Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1860-08-18
Drainage.

r spectors have been appointed, and, il
1 fine, that ere long we will have, all ovel
the parish, excellent roads and substan
tial ~levees, we will turn Jul attention t.
another very important subject, and thai
is, that of drainage.
The necessity of drainage is so vel
known, that it is useless to say anything
in favor of it. No where can that sys.
TEN be carried on to more profitable ad.
vantage than in lower Louisiana. Hence,
one of the best of our Representatives
we ever sent to Congress, worked labo.
riously, and with success, to obtain such
a large donation from the United States
which, if properly administered, would
have been sufficient to drain every inch
of low land in this State and brought it's
fertile soil into high cultivation. But,
alas, for the poor administrative power
of our State Government, nearly SIS, 00O,-
900 have been squandered, and no work
done. 1t has had the effect only of sharp
ening the appetite of those who have
faithlessly squandered these funds, and
a struggle is now going on to misapp)y
and waste the balance.
Were it necessary, we could show
that, for upwards Of 5000, 900 of swamp
land funds which have been appropri~
ated for this parish, not $4,000 worth
of work has been done. What has be-
come of the balance? Echo answers,
what?
Thus we need not look any longer for
the proper application Of the
of the swamp land funds for the purpose
Of drainage-we have to look to our own
resources. Lands suitable for the cult
walton of the staple production of this
State, sugar, are rising so fast in value,
and the demand is so great, that it be-
comes absolutely necessary to bring into
cultivation, by artificial means, those
lands which have heretofore been looked
upon as unfit for cultivation, but when
brought in cultivation, are the richest in
the State.
The inhabitants of one of our sister
parishes, having taken a correct view
of this matter, had law passed for the
purpose of enabling them to establish a
system of drainage, which, in our hum
bic opinion, though it may not be per-
feet, is worth noticing. Such a law, if
adopted, could but result in good, as the
rights of individuals are so well guarded
that it can not be applied to the injury
of any one. Here it is:
An Act to~empowcr the Police Jury
of the parish of West Baton Rouge to
regulate and control the drainage of
said parish.
Section l. Be 1t enacted, &C., That the
Police Jury of the parish Of West Baton
Rouge shall have exclusive control over
all drains situated therein, except in
cases hereinafter named; and when two
parishes may be interested in the same
drain they shall use such control con-
jointly.
Sec. 2. Said Police Jury shall have
power to lay off all drains OF a general
nature, and clean out all bayous, to ok
propriate for right of way for same, to
decide what lands should be drained
thereby, to assess the damage to be paid
proprietors of lands through which the
drains may pass, under the regulations
contained in this Act; to assess upon
the lands taxes necessary to make and
keep in repair such drains, and to regu-
late their working by the parties inter-
ested.
Sec. 9. Whenever three or more pro-
p~rietors of lands situated in the said pa
IRISH, shall wish to dig a canal or clean
out any bayou situated in the parish
where the said lands lie, for the purpose
of drainage, they shall petition the Po-
lice Jury of said parish on the subject,
setting forth a full description of said
drrinage, with their reasons, ETC., to
which petition there shall be attached a
map or plan Of said canal or bayou, the
Police Jury shall then direct that said
application be published for the space
of thirty days in the official paper OF the
parish. or in the nearest newspaper, no.
tifying all persons interested to file their
| opposition, if any they have, in writing
with the Clerk of the Police Jury within
said time, setting forth the reasons why
the prayer Of the petitioners should not
be granted.