UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ANDRADE.

48 of 1882 contains, besides Art. 2 above quoted. Art. 5, which reads as follows:
Art. 5 of Law 48 of 1882: "In case a cultivator should be deprived of his property through due process of law, he shall not be dIspossessed of the land occupied by him without first being indemnified to the extent of the value of the improvements made on the land, as possessor in good faith of the land.
"Improvements shall consist of clearing of the land. embankments, cultivation and dwellings, the value of which shall be appraised by experts, as provided for in the Judicial Cod( of the nation or of the state in which the adjudicated land is located.
"Until the value of such improvements shall have been paid, there shall not exist against the possessor any action for ejectmenu from the land."
The defendant, besides being considered to all effects by law as a possessor in good faith of the land occupied by him, and having occupied it indisturbedly with the knowledge and consent of the Colombian authorities, is entitled to the right provided for by Art. 739 of the Civil Code, which article provides for the payment of the improvements made on the land.
The sixth article of the Treaty determines how the damages to the owners of private lands or private property shall be ascertained, should they be deprived thereof 1y reason of the grants contained in the Treaty.. It further provides that: "No part of the work on said canal or Panam-i railroad, or on any auxiliary works relating, thereto and authorized by the terms of this Treaty, shall be prevented, delayed or impeded by or pending such proceedings to ascertain such damages." The Court, taking into consideration the foregoing, affirms the judgment of the lower court in denying the motion for a new trial and in recognizing the right of the plaintiff to revendication of the land in dispute, the same not being open to appropriation (Art. 918 of the Fiscal Code); and said prohibition against appropriation having been publicly declared by Executive Decree, which decree was fully within the executive prerogative, the same being but declaratory of the existing laws and in aid thereof.
The decision of the lower court as to the improvements on the property is reversed, and it is ordered, adjudged and de-

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1907.