The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1858-01-30
GOVERNORS MESSAGE.

Tie Report OF the Auditor, shows balance, on th
first of January, 1858. to the credit of the Genera
Fund, of forty-eght thousand four hundred and six
teen dollars and forty-three cents.
The receipts into the Treasury proper for account
OF the General Fund are estimated by the Auditor al
one million one hundred Thousand dollars, making
an aggregate of one million one hundred and forty
eight thousand four hundred and sixteen dollars and
forty-thlee cents, to be applied to the general aud
extraordinary expenditures OF government for the
ensuing year. The estimated expenditures for the
same period including the unexpented balances, arc
fourteen hundred and eighteen thousand eight btn-
dred and three dollars !; showing deficit i'll the
General tnnd account for the fiscal year OF two nn
dred and seventy thousand three hundred and ewhty-
six dollars and tiftyscven cents The total receipt,
less the unexpended balances, from the accounts of
the various Special and Trust Funds, are estimated
Tor the year 1885, at twelve hundred and ~y dollars.
1t will readily be perceived that the clrent gen
eral resources Of the State gradually sinking be-
low the general and extraordinary expenditures land
| each year the State has been forced to borrow
larger sum from the Special and trust Funds of the
Treasury, to make good this continuously swelling
deficit. 1t is time this vicious practice arrested
and the expenditures of the government confined
within the limits of its own proper revenues To
accomplish so desirable an end. it behoves me to
impress upon the General Assembly, and the strong
est language, the necessity of the most rigid
enconomy. This economy is demanded of the gov
crnrent not less by consideration of our peculiar
eXigencies, than by the depressed prices of all the
great staples OF our agriculture, and the pcculiary
industrial classes of the community.
1t would be q gross and unpardonabe offence were
the disbursements OF the State rot now made with
the trugality which individual citizens have !ecn
forced to adopt, in the conduct of their own affairs.
would particularly call your attention to several
items of expenditure which should lie reduced.
The annual charge for public printing is over forty
thousand dollars, large part Of which is incurred
Tor the publication, in French and English Of the
debates Of the members of the Legislature These
debates are not made public for weeks and months
AFTER they occur, and the cost of the whole ma
chlnery OF reporters aud tfanslating is incurred,
together with the expense of printing, without on
tanning the slightest practical benefit. Another
serious charge upon the Treasury is the profuse ex
penditule incurred for objects of charitable and edA
catlona nature am convinced that it will be far
better to leave the support of many of these objects
10 individual benevolence and private enterprise
The Interest OF those who have the conduct of such
noble Institutions is far from being increased by the
continued aid Of the State. In tie Inception Of such
objects it may be well to foster ard encourage then,
by governmental assistance but the habit of leaning
upon the State far aid begets anything else than
vigorous personal attention to and interest in their
good management and economical administration
Aside from the leading charities of the State, such
the Insane and Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asvlums, |
and the Charity Hospital, the Legislature Should
make the most sparing appropriations to this class
OF Objects
also deem it my duty to urge ubon the Iegisla-
ture the repeal OF the Act which throws upon the
state Treasury the costs of criminal prosecutions in
the several parishes of the State This new item of
expense to the government is estiRated by the |
Auditor OF Public Accounts TO require Ar the coming
year. the sum of fifty thousand dollarsY When tnese
charges We're borne hy the several parishes, they
were subjected to the audit of the police juries and
the immediate taxpayers had direct and personal
interest in seeing that they were kept within proper
bounds.
