The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1884-04-08
Correspondence FLoRIDiAN.l
d. d. II a.. II. %. n.

Editors Flortdian Referring to act No, .sa FL
the legislature of 1879, II will be observed HAT
the Gainesville, Ocala and Charlotte. iisrlnr
Railroad Company was organized tor i N'%s'i
purpose, viz: to build and equip railr>at VIA
that designated title.
The route of the road was carefully dfnhe',
and in view of the large appropriation OF STATE
lands to be awarded the company upon The
completion of the road several very irnTsHadf
safeguards were enumerated.
1st That the State might without the ds4aySS
| common TO the acts performed by corporate anS
| speculative bodies, it was stipulated that th,i
| survey of the entire route should be mads ana
| filed within twelve months. !
Cd. That the building OF the road should tE
| commenced within two years
| Sd. That the entire road should be complr e,l
| within seven wears Each stipulation appsviug
| to the seven years next succeeding the passage
| of said act
The language employed in the first sect|an CT
| this act, while allowing SOME liberty 10 thss
| company in the selection OF The route t,f lid
road, defines very infinitely the general lSrccsinSS
which it should pursue.
The evident intention of the act was 10 have;
! the road as nearly straight as il could bs rulet
so as to cheaper its cost of construction 10 Tho
| State as to lands donated for the convcnnnc&
|
| tances between important places. add 10 is at-
| traction TO immigrants.
We quote from said act as follows: 81 GG
mence at Lake City, in Columbia cOurty, aud
| run in a southerIy direction through or apir
Gainesville in Alachua county, Ocala in N.r-"n
county, Leesburg in Sumter county, and BraDks-
vile in fernando county, To the waters OF Tampa
! bay; with one branch from some point in S,lm-
| ter county through near Barlow in Polk county
to the waters of Charlotte Harbor in Mau:itee
county and another branch TO P,llalka in Put
| mum county.
There is nothing ambiguous in the above lie
scription. and any departure from the defined
| route would necessarily involve f0riritur" Of
| the land guaran teed to said company for bl'ding
only on this described general line. 1t hash en-
| rumOred that the successors TO the company 1sio
| were parties to this act contemplate Abandoning
the survey constituting straight line between
| Lake CITY and Gainesville, which passed through
| or Providence in Bradford county, rnd
connect with the Rnwland's Bluff and LiTt Oak
| Railroad about twenty miles west of the orig
nal survey; thence to Lake City
II is not probable that a company cmbrttiSg
| the wisdom iiscrbed to its President would batc
the prrsumton to think that they would acqi.lrc
these Stale lands in of such deviation ir,fn
the prescribed route.
Such arrogance is simply absurd and il ia sol
to be thought tor 4 mOmen; that the distinguished
gentlemen constituting the Board ct TRUSTEES
OF the Internal Improvement Fund would az
c,pt such branch road as the road indicated ny
this act, and thus violently throw away The lar;te
quantity Of the people land awarded in this Nj
of ten thousand acres OF land per mile Of rual.
Except the road pursucs southerly course ircen
Lake City to Gainesville The act is ignored; lie
Trustees by their acceptance would assume rghss
vested only in the Legislature. CITIZEN