The true Democrat., 1856-11-04

| might taank nlmSelI emitted to. Inc Sfea0 value of the property involved induced the Executive to have the suit brought for the State, and to recommend, at the last session of the General Assembly, that provision be made for paying, from time to time, suitable cont pensation te' the attorney to enable him to give his strict attention to the suit during it's pro gress, and when determined to receive full pay : ment. The General Assembly failed to make any provision whatever for compensating the attorney, and he afterwards withdrew the bill which he had filed and abandoned the case.-- Some months after this, the Executive employ ed Thomas Johnson and Napoleon B. Burrow attorneys at law, to bring and prosecute suit to recover for the State the west half of the southeast quarter of section three in township one north, in range twelve west, containing eighty acres the east half of this quarter sec ton having been adjndged to a pre-emptor.- They agreed with the Executive upon the same terms that the former attorney had undertaken the same business. They prepared and filed { bill, and the suit is now pending in the Clan cery Court at the seat of government You attention is respectfully invited to the lettte of Thomas Johnson, advising the Executive that, as he had been elected and qualified a Attorney General, he would in that capacity instead of as special attorney for the State hereafter assist Napoleon B. Burrow in the pro secution of the suit.
 1 The claim of the State to this land originated more than 23 years since, under an act of Con gress granting to the late Territory of Arkan sas 900 acres of land contiguous to and ad joining the then town of Little Rock, to bulc jail and court house at Little Rock It s recommended that provision be made for pay. ing to Thomas Johnson suitable compensatior for his services rendered the State, in the suit before he qualified as Attorney General; and also for compensating Napoleon B. Burrow in like manner up to the same period.
 By the report of the swamp land commis- sloners, 1t appears that from the 2nd April, lo55,to the 24th September 1856, they receiv- ed 1,243,068,76 100 cubic yards levee work, and granted certificates for payment to the Au- ditor, amounting to S30O,358 89; and that they received 49,812, ,38-1OO cubic yards of ditchlng at twenty cents per cubic yard and gave certificates upon the Auditor for payment out of the swamp land fund
 Under the first swamp land law of this | State, the swamp land commissioners were au thorlzed to issue swamp land scrip in payment for levee work and for other expenses. But that authority by a subsequent law was taken from them and vested in the State Treasurer. who alone issues swamp land scrip; but only amount of swamp land scrip ever issued by the commissioners, as stated in the report of the commissioners, was $37O, 76O %. The whole amount of swamp land scrip ever issued by the State Treasurer before the 1st October. 1856, IS shown by his report to be S1, ,426, ,266 fl, making, when added to that issued by the commissioners, S1,797,026 fl; of which there had been redeemed, before the first day of Oc- tober, 1856, $1,579,708 22-showing that the whole amount of swamp land scrip which re- mained unredeemed, on the first day of Octo- Der, 1856 was S217,318 19. This sum is con- posed of $3,560 issued by the swamp land commissioners; and S213,75s 19 issued by the State Treasurer
 There have been confirmed by the Secretary of the Interior and certified by the comms- sioner of the general land office of the United States, to this State, 597O771, ,29-1 100 acres of swamp and overflowed lands; and for 2, 246,- 385, fl 100 acres of the lands so confirmed the State has received patents from the United States. By statement marked %" in the Au- dltor's report 1t appears that the whole amount of swamp and overfowed lands disposed of by the State, before the 1st of Oct, 1S56 was 2,999, ,782, ,23-1OO acres. To satisfy the amount of scrip that remained unredeemed on the 1st Oct, 1856, would require 434, ,636, ,38- 100 acres of swamp land of the second class, at the es- abolished price of fifty cents an acre. The number of acres thus appropriated, added to the number of acres sold would make B. 433, 4l9, 100 acres of sold and appropriated
 
 I'll, ,29-l0O acres confirmed to the State, will leave I, 2,537 1852, ,68 loo acres of land more than necessary to satisfy all the unredeemed swamp land scrip issued before the 1st October, 1856 The swamp land commissioners state, in their report that there have been selected, as swamp and overt1owed lands, 9,514, SIS, ,63-1OO acres. By subtractlng the number of acres confirmed to the State from the number selected there would remain 543, ,S47 ,34- 100 acres selected, but not yet confirmed to the State. This number added to the 7, ,537 1852, ,6S- 100 acres of the confirmed lands not disposed of or requisite to satisfy unredeemed scrip, would indicate that 6,O9l, ,- 2OO,O2-1OOacres ofswamp and overfowed lands yet remained to the State. But the Executive considers that it would not be safe to estimate that the State will obtain, in all, under the grant, over S,5O0OOO acres, if quite so much. If we subtract from this estimated amount the 3,433, As, ,61-1OO acres already sold or ueces- sary to satisfy all the unredeemed swamp land scrip, the balance of the grant remaining to the State, unexhausted, will be shown to be 5O66. | 50l ,39-lOO acres.
 The swamp and overflowed lands were granted by the United States to this State for the wise and noble purposes of levying our ri- vers, draining our swamps and retaining and rendering these lands fit for cultivation and habltation. There is yet much to be done to accomplish in good faith these desirable objects This great work should be pressed forward as speedily as possible to completion. While seeking to guard and protect this magnificent grant of lands from being squandered and lost we should never forget our obligations to ac complish with it all that the act of Congress contemplated.
 To aid in the construction of the Cairo and Fulton railroad, Congress, by an act approved