Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1844-06-29
TO TIE VOTERS OF EAST BATON
IN ROUGE. w

TO TIE VOTERS OF EAST BATON
b ROUGE 70
yellow CITIZENS:-The Democratic
Vigilance Committee has placed the votes
and public acts of the Wing candidates be-
fore you in the most unfavorable light:-we
shall, however, endeavor to give a fair expo
siti0n of the votes of Mr.. Morgan, and re-
quest you "to look on this picture, then on.
that and decide which has acted most in
accordance with your wishes and your inter-
ests. Then have invoked this public inves-
tigation and must abide the consequences
The garbled extracts which have been made
from the journals by that committee have
| been fully, and, we think satisfactorily an
swered by Messrs. Conrad and Avery. The
attempt to detract from the well-earned fame
of a soldier and a patriot who has spent more
than half a century in the service Of his
| country, evinccs such a bitter hostility to the
only remaining soldier Of the revolutionary
war, now living in our Parish, that we deem
it unnecessary to say a word TO shield him
from this wanton and unjust attack.
We envy not the man who can take the
least pleasure in prosecuting an old soldier
who has periled his life for orr liberty. Nor
are we actuaied by any other motives than a
sense of duty in laying before you the acts of
a public officer to whom you have intrusted
your dearest interests.
The Vigilance Committee have with
great apparent sincerity endeavored to make
You believe that all Of the wing candidates
are opposed to universal suffrage, than which
nothing can be farther from the truth.
All ofthem have declared that they are in
favor of it; and no act of theirs, when rightly
explained or understood, can be made to have
a different construction.
What then has been the object oftheir adj
dress but to mislead the f~reelnen of this Par
ish, and subserye their own ambitious pur-
poses! "OId documents, F." says a celebrated
politician, 'are dangerous" but they, like a
two-edgcd sword cut both Ways and if they
can be made efectual in the hands of our OPP
]ponents, they will be no less so in ours.
The following extracts are taken from the
journals of the House and other public docu-
tnents, which we request you to pcruse with
care, and as wise men decide:
Extract from the NReport of the Committee
Of the House Of representatives. to whom
was referred the bill relative to wharfage
dues:
After an enumeration of the debts due by
the several municipalities of New Orleans,
and their assets and means of discharging
those debts, the report goes on to state: The
committee refer to the House the necessity
of the measure, Ii. e. the imposition of the
wharfage tax tothe city and to the interests
connected with the good government and pros
perity of the city, also its justice and pr0prietg.
That the agriculture interests of these states
VIII ich send their produce to New Orleans
for sale or tsanshipment, would suffer if by
any cause the Wharves or streets would fall
into a state of dIiapidation and decay, is GER
tain. Previous to this Improvement, the bad
condition of the landings and Of the streets
caused annually innumerable losses TO those
who sent their produce TO New Orleans for
sale, or transhipment. The expenses of dis
charging and unloading ships and steamboats,
before the construction Of Wharyes was seve-
raj times greater than the expense now, with
out considering the value of the time saved
BY the facilities now furnished by the city
Many days were often necessary for dischar-
ging a cargo which is now discharged in q
few hours. These additional expenses ne
cessarily attached TO the freight, which was
in proportion to those higher than at pre-
sent. Drayage and labor then formed no in
considerable items in the account Of sales of
The commission merchants; and in some years
The direct and indirect charges on cotton in
of the condition of the port and
he streets amounted, as we are informed, to
.hree dollars a bale on cotton. The planting
chiefly suffered from this Condition
Of things. The commerce ofthe cityeWas rot
liminished-the additional expense in pro-
luce was distributed among the Flooring |
and rather increased than diminished
he wealth of the city. 1t cannot, Ahere-
ore, be denied that the planting and CONNER
ial interests have both been greatly bbneft-
I'd by those improvements, and that anI mea- 5