Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-01-04

! didate for Governor, in full view of these ef-
forts, not only indorsed Governor Drew's
action in the matter, but gave expression to
one Hesirs re OF the people IN the platform by de-
caring that we favor the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
OF the internal improvent fund of the State at
the earliest practicable moment"
THESE We're positive indications from the
leaulng minds of both political organizations
tnat sale OF large block of the lands at a re-
dnced price, was the only possible means of
satlng ga. anything to the fund. And were they
not correctf Here were some fourteen mil
lions of "swamp and overflowed lands" rest
ing under burden of over one million of dol
lars. 1t bore an interest of over seventy thou
sand collars per year, which interest fell due
seml-annually, and was rendered interest
bearing as fast as it fell due. The litigations
anu anu necessary expenses Of administering the
Iunu consumed the larger proportion OF the
annual sales, and left but little to apply to the
rapidly accumulating debt. DELAY would have
4een a not distant but inevitable ruin. Even
fhls short respite was not to be granted 1t
was well known that the creditors had in
foked the powers of the United States Court
s anu becoming restlye from long delay had de-
Iernlned to force sale for their protection.
/ This would have been immediate destruction
/ OF the fund, and whitening blight upon our
/ hopes of development by our anticipated rail-
J roads. sale was the only Alternatives me-
cessity that could not be avoided without
/ lrTeparaDle ruin to the entire fund. Under
/ such circumstances the Board of Trustees
| were fortunate in securing a purchaser, and
! on June ], 1881, a sale was consummated to
/ Hamilton DisstOn. of Philadelphia of four
/ million acres for one million of dollars Suc-
/ cesslve Legislatures had granted away every
/ acre OF the swamp and Overfowed lands" to
/ various corporations. Had there been no
| debt, the lands were already granted aWay
| or had the board have sold one acre even for a
million dollars and cancelled this debt the
| fund would have been no better Off for all the
lands OF the character sold were already
! granted to these corporations. They were Of
/ no practical value to the corporations. how
| ever, until relieved of the debt that consti-
/ tuted first lien. When the debt was re-
! leVed by a sale OF portion of the lands, the
remaining portion became operative fer the
! purposes for which it was granted. The
rights of the creditors were acknowledged bv
| every grant of land made by the yarious Leg
/ islatures since 1876, and affirmed by general
act laws Of Florida, chapter 1926 passed by
the last Legislature. The entire fund was in
! the hands of the United States Court, and un-
der its control for the protection of said cred
| itors The trustees acted under the direction
OF salq tribunal, and the sale was confirmed
! by the court.
! No other transaction, certainly since the
war, has been of greater service to the State.
The debt that rested upon the fund has been
releved-an impetus to railroad building
| never before realized in the State was secur-
| ed-a large amount of capital, both from
Europe and America, has been invested in
! our limits, necessarily bringing with it an in
| nuX OF population-an advertisement such as
| we never had, and which has called public at
! tentien not only in this country but in Europe,
| TO our resources and climatic advantages,
| and large amount of property placed upon
the tax books, thus aiding in a reduction of
taXatlon-are some of the advantages accru-
| ing from the sale.
SETTLERS ON PUBLIC LANDS.
| In making the sale for the relief of the in
/ ternal improvement fund, the trustees were
| not unmindful of the settlers upon those lands.
Provision was made, allowing them from June
| ], 1881, until January /, 1888, to paw for their
| lands at State prices, and many have availed
| themselves of 1t, and entered their homesteads.
l take pleasure in stating, also, that Mr..
| DlSSJOn mas SHOWN q most cOmmenHahlp desire
| in the protection of that portion of our popu-
| lation, and although the time for the payment
| has now passed, those who are bona fide set
| tiers, and have not been able to avail them
| selves of the opportunity, will, am inform
/ ed, not be moested, but allowed further time
| to complete heirpayments.
RECLAMATION OF LANDS.
The reclamation of lands in the southern
| portion OF the peninsula, by a1fording an out
| let for the waters of that vast inland sea-
known as Lake Okeechobee, has been a moot
| ed question for years, but no decisive step was
! taken in that direction until January, 1881,
| few weeks after the present administration
came in, At that date, Col. |. Coryell appeared
! before the Board of Trustees of the internal
! Improvement fund, as the representative of
/ Philadelphia capitalists, and negotiated con-
| tract with said board for the drainage and re-
| clamation of the lands lying south of town.
