The Ocala banner., 1906-11-02

IL
ind from authentic records. beginning
with Resolution No. /, approved Dec
the fifty years existence OF the fund
THAT any court has undertaken to con,
troll the sale and disposition of the
lands or control the discretion vested
in the trustees; during the time that
the fund was in the hands of the
self limits tGe burden TO the lands re.
lferred to in the amendment and there
by prevents the payment of drain
lage tax out of the general revenue
fund Of the state derived from the
tax of property at large.
Lawyers may nave disagreed. and
do disagree upon the construction of
the statue governing these grants,
and there are questions involved that
even the courts seem to disagree on,
but there is one question that so far
haey been able to ascertain, all
courts have agreed upon, and that is
the expressed trust and discretionary
lpower vested in the trustees of the
internal Improvement Fund concern
ing the control, management and dis
position, for the purposes of the
grant, the lands vested in them so
as | have been able to ascertain, all
there has never been a time during
States requesting congress to grant
Ito this state "the lands lying south Of
the Caloosahtchee river and on the
northern shores of Lake Okeechobee
on condition that the state will
drain them and apply the proceeds of
the sale thereof, after defraying the
lexpenses of draining, to the purposes
lof education" Copies of the resolu-
tion are forwarded to the president
and the United States senators from
this state.
Following this resolution a bill
was submitted to the United States
senate August II. 184S, No. 33S, to
authorize the drainage of the Ev-
lerglades in the state of Florida by
the said state, and to grant the same
to the said state for that purpose.
This bill was referred to the COM
mittee on public lands. and an ex-
haustive report was submitted to
the committee and accompanying the
report of the secretary of the treas
Jury.
things that more than six sevenths
of the territory is unsurveyed, and
it is officially reported by the survey
or general of Florida that it cannot
be surveyed without this being done, "
referring to the drainage of the
lands.
The report of the secretary of the
treasury to .ae senate of the United
States transmitting a copy of the re-
port of Buckingham Smith, Esq, who
was in 1S47 employed by the treasury
department to examine the land Of
fees in Florida and to make a recon.
noissance of the Everglades as a
portion of the public lands for the
purpose of ascertaining the practibi
lity and expediency of draining them
and appended to which are sundry
documents and letters furnishing in
formation on the same subject. This
report among other things says: CAS-
to the practicability of draining the
Everglades these data would seem to
indicate that it is practicable and
at an expense probably not to exceed
five hundred thousand dollars as es
timated by Mr.. Smith in his report
covering 20 pages of congressional re
port. giving minute detail report OF
his exploration of the Everglades in
the United States Revenue Cutter
4 'Wallcott" to Miami and referring tc
: other means of transportation of him
D self and those under his command
1 making reference to historical data
? beginning in 1855, with special refer
ence to reports of survey made by
William Gerard De Braham, Esq, an
; engineer officer of the British Prov
9 ince. Some of his notes and materials
/ were found in his own hand writing
: chiefly "historiographical and hydro
Q graphical" which were purchased by
/ Harvard University.
Senator Westcott sought to obtain
: the manuscripts from the university
for the use of the library of congress
and report being made by the treas
}, Jury department. the university permit
ted them to be brought to Washing
ton to be copied for the use of the
government, with stipulation that
D they were rot to be published with,
3 out the permission of the univer.
! sity.
: Under this exhaustive examination
and report, together with the appen.
/ dix, maps, tables, etc., attached there
) to. covering more than one hundred
| printed pages.
Congressional legislation progress,
Jed until finally in January 1850, sev.
!. eral bills were pending, among 9th
. ers, an act TO enable the state of AR
: kansas to reclaim the swamp and
oyerhowed lands within it's limits,
: We're amended under direction of
r the committee on public lands of the
: United States senate to conform in
) language and substance to an act to
4 laid the state of Louisiana in draining