The record-union., 1896-03-07
HAS NOTHING TO Do WITHlT.
The State Never Receives any Money for
Swamp Lands.
surveyor-General Wright Corrects a
Misstatement Concerning the
Fresno Matter.

A dispatch from Fresno appeared in
Thursdays Record Union" to the eff
feet that the Surveyor General had
made demand upon the County Treas
urer of Fresno for the return Of $4,000,
said to have been deposited by Miller &
Lux in the County Treasury as trust
funds, and stating also that the records
have been searched for twenty years
back, and there is no evidence that such
deposit was ever made.
Surveyor General Wright having no
ticed the article has sent to this office
the following letter, which explains
itself fully and clearly and puts the
matter in the proper light:
Office of Surveyor General,
Sacramento, March 6, 1896.
Eds. Record -Union''-Dear Sirs:
VIII you kindly allow me space in your
columns for a few lines in explanation
Of an article which appeared in your
issue of yesterday under the heading of
Extraordinary Request Made by the
Surveyor General Upon Fresno's Treas
urer." wherein it is stated that this
office has asked for the return of ST.
GOO, said to have been deposited some
years ago by Miller & Lux as trust
funds in the matter of reclaiming GER
tain swamp lands in what is now Ma
dera County.
The swamp and overflowed lands be-
longing to the State are sold at the rate
of 81 per acre upon proper application
being made at this Office. Each appli-
cation must be accompanied with a
filing fee of So, which fee, together
with those for issuing certificate of
purchase and patent, comprise all the
money ever received by this office or by
the State from the sale Of such lands.
All payments, both principal and in
terest must be made to the County
Treasurer of the county in which the
land is situated and the money thus
paid constitutes what is known as the
county swamp land fund, and is to be
returned to the parties who paid 1t
when the land is reclaimed, or an
amount equal to 81 per acre has been
expended upon the work of such recla-
nation.
Whenever the Board of Supervisors
certify to this Office that the land has
been reclaimed, or that s. per acre
have been expended in reclaiming it,
or when@he Treasurer shall report that
payment in full has been made for the
land, this office must issue patent to
the purchaser or his assigns, and must
also forward to the County Treasurer
a statement showing the amount paid
by such purchaser.
Upon receipt of this statement the
Treasurer must, upon demand, pay to
the original purchasers of the land, or
their assigns the several amounts
paid by them and standing to their
credit in the swamp land fund.
mn. ;
were paid for in full and patents were
issued to the original purchasers or
their assigns several years ago.
Payment was made to the Treasurer
of Fresno County, the land being sit
uated in that county at that time.
Since then MADEIRA County has been
created out of portion of Fresno
County, and the land is now in the new
county. The law requires the Board of
Supervisors of the county in which the
land is situated to certify to this office
as to the land being reclaimed; this the
Supervisors of MADEIRA County have
done. and this Office has forwarded to
the Treasurer of that county a state
ment showing the amount of purchase
money paid by each purchaser, but Ma
dera County never had the money, and
therefore cannot return it to the pur-
cbasers, it having been paid to Fresno.
There has been no request, "extraor-
dinary'' or otherwise, made by the
Surveyor General upon Fresno's Treas
urer for the return of $4,000. or any
other sum, for the simple reason that
neither this Office nor the State has
any control over or interest in the
swamp land fund of Fresno County.
All that this office did in this matter,
so far as relates to Fresno County, was
to forward to the Treasurer Of that
county a duplicate of the statement
given to MADEIRA County, showing the
amount of purchase money paid by the
several purchasers of the land, as ap-
pears from the records of this office.
The reason for sending this duplicate
statement to Fresno County was the
fact that the money having been paid
to the Treasurer of that county it was
presumed that Fresno would be equally
interested with MADEIRA in the matter
contained in said statement.
1 think there must be some mistake
about Fresno's Treasurer saying that
Fresno never received the money, for
the monthly reports Of that officer, now
on file in this Office, show that he did
receive it NJ j. WKlGHI.
rvy17Uxru0Uv,c C0Tn HMM