When the sheriff had acknowledgedthe deed to Jefferson, he was as powerless to withhold it as the commissioner of the land office is to withhold a patent when once signed, or to defeat its operation. Jefferson might have taken the deed at any time wherever he could find it, without the consent of the sheriff, and the sheriff could not have compelled its return or had it canceled. But it appears that the sheriff did all in his power to have it effective.
OPINION By the Court:
The court below held that the Statute of Limitations had operated a bar to the plaintiff's claim. This was put upon the ground that in 1865 or 1866 there was a delivery of the sheriff's deed to the plaintiff. But it is apparent that no deed was delivered to the plaintiff until June, 1873, and the action was commenced in 1874.
Judgment reversed and cause remanded for a new trial. Remittitur forthwith.