| Show TITLE TO WATER A propounds the following ln inquiries with the request that chat they be answered through the NEWS 1 1 I have a homestead proved up on can any person persen or persons deny me the privilege of using the water flowing from springs which I 1 have used for nine bine or ten years having done work on the springs when nee necessary essary when there were no regulations regulations refu lations existing in reference to them 2 if a man has a homestead below mine can lie he put in a dam and raise the water so as to damage my land even it if he has had bad such a dam for six months or a year can he still maintain a right to keep it there can a man go before a justice of the peace and bond over to another man a portion of his homestead as soon as he has filed on it without being in danger of the law 4 when a man has not used water for or three or fo pr years can he be still stil I 1 maintain a right to the ownership of it after have used it in reply to the first and fourth question tiong we will state that permanent and absolute ownership of water is acquired by the act of prior ampro appropriation p ria tion this is the sole origin of title to the waters of natural streams or springs in this territory and original title to such waters cannot bes acquired anany other way subsequent title may be acquired by purchase Purs hase inheritance etc hut but the first person who appropriates to some actual definite use the waters of a natural stream or spring becomes the rightful lawful and only owner of such waters to the extent of his appropriation tion but no further thus if a given stream or spring yields live five thousand inches and a settler appropriates two thousand inches with which to irrigate land run a mill etc such settler becomes the owner of two fifths of the waters of such stream or spring but bat no BO part of et the three fians nf na belongs to him ownership of the same must be ac acquired then III r ed by appropriation and use when a person erson becomes the owner of the ane whole or a portion of the waters of a stream or spring by the act of prior appropriation or by purchase inheritance etc his title cannot be clouded by his neglect or failure to use such water no matter how long th the period of such neglect or failure may continue the water is his property and his only as much as and in the same sense as his bis horse or his land or any other kind of property owned by him whenever oe be chooses he be way may resume the possession use and control of the water to which he be may at any time in the past have acquired a title provided of course he has neither sold nor encumbered the same in reply to the second question we will state that it is a well settled principle of riparian law that a person cannot be permitted either to establish or maintain a dam in a stream if such dam causes an overflow upon the laud land of or damage to another if the object of athe the dam be some private use but if the object of such ouch dam be some public use then the right to establish and maintain it may be acquired by some legal process OL of condemnation which however involves the payment of lust just damages to all parties suffering injury in ary the third query is too indefinitely stated to enable us to reply specifically we do not know whether our correspondent by the phrase bond over means to mortgage or to give a bond for a deed of the land we may state in general beneral terms that a settler who flies les on land or surrenders occupancy or possession of it within the period for which he is by law required to occupy it bafo before r e perfect ing his title vitiates his claim A mort gage given by a settler on land to which he be has not ac acquired aired a title would be worthless at feast east until the title of the mortgagor should be perfected A settler who has filed on land and resided upon it as long as the law requires him to but who has not yet received his title from the government may give a bond conditioned that he will on receipt of his government title convey the whole or a designated part of his claim to the obligee but such a bond given before the settler has fully complied with the lawright law might under some circumstances vitiate his claim the circumstances of a given case would have to be stated in order for us to make a more definite reply |
