New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-05-02
The Envlr ons q New orleans.


1
We said that the names of the streets of tn
ancient suburb Of Mafigny recalled many remark
able historical events, and we shall now proceed
to make good this assertion. Let the readerrecol
lect the particular epoch at which this Distric
was laid ont as a city plan, and also bring to hi,
memory the historical position Of the ole
Louisiana family of the Marigny. Not only is this
name that Of one Of the most illustrious ancient
families Of the nobility in France and although we
ignore entirely its aristocratfc genealogy, still is
our memory impressed with the historical events Of
some of the most interesting epochs in which this
name figured most conspicuously. We have been
informed that the honorable octogenarian, Ber-
nard Marigny, has been for sometime occupied in
writing historical memoirs, so that no doubt we
shall be favored by his own pen with a recital Of
some Of the most remarkable events with which
this ancient and historical family has been con
neeted. For our own part, we have gathered from
occasional statements that have appeared in cur
public prints, that the ancestor of Bernard Mar
| igny, his great grandfather, was one Of the frs
military commanders whom the French govern
men had sent out to the Canadian possessions
That subsequently others of his ancestors were
| in command of the military forces against the
Spanish and English authorities at Mobile and
Pensacola and thatp particularly in one of the latter
expeditions against the British the father of Ber-
nard Marigny commanded volunteer corps CON
sisting in part of free colored men and friendly
Indians. We have also seen by the historical
records Of Louisiana, that in 1888 or there abouts
the princes of the house Of Orleans then fugftives
from France, did visit the ancient noble family of
the Marigny, then living undoubtedly, upon their
plantation close to the city Of New Orleans.
This was still under the Spanish government at
that time, the Marquis of Casa Calvo being the
Governor of both upper and lower Louisiana.
Soon after this time, that is, in the month of 0e-
tobef, 1900, the French consul, Napoleon Bona
parte, ehectuated the exchange Of some italian
Parma, or Tuscany against the an.
.cisnt colonial possession Of Louisiana, with Spain
then under the crown of King Carlos nv.
There is some mystery about the nego-
tiation Of this first treaty Of eession which has
never been cleared up. at the time that we speak
off twas well known to both the European gov
ernments, France as well as Spain, that the pos.
session Of Louisiana had become an absolute ne,
cessty for the United States, and that in fact the
administration then had not only insisted upon
conditions equivalent to cession of territory from
Spain, but had already displayed an armed demon
stration to make good its demands or necessities
How then came it that the first consul should in.
terpose himself in the ihcipient measures taken
by the Washington administration at Madrid for
an amicable cession2 Did he