The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-13
LAND FRAUDS IN FLORIDA.
The Manner in Which Our Home
stead Law Is administered.
Fron, the Ne,o York World.

stead Law Is Administered.
Iron, the Neto York World.
WASHINGTON, July 10.-Senator ingalls,
to-day introduced in the senate a petition
of George F. Calvert, a resident of Volusia
county, Florida, praying for a congressional
investigation. The story of the petitioner
Is as follows:
In 1869 an old colored man, an ex-slave
named Richmond Lewis, settled on a tract
OF land near Port Orange. After clearing
and improving it he gave certain Gen,
Eli Sl2 to make proper entry for him at the
local land office. This Ely failed TO do, and
Lewis was too ignorant to know that he re-
quired papers. Everett II. Jones, mem
there was no entry of Lewis claim, went
quietly to the land Office at Gainesville and
entered the same homestead. He then
sought out secluded spot on the land, and,
working at night, made clearing "a feet
in diameter. Upon this clearing he erected
shanty, feet high, feet wide
and feet long, of sticks with the bark on
| and covered with palmetto leaves.
Six months thereafter, though he had
never occupied the shanty day, he claimed
| the property. but was contested by Alfred
Force, grandson of Lewis, and the petit
TONER, Calvert. Fin ling that Lewis had
never entered the land, Force completed his
proof and filed an affidavit against Jones
| for abandonment, in having never lived
upon the property. At the trial Jones
3wore that he had a house on the land
furnished with everything necessary for
comfort and convenience: that he lived in
the house and had made it his home; that
he had made a clearing surrounding the
house half an acre in extent, which he had
| planted with orange trees. The petitioner
| tried to croSs-examine Jones, but was
/ silenced by the Commissioner, George w.
| Lyman.
After the trial Calvert found, as he al
| leges, that Jones had suborned several wit
neSses to corroborate his own testimony
| among them Jones' partner, James w.
douglass, the county surveyor. He also
found that the records had been altered in
favor of Jones. Upon appeal to the land
| office at Gainesville that office decided the
case in favor of Force and the petitioner
upon which Jones appealed to the commits
| sioner of the general land office on the
| ground that the decision was contrary to
| the evidence. This appeal is still pending.
After the trial Of the case Calvert called
| the attention of the United States attorney
to the alleged perjury In the testimony OF
Jones and his witnesses, aud the United
| States grand jury at Jacksonville found in
| dictments against Jones for perjury and
against Jones, Douglass and Lyman for
conspiracy with intent to defraud the gov
| eminent. These men were acquitted by
the failure of the United States attorney to
| sign the indictment. Lyman then de-
manded of Calvert S75 for taking the test-
mony in the case, and, though notified by
the commissioner of the general land office
that the charge was out ageous and should
| not be collected, he brought suit for it's re-
| covery. In Calvert's absence a judgment
was secured against him for the full amount,
and upon execution a piece of land valued
at 81 coo was sold to satisfy it, and was pur-
chased by Lyman for S36. Calvert claims
to have appealed for justice to the commits
sioner of the general land office, but the
machinery of that office being ponderously
slow, he asks for congressional investiga-
ton.