All conveyances of real estate, in this Commonwealth, made in trust for, or made to, or by, any alien, or aliens, before the passage of the act, approved the first day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one,¹ entitled “A supplement to an act relating to corporations, passed the twenty-sixth day of April, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five”² shall be entitled to the benefits of that act, as though made after the passage thereof, and they are hereby ratified and confirmed: And the premises held in trust, for said alien, or aliens, may be conveyed directly to them; such alien or aliens may hold, or convey, such estate, as fully as any citizen of the United States; Provided, That the amount, so to be held and conveyed, shall not exceed the amount named in said act, viz: five thousand acres; and that this act shall not affect any pending litigation, or any case heretofore decided.