Year: 1861

vi pauperS provided lOT IN edcn Town.


Mr.. Pierpont, Chairman Of the Com
mittee of five on the Drainage Fund, made
the following majority REPORT: 7aal


The Committee appointed at the July
session of this Board, 10 report what ac
tion if auy, it is desirable to take in regard
to the distribution of the Drainage fund
accruing annually to this County, have
had the matter under careful consideration
and beg leave respectfully to submit the
following Report:


The act of Congress Of 1850, mating
tie revenue arising from the sale of swamp
lands to the several States named therein,
as well as the act Of cur legislature appro
priating per centage thereof to the coun.
ties of this State, is based upon the idea
that it should be divided among the States
and by the States among the Counties pro
rata to The amount Of swamp land they
may respectively have had as indicated by
the original survey, The fairness of such
an apportionment would not be questionei
by any one, if experience bad justified
such an application of the funds as was
originally contemplated -" to reclaim the
SaUamp lands" in the Federal Grant to
this Safe and others. The swamp lands
yielding the revenue which constitutes this
fund was undoubtedly intended to he, and
upon every principle of equity and fairness
ought to be the only lands upon which this
fund should be expended whether for the
purpose of reclamation by drainage or 9th
erwise. The Legislature of this State in
the act donating the revenue Of this fund,
or portion of it to the several counties,
passed in 1855 made as follows page 337
R. s. "And for the further purpose o.
enhancing to the purchasers the value Of
such swamp and ovelhowed lands &c."-
(which fund shall he devoted to the drains
age and reclamation Of said swamps and
overflowed lands" Those extracts are
made from the act of 1858, to show that
the Legislature not only apportioned the
revenue of so per cent. of the net pro
ceeds Of the sale Of the swamp and over
flowed lands granted to this State &" annu-
ally to the several counties of this State in
proportion to the amount received from
the sales of said swamp lands in such coun
ties, thus recognizing the pro rata prin-
cip!e of distribution before referred to
but 90 so far as to make it a personal ben
eft to the purcha:ess, expressly declaring
that they design to make use of this fund
for the purpose Of enh ancing the property
Of the individual purchaser. This County
with many Others throughout the State he
lieving that it is not feasible to reclaim
the swamp and overlowed lands by drain
age have asked and obtained leave of the
Legislature to Use their portion Of this fund
for the construction of roads and bridges,
which in the estimation of part of your
com. at least is much the most practical
and general mode of reclamation of such
lands. This principle of distribution
namely ly--the towns TO receive portion of
the fnnd in the ratio that the Swamp land
in each, bears to the whole, has been rec>
oguized by previous session ofthis Board
and your committee would report, that it
is not advisable to make any further change
than to allow each of the towns-while the
Districts remain as here,ofore-to receive
from the commissioner the amonnt due
sucl Town. This will not prevent the
several towns from putting their respec>
tive amounts together and using the whole
for the purpose Of draining ono particular
body of swamp land, where such drainage
shall by the respective towns be deemed
advantageous to each. Your committee
car see no reason why the funds of the
whole County shall be applied to the ben
eft Of purchasers of swamp lands in any
one particular locality. Most assuredly
this would be in direct contravention of
both the letter and spirit, as we'll of the
act of Congress donating to the State, as
the acts of our own Legislature apportion-
ing to;the several Counties entite ! there
to. Ii. S. PIERroSr, Chm.


II, II. SMITH,


LYMAN EMERSON.


DR.. Tucker presented a minority report
as follows:


To the Honorable the Board of Supervi-


sors Of the County of Mantowoc


The undersigned, minority of your
committee appointed by your Hon. body,
TO consider the following Resolution, to
wit f:


Resolved, that the chairman Of this
Board appoint committee Of five to ex-
anime into the matter of Drainage Fund
and report what action should be taken
BY this county to make our proportion in
this fund most effective, and to report
thereon,


would respectively report tina. they have
bad the subject matter referred to them
,,dar daliherate consideration.