FLORIDA. 



FORCE, PETER. 



277 



secure uniform valuation of property, the same 

 class of lands being now valued in some coun- 

 ties " at one-half the amount it is in others." 

 He recommends also the punishment of revenue 

 officers, "by fine and imprisonment," who fail 

 "to make returns at the time prescribed by 

 law." 



There being above ten million acres of the 

 State domain yet undisposed of, and several 

 millions more not even surveyed, the Governor 

 calls upon the Legislature to take effective 

 measures for making such vast resources avail- 

 able. As the best means for arriving at this 

 result, he asks them to invite and encourage 

 immigration of capital and labor into Florida, 

 especially from the Northern States, even by 

 ordering pamphlets to be gratuitously dis- 

 tributed, exhibiting distinctly "the resources 

 and peculiar advantages of every portion of the 

 State." In this connection he requests them 

 to favor the promoters of a State Agricultural 

 Society, which " is now in the full tide of suc- 

 cessful experiment," and to encourage them by 

 causing the "reports, transactions, essays, ad- 

 dresses, and other like papers of this society " 

 to be published at the charge of the State. 



He recommends the construction of two 

 railway lines, the one surveyed since 1857, and 

 for which 600,000 acres of United States land 

 were granted, the other only projected; as 

 both of them, by connecting most important 

 points within the State, and facilitating the 

 communication with others, would add im- 

 mensely to her population, and, of consequence, 

 to her traffic and general prosperity. 



For a State penitentiary, Mr. Reed informs 

 the Legislature that he has obtained from the 

 proper authorities at "Washington the use of 

 the United States Arsenal property at Chatta- 

 hoochee, where nine criminals are confined al- 

 ready, he having made for that purpose tem- 

 porary arrangements; but says that "provi- 

 sion should be made at this session for fitting 

 up the buildings with cells and accommodations 

 for at least one hundred convicts." 



He requests them also to provide a home for 

 friendless and helpless persons, either by taking 

 care of them all in one common building at 

 the expense of the State, or of the counties 

 from which they severally come, or even by 

 granting to each of the counties a suitable tract 

 of State land, requiring them "to make per- 

 manent provisions " for those among their re- 

 spective inhabitants who are in that condition. 



In regard to the militia, Governor Reed says 

 that the presence of Federal troops rendered 

 its organization unnecessary; adding, that 

 "several volunteer companies of citizens, both 

 white and colored, had been enrolled, and had 

 selected their officers, but, in the sensitive con- 

 dition of the popular mind, he had deemed it 

 unwise to accept these organizations." He 

 believes, however, that the establishment of 

 republican government will soon take a firmer 

 footing, "when a thorough enrolment and or- 

 ganization of the militia may be safely had." 



He renews the recommendation of his pre- 

 vious message " for the amendment of the con- 

 stitution, by striking out Section 27 of Article 

 XVI." This section provides that " owners of 

 property sold under the sequestration act of 

 the so-called Confederate Congress, subsequent 

 to January 10, 1861, and prior to May 1, 1865," 

 are entitled " to file a bill in equity, and ob- 

 tain judgment against the State for all damages 

 sustained by said sale and detention of prop- 

 erty." 



In order to save for the State the cost of 

 printing in matters which are brought before 

 the Legislature, but in which she is not in- 

 terested, the Governor recommends, " that all 

 bills introduced for private or local purposes 

 be required to be printed and furnished at the 

 expense of the parties for whom the benefit is 

 sought." 



There seems to be good reason to hope that 

 Governor Reed's anticipations concerning the 

 welfare of Florida will be realized. 



FORCE, PETEE, an American historian, jour- 

 nalist and book-collector, born in New Jersey, 

 November 26, 1790; died in Washington, Jan- 

 uary 23, 1868. When a child, he removed 

 with his parents to New York City, where he 

 learned the printer's art, and where he re- 

 mained till he was twenty-five years of age. 

 In November, 1815, he became a citizen of 

 Washington, D. 0., and five years later com- 

 menced the publication of the National Cal- 

 endar, an annual volume of statistics, State 

 and national, which he continued till 1836. 

 Even before commencing the publication of 

 this work he had begun to collect books and 

 papers on American history and antiquities, 

 and his views of the great importance and 

 permanent value of a complete collection of 

 every thing bearing on this subject were 

 strengthened and increased with every year 

 of his life. He was the earliest collector in 

 the field on topics connected with American 

 history, and his solicitude to obtain every 

 thing relating to the subject ended only with 

 his life. In 1823 he commenced the publica- 

 tion of the National Journal, a political news- 

 paper, which was the official journal during 

 the administration of John Quincy Adams. 

 He continued to publish this paper until Feb- 

 ruary, 1830. From 1836 to 1840 he was mayor 

 of the city of Washington, and in 1840, on 

 the organization of the National Institute for 

 the Promotion of Science, he was elected its 

 first president. In 1833 he made a contract 

 with the United States Government for the 

 preparation and publication of a Documentary 

 History of the American Colonies ; a work for 

 which his careful research, and his already 

 large collection of newspapers, pamphlets, and 

 official documents of the period of the Revo- 

 lution and the years which preceded it, emi- 

 nently qualified him. It was his plan, in the 

 inception of this vast work, to collect, in six 

 series of six or more volumes each, all the 

 documentary history of this country, from its 



