The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1851-11-01

l must frankly declare, with respect TO the best
seat tor the Government, that the city of New Or
leans presents many advantages. 1t is the emp0-
rum and mart of the commercial business of the
west. From its situation, it receives the first in
formation and news from other arts of the Union,
and from abroad. 1t is the centre of the arts and
sciences and literature of our Stats, and it abounds
In libraries and other sources of information ne
cessary or important to the business of enlightened
| legislation.
The evil effects of the unjust provisions of The
Constitution in the apportionment of representation
IN the Senate, had been seen and felt. In the
spring oi az, crevasse occurred beyond the lin
Its of the city of New Orleans. The river broke
through the Lsvee at Mr.. Sauves plantation, some
SIX miles above Carrollon in the Parish of Jeffer.
son. The rear of our city was overhowed. | do
not remember that have ever looked upon mel
anchoy spectacle. The city of New Orleans
after repeated efforts and great expenditure of
money. succeeded in closing the crevaqse. 1t
deemed necessary for The future protection of the
city to make Protection Lsvee; and the best in
formed and most experienced engineers in the State
prepared plan, and presented d report to the l..
gisiature upon this subject A bill was introduced
into the House Of Representatives, making an ap.
preparation for such Levee. 1t passed the HOUSE,
where the people Of New Orleans were fairly re.
presented. In the Senate, however, where We
had but oDe-half of our just quota of members, it
was defeated or lost by single vote If there
liah been a Just republican equality in the appor-
additional members in the Senate to which we were
entitled even on the basis of the population of the
State, the bill would have passed and the spec.
tacle would not have been witnessed OF the State
voting thousands for Internal improvements, but
refusing cent to New Orleans lin which was
pehy of the S'1te) to save her from the danger of
inundation.
Fellow Citizens: If we examine the laws that
have been passed by our Legislature since the
adoption OF the present Constitution will find
them characterized by injustice and narrow and
illibera policy Never has such legislation been
seen Many laws passed on the most important
subjects, have been pronounced by the courts to be
unconstitutional while others have been drawn
up in such bungng manner as to be utterly un-
intellgbe, contradictory and incapable of being
executed. Without going beyond the last session
of the Legislature our statute book unfortunately
furnishes convincing proof of this.
Two acts only need be mentioned. The act Gre
ating Board of Liquidators for the consolidation
OF the debts of the Municipalities had scarcely
gone into operation, when it was pronounced to be
unconstitutional. The act establishing the Mavor's
and Recorders Court in the city of NewOrleans, is
so clumsiy and nartfcially drawn up, that it has
never been put and cannot be put, useful ope-
ration. The only effect of these acts has been to
give Messrs. Benjamin and Mcou, as Attorneys of
the Board OF Liquidators, some fees which were
doubtless well earned, but with no benefit to the
District Attorney sinecure of $500 per annum
These are fair specimens Of the leg Station of the
last Legislature Of Louisiana. The Legislation was
bad the theory upon which the legislation was
based was bad. The present party in power, has
been substantially in power since 1915, and might
have done some good but they have not done any
Nothing whatever has been done for NewOrlea
She is in a condition Of atrophy. She looked to
the Legislature for bread and received stone
Perhaps under the present Constitution, it would
be difficult to pass laws giving NewOrleans bene
hts adequate to her wants. That instrument pro-
hlblts the Legislature from subscribing the stock
OF any corporation or joint stock company it pro-
hlbits the creation, renewal extension of any
corporate body with banking or discountng priv-
eges; it prohibits the creation of corporations by
spec al laws, except for Municipal purposes, i, d.
reefs the legislature to provide BY general laws for
the organization of all other corporations, except
corporations with banking dscounting privileges
the creation of which it again specially prohibits.
New Orleans is in rivalry with the other great
cities OF the Union-with Boston, NewYork, Phil
adephia and Baltimore She is in want of bank
ing capital-of capital for commerce and business
purposes. The whole circulation of bank issues of
the State does not exceed three and half millions.
Look along the Levee, and consider the guam
titles OF produce under which it annually groans
you will see at glance that bank issues are
utterly inadequate to our commercial wants. In
all the other great cities in the country in Boston,
l. T.,
they have proportionally ten times the amount of
bank facilities that we possess. How is it possible
under such circumstances for NewOrleans to COM
pete with them? We want capital We want
the benefit of large capital for business of every
| kind, and especially for banking. Under this con-
dtlon OF things, the trainers of the Constitution
have thought proper to prohibit the creation of any
banking corporation in this State. 1t is true, the
banking system has been subject of great abuse
and thousands have been involved in ruin by that
abuse. But are we never to learn by experience ?
Can other commercial cities enjoy the benefits o;
| banking corporations with safety and advantage to
themselves, and is NewOrlea.ls alone incapable of
| managing such institutions? What commercial
country in the world prospers without them? Can
not a safe banking system be established here in
Louisiana! The wings, in a paper called their
platform, have declared themselves the advocates OF
"a we!l-regulated system Of free banks" and
Mr.. Miles Taylor is reported to have said that we
have free banking now among U.S. This assertion
OF Mr.. Taylor may be true in sense; but it is
unfounded in another sense, and in the sense in
which free banking is understood by the people
1t is true that every citizen who chooses, and who
has the means Of banking, is free to bank upon
| those means. There are no laws in this State to
restrain him from doing Mr., Robb, we all
| know, is a banker and Mr. Jacob Barker is also
banker and issues his notes for circulation. In
this sense Mr.. Taylor may be right in saying tina,
we have free banking now But this is using the
terms IN sense peculiar to himself and different
from the general understanding of the community
AT all events this is not the system of free bank
ing which the wings refer to in their platform.
In the State of NewYork restraints upon private
| banking We're adoI ed by the Legislature at an
| early day. In 1881, Congress incorporated the
Bank of North America, and recommended to the
States TO prohibit any other Dank or bankers within
those States during the war. And the Legislature
of NewYork, in 1882, followed the recommenda.
| ton. After the treaty of 1888 there was no law
restl aiming banking in NewYork until 1904, when
an act was pass ed to restrain unincorporated bank
ing companies-generally denominated the restrain
| ing act. In 1888 a law was passed authorizing
| Free Banking Associations in NewYork, and The
system of Free Banking YVES established. Mr..
Dunbar in letter 10 the editors of the Delta, Gays
that there is no need of any change in our Consti-
tuition TO establish Free Banking here because in
NewYork and in England, it has been decided that
ointstock companies associations may be created
IN which the shares may be made transfer able, the
responsibility of the shareholders may be limited
and the company association may be declared
not dissolved by the death of member, and suits
may be prosecuted by and against the President OF
the association or company and all this, withou,
| making such associations corporations And IN
support of this view, Mr., Dunbar refers to a case
in % Wendell's Rep l03
ports the doctrine for which he contends. The
distinction between such associations and corpora
tons IS nice and shadowy, and has, admit, been
| recognized by the Courts. But the transferability
of shares, the limited responsibility of shareholders
the non-dissOution continued existence notwith-
| standing the death of a member, and the prOsscu.
| ton of suits in the name other than that of the
| members of an association, are usual elements Of
| corporations as described in the books. Attorney