Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1856-04-26
Legislative Bluaders, and the State
Printing.

Ii3G INE% 80 ~ IAN SNh ASe'
calls attention to the errors and inconsistent
cies Of the new charter of the city of New
Orleans as promulgated in the Official paper.
The Bee specially directs attention to the
10th section of said Act, which provides
E"that thetwo boards of the Common Council
shall meet in separate chambers that no or
dinance shall become binding until 1t shall
have passed both Boards, and that no appro-
| p~riation, ordinance or tax exceeding five hun
hred dollars, shall be passed, except by 4 ma
iority Of the members elected in each Beard"
! concludes in the following o~racu!ar, mysterI-
Gus and altogether Delphlc fashion:
Nor shall any ordinance, or resolution,
| which shall contemplate a specific work OF
improvement, or the sale, disposition, or APP
| preparation Of public property, or the expen-
diture OF public moneys, OF the income there
Of"
The Bee adds,
"Admirabie perspicuity! The sentence
breaks short of, and we are left to guess the
remainder. Is it possible that so important
an act could have been framed with such cHl-
| pable remissness and neglect2 Ne might
| doubtit. Wemight imagine that a portion Of
the copy had been left out by the compositions,
and the omission overlooked by the proof
reader, but for the extraordinary coincidence
between the French and English texts. Ii IS
unnecessary to cite the language ofthe French
text. ANY one conversant with French, on
! reference 10 it, will perceive that It IS a lite
| raj translation of the English, and presents
| the same mutilated form and is; consequently,
| wholly uninteliigible. So much for rushing
the City Charter through the Legislature
with fiery haste at the very heel Of the ses-
| sioa.
Again: What has become Of section % Of
the act. Section 10 is followed by section u.
The act purports 10 consist OF 134 sections,
but has in reality only I32. Have the sections
been wrongly enumerated, or has the twentl-
eth section been suppressed through some lr-
| expIicabie blunder! was the twentieth Sec
| ton OF the original bill stricken out during
| its progress, and the twenty-first and succeed
ing sections allowed to remain with their nu-
| meration unchanged QuteH safe All that
| we do know is. that in the official publication
the City Charter presents the cuFloNs anoma-
tv OF having a nineteenth aud a tWentE-hrst
| section, without an intermediate one. tthe
| State Printer can explain this hiatus, the
| public at large will be gratihed
Now we have taken the trouble to examine
| the original Bill. as it was engrossed and pass
| ed the two Houses; init, we find no such in
| congruities ard Inconsistencies as those meu-
| toned above, AID which were to be found in
the bill as officially published by the Courier.
fhe 10th section does not end as the Cou-
rier makes it end. This section Of ne origin
al bill is complete and clear it concludes as
follows:
Nor shall any ordinance, OF resolution
which shall contemplate any SPECIFIC work,
or improvement, or the sale, disPositlon,e r
appropriation ofpub!ic property, or the expen-
diture Of public monies, or inco,nu McrGiroH,
or laying of any tax, or assessment, originate
in the Board of Aldermen, but, the Board Of
Aldermen, may propose amendments, as in
| resolutions Or ordiuanees.a
The goth section, the omission Of which
gives rise to SO much speculation, is found to
have been adopted as follows:
SEc. 20. Be II further Ena~ted, &C., That
it shall be the duty OF the Mayor 10 publish
all the ordinances and resolutions passed BY
! ZIG SotlliituI tJiuEii altNt dttItNtG W Htiii
| aud it shall be the duty OF the clerk Of each
Board to publish the proceedings ofthe respec-
tive Boards except the secret proceedings;
said publications to be made in a newspaper
selected by the Common Council as its official
journal and whenevera vote shall be taken
in either Board, upon The passage of an orii-
| nance Or resolution which shah contemplate
anv specific improvement or work. or the sale,
disposition, or appropriation Of public proper
ty. or the expenditure OF public monies. OF IN
come theretron, or the laying OF any tax or
assessment, such ordinance or resolution shall.
beige being sent to the other Board, immedi-
ateiy after the adjournment of the Beard OF
which the same shall have been passed, be
published, with the ayes and noes, and with
the names of the membes voting for and
against the same; and no oTdinace or resoIu-
| ton which shall have passed one Beard shall
be acted upon by the Other III the same day,
unless by unanimous consent, except in case
OF invasion, Instruction, or pestilence.
But, ON limited space, viii not allow US to
go through the entire Bill, suffice it to ey,
that while it is certain that clerical errors
may be found in the original Bill, and while it
is probable that in a Bill Of l34 sections con-
tanning so many important provisions, grave
errors may be expected. Weare convinced.
that the City charter as it passed the two
Houses and as it stands, filed with the papers
OF the House of Representatives, is as perfect
as the most matured deliberation could make
it.
The errors and blunders, therefore, to which
the Bee alludes, are not the result of hasty
legislation, but are the result of having the
State Printing done at New Orleans, and con-
firms our remarks, made previous to the last
session Of the Legislature.
The Courier, may have faithfully followed
the COPY. bnt it is clear that the COPYING clerk.