Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1858-12-04

mer and wet fall and winter seaso far
in the wild woods, and cut off from near
~ every convenience, renders it a God
send to induce a responsible contractor
to undertake a work of this kind, SO that
it would be folly to bind him down to
any fixed time so hong as the interest OF
the State did not suffer materially"
now quote from the Engineers Re-
port, submitted by the Commissioner to
the same Legislature, page %: "The
contractors, Messrs. Kirk and J. A. Mil
Ter, are at present engaged upon them,
Ntle canals,) and IAare no fears but that
the arovk u5n be done mAenerer the a1ater wiR
permit" At page "a: "The contracts
were all made to expire On the lst day
of, December of this year, but all opera
taps, both of Engineer and contractor, haze
experienced the usual hindraness from high
mater, heary rains and sckly season. |
wonder in reviewing the year, not that
the works are unfinished, but that they
haze progressed so uah."
From the above emphatic statement
Of both the Commissioner and his Engi-
neer, is it not strange that my contract
should have been annuled at a time when
the obstacles admitted to have rendered
it's execution impossible were greatly
increased by the unusual high water of
the spring of the present year? If the
work was impossible from the accumu-
lation Of rain water in the swamp, was
it at all facilitated by the additional
amount of water that entered by over
flow and crevasses? Believing that the
annulment of my contract was illegal,
and that gross injustice has been done
me, I was not disposed to submit with
out resistance to an act dictated by Ca
price, if not to a motive more unworthy.
Had / alone been interested this should
have been my course, but as the name
Of Gen. SHINES has been, for reasons
which it is needless here to discuss, con
nected with the transaction, / finally de-
termined to let the matter take it's course
without any further interference on my
part, excepting what a regard to my
own character, the interest of the State,
and Justice to the individual alluded to,
dictated. ! have, therefore, paid into
the Treasury the $4,000 advanced, as
per receiptof Treasurer hereto appended,
without any compensation for work al
ready done, trusting to the Legislature
at its coming session to reimburse me
for the same. I would state, in expla-
nation, that / have adopted this course,
!. C., direct payment to the State Treasu-
rer instead Of the Commissioner, for the
following reason: An Act passed at the
last session Of the Legislature, makes it
incumbent on the Swamp Land Commits
s%ioners to pay back into the Treasury
all moneys in their possession. Sec. 8
Of the Act referred to, reads as follows:
That the moneys 10Y in the hands OF
the Swamp Land Commissioners shall
be Immediately paid back to the Treas
urer of the State, and thereafter shall
only be drawn as provided for by the
I'd section of this Act"
Now, / have reason to believe that
the Commissioner of the I'd Swamp Land
District has not complied with this law,
and is no longer, therefore, an officer OF
the State, under article1sth of the Con.
stitution.
In reply to the charge circulated in
certain quarters that the advance Of
$4,000 to me was the cause of Mr..
Caldwelps d~efalcation, / will quote the
report Of the joint committee appointed
by the last Legislature to examine the
accounts of the Swamp Land Commits
sioncrs; in refutation thereof. On the
lst Of January last, as per report Of said
committee, Mr.. Caldwell had on hand
1881 u; the amounts previously ad-
vanccd to contractors and admitted by