Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1841-12-25
GOVERNORS N ESSAGE. +
Fellow Citizens of he Sc nc
~ E D..ar,,.xo1:

Liz uuty IttpOocu upo u you Wy tlo SoH'
stitution to apportion every fourth year
the representatives of thu, STATE according
to the census of qualified electors, affords
me the opportunity of o, fering you. at an
earlier period than usual. my c~ongratula.
tons on your meeting in general assembly.
Your predecessors have already failed in
several attempts at tho rc.appointment,
from the difficulty of So distributing the
number of representati,' IS, which has al
ready obtained its cor 'titutional limits,
as not to deprive some If the parishes of
the representation bithe tt had by them.
This difficulty, which ] trust, you will be
able to overcome, is, how e.ver increased by
the want of census from some of the par.
ishes, the returns of VIII oh have not been
made to the Secretary Ct of State. You
will no doubt see the pr opriety of institu-
ting an enquiry as to t:e causes of such
an omission that the BIZ me consequent to
such neglect of duty Jay attach to the
public functionaries gull ty of it.
During your last sessi' n | called your at
tention to the situation Of our public trea.
sury. No measure hav ing been adopted
by you to check the evil disclosed by me,
| deem it my duty to in vite you to devote
during this session your chief Iabors to
this important subject You are fully
aware that the income of the State is on
siderably below it's expenditures. Our
debts are annually met by new loans, the
interest on which added to the capital and
the appropriations ut each session of the
Legislature present every year a heavier
deficit. Our loans from the banks which
in 1889 amounted to $4,000 had reached
$S50,000 in the be ginning of this year
and by the report of the Treasurer you
will perceive that they now amount to
$1,000 900 including $3O,O66 paid for
matured interest on $4,000 900 of bonds
granted to the Port Hudson and Clinton
Rail Road Company, and which that in
stitution during your recess found itself
unable to meet; this issue of bonds had ia
ken place by virtue of a law which | re-
fused to sanction and VIII tch was passed by
a constitutional majority of your predeses-
sors. Happily, of all the numerous bills
for the issuing of bonds and appropriations
of public monies which have passed the
Legislature, and to which | refused my
sanction, this was the only one that be-
came a law Notwithstanding my objec.
tions.
1t becomes indispensable as | have be-
fore stated to place the income ofthe State
in harmony with its expenses. During
the current year these expenses have ex-
ceeded our income $i92,OOO and the def
cit for 1912 will probably reach 5000, 1000.
To meet such a deficit it will be necessary
to OBJ. erve all the economy possible, to re.
trench all public expenses as far as it a
be done without impairing the good ad-
ministratiou of the State, and to increase
at the same time the taxes so as to effect.
ualIy bring our income to q level with our
expenditure. | have already had the hon.
or to suggest to your measures, the adop-
ton of which would in my opinion tighten
the burden of the new taxes required.
Permit me now, only to repeat that new
loans made with a view to retard the day
when taxation shall have to be submitted
to, a be productive of no other effect
than to increase the disorder in our
finances.
1t will no doubt be as painful for you to
order an increase of taxation, as it IS for
me to propose it; but the view have CIV
en- you of the melancholy condition of our
finances must bring you to the conviction
that such a measure is now inevitable.
Your constituents cannot fail to perceive
that the blame that may attach to this
new burden ought not to be incurred by
those imposing it, but by those who have
made it necessary, by creating a debt
without providing at the same time for the
means Of its gradual redemption and of
paving the current interest thereon.
When you shall have brought the in
come of the State and its expenditures to
a proper balance, the law lately adopted
by Congress for the distribution of the pro-
ceeds Of the sales of public lands, will af-
ford you the means for the creation of a
sinking fund, which together with the
amount likely to be recovred from the
Nashville Rail Road Company will cover
our debt in a few years.
70 meet the burden thus brought upon
the State by the Pot Hudson and Clinton
Rail Road Company, in addition to that
by the Nashville Rail Road Company, we
have not only the amount that may be re-
covered from the first of these institutions
but also our interest in the Bank of Louis.
lana, one half of whose stock belongs to
the State. Orr interest already accumu
lated in that institution will be more than
sufficient to redeem the bonds issued in
favor of the above named corporations, the
payment of which as found advantageous
to the State, may be anticipated.
And thus if our guarantee has been
granted to institutions unworthy of it,
alone, we shall suffer for our error by be-
ing deprived of means originally intended
for public improvements. But as to those
who advanced money upon our faith, they
will never have to repent their Confidence
in the State. The resources afforded by
the inexhaustible fertility of our soil and
by a position which makes us the great
mart for the produce of the Mississippi,
will enable us honorably to meet our en-.
g%agetnents, and no where is it better felt
than in Louisiana, that, if it is difficult to
compel a recusant State to pay its debts,
the honor of the people will be prompted
by that very difficulty, to observe coasci.
~entiously and religiohsly its pledged faith
| had hoped that on meeting YOU again
it would have been in my power to an
n%ounce to you a resumption of specie pay
ments by our Banks and the restoration to
sound principles of our monetary system.
Deeply l regret to say that my expec'a.
tons as wella as those Of large majority Of