The true Democrat., 1856-12-23

MT. Billingsley moved the previous question on the passage of the bill, which was sus. tained.
 Mr. Speaker stated the question to be "shalI the main question now be put" which was de- cided in the affirmative
 Mir. Oates called for the ayes and noes upor the passage of the bill
 Mir. Gibson obtained the floor and was pro ceedlng with remarks upon the merits of the oili, when MT. Irotter rose to a point of order that no member was privileged to speak to the merits of question after the previous question had been put and sustained The chair decid ed the gentleman to be out of order, and tha, under the 23d rule any member had the privi leSe ol speaking once to the merits of oues. tion alter the previous question had been put and sustained
 MT. Trotter appealed from the decision of the char. After considerable discussion MT. Trot. ter asked leave to withdraw his appeal, which was not granted
 Mr. Edmondson of Sebastian called for the yeas and nays, which stood 50 in the affirmative to l7 In the negative. So the chair was sus. tained in it's decision.
 MT. Gibson then resumed and concluded his remarks, and after considerable discussion. in which several members participated, the roll was called on the final passage of the bill
 Those gentlemen voting in the affirmative are, Messrs. Abbott, Anderson, Ashley. Ayers Barker, Bean, Billingsley, Bobo, Boone, Bow, den, Bunch, Butler, Childers, Cook, Cotterell Estes, Foreste, Graves, Griffin, Hefngton, Hill of Ashley, Hudson, Hunter, Jackson, Jeffrey hillsore, Lea of Dallas, Lee of Scott, McCon- nell, Montgomery, Moss, Neal, Newton of Johnson, Newton of Union, Pettigrew, Polk, Quarles, Stephenson, Trotter Turner, Venabc Watson, Williams of Lawrence, Williams of Marion, and Wilson--45.
 Those gentlemen voting in the negative are. Messrs. Beale, Block, Calvert, Douglas, Ed mendson of Crittenden, Edmondson of Sebas tlan, Gentry, Gibson, Gray, Harding, Harason, Harris, Hill of Perry, James, Kelly, Moody Moore, Oates, Oliver, Patterson, Ross. West Williams of Pulaski, Yancy and Mr. Speaker 52
 So the bill was passed
 MT. Oates asked and obtained leave to read the following protest, and to have the same spread upon the journal.
 PROTEST.
 The undersigned, members of the House of Representatives, feeling that private individuals have been most seriously aggreved, and the true interest Of the entire State wholly disre- garded in the passage of House bill No. 146 entitled '' An act to arrest in part, the opera tons of the present laws upon the subject ol the swamp and overflowed lands" having as it does, the effect and bearing to stop the system ot reclamation now in operation by virtue of the laws of the land; and believing, as we do that the passage of said bill is an act of bad faith and violation of the plighted honor of the State, we hereby soemnly protest against Ia of ha +L same and for said protest assign the following reasons:
 l. Because, in the passage of said bill by the House without any provision for continuino the system of reclamation already commenced, or any other, in any part of the State, and es- peclally upon the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers, 1t will and in the natural course of things must have the effect to leave for the next two years, and perhaps forever, the people along sald rivers Tn a condition to have their farms and thelr houses inundated by an overflow thelr property m many places, destroyed and theIr health, and hence their lives, seriously endangered, and that too, without any hope of relief from the munificent grant of lands made by Congress to the State, in part, at least, for their use and benefit.
 Z Because, the State did, by her former Ge- neral Assembly, adopt and put in operation a system having for its object the reclamation of the swamp and overfiowed lands by and under which system levees along the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers, in subdivisions, have been let to contract, and in part constructed at an ex- pense to the State, as will appear from the Au- ditor's report of $l,929, ,494 94, leaving gaps Tn the same which should and indeed must be filled up or else in high water, the country along said streams will be overilowed, and from the nature of the soil out of which said levees have been constructed, the same will and ne- cessarily must go to waste and destruction, and the State thereby lose the benefit of the work and indeed, the work itself which she has al- ready done at the eXpeuse above named, and the operation and bearing of said bill is, and will be to expressly prohibit the filing up of such gaps, unless the same be done at private expense.
 3 Because, further we believe that when the .State accepted the grant of the swamp and over flowed lands upon the terms and specifications contained in the same, and adopted and put in operation a system for the reclamation of said lands, she became in honor and in duty bound to reclaim the same, or to exhaust the fund granted for that parIose in prudent and wise effort to do so; aud to stop the operation of the system of reclamation heretofore adopted and to refuse the adoption of any other when we have the information through the Governors message, that the fund in her hands for that purpose is not half exhausted, and especially to do so when she has sold many of the lands embraced under the grant, and with tho express understanding that she would in good faith continue to carry on the work of reclama- ton to the extent ot the swamp and overiioweC land fund in her hands for that purpose, is, il our opinion, unwise in the State, un ust at leas to portion if not to all of her citizens, and a variance with her own best interests.
 4. Because, in the letting of the contract along said rivers by the commissioners appoint ed by the State for that purpose, private ind vlduals along said rivers were induced to sub scribe large sums of money to assist ill the con structon of said levees, as a bonus to the Stat' for doing the .same, upon the settled under standing and belief of all the parties concern. ed that the same would be n good faith com pleted, and DO gaps left unclosed, and sait private citizens having paid said sums of mo ney so subscribed, and the same having beeI expended under the authority of this State we hold and believe, that unless the State doe act in good faith and fill up such gaps, that sh' will perpetrate grevous wrong upon those in dividuals-such one as is inconsistent witt her honor and dignity as a sovereign State anC incompatible with her plighted faith.
 5. Because, when the State commenced he system of retaining the swamp and overflow ed lands, she issued, for the work which shs had done as well as for the payment of the ne cessary expenses of operating the system wha IS known and designated as swamp land scrip and by act of her General Assembly she obi gated herself to redeem the same in swamp and overhowed lands, and by refusing to mak, any provision in said bill for that purpose, sh, has abandoned the reclamation of said land for the next two years at least and that too before any of said lands are reclaimed, owin: to the gaps in said levees referred to before being as yet unclosed; in doing which, in ou convictions of right, justice and honor, she act in bad faith to the present holders of the scn as we'll as to those individuals who have located the same upon lands which are yet unreclaim ed, and in our judgments such an act is bio har honor ,uhio,