Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1858-06-19
Communicated !

! of May, you sy1npathiscd with the peo
pie on the Atchatalaya in the wav the
Swamp Land fund has been expcndc,
among them; see YOU know little O
the waste and extravaganza committed
( since the Swamp Land bill vcntinto Oh.
Grafton.
Col. Van Winklc was our first Com
missioner under the Act; it was during
his administration that the Grand T.evec
was completed; was a necessary expen-
, dlture and carrying out the law in good
faith, because the Grand Levee. besides
protecting Pointe Conpee, prevents many
other parishes from being inundated.
But a change came over the spirit of
our Government. Gov. Hebert wanted
to make canal on the Lafourche, some
thing that woul dbeneft few plauta-
tions. Col. Van Winkle was invited to
cooperate; this, to his credit, he refused
to do, and with a rare patriotism in
these venal times, threw up his dom
mission
Mr.. G. B. Miller was appointed in his
place; then commenced the era of ex-
travagance and waste of the Swamp Land
fund, Mr.. Miller having entered a large
quantity of land on the Atchafalaya,
all the money coming to this District
during his term of office has been used
to drain and improve the lands on the
Atchafalaya.
When Mr.. Miller went to lay off the
drains and culverts, he took the advice of
and was accompanied by the first citi-
zens on the Atchafalaya; the successor
of Miller has too we'll carried out his
(Miller's) plans, and this high water
proves it all a failure. Recollect that
nearly all the money. coming to the Dis
trict from the time Col. Van Wicklc left
the Office till now, has been expended on
the Atchafalaya, and all wasted and lost
forever; what arc they complaining for
now? Is it not to get up a new case to
petition the Legislature for more mon
cy to make new experiments? But
what T; ght has the Commissioner to drain
the Atchafalaya swamp if they don't
drain that of the Mississippi? Is it be- {
cause they require new and fresh lands {
and that ours are worn and old?
But, sir, this is not all the loss the /
State and the public have sustained; t
he waste I have specified has been the {
cause of extravaganza elsewhere, name .
y, the making of the Cat Island levce. =
fou have no doubt seen the report II
wherein the Commissioner sets forth the y
many thousand acres of land he reclaim Il
d; now sir | say it boldly without fear
# successful contradiction, that, after all Il
he money expended on the Cat Island Il
avee, there is not one acre of public :,
and, and not fifty acres of any kind ofland d
eclaimed; for the truth of this statement h
refer you to 4. Adams, Eugene Tircuit, G.
nd Col. Watson. n n
In fine, if one half the money that a
as been expended on the Atchafalaya d.
nj Cat Island, Gin our opinion useless a. a,
7, had been expended to fortify and [lv
omplete the levee ON the Mississippi Ii
yer and protect the swamp land from
verfows, a much larger quantity of to
wamp land would have been redeemed, di
nd the country secured from any even tn
lal overflow. "a
1t is to be hoped that people will ca
rake up on this subject ere all the pro- A
eeds arising from the swamp lands are is
ntirely wasted. Yours, pe
VILLAGE. Ca
vi
THE PLEA OF 1ssAsrrY.-A negro in
L.