title to the mortgaged property at
The case of Oswalt v. Hallowell, 15 Kas. 154, in no manner conflicts with this decision. In that case the title to the land had passed to an individual, and the state occupied simply the position of an equitáble mortgagee, and in such case, in the absence of express provision to the contrary, the mortgagor’s interest, like any other property, was subject to taxation. In the present case there is no relation of mortgagor and mortgagee; that ceased at the time of sale, and today the full ownership and control of the property are vested in the college, which is merely the hand of the state for the management of its properties, and therefore its properties are exempt from taxation.
The judgment of the district court will be reversed, with instructions to overrule the demurrer.