Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1860-01-10

upon TINS survey, and upon the course of
the commissioners, il is eminentlv nro-
per that nus service should De fully ey.
ahmed, BOT only for the public benefi,.
Out as an act OF justice to rhe Commits
sioners and their assistants.
LOCAL LEGISLATION.
Two years ago, the attention of the I.ey
islature was particularly called to the evils
OF excessive local legislation. 1t had sub.
)ected the State to great expense, without
giving back In return the corresponding
benefits. | deem it my duty again to in
vlte your consideration of its evils. While
1t Is true that during the last two sessions
OF the Legislature, the amount OF such
legislation has been far less than in preyi-
GUS years, and large sum saved to the
state In consequence, it is also true that
the reform has not been complete, If
there Is in the Judgment of the legislature,
class OF cases where the the effects of
corporatio rs cannot be attained under gem
eral laws, that class can be specially desig-
mated in some practicable manner, and
every other class precluded from conside-
ration. A determination by the Legisla-
ture at the commencement of the session
to discourage special legislation, will save
much time and expense.
SWAMP LANDS.
In 1901, an act of Congress gave to the
States all the unsold swamp and overfiowed
lands that lay within them, respectively,
Tor certain purposes named in the law.
10 determine the amount of land to
which each State was entitled, the Colnmis-
sioners OF the Land Office submitted to the
Governors of the several States two modes,
one, by taking the fieli notes and SURVEYS
OF the Government Surveyors, and adopt
ing their returns of swamp and overlooked
lands; the other by the appointment of
agents Who should make examination of
the lands, and make proof of their charac-
ter to the satisfaction of the Land Depart
ment. Governor Dewey chose to take the
lands rs they were designated in the re-
turns OF the Government Surveyors. By
this mode the State acquired about 1,60O,-
Ooo acres. In most OF the States, these
swamp lands were selected by agents APP
pointed for that purpose. AS early as
1897 or 1858, 1t was ascertained that by
the mode of selection adopted by Gov,
Dewey, the State would lose from one to
two millions of acres of valuable swamp
and overlooked lands, and an act was pass
ed authorizing an examination and survey
of those lands. Nothing, however, was
done under that act. In 1857 another act
was passed for the same purpose, under
which some examinations and surveys were
made, bat the act provided no adequate
means of paying the expense. In my
message to the Legislature at its last ses-
sion, | urged an amendment to the law,
authorizing the expense of those surveys
to be paid out of the General Fund, to be
reimbursed from the Swamp Land Fund
when sales OF swamp lands were made.
The amendment passed. In pursuance of
the law, | caused those surveys to be Wig
Orously prosecuted. The report Of the
Superintendent of those surveys, which
will be laid before you, shows 1851, 1877
25-10O acres of land surveyed, in a portion
of the State only, and shows also over
six hundred thousand acres of lands to
which the State is entitled, in the fcw
counties surveyed, over and above the
amount received by the State under the
process adopted by Gov. Dewey. From
the surveys already made, it is safe to cal
culate that the State is entitled to at least
million and half acres of land more
than has been received. The price agreed
to be paid to the principal experimenting
surveyors, after consultation with the Sec
rotary of State, was five dollars per day,
and necessary, actual expenses. For the
care, labor, and responsibility required, the
price was low. No man, whose services
are not worth that amount, in such an en-
ployment, ought to be engaged in it.
The whole expense of the survey of these
lands, including the survey of Islands in the
Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers, is $780,
773 II, or less than two and one half cents
per acZe. The lands, at the lowest esti-
mate, are worth over a million of dollars.
The only mode by which they can ever be
obtained is by these surveys, pointing out
the errors committed, upon which to base
our claim upon the Land Department.
The Commissioner of the Land Office is
disposed 10 withhold these lands from
the State until an act of Congress can
give US the aeliet, on the ground that Gov.
Dewey chose to determine the amount
belonging to the State in an unfortunate
way. The evidences of these surveys
are in the hands of our Senators at Wash
ington, and the delegation from this State
there will press the claims of the State,
both upon the Land Department, and up
on Congr ess. The School Fund reeds
the avails of a portion of these lands. That
Fund will not increase as rapidly as here
tofore, while the number e school chill
drenis more rapidly increas ug inthe state,
and the amount per scholar will every
year decrease, while the aggregate a
mount OF the fund may remain the same.
OF the accounts audited for expenses by
the Secretary of State, have no knowl-
edge except that from the aggregate ex-
pense, it appears that these surveys have
cos,lcss than any other governmentsurvey
ever made in the State. A rigid investi
CATION into these audited accounts, as well
as into the transactions of all the depart
ments, is recommended.
RAILROADS.
Since the last session of the Legislature,
nothing las been done by the La Crosse
and Milwaukee railroad company, or by
any other company representing it, toward
a compliance with the act comforting the
land grant upon that company. BY the
terms of the law turning over the grant to
that company, the Legislature is authorized
to declare the grant forfeited, SO far as
rights have not become vested. The final
of the vexed questions connec-
ted with this grant, is serious subject tor
your consideration. shall continue the
same course that | have heretofore pursu-
ed, in regard to it, unless some steps are
taken by the Legislature TO change the
character of my duties.
| have no recommendations to make IN
the premises, except to suggest, that IN
case the grant, or any portion of 1t, Is put
into the hands of new company, it should
Z \