Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 5.djvu/430

 418 fedebaij bepobteb. �complislies exactly what was oontemplated by the parties to this conveyance. The defendant has alwaya been recognized, by "ail the -world, as the owner of this estate, and has enjoyed ail its benefits. The levies; made thereon by the government have, in fact, done him no injury, or defeated or impaired his son's title, who could at ahy time have given a valid title to a lonafide purchaser by reason of his older conveyance. It may be claimed that this defendant, tendering a deed, now offers to make it appear, in accordance with section 18, "that the land at the time of the conveyance was and still is his property." This language must be understood as meaning that the proof of such facts must be made by testimony which can be legally heard in courts of justice; as, for instance, when a debtor has title to a parcel of real estate,.but his deed is lost before recording, in such case, if taken from him by a levy, he could establish his title by any testimony legally admissible, and so confirm the title under the levy; but it could not have been the intention of this section to enable a party guilty of a fraud to reap the benefit pf his fraudulent aets by reason of testimony prohibited in ail other cases. ' In the opinion of the court, this defendant cannot be allowed to defeat his conveyance to his son by establishing a fraud- ulent purpose of the parties, thereby to defraud the United States and prevent the government from appropriating the property in satisfaction of its daims on the defendant. Upon the evidence, which is admissible on this hearing upon the well-established rules of law, the court finds that the estates levied upon are not the property of the debtor, were not liable to seizure on execution, and cannot be held by the levies. The levies are set aside, and the plaintiflfs are entitled to alias executions for the f ull atnount of their iudgments against 8. B. Poole, and iuterest thereon. ����