The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-23
FRAUNDs IN OLD LAND GRANTS.
Secretary of state Gambler Exposes n
Long Existing FaIIncy.

$500 ...--.., ~,.
~ VI u 'l''''
the once OF the secretary or state has Is
sued for many years has Just been prepar-
Cd and sent ont nv col Ausn N cop.lr.r
- ..--. - -. -.
'iN709 ''i9 - ''''''' ''"o'e' VI VIC
iano grants ISSUED as a result or the sur
vey of 1874 under the head grant law
but which weres almost Immediately re-
,.ol,od b,- CO.. ,rattro,.s .,.,, -,;.,e 80,
~ VS. '''o' 0'''o'
uHNe VI tIe state
The circular follows:
Il have such constant application for
information in regard to certain old head
right grants purpOrtinE to have been is
sued by the state Of Georgia and so many
erroneous statements have been made by
parties in this state and some of the pa
pers, who seem to be entirely ignorant of
the facts, that l ask the publication Of
this letter in order to protect innocent
people from designing and INSCRIPTIONS
land sharks who are offering them for
sale all over the United States, by showing
the utter worthlessness of all such fraud
ulent grants which are not worth the pa
per upon which they are written.
on FEB. p, 1888, the legislature of this
state passed an act giving to each citizen
1000 acres Of land as a head right, upon
applicant taking the prescribed oath that
ne had not by himself, nor had any per-
son for him, or in his name applied for
or received more than 1000 acres. This
land was to be actually surveyed and set
tied upon within eighteen months. and
three acres to each hundred and cleared
and cultivated, and the tax due the state
anS county upon the same regularly paid
ana i'm default thereof treble tax paid.
Under the provisions of this law there are
what purports to be grants issued in sew
enteen counties for more than 100000 of
acres of land TO a few hundred persons
which was a very large proportion of the
acreage of the land of this state at that
time. These grants are for 1000 acres
each, and cover from $500 to over 100000
acres to one person.
81 find among the old records of this Of
flee letter from Thomas Mccall, servey-
or general. dated Nav 177R calling Tho
attention of the governor and executive
council to the violation of the law by the
land court, which consisted of three mag
istrates, in issuing warrants for survey
IN excess of the LOCO acres | find on
June !, 1888, when the letter of Mccall was
referred to the executive council the fol
lowing action taken:
ordered, That the serveyor general do
not pass through his office any warrants
lor land exceeding 1900 acres to any one
person, and to stop all abuses against the
law that may come to his KNOWLEDGE
i md also many protests from the citi-
zens OF several counties TO the governor
against the action of the land court in vio-
lation of the law. These protests were all
Endorsed by the goveHsSor to the surveyor
general with olders to issue no grants In
excess of the law. Montgomery county
'Np created by an act of the legislature in
i3tcemoer, 1893, and was 10 be organized
by the election of county officers on the
third Monday in January following. The
records in this office containing these pre-
tended and fraudulent grants show that
the land court on the 4th day of August
lf9i issued warrants to about fifty persons
for 10000 acres, when the entire acreage
of the county did not exceed 100000 acres
So great and gross was this violation Of
the law that the legislature on the 2Sth
of December 1894, passed the following
act:
Whereas many persons have surveyed
land contrary TO The laws and welfare of
this state be it enacted that all such sur
Vey or surveys and all grants founded
thereon be, and the same and each and
every one of theme are hereby declared
to be null and void
In addition to this legislation these
lands have been granted subsequently to
actual bona fide citizens, who have lived
upon them for the past forty and fifty
years, and in many Instances much longer.
and have paid the tax due the county and
state. A few of these grants bear date of
1875, but they are all founded on warrants
and pretended surveys made in 1894 Most
of these grants purport to have been sign
ed by Gov. Matthews The action of his
executive council as well as the several
orders to the surveyor general to pass no
grant to any one person for more than
1900 acres, as wen as his approval of the
act Of 1874, all show his action to be honest
and his purpose to obeV the law
"Ny attention has been called to an ar