The weekly American banner. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1855-18??, 1856-02-08
From the Mississippian.
Discussion ON the Opening OF the
YaZOO Pass
In the House Of Representatives.

Discussion ON the Opening OF the
YaZOO Pass
In the House Of Representatives.
MONDAY, Jan. %, 1856.
The bill providing for the re-opcning OF the
Yazoo Pass being the special order OF the day.
was taken up.
Mr.. Alcorn, from the committee that reported
the bill, submitted minority report to the effect
that large appropriations have been annually
made by the State TO levee the river, and that to
open the Pass would break up the levee system
and that large districts now eG1ctually reclaimed
frcm overflow, would be again submerged; the
rights Of Swa np-landers would be iniringed the
Chickasaw School lands and the Internal I'm
provenent greatly deprecated and no special
benefit derived. Signed by Messrs. Acorn, Clark
and Robards.
Mr.. Cushman said he was not interested in
opening the Yazoo Pass as an individual, and
whatever course he may pursue with regard to it
would be the one be thought of greatest interest
tothe State. The gentleman from Lowndes Mr..
Bany,) took the position that the Legjsiatnre'
has no right to close the PISS and read from the
ordinance OF 100 TO support bis argument. That
ordinance relates to the free navigation OF the
river without toll or eXcse-stredms running in
to the Mississippi, and not those running out
This is question that effects the State at large,
and although individuals living along the Pass
may be snterested in its being opened, their rights
must yield to the public veal. This haa been 50
decided. This levee on or near the Pass cost the
State more than $4,000, and ono year anl
half to complete the work. If il was wfong 10
close up the Pass why was not the objection rails
I'd then, instead of waiting till the State had spent
this enormous amount of money and labor to close
L up. 1t has reclaimed thousands Of acres ofland
that were submerged and worthless Families
| have gone in there and settled, AMI it isnow
| Jopulous community. He had been informed that
the community has increased one third since the
Pass was closed. Bat how soon will you devas-
tate this thriving community If you cut this levec
| md turn the waters OF the Pass in upon them
again.
Mr.. Barry. He desired to ask the gentleman
the Legislature ever Intentionally closed the
Pass, and if so he wanted to be pointed to the
statute. He denied its existence. He would ask
| the gentleman from Coahoma il that part Of the
| bill in relation to the Pass was not stricken out?
Mr.. Alcorn. No, Sir. II was not in the bill
| that was introduced. Such -ection is incorpo-
| rated into the bill before il was introd lced but
| he had some doubt as to the power Of the Legis-
lature to close the Pass and was fearful that this
section would cause the bill to lose friends, aud
had it stricken out before it was introduced.
| Mr.. Barry said he wanted to show that the
Pass was closed fraudulently, and also to show
that the reason the Pass section was stricken out
was because the Legislature would have opposed
it, A statute was passed in l84l establishing a
bridge across the Pass, and proviso was Inserted
preventing the navigation ofthe stream being OBJ
structed.
Mr.. Cushman said that may be true, and still
no evidence that it is navigable stream. The
Legislature never declared it navigable stream.
The most thev ever did, was to appropriate mon
ey to clean it out. The closing the Pass was a
part of the eveeing of the Mississippi and there.
fore lawful The persons then who had settled
the Pass, with view to its navigation were not
then deceived as to its navigation in closing it.
Our Chickasaw School lands are situated on
each side of the Pass for three-fourths of it's
length, and our internal improvement lands are
much Of them near t,-all will be greatly over
flowed and much injured if the Pass is opened
now. The State has also invited many persons
/ to purchase these lands who have invested their
( money in them because they believed that the
water was by the levee dyked out 1t would be
an outrage upon those purchasers, now to cut
loose the water upon them, and might prevent
that portion of our State from ever being settled
/ HOUSE.
4 Saturday. February, 3D. 1856
! In the House, the only bu.iness of impor.
lance was the bill to open the Yazoo Pass
/ which was finally rsieeted-ayes 10 neos 3s.
peAl. We are afraid that our old friend Col
I Preston. now that he has got to be Democrat
in carrying his Democracy to extremes. He said
In one of his speeches in the late Democratic con
venton at Frankfort, that he would sooner vot,
! for the msanest and worst man in the Democrat
icparty than for the very best man in the Amer
I lean party, OF course he would sooner supper
Democratic Irish horse thief for the Presidenc,
|, than such man as Willard Fillmore7-sooner sup
port a Democratic Dutch burglar for the Presi
dency than such a man as John j. Crittenden-
sooner support a Democratic Italian murdererfo
the Presidency than such man - Garfe6 Da
, Wis. -
Our old friend certainly. spears to have out
stripped his new frien1sin tie race of ultraism
They are painting dltef him. - Louisville Jour
nal.
The GREAT SroRMs. Onr Northern paper
cons 70 us flIed with graphic descriptions of th
great storm that seemed to have visited simulta
ffneously the whole northern part Of the con
tinent between the 9TH and It'll. The New gorl
Tribune gives lengthy Inscription Of the ssnov
earniyal' in that city. Among other things, i
says that clearing the sidewalks alona viii Coz
over $4,000. Accounts 81 the wrecks aIous
the coast are also coming in and the suspension
of travel and numerous accidentsson all k;pds 8
thoroughfares are being reported.