Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1842-04-30
BATON Il CJGE i.


,rHy-The Police Jury is about 10 assemble.
.Ainong the yerious ~anbjerts which viii be Sub
utttei 10 its dcliberatton=. VIII he the f'iee-
ton, In relation 10 TIC meiu colored conyicts
row in the peHiten'iary. At the laef eesston
.f the Legislature a law was passed, direct
ing the male co!ored c~onviets and the forfeit
ed slaves, from Virginia. to be e'nplogea ID
carving on the public works OF the state
This law w'as introduced by our Representa-
tive, r.. D. Conrad, as chairman Of the fent-
Tertiary committee, for the reasons,, aid WIN
the Limitations, recommended in the report
One of these limitations waF, that these COM
v,cts should not be worked within the limits
o. any parish, provided the Police Jary Of such
parish should, by a resolution, DECLARE thai It
was unwilling that said c%onyicte Fhouli :,
work within the limits Of said PARISH / our
Police Jury shall, by resolution, dce' e their
unwilliprn,ss that they ehoa'd ss worked
within the limits q the perish, they will not
ho permitted; il, on the co1trary, the Jury de-
clare their ~willingnes<, they may he made to
" u ga tlC ooo<t tas'bfi d+h 'iaH@' ~
parish. Tie question Ia then one entirely Of
expcd,oncy, to be decided by the Police Ju-
~: and as it may he aaaattcr Of sons import
anrc 10 the parisl, 1t snould be very aeliber-
atety considered by the Jury. before they
come to titeir final conclusion and it may be
ahyisable to read the report OF the comsnIttee
in relation to this point, and especially the
oninioil Of the chief engineer OF the State,
there referred to. The engineer states that,
working in chains, these ~convicts can be ca
silly worked with a small guard, 10 as to pre-
vent them fgom robhing the inhabitants, or
having corrupting communication with their
slaves. The State pays all their expenses,
including that Of he guard. The slaves now
owned by the State, and employed on the
public works, amount to about seyenfv-fve;
the colored eonvictf amount to about the same
lumber. The act, however, provides, that
the slaves Of the State and the cotricts shall
not be kept nor worked together.
The resolutions introduced BY orr Repre-
tentative, Mr.. Conrad, and which passed aud
have now the effect Of law, dire citing the en-
gineer, with The slaves Of the State, to ON
plete a good wagon road from Baton Rouge
to Clinton. and to clear out the Bayou Fon-
tainc, have no connection with the law rela-
tive 10 the co'orea c~onvicts. Whether the
colored ~conyicts be or tie not permitted to
work in the parish, tlint road must be finish.
cd. and that bayou cleared ont by the slaves
Of the State, and at the expense of the State.
So that the two subjects have no connection
with each other, as come have supposed.
But the Jury should permit one argument
ID have some influence in their deliberations
on this subject by permitting these %convicts
tn be employed on the public works, the work
we not, then, by means OF the labor of these
e~onvicts have the various important public
roads, leading to the Comlte, and thence to
st. Helena: and also by another route to
Bnrtel's--the road, too, from Baton Rouge to
Covington-.the enc, TOO, by way OF the Plains,
to Jackson. Is rot the project worth the ex-
rerinent! Ii it should not work woll--if it
should in any manner cause any annoyance
10 the inhabitants, the Police Jury can at any
moment command their immediate removal
from out the limits Of the parish.
The next regular meeting Of the Police Ju-
~ viii take place on the 9th Of June, and a
called session may possibly take place at an
earlier day. Hence, and TO correct erroneous
opinions, which have obtained. respecting the
laws above mentioned, the presentation o.
these facts and considerations at this time.
THE MATLs-Dcfault of other matter to-day,
We shall say a few words respecting the ad-
miuistration of the mails. We do not intend
to speak merely of the contractors, who may
be unfortunate; or Of the ~post-Iuasters, who
may neglect, or not know their duty and their
obligations to the public but Of the men who
make orr laws, who haye their posts at the
seat of governnieut-who are sent there by
tho people, by their friends and ne,shbors, and
who seem to forget the peopfe, their friends
and ~neighbors 10 all aproarahce>, as soon as
they arrive in Washington.
If complaints against the manner in which
our post Office affairs arc administered were
heard from neothe1 part of the country than
THE, we should be silent. II tine system, from
the heart to every extremity Of the body poll
lie, were not vicious ia moro ways than che
ii the evils, ard the remedies proper for their
remedy, had not again and again been md'ea-
ted, and a thousand times repeated, silence
might still become subjects 50 humble as we
are. But the evil is general. 1t ~afilicts all
-anl all demonstrate against il,
But the rernonstrance of none is heard
t0ur representatires-onr senators, 20 to Con
gress, not to iegisiate against the evils that
.aiiict the conntry-not 10 enact good laws ant
sannul bad ones-net 70 devise wise measures
sand reject such as are foolish and absurd
q not to consider how plans already in operation
a may be made more perfect ard tetter-no
none OF this! They go as p~artfzans instead
oi sta,esmen--to legislate for the few instead
Of the manv--io fight the battles of cliques III
stead Of those Of the eountry-to dispose o
Offices of honor and ~emolumehts, instead o
seeing that those already filled arc discharged
according TO the letter and spirit of the law
Such, in reality and truth, appears to be iht
business of our senators and representatives il
sannress. Their linesoi conduct autkorise'
efheir caisve that they consider these things
TO their minas Our present inject Is to cal
E&#N4.s.&s~-. .rj - .fr,1a - .lo,, La-o ,4l,,
We will address a feg svcrisfin our object