New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-06-18
The EnvIrons OF New orleans.
NUMBER sEvEETY-EIGHT.


Different countries are subjected, no doubt to
different politics or ways of governing, and it is
not to be expected that people having lived all
their lifetime, as we may say, under republican
or popular rule, may be easily subjected to a diff
ferent mode of government or administration.
Hence the monarehical rule, or thatsystem of gov
erning a country which from central point orders
| all the improvements and social arrangements to
| be made, cannot be introduced among a people
| that have been accustomed to undertake them
selves all its local or home Improvements, or social
alterations We have, however, had examples in
other countries which show in what an easy man.
ner whole people may be made to assent to the
most arbitrary decisions, when placed under the
authority of some dctatorial power. Upon the
river Paraguay, in the South American States, and
under the dictatorship of one Francis, padre or
friar, we have had the extraordinary spectacle OF
the transporting of the seat of q capital of more
than hundred thousand souls, the city of Ascen-
| sion, from one locality to another, all the old
houses being demolished, upon the order of the
dictator, and the materials transported to the new
site, and all the new buildings erected in accord
anCe with superior orders. We have sometimes
thought that if by some magical process we could
induce our authorities and people generally to
undertake some local improvement, which seem
ingy may appear of little consequence, and would,
as the common saying is, not pay for their ex-
penses, we certainly would propose some such
singularly looking innovation.
For the readers curiosity, let US propose one of
these eccentric looking localimprovements, which
Of course we premise in saying that we do not
expect to see executed, living as we do in a COM
munity in which the first question naturally is
when any enterprise or local improvement is pro-
posed, will it pay? Now certainly scheme,
with view of profitable peeuniary investment,
would not answer that question: for it would not
pay But with regard to local saubrity, local en-
I belshment, it certainly would be great step in
| the advance. Well readers by this time are,
no doubt, curious to hear what kind of improve
ment that may be. We have often had the pleas
ure of leading, at least in imagination, our readers
to that crest of high land in the rear of the city,
called the Ridge of the Metairie, about half way
between the River Mississippi and the lake shore
of the Lake Pontchartrain. Let us say, then, in
the neighborhood of the seats of the burial grounds
near the crossing of the Metaire road and the
new canal Or shell road, going to the lake, we
would there select an area of ground
at least some ten square acres, that,
lying on both sides of this, already there consid-
/
haps near 10 or 20 feet above the receding swamp
or level prairie marshes-and upon this area we
would, by conveying from the river battures, in
successive Seasons, the vastly accumulated mass of
river earth, so as to form a hill or mound that
might domineer in view from thence towards the
lake, and over the Mississippi river towards Lake
! Barataria--in fact as far as the eyesight or the
curve of the horizon would permit. That this un-
dertaking could not be accomplished in a couple
Of years is sef.evdent, for, even with the assist
anCe of railway commodities towards the river
battures, there would hardly be furnished sufficient
accumulation of batture sand to supply the requi-
| site quantity for filling and bringing up to the
proper height the thus formed artificial mound in
the rear of our present city, but, in times to
come, the very central point of that great Baby
lon which the Delta City will present in less than
a thousand years hereafter. We say, then, that
it would take series of years to lay in stock of
this batture earth, but this would be no obstacle
to the practical execution Of the ultimate design
for, though the GTsnd closing finale of the enter.
prize might take number of decades the scheme
might be made favorable for Temporary practica-
bity. For instance, we might then erect build
ings for the State administration, for we
take it, that all sections of our State
will now agree, after the long experience of for
mer years, that New Ore ans is the proper place
for the State government house. Then we NAV
count upon some use of this then accumulated
earth which would serve fOl" the gardens and other
surroundings of the public bl lildings Meanwhile
annually the work of carrying the batture sand to
that section would have the eff ect of leaving that
part of New Orleans in its normal state. 1t would
do away with the ever renewed batture question,
which, far from being source OF actual profit to