Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1852-1855, 1853-06-23
THE SWAMP LANDS.

we udNC oCCHs III lilC
u circular signed by the Governor and
State officers. Ill relation TO the Swamp
Lands. which his excited the surprise ol
our ex members of the Legislature and
other prominen: citizens VINO have seen
IL; ani will we fear work injury unless
modified.
o., the l4th Of Februlry 1851. Con
gfess donated TO the various States the
Swan, AMI Overlooked LindS within
,heir boriers, which rem ,inrd uns"ld. on
Que COT .ioh; anl that was, ;ndt the
Safes should draiu ani ditch them; the
Intent bsIng To convert them from mdu
ufdctorIes Ut midsni 10 cultivated ani
productive lsuiS. Ani. on the % h of
Nay 1852. our State l. L'gislature passed
law upon the subject. entitled Ian act
TO regulate I'll. s,Ie Of the Swamp Ltn Is
donIleI by tn. United STATES 10 the State
o. la lima. ami ~ proviie for the drain
ihg AMI rrclditning thereof. III accord
ance wtth the condition ef the grant. =
Thus recognizing the duly devo,vrd upon
'hem, aud accepting the grant. with the
conditions which accompanied il.
The circular. To which we ailude. Is
dated on the 9th inst: aud though signed
by the highest officers of State, we doubt
their power To al.er tie requirements of
;le Law, which is nov in force. Their
greatest authority seems to US IL be adj
visory, not mandatory; for The officers in
each county, charged with the Sale and
reclamation OF the Swamp Lands, are re
quired 10 take an oath faithfully TO exc
cute the law. The circular states:
2. The money arising from the pub
lie sales of any of the Swamp Lands. or
by private entry after such pubic sale.
FIRST deducting the necessary Incidental
expenses and fees of officers. are to be
applied 10 recldiming al! such land BY
ditching. dsking. &c. The funds thus ac-
cruing can be applie,: to tn"se lands only
that are sold at the time, and not to lands
remaining uasold.
A moment reflection will convince
any person that tins requirement will.
in mlny cases. absolutely prevent the
draining required both by Congress AMI
the Legislature. The 20th tn the 24Ih
sections of The act alluded To (s-e page
All. lst Vol. Revised Statutes) requires
the Swamp Land Commissioner. with all
Engineer, To adopt some broad AMI Gu IN
prenensive plan Of draining ana reclaim
Ing the Swamp lands lying within the
bounds of his county" lie is not re-
stricted To draining such only as are sold,
but the only limitation there is i'll the
lsw is. by inference. directly adverse to
the circular. 1t is in the 25th SECTION.
oni requires that there shall be enough
Swamp Lands sold previously within the
county 10 pay TN expense of his plan OF
drainage. showing plainly enough 1T was
not intended 10 restrict the drains mere
ly to the tracts sold. II enough tracts
were sold to pay for draining all the
swamp lands of the County. The plain
letter of the law, as well as his oath. re-
quires him to go ahead aud do it. What
else does the 2lst SECTION mean, when ii
compels him to examine all the swamp
lands within his county, estimate the
l"ngth. eadth aud depth of the nrcessa-
~ ditchrs-the height, width and length
Of the dykes or levees-and to LET the
work To the lowest responsible bidder, 1t
within the estimites, and il there is mon
ey sufficient to do ill WHIT else does
the 35Ih section mean. when ii requires
him even to Garry his drains across pri
vdle land If necessary. and TO Ply reason
able damages. or even to continue them
into adjtcent Counties where there are
no swamp lands at all?
Suppose. at the sale in July. as is very
probi5le, an SO acre tract adjacent to
the Kank akee may sell, and the very mex;
falls 10 fnl a bidder. L. the drain To
stop at the unsold tract when ii must cross
over it to b. Of any value 10 the tract
that is sold? Its continuation would
doubtless cause the unsold tract to find
a purchaser afterwards; and thus swell
th- b,lance Of the funds. which are u'ti-
natcly 20 90 into ne School funds. w.