New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1855-11-22
THE 10 BIZ RETURNED BONDS.

Tuesday evening, passed o preamble and resolu-
tons previously adopted by the Board of AS
sistants) compromising the litigation pending
between the city and the Pontchartrain Rail-
road Company, providing the party last named
complies with the stipulations therein get forth,
Of which there cen be little doubt, we imagine.
A year or more ago the people Of New Orleans
voted, (the Third District cast thirty, seven
hundred votes y to subscribe $l,50e 600 to aid
in the construction Of q railroad to Mobile.
Eyerythinr was Get forth as fine as silk on
paper and thousands Of intelligent, good peo-
nile. thought that if the subscription was made,
only year or two would elapse when we could
be whirled over to Mobile, behind locomotive,
in Eve or six hours In accordance with the
vote thus given and the provisions of the vari-
GUS charters granted, the bonds Of the city to
the amount Of 100000 were promptly issued
to the duly elected officers of the Railroad Com
pany.
For time things went on smoothly, and
many doubtless began to think that they had
been mistaken in their opposition to the project.
But, as moons wsxed and waned, and nothing
was accomplished, the strongest friends Of the
enterprise began to shake their heads, as
though they were not exactly satisfied After
awhile, dissatisfaction openly manifested itself;
and assertions, loud and deep, were heard on
every hand that there was something "rot-
| ten in the State Of Denmark" People then be-
came suspicious. They went on o " wild hunt /"
after facts to sustain their suspicious. It was
said, innumerable times, on each corner of every
i "a Ill
you so?
Well. in the course Of time, it was whispered
about town that two or three hundred thousand
dollars had gone somewhere -evaporated, dis
appeared, sunk, left for parts unknown, nobody
knowing how or where-and, if any body did
know, nobody would tell-so the community was
not much the wiser in one essential particular
AS all our readers recollect the immense sensa-
ton that followed there is no necessity for fur
ther remark on this branch Of the subject
Not long afterwards the Common Council was
requested to appoint committee to confer with
the officers Of the Railroad Company, with the
view Of compromising and settling up matters,
If possible. A committee was, we believe, ap-
pointed, and the result Of its labors amounted
to the discovery that $500, 900 had been lost
past recovery--that the city had not been BEN
Gifted, nor was likely to be benefited, a far
thing that the whole magnificent scheme had
fallen through and that the Railroad officers
we're willing to return to the city three fths Of
the bonds issued, provided complete acquit-
lance Of all liability for the ffths absorbed
was granted. l4.s sszH
According to our present recollection, the
matter didn't take well with the Council In
sooth, some Of the "City Fathers" became
angry, and used hard words--very hard words
words not entirely full Of compliment to GER
tain parties.
Whereupon, various plans were devised to
save the corporation from the enormous loss
which was imminent, but none Of them proved
feasible, and o litigation Of some sort or other
began. In the meantime the more sensible Of
our municipal aConscript Fathers commenced
rejecting, and finally came to the conclusion
that "half loaf was better than no bread, 2
and that consequently, if they could not save the
whole loaf for their constituents, it was their
duty to secure as big slice as possible. This
was taking common sense, practical view OF
the subject, which we are pleased to say has
prevailed at last, because we are convinced il
will save the tax payers Of New Orleans three
hundred thousand dollars principal, land as much
more on account Of semi-annually accruing in
| terest. The true policy was to save as muck as
practioable-not run risks of losing the whole in
a vain endeavor to regain what most men consid-
cred irretrievably lost. "A bird in hand is
worth two in the BUSH
The preamble and resolutions provide for the
return of three hundred bonds of 81 900 each.
and very clearly and fully guard the corpora
ton against further liability, on any score
whatsoever, so far as the Mobile and Pontchar-
train Railroad is concerned In consideration
Of which, all connection with the latter company
is dissolved, and It is fully released. The ordi-
nance must be accepted within two weeks from
its PRONUNCIATION, and its stipulations complied
with, or else it becomes void and of no effect.
There is moral in this whole procedure,
from it's inception to its conclusion, which should
not be lost upon property holders. those who
ever expect to become property holders, or the
people generally. 1t is this: Everybody voted
on this railroad subscription, and the voice of
the owners Of the property bound for the pay.
ment Of q debt about to be contracted, was
smothered under an avalanche of votes cast by
people who, for the most part, would not be the
losers were grass actually growing in our most
important streets. The First District, which
pays about fifty pcr cent. of the taxes of the
whole CITY, gave majority against the propo-
sition, and the Third District, which contri-
butes hardly one-seventh, gave over three
Thousand majority for it-when it is extremely
doubtful whether over two thousand legal vo-
ters ever lived in that district.
But the deed has been done. and the CITY Ia
heavily the loser. If, however, the severe
lesson prove lasting, the investment will not
turn ont 80 improbable after all. II it will
only serve to guard US against similar blunders
in future, we can well afford, poor as we are,
to pass by the loss of 100000 without COM
plant
IMPORTANT DECISION. I'm the case Of The CITY
Of New Orleans ps. Locke, decided by the Su-
preme Court on Monday last, one of the points
presented to the Court for decision was the
question as to the judicial powers of the Mayor
and Recorders of the city, when commissioned
as Justices of the Peace The Court, after full
argument on the point, decided that the Mavor