| ship a. in consideration of receiving one half |
of the lands so reclaimed. The last Legisla-
| ture chartered the atlantic and Gulf Coast |
| Canal and OkeechObee Land Company" who |
have succeeded to all the rights under said
| contract
! This company Immediately had series of
surveys made to test the practicability of the
| proposed undertaking, and from their SURVEYS
| as well as those made by the United States,
under the direction of Gen. Gilmore it was
| shown that Lake Okeechobee has an elevation
of twenty two feet above the Gulf of Mexico,
and that Lake TahOpekalga, the headwaters
! of the Kissimmee river has an elevation of
siXty-fve feet above the waters of the Gulf |
These facts being ascertained the company
assumed the entire praeticahilitE of reclaim
nGf
acres, by drawing Off the waters and prevent
ing the periodical overflOws. The work was
commenced by building powerful steam
dredges on the Cal0osahatchee river and Ia
hOpekaliga lake, the plan of operations being to
open canal from the Caloosahatchee river to |
Lake OkeechObee, and the cutting of canal
from Lake Tahopekaliga through to Kissim-
NEE Lake, then Strengthening the Kssimmee
river, and the cutting of one or more canals |
from Okeechobee to the Atlantic coast, as well |
as the construction of subsidiary canals. The |
dredge upon the CaloOSahatchee entered Lake |
Okeechobee on the 2lst of December last This |
marks an important event in the history of
The work has been quietly but steadily |
pushed forward, one OF the conditions of the |
contract being that the work should be con-
tinuOqs and with force equal, at least. to |
the labor of one hundred men, Up to Decem- |
Der l, 1882 the company report that they had |
expended s99,777 40, and had constructed over |
twelve miles of canal, twenty-five to thirty |
| five feet wide and five to six feet deep.
The early completion OF the first series of |
canals is already assured, which, in addition to |
the reclamation of the lands, will afford great
inland system of steamboat navigation from |
kissmmee City through the CalOOsahatchee |
to the Gulf of Mexico, distance of $50 miles. |
The magnitude of this enterprise and its des- |
tined influence upon the future Of the State |
can scarcely be realized. The reclamation of |
many millions of acres, containing some of the |
most valuable sugar lands in the United |
States, with suitable climatic conditions for /
the successful growth of all tropical fruits is |
the harbinger of an era Of population. wealth !
Il ~ nv h6nahf nf in
EAST COAST CANAL,
The feasibility of forming an inland water |
communication from the mouth of the ST. |
john river to Biscayne Bay, in the extreme |
southern portion Of our State, a distance of |
some 27O miles, by utilizing the waters of Pablo |
creek and North, Matanzas, Halifax and In |
dian rivers, has long been conceded. y ..oot i
practical shane ,1.ien zen Colonel I. Coryei and |
Ion. John Westcott organized under the GEN |
eral incorporation act, the HFlorida Coast |
With a capital 81 s5o06oo. kct{S11e |
operations were commenced in November last |
by the construction of suitable steam dredge |
which was carried from st. Augustine to the |
south end Of Matanzas river, where it COM
menced operations, and has already cut a
canal 30 feet wide and averaging over feet
deep, from near the line of township 9S r.
10 +, to the mouth of Malta Compra creek a
distance of some four miles. A cut through
the marsh borders of Malta Compra creek for
q distance OF three and half miles due south
and distance from that point of one mile in
easterly direction, makes the connection
with Smiths creek, which flows south into
Halifax river, and forms the connection which
gives steamboat navigation at the lower end |
Of the lagoon to the "Haulover," where cut
of less than a mile gives the desired entrance
into Indian river.
The Importance of this great improvement [
has long been acknowledged and cannot well
be overrated. The trustees of the Internal /
Improvement frnd; appreeiating this, with
drew the lands belonging to the fund along |
the route, for the benefit of the enterprise. If
the evidences of earnestness and vigor mani
tested by the company having the work in
charge are Omens of the foture it will not be
long before that entire tropical section of our
State will be supplied with TRANSPORTATION,
and large population gladden. and render
productive the splendid lands adjoining those
yBriOus water courses. Even in its isolated
condition, the number of thriving settlements /
along the route attest the value OF the various
locations. And thus another great enterprise
has been inaugurated as illustrative OF the
great progress and development made in the
last two years
RAILROADS.
Nothing tends with more certainty to show
the increased prosperity and DEVELOPMENT of
a State than the Increase in her railroad facil-
tiles. As have before remarked Florida has
every cause of congratulatOn in having more
miles Of railroad construction in her limits. in
the last two years, than in her entire former
history. West Florida, that has for so many
years been cut OFF from direct communication /
with the remaining portion Qf the Sate has
now practically faIf connection with our sys-
tela Of roads; and Pensacola, the Qaeen of all
GulfpOrts, as well as the interior western cOun-
ties, will in few weeks have direct communi-
cation with our Atlantic seaports. The ranidity
with which the Pensacola and Atlantic Road
has been built connected with its suDerior