New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-01-25
THURSDAY MORNING, JANUARY 25, 1866.

.rH
After brief explanatory discussion between
hat the report properly belonged to the House
that it had been inadvertently sent to the Senate;
that it was sent in the original manuscript to the
printer; that it was taken from him for the pur-
pose of furnishing him with copy of it, and that
it was then sent to the House.
The vote of yesterday was then reconsidered
and the resolution rescnded.
Mr. Palfrey presented bill to reduce the police
wards of the parish of St. Mary to five in number
which, under suspension of the rules, was carried
through its several stages and passed.
Mr. Anderson presented bill to provide for the
of minors, which was read first and
second time and referred to the Judiciary Com
mittee.
Mr. Gordon offered a resolution that the Ser
geant-at-Arms request the Librarian to procure a
complete set of the laws of Louisiana to be kept
in the Senate Chamber for the use of members.
On motion of Mr.. Mohan the resolution was
amended so as to include the Constitution of 1864.
The resolution was then passed.
On motion of Mr. Gordon the Senate then ad-
journed to IL NJ, tomorrow, Jan. 25th, 1866.
House of Representatives.
The House met at IL NJ. seventy-four members
present; Speaker Cage in the Chair.
Prayer was offered by Rev. DIR. Hedges.
The Chair announced the following as the com
mittee on the part of the House, under the reso
luton of Mr.. Walker, providing for the appoint
ment of joiut committee to inquire into the jus
tice, expediency and legality of relief against
debts and obligations created for slaves and other
property set free or destroyed by the late war,
viz: Messrs. Walker, Eustis, Simmonds, Mcdonald,
Gates, Montgomery, Scott, Halsey and Fenner.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE.
Mr.. Eustis offered the following resolution:
Resol1ed, That a joint committee, composed of
nine members of the House and - of the
Senate, be appointed to report any necessary
changes and amnndments to the Constitution of
1864, and that all proposed amendments be re-
ferred to this committee.
Mr.. Eust.s addressed the House in support of
the resolution. It, he observed, was the logical
consequence Of the course of the House at the
late called session. 1t was then deemed inexpe-
dent to call upon the people to assemble in con
vention to frame constitution, and it must have
occurred to others as well as himself that the con-
clusion thus reached was impelled by the force of
circumstances, by grave reasons of public econo-
my aud by weighty reasons of State policy. Those
had not been modified but existed with greater
force now. They had been strengthened and
multiplied. The consideration, therefore, present
ed itself, what was the next step to be taken? He
reached by the resolution fore the House, and
he sought test vote by that resolution Should
they again enact the spectacle, witnessed during
the extra session, of spending two entire weeks in
discussing the convention question without arriving
or oil ap5n u1yI Iefp mi nj nInU
mite postponement? Should they repeat the vain la
Dor of that session and the wasteful expenditure
of time? The will of the House would be ex-
pressed in its vote on the resolution. He would
abstain from discussing the question of conven-
ton. He acted upon the reasonable proposition
that the question had been maturely considered by
the committee which had had that subject in
| charge, and which included some of the most
! talented members and ablest lawyers in the
House. They had failed in unanimity. Not only
had they failed in unanmty, SO far were even
those of the majority from being unanimous, that
they submitted to graceful eapitulation.
If this was the inality of the question, might
not the Assembly answer the reasonable demands
of the people, by amending the Constitution of
1864? He was not an advocate of a thorough
| revision of that instrument but there were con-
siderations relating to it to which he could not
turn deaf ear. He could not ignore the fact that
by the arbltrament of the sword, the original gov
| ernment of Louisiana had become defunct, and
the people might well ask should they be left to
suffer, under the many Irregularities Incidental tc
| the anomalous condition of affairs which had ex
listed for some time. Was it not the duty of the
Assembly to secure the people against the effects
of these Irregularities? The committee could
accomplish, by amendment to the Constitution
everything absolutely needful at present, and an
other recommendation to the course contemplated
in the resolution, was that the Speaker would have
an opportunity of appointing a committee, not
radically opposed to any measure contemplating a
recognition of the Constitution of 1864.
Mr.. Jonas was opposed to the resolution, for two
reasons first because the object was to dodge
| the constitutional convention question. The meas
ure of the Committee on Constitutional Amend
ments reported at the extra session, was not de
| feated, it was postponed, Nor was the post
| ponement agreed to because there was not con
currence of opinion among the friends of the
measure or because it did not accord with the
views of II majority of the committee, but because
they yielded to the pressure demanding that Other
matters of Importance and of immediate necessity
| should have precedence. This was the reason
which influenced the committee in yielding to {
postponement He denied that the advocates
of convention were responsible for thu
delays in legislation during the late session
On the contrary, at every hazard of reputation
for consistency and good faith TO the people the.
yielded, and left no obstacle in the path of thu
Il Assembly, so that whatever failures occurre!
could not be attributed to them, but was attribut
able to other sources. AS a representative of th
same respectable and intelligent constituency
I which had sent to the House the gentleman wh
had introduced the resolution under consideration
he felt called upon to protest emphaticaly agains
the course proposed, and to declare his purpose tt
redeem, at the earliest moment practical, tn
pledge he and all elected with him had given th'
people to call a constitutional convention. Th
performance of that pledge had been upavoidahl,
postponed, but that postponement did not re.eas
those who had given it. His second objection t.
the resolution was that there was standing com
mittee of the House constitutional amendments
and to raise a select committee, to whom all pro
! posals for amendments should he referred, was
reflection on the standing committee He there
fore moved to lay the resolution on the table.
/ Mr.. Bailey suggested that as this was ties
question, it would be better to take the sense o
the House directly upon the adoption of the reso
luton.
The Speaker remarked that other gentlemen