The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1857-02-11


the wire-w orkeEs and spoils-seekers- In On
OF his last letters he says: Louisiana Is ne
State. See the auditors report There va
in the treasury on the 1stJanuary s962.4l4 u
! and that, too after an expenditure, for the pas
wear, of 81, e53, 849 a. near two nillons.i
Now. YOU know that $500, coo and upward
has to be disposed Of, and with the least posi-
bic DELAY; for it is contrary to AL principles g
political economy that money should lie use
less in the treasury. II the enormous saIarie
Of ofice-hoIders should not absorb all, there Ar
plenty of other ways OF getting rid of it. "
have a governors mansion to build, at cost @
! 500, 600 We have to purchase ten or twent.
thousand OF Morse's breech-loading rifles, &
splendid invention, By the way al cost 0
I fiftv or one hundred thousand dollars more
We have to expend s150, 900 on the penlten
tiary-paying past debts, making repairs, etc
We have all the asvlun1s, great and small Il
take care Of; the portraits OF aiI Louisiana ::
dead statesmen painted, or manso2eums erected
to their memory; and inst one thousand and one
things of inferior magnitude to attend to, re-
curing an outlay of cash. Besides, there's the
half million OF the swamp land fund, lying IN
wait for the first grab, and the successive grabs;
Of course by authority of s'acts' OF the leglsIa-
ture; for the grab system is the system by WHICH
that MAGNIFICENT fund has heretofore been year-
II frittered away Already we have inklngs
OF what is contemp plated in this department OF
legislation We may not have Cat island,
but we shall have the eternal grand leTee"
AGAIN: A "Raccourci cutoff" and whole
brood of great and small evees and cut-ofs. It
is sad, sad reflection that this munhcen-
grant of congress should be squandered for the
benefit, mainly, ofIegisIatiye tricksers at Baton
Rouge and their outside associates. 0, that
We had slight suEfuson Of intelligence, virtue
and patriotism in our legislative assembly, that
this magnificent fund might be disposed of with
a view to the ends contemp plated, and thought
to have been provided for BY the act Of con-
sreSs. The Benjamin resolutions since adopt
ed are before the senate-and such resolutions!
Beslabbcring the man with praise, because
because what2 Because OF his patriotic viz
tues-his eminent craftsmanship? Because of
his devotion to the interests Of the south? Oh,
no! but because he has changed his politics and
become a democrat That's what the resolu-
lions mean-and nothing more nor less. You
should have witnessed the scene in the senate
chamber to-day, when the resolutions were
taken from the table for action The clerk read
Them before the senate, and large assembly
ot people IN the lobby, amid death-Iike still
less, and, when the reading had ceased, the
stiffness and silence still continued, until it was
broken by the clear, shriI voice of the lieuten-
mt governor, calling for the next thing in or
Ter. No action was had upon them except the
irst reading merely. There was no PROPOSE
ION 10 read second time They fell like
rot potato, or lump OF lead. "A id sweet
ocument," said one "What has been done
nth them?" asked another, and several, while I
Il felt that great legislative faux pas was
bout TO be committed The scene was graphic !
ar beyond my hasty description. But the re-
olutlons will be passed As certain as destiny,
'hle there is not a man Of the democracy, in
Ither branch Of the legislature, having mod /.
;um Of common sense, however small, but re-
rets the introduction Of them, and their CON
equrnt publicity. The members Of the Amer
IAN party say little, but are vastly amused. -
We are unable to mprehend why the Delta, /
nd other ultra southern rights democratic or
ans, should at this time give a cold shoulder
, Mr.. Benjamin.
The Louisville Democrat publishes list of
II the steamboat disasters on the western WA
RS during 1855, BY which we learn that 50
oats were destroyed by snags; 90 by fire;
y collisions; 81 by ice; and 8 by explosions.
here were q other casualties. Number of
YES lost, 50. OF fats and barges "a were
INK. Aggregate loss ofproperty, s2,637, 600 .
addition to the foregoing. there were some
fly accidents by flood, fire, snags, or COLI
ons, wherein boats and cargoes were damaged
Ore or less. The whole makes fearful list,
lough we are gratifed to find that explosions
nd loss OF life are comparatively very light in
'mparison with other years. The loss Of mon
Y, however, is greater than during any preyi-
US year, as the total estimated loss of property
the list amounts to near $1,000, 900. A few
Iousand dollars judiciously expended by the
eneral government, in removing distractions
ON the western rivers, would have saved from
the ffty-nine steamboats,, together
it'll their cargoes, sunk by snags. But the .
ierce democrats declare that such an act on
re part Of the general government would be
unconstitutionall' |
In nothing, perhaps, is the wonderful growth |
nd prosperity OF our country SO strikingly man
ested, as in the number and extent Of its rail |
Dads. The whole number of miles of olilroad |
] the world, on the 1st July last, was inside
80, 600, Of which q, $50 were in the United .
tates, which is three times as many miles of .