272 



FLORIDA. 



ited Washington, and, upon convincing himself 

 that the facts were as reported, he entered into 

 an arrangement with Colonel S. I. Wailes, who 

 agreed to examine into the claims of the State 

 and to act as agent on behalf of the State gov- 

 ernment before the department at Washington. 

 Upon receiving the report of Mr. Wailes, the 

 board of trustees of the Internal Improvement 

 Fund engaged him to obtain an adjustment of 

 the claims, which he did, obtaining the patents 

 and turning them over to the State for 1,761,- 

 880*87 acres. The trustees of the Internal Im- 

 provement Fund have determined to relinquish 

 all claims to the swamp-lands lying within the 

 former Palatka military reservation, and they 

 and the Governor thus advise the Legislature. 

 This tract has been in part entered by settlers 

 under the homestead laws, who have complied 

 with the requirements of the acts in good faith; 

 other portions of it have been disposed of at 

 private entry in the United States Land-Office, 

 or located with military land-warrants. Re- 

 garding the internal improvement policy of the 

 State government, and the public fund for pro- 

 moting the extension of the facilities of com- 

 munication, etc., known as the Internal Im- 

 provement Fund, Governor Drew says: 



The board of trustees of this fund, recognizing the 

 wisdom and soundness of that policy which would tend 

 to encourage and foster such improvements as would 

 promote the interest of the State and its citizens, have 

 ever been willing and ready to countenance and aid 

 any legitimate, bona fide scheme looking to this end. 

 During the past two years several propositions and 

 proposals for the internal improvement of the State 

 have been presented to the board, which were not ac- 

 cepted, as it was believed the material interests of the 

 State would not be advanced by them. Several rail- 

 roads, canals, and other corporations have been incor- 

 porated under the general act, and are now pushing 

 forward their work, notably among which are several 

 railroads in the eastern part of the State, which are now 

 nearly completed. 



The affirmation by the Supreme Court of 

 Judge Bradley's decree in the "Florida Rail- 

 road cases" promises to help greatly to bring 

 about the much-desired disencumberment of 

 the Internal Improvement Fund. This fund is 

 pledged for the payment of interest on guar- 

 anteed railroad bonds. These interests have 

 accumulated until they amount to between six 

 and seven hundred thousand dollars. The in- 

 terest, running since 1860, on some bonds of 

 the Pensacola and Georgia and Tallahassee 

 Railroad, forms an important part of these 

 obligations, amounting to some $440,000. By 

 the final decision of the United States Supreme 

 Court, this interest becomes a charge upon the 

 property of the Jacksonville, Pensacola and 

 Mobile Railroad. If the fund is relieved to the 

 extent of this amount, the remaining liens upon 

 the extensive area of land belonging to the 

 fund, aggregating nearly 13,000,000 acres, will 

 not exceed $250,000. 



The railroad decision of Justice Bradley, 

 which has been affirmed by the Supreme Court 

 in full bench, settled three points in the in- 

 volved and much-litigated affairs of the Florida 



railroads : that the North Carolina claimants, 

 the Western North Carolina Railroad Company, 

 have no rights as against the Dutch bondhold- 

 ers, who brought the suits, in either the Florida 

 Central or the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mo- 

 bile Railroad ; that the trustees of the Internal 

 Improvement Fund have a first lien upon por- 

 tions of the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile 

 Railroad for $463,175, being the balance of the 

 unpaid purchase-money principal, with interest 

 at eight per cent, from March 20, 1869, amount- 

 ing altogether to some $900,000; and that the 

 Dutch bondholders have a second lien on the 

 same property, and a first lien on the Florida 

 Central from Lake City to Jacksonville. The 

 Dutch bondholders, through agents, sold out 

 the roads by virtue of the decree, and bid them 

 in on their own account in September, 1879 ; 

 but the sale has not been confirmed. In case it 

 should be, they would be bound to pay off the 

 lien of the State within one year from the con- 

 firmation of the sale. 



The number of convicts in the penitentiary 

 on the 1st of January, 1879, was 163 ; the num- 

 ber pardoned during the year, eight; escaped, 

 seven ; died, eight. The number of convicts 

 on hand on the 1st of January, 1880, was 151 ; 

 pardoned, six ; escaped, six ; died, nine. The 

 State convicts were let out for the years 1879 

 and 1880 to H. A. Wyse, of Live Oak, who 

 contracted to keep and clothe them, provide 

 medical attendance, etc., paying into the Treas- 

 ury the nominal sum of $100 per annum. This 

 arrangement effected a net saving to the State 

 of $4,000 over the expenses of the peniten- 

 tiary in 1878, and of more than $21,000 over 

 the expenses of 1876. A few days before the 

 expiration of the contract, bids were received 

 for the labor of the convicts for the next year. 

 They were let out to the East Florida Railway 

 Company, and a contract was entered into for 

 two years, whereby the company agreed to 

 take the convicts on hand, and all who should 

 be convicted during the period of the contract, 

 receiving them at the jail of the county in 

 which they are convicted, paying all costs ac- 

 cruing after conviction, and furnishing their 

 maintenance and all the requisites for their 

 health and comfort, and to pay to the State a 

 hire of $15 a year for each convict. The act 

 of the last Legislature appropriating a sum for 

 the arrest of criminals and fugitives from jus- 

 tice has not yet proved effective in insuring 

 the capture of fugitives, since several rewards 

 have been offered for the arrest of persons 

 accused of murder, but none of the criminals 

 have been caught and delivered into custody. 

 On extradition papers ten prisoners have been 

 handed over by the constabulary of other States. 



The number of patients in the Insane Asy- 

 lum on the 1st of January, 1879, was 55. 

 During the two years 93 have been admitted, 

 38 have been discharged, and 14 have died, 

 leaving 96 in the asylum at the close of 1880. 



The digest of the Statutes of Florida, made 

 in accordance with the act parsed in 1879, the 





