300 



FLOEIDA. 



and of which, by our peculiar situation, we have a 

 monopoly. 



KtsolveJ, That a committee of three be appointed 

 by the Chair to frame a suitable address to the citizens 

 of the several counties, recommending that they im- 

 mediately organize county immigration societies to 

 co-operate with the Bureau of Immigration after the 

 method suggested by the conimi.->iomr, and that they 

 urge the immediate preparation by the citizens of 

 each county of a descriptive article of their respective 

 counties, not to exceed 2,100 words, the same to be 

 sent to the office of the Commissioner of Immigration 

 for introduction in a new State pamphlet, to be issued 

 as soon as the data can be received. 



Jtetolved, That it is the sense of this convention 

 that the next Legislature of the State should make an 

 adequate appropriation for immigration purposes. 



Jlegolvea, That this convention recommend to the 

 State Bureau of Immigration to have pamphlets de- 

 scriptive of Florida printed in the different languages 

 of European countries from which the State expects 

 immigration, and that said pamphlets be distributed 

 among the masses of said European countries. 



A very important contract for the sale of 

 State lands was entered into during the sum- 

 mer, the purchasers being Hamilton Disston 

 and associates, of Philadelphia, who proceeded 

 to organize the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Canal 

 and Okechobee Land Company, with a capital 

 of $10,000,000 in 1,000,000 shares. The con- 

 tract was for the sale of 4,000,000 acres for 

 the sum of $1,000,000, deeds to be delivered 

 and payment made in installments. These 

 lands lie south of Ocala and largely east of the 

 Kissimmee River, being chiefly in the counties 

 of Orange, Sumter, Volusia, Marion, Hills- 

 borough, Hernando, Polk, Manatee, and Mon- 

 roe. The sale of this land had the effect of 

 releasing from incumbrances the public domain 

 which had been set apart for internal improve- 

 ments. The remainder of this, 8,000,000 or 

 9,000,000 acres, will be applied to the develop- 

 ment of the internal resources of the State. 

 The company propose to drain the Okechobee 

 Swamp, and to dig a canal from the St. John's 

 River to Lake Worth. One half of the re- 

 claimed land is to belong to the State. The 

 company intends to colonize the lands as soon 

 as reclaimed. It is expected that about 12,- 

 000,000 acres will be reclaimed. A company 

 was also formed by Mr. Disston to construct a 

 ship-canal across the State. The route will be 

 by the way of the Coloosahatchee River, Lake 

 Okechobee, and thence to the Atlantic Ocean, 

 at or near the mouth of the St. Lucia River. 

 The capital is $30,000,000. The Fernandina 

 and Jacksonville Railroad was completed dur- 

 ing the year, as was also the Waycross road 

 from Jacksonville to Forest City. Three pro- 

 jected lines will run through the Disston pur- 

 chase. They are the South Florida Railroad, 

 the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Rail- 

 road, and the Peninsular Railroad. 



Near the end of the year the Disston com- 

 pany sold half of its 4,000,000 acres to English 

 and Dutch capitalists, represented by Sir Ed- 

 ward Reed and Dr. Wertheim. This party 

 obtained control of the Transit Railroad and 

 its branches, including the Peninsular Railroad 

 and its' branches. By this transaction, they 



completed a railroad combination involving 

 the union of the Florida Central, the Jackson- 

 ville, Pensacola and Mobile, the Transit and 

 Peninsular, four roads with numerous branches, 

 under one management, backed by abundant 

 capital for development. 



This combination includes 484 miles of com- 

 pleted railroad and 144 miles of proposed ex- 

 tension, making a total future scope of 628 

 miles. The following units make up this total : 



The Florida Transit from Fernandina to 

 Cedar Keys, 155 miles, Jacksonville Branch, 

 21 miles ; the Peninsular Road completed for 

 50 miles to Ocala, with a two-mile branch to 

 Silver Springs, and a projected extension (un- 

 der the name of the Tropical Railroad of Flor- 

 ida) which has 15 miles completed beyond 

 Ocala, 85 graded, and which will, when com- 

 pleted to Tampa or Charlotte Harbor, include 

 210 miles. Next, the Florida Central from 

 Jacksonville to Lake City, 59 miles; the Jack- 

 sonville, Pensacola and Mobile, from Lake 

 City to Chattahoochee, through Tallahassee, 

 157 miles, with a four-mile branch to Monti- 

 cello, and a branch road to St. Marks of 21 

 miles. There is also a prospective branch 

 from the Tropical Railroad to Brooksville of 

 8 miles, and a Tampa Branch of 20 miles. 



The population of the State by counties, 

 with white and colored distinguished, as re- 

 turned by the census of 1880, is as follows : 



* Including, in the State, 18 Chinese, 37 Indians and half- 

 breeds; in Brevard County, 15 Indians; in Duval County, 1 

 Chinese ; in Holmes County, 12 Indians and half-breeds ; in 

 Madison County, 1 Indian ; in Monroe County, 12 Chinese 





