The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-06-24

he r. and 4. and lts Land Grants.
la letter of length addressed to GER
tain citizens of Pensacola who by letter
had requested full information on the
matter, Capt. w. d. Chipley reviews the
record of the land grants to the Pensa-
cola and Atlantic railroad, of its construc-
ton under them, and Of the failure of
previous efforts to build q road through
western Florida. The original charter
OF the 7. and A. was written by Captain
Chipley and sent on to Tallahassee, which
he did not visit during the session of the
Legislature. This charter asked for s.
o00,o0 acres of swamp and overlooked
lands, but was altered and amended until
as passed the company were allowed three
land grants-oue of alternate sections of
swamp lands within six miles of the road,
and from this the company have derived
but sc, 900 acres for the reason that no
more can be found within the limit; an
other grant was 10000 acres per mile of
swamp lands nearest the line of the road"
but of this the company has secured less
than 5000 acres per mile, and must look
outside of West Florida for the rest the
third grant was formal assignment of
any rights Of the State of Florida west
of the Apalachicola river to 3,sio acres
per mile granted under the act Of Congress
of $50 to aid the construction Of line
Of railroad. This assignment was made
with the provision that the company COM
plete the road to Pensacola within three
years-and it did it within two years.
The attempt to have Congress declare the
forfeiture of the land grant is made iii
the face Of the fact that "the principles
involved in the act of the Legislature,
and the p and a. r. r. claim resulting
from that act, have been held valid by the
decisions of two Secretaries of the Int
rior and by several decisions of the SUI
preme Court of the United States" and
to that court the company will appeal if
the FORGETTING bill should be passed.
Before the war efforts were made to Sc
cure what was then recognized as the
chief necessity of Florida "a route
through to the west to bring together
| the parts of the State that were otherwise
as widely separated in point Of time as
were Pensacola and Washington City.
| After the war new efforts were made, for
in ls6? the Legislature voted 81 900 per.
mile in money, and the bill was passed
unanimously, but the work was not I'M
lcrtaken. In 1870 $4,000 per mile was
voted for the work, and it was not begun.
| Under Governor Reeds administration
the Trustees Of the State lands entered
! into contract TO give all the lands Of the
| State, held or ever to be acquired to Sc
cure the building of the road. In ls7-
! the Legislature granted to the Western
Railroad Company $1,000 acres per mile
to build the road In 1879 the Legisla-
ture offered the Chattahoochec and Pen
sacola Railroad Company 10000 acres per
mile to do the work. In 1881 the Lcgis-
lature made the grants as stated to the
Pensacola and Atlantic Company and the
members from the West of the next Leg
islature travelled on its first-class track to
| Tallahassee We have no fear that the
efforts Of Senator Call and others will
avail for the reputation of the obligations
entered into by the State with the com
pany that so promptly carried out in good
faith its part of the contract by accom-
plishing Florida's most needed work of
Internal improvement. Settlers may be
much annoyed, however, and the devel-
opment Of many localities retarded by
forcing the lands into court, thus dis
quieting titles and preventing invest
ments for an indefinite period.