Only by economy and retrenehment can the State
hope to retrace her steps. and prepare the way for
hal redu a demanded
The continued encroachments by the deNAits of the
General Fund upon the Trust Funds of %ee State |!
have already attracted the attention of thWeneral
Assembly, and doubt not that the Acts i@ssed by
the last Legislature, taking the vast due these
Trust Funds entirely out of the Treasury, will thus
check the tendency to extravag Ut and
wasteful expenditure which has marked our past |
history
In compliance with the above act, l was furnished |
by the Auditor with statement exhibiting the
amount due by the State by the Free School Fund
ard the Seminary Fund respectively. BY this state
ent it appears that the of 1929 600 is due the
Free School Fund, and sl36 900 the Seminary Fund
In pursuance of the second section Of said act have
issued six hundred and sixty-iye coupon bonds for
$1,000 each, payable in forty years from the lst of
July, 1857 with interest at the rate of six per cent
per annum, and payably semi-annuallJ.
In conformity with the Seventh Section of said Act.
on the LIST of April, caused advertisement in the
NewOrleans papers inviting proposals for the ex-
change of the State bonds thus issued for any OF the
cuation OF the banks established ander the free |
banking law and on the first day of July the pro-
posas received were opened in the manner required
by law. The most favorable offer made for the cx |
of five per cent. in vaue-. e., ninetyive cents for
the City bonds, and par for the State bonds One
offering exchange of $l00, 900 of conso
idated city bonds, was received at the same rate |
This difference in value did not, III my Judgment,
form any nducement for making the exchange and,
exercising that discretion vested in me under the |
Act rejected the proposals. and have placed in the
hands of the Secretary of State and State Treasurer
the bonds iss,,ed believing, without any desire or
intention dispage the value of other bonds that
the best security the State can hold for its Trust
Funds is to be found i'll the bonds of the State a
principle which is recognized in the Thirteenth Sec
ton OF the Act referred to, which requires invest
men1s for certain funds to be made in bonds of the
State at par in preference to any other securities
During the past year, the investments of interest
according to the Redemption of State Debt Fund and
the Free School Accommodating Fund.- have been
made after due form of law in State bonds, at rates
varying from $S1 $500 to $50. In one case, four
teen city bonds were taken at cents to
complete the amount required.
refer YOU to the report of the Superintendent of
Public Education, for a full statement OF the opera
tions Of that department for the last year. There
are many valuable suggestions contained i'll that re-
Dort which present themselves to the careful con-
sideration of the Legislature.
The Internal improvement Department has been
imposed upon it by the last Legislature. For full
statement of the resources and conditions of said de-
partment, refer you to the Report OF the State
Engineer.
You will perceive, from the Report of the Register,
of the State Land Office, that the OF six hundred
and ninetyeight thousand two hundred and seventy
eight dollars and eighty cents have been
the sale of lands during the past year. TN account
Of swamp lands, six hundred and thrtylve Thousand
six hundred and thirtyve dollars and eighty cents
School lands thirtytwo Thousand nine hundrhd and
forty-one dollars and twenty-five cents. internal
improvement lands, thirty eight thousand and SIX
dollars and twenty-nine cents Seminary lands, one
thousand six hundred and thirtysix dollars and
forty-one cents.
The Report Of the Swamp Land Board will place
you in full possession Of It's operations during the
past wear, The Recommendation OF the Commis-
soner of the First District for the building OF pro-
lection leyee for the city of NewOreans, and to re-
claim and drain swamp and 0verhOWed lands, should
meet with the hearty approval of the Legislature
would recommend the proprlety OF an enactment
recurring the Sheriff of each parish or other officer
charged with the collection of State taxes to publish
in their respective parishes for thirty days. list Of
delinauent taxpayers, before settlement with the
Auditor said list to form basis for that settlement.
deem it my duty to call your attention to the
Act of 1886 relative to the trial of slaves. This law
requires amendment. Several instances have oe-
cured since the passage Of this Act, when slaves,
convicted of the crime Of murder, have never paid
the penalty the law demands The special tribunal
which tries them has power to fix the time for the
execution of the sentence an appeal Is taken, or
the condemned slave escapes from Jail the day ap-
pointed for carrying into effect the sentence
passed there is no provision OF law authorizing the
designation Of another. Indeed, the criminal law
demands revision. In this connection, would call
- slafIn