o tax lands held
by the United States at the time of admission and subsequently granted
to a railroad. The "equal footing" doctrine has had an important effect,
however, on the property rights of new States to soil under navigable
waters. In Pollard _v._ Hagan,[245] the Court held that the original
States had reserved to themselves the ownership of the shores of
navigable waters and the soils under them, and that under the principle
of equality the title to the soils of navigable waters passes to a new
State upon admission. After refusing to extend the inland-water rule of
this case to the three mile marginal belt under the ocean along the
coast,[246] the Court applied the principle of the Pollard Case in
reverse in United States _v._ Texas.[247] Since the original States had
been found not to own the soil under the three mile belt, Texas, which
concededly did own this soil before its annexation to the United States,
was held to have surrendered its dominion and sovereignty over it, upon
entering the Union on terms of equality with the existing States. To
this extent, the earlier rule that unless otherwise declared by Congress
the title to every species of property owned by a territory passes to
the State upon admission[248] has been qualified.

RIGHTS CONVEYED TO PRIVATE PERSONS BEFORE ADMISSION OF A STATE

While the territorial status continues, the United States has power to
convey property rights, such as rights in soil below high-water mark
along navigable waters,[249] or the right to fish in designated
waters,[250] which will be binding on the State. But a treaty with an
Indian tribe which gave hunting rights on unoccupied lands of the United
States, which rights should cease when the United States parted with its
title to any of the land, was held to be repealed by the admission to
the Union of the territory in which the hunting lands were
situated.[251]

Clause 2. The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all
needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property
belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall
be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of
any particular State.

Property of the United States

METHODS OF DISPOSING THEREOF

The Constitution is silent as to the methods of disposing of property of
the United States. In United States _v._ Gratiot,[252] in which the
validity of a lease of lead mines on governmen