Sugar planter. [volume] (West Baton Rouge [i.e. Port Allen, West Baton Rouge Parish, La.]) 1856-1925, 1866-06-23
From the st. Louis Republican.
LEVEES OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

LEvEES OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
The cultivation, in Louisiana, of vast
tracts of some of the most fertile soil on
earth depends upon the maintenance o.
dykes or entertainments sufficient to ex
clude the foods of the Mississippi from
the bottom lands adjacent to the river
The lands which, without such protection
would be totally submerged, yielded ac-
cording to the census Of 1860, 24l ,4S4
hhds Of sugar, Or two-thirds of the whole
amount raised in in Louisiana and one
half the whole cotton crop of the State
The property subject to taxation in this
region was valuded at near. $500, 00O, 600
and, actually paid a tax Of $~l,lS7,s23'
Besides these lands, there are Others OF
great extent which are partially subject
to intimidation. These last named lands
produced 10000 hhds Of sugar, over
SOC, 900 bales of cotton, and between G..
000, 900 and 1000, 900 bushels Of corn ;
had assessed value Of $l3~s,2l6,524, and
paid in taxes $458,464.
formerly the levees that protected this
vast property were built and kept in re-
pair by riparian proprietors aud local au-
thorities. Since the war the State has
assumed the charge Of them, in the alb
scnce of all effort, and, indeed Of ability,
on the part of the owners Of the land to
secure this property.
During the war nj armies, under the
impuls Q of military necessity, destroyed
some of the levees. Since the war the
ancient labor system has been broken up;
and by the events Of the war, the propri.
etors have been impoverished. But the
burden On the State is felt to be too OPP
pressive, and the State authorities and the
people of Louisiana are invoking the aid
Of the General Government. In a memo
rial addressed to Congress by the Levee
Commissioners they say that, while Gong.
ress appropriates millions for opening chan
nels Of communication, it may be asked
to grant something for the preservation
of q fertile territory which will contri-
butte so immensely to the aggregate pro-
duct of the country, the interests of pro-
duction having claims equal to those of
transportation. All that is asked for is
the means for rebuilding the levces and
maintaining them for q time, until new
and increased population shall be able
to take the expense Of maintenance on
themselves.
There is not the slightest question that
scores Of great claims on Federal bounty,
not having any more merits than this
claim, have been granted by Congress
Under the new order Of things the gen
eral welfare " clause in the Constitution
has been made to embrace an immense
circle of interests. The theory Of our
Government is becoming gradually chan
ged. It is useless to deny that the Fed
eral Government is taking upon itself du.
ties and the exercise of powers which
were nee thought to lie only in the COM
petence of the States or individuals. If
Congress, therefore, desires to act impair
tally, it al show that disposition in no
better way, nor more bene6cially, than
by taking upon itself the present a Of
those'levees. The outlay, compared with
the magnificent appropriations, to which
we are now accustomed, would be a mere
fea-bite.
Gen. Neal Dow will sail for Europe
an hoorJ <ho ckon-o~ Dor,op fro~ nuo