Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1857-06-13
Written for the Sentinel.
ELECTION LAW,
For the Parish of Orleans.
Concluded

OF the Stiate, dppoIAb u uAoGt00b GitlN9"' WA"
has resided in the State at least four years,
whose duty it shall be to superintend all eIec~
tons held in the city of New Orleans, and who
shall be styled the Superintendent Of Elections
who shall hold his Office for the term Of two
wears, unless sooner removed, and who shall
receive an annual salary of three thousand dol.
lars one half of said salary shall constitute a
debt against and be paid by the city of New
Orleans. He shall be entitled to four chief de-
puties, and each shall receive an annual salary
of one thousand dollars, one half of which
shall constitute a debt against and be paid by
the city of New Orleans. He is "authorized
and empowered to employ any number Of per-
sons the Governor may think necessary" as his
deputies, for such time previous to any e!eco
ton as the Governor may direct and the said
deputies are to be paid TEN DOLLARS per
day until discharged by the Superintendent of
Elections. Besides this number of deputies,
unlimited except by the discretion Of the Gov
ernor, the Superintendent has the power to
appoint 'any number of extraordinary depu-
from amongst the citizens of the parish Of
Orleans, to protect the approaches to the polls,
keep order thereat, and secure free access to
and egress from said polls: and any citizen
between the age of 81 and so years refusing
to perform such duties, whenever thereunto
commanded, shall be subject to a fine of not
less than one hundred, nor more than five hum
dred dollars, recoverable before any court Of
competent jurisdiction; and in default of pay
ment thereof, said citizen shall stand committed
in the parish jail for a term not exceeding six
ty days.
The man clothed by the Legislature with
this mighty power, is to be styled Superinten~
dent of Elections. 1t is 4 huge imposition up
on tie public. 1t is a wolf in sleeps clothing.
1t is a Grecian war horse, which is to pour upN
on New Orleans its hired band of soIdiery,
which is to compel the city TO do its bidding,
or else to destroy their liberties and crush them.
Strip this Superintendent of his veil of pacific
words, of his peaceabIe sounding name, and
let him stand exposed to the public gaze, and
what does he look like Why, he looks for
all the world like the Major General of the
Governors standing army, with q salary of
$4,000 per annum, surrounded by his four staff
officers, styled Chief Deputies, with salaries of
a $1,000 each, with an unnumbered army COM
posed of men styled Deputies, who may come
from any quarter of this country or the Globe
They are not required to be citizens Of the
who may be willing to serve the Governor
and obey without murmur the bylaws of the
Central Board of Commissioners, and the COM
nands of his Major General, for $40 each per
day, can be enlisted in the sta nding army
Mark it!-that this hired soldiery, called de-
puties, who are not required to be citizens of
the State, are TO receive $40 per day, which
is more than the United States pays to the
rank and file Of lis army. But the Extraordi-
nary Deputies, who are required by the law to
be appointed from the citizens Of the parish
of Orleans. are not to be paid at all! But if
they refuse to serve when called upon, are to
be fined not less than 800 nor more than $500
and if the fine is not paid, they are to be
imprisoned in the common Jail for 60 days.
This was done by design, no doubt. 1t was
supposed that the liberty %loving-the high
toned, chivalrous and honorable people Of Lou
isiana-might not be willing to enlist in the
Governors army, even for the large pay of
$40 per day and the law was SO framed that
the Governor might import from abroad as ma
ny desperadoes, DULLES, and men devoid of
gentlemanly and honorable feelings, as are
willing to serve him for the hire, and as he
may deem necessary to subjugate the people
of New Orleans.
But, thanks to God, we have a constitution
which the people will rally around and defend;
which is some restraint TO the wild, %fanatical
and destructive party spirit which is now dom
inant in our State. This law clearly violates
the constitution in this-it, creates large debts,
heavy expenditures Of money, and orders that
the city of New Orleans shall pay one half of
it. The Legislature has no means of raising
money from the citizens Of the State under the
constitution, except by taxation and taxation,
the constitution declares, shall be uniform and
equal throughout the State. The money here
attempted to be raised to defray the expenses
Of carrying into effect this election law, is not
raised by any uniform and equal system of
taxation upon the people throughout the State.
The Legislature has just as much right to