Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1858-04-10
Communication,

'ne IAiliIah APpleAtlce Dill, \pasSeO I'll
House, the Penitentiary Bill, the Cit.
zens' Bank extension Bill, the act t
close the Bayou Plaquemine, the act 70
the support of volunteer companies; 70
charitable institutions, and to establis
a Normal school,
l voted for each of these acts, an,
three of them were entrusted to IN,
management.
/ will give the reasons, very briefly
for these votes:
lst. To appropriate money for char
liable purposes in the present exhausted
state Of the Treasury, was thought by
some, to be questionable policy. l know
the Democratic party favored rctrench
ment, but I could not believe that this
great party intended to begin the WORK
of reform by taking the bread from the
little orphan children, Or by Withholding
State aid from the Asylum for the Deal
and Dumb and the Asylum for the In
sane, which in a spirit of generous
philanthropy has been erected as a ref
uge for afflicted humanity.
| voted for the bill appropriating
$4,000 to establish a Normal school in
New Orleans, to educate teachers. This
is a mere experiment. introduced res.
olutions instructing the Board Of Visit.
ors to the State Seminary to report a
plan for ENGRAVING a Normal school on
said Seminary, believing that it is the
duty of the State to educate all her
children, and at the same time to pro-
vide home teachers for our home scholars.
The bill appropriating money to keep
up volunteer companies met with slight
opposition. 1t was apparent that these
companies were composed Of young
men too p to pay all the expenses
incident to a complete military organi-
cation, and unless State aid was given.
they would disband. For forty years,
except Q instances, the State has invari-
ably made appropriations for volunteer
companies. In a large city an organic
ed military is indispensable to maintain
peace and order, and in a State with a
large black population, it is a source of
safety. The spirit of Republican gov
eminent is hostile to a large standing
army. The Congress of the. United
States has recently refused to increase
the regular army although required to
suppress treason and rebellion in Utah,
and although recommended by the Pres
ident and the former and present Secre-
tary of War, Gen. Quitman declared in
favor of volunteers. In time of domes-
tic disturbance or foreign invasion,
these volunteer companies, composed Of
citizen soldiers, form a nucleus around
which the militia may rally. To pre-
serve, in an efficient state, these COM
/ voted an appropriation for
their benefit.
The Pe~nitentiary, under the present
Lessees, Mediation, Pike & Co., is the
most complete work of the kind in the
United States, and if the Legislature
will only second the efforts of the Les
sees, there will soon be nothing to add,
to make it perfect.
In the erection of such an establish
ment, the object in view should be to
build so as to keep pace with the in
creasing greatness of our State. It is
a narrow policy to erect any
Improvement Of a temporary character.
These were the motives that controlled
my vote in relation to the P~enitentiary.
The act to close Bayou Plaquemine,
voted for by most of the delegates
from New Orleans, thus evincing no
lear Of damage to that create city l~ocat-
ed below the Plaquemine. ! knewathat
the closing would reclaim millions oil
acres ct the finest land in the world and
give safety to much Of the Attakapas
country. But what principally controll-
ed my vote was the fact thatif the Mis-
was shut off from passing down
Payou Plaquemine, it would enable
The Atchafalya to discharge, rapidly, all
he water Red River could pour into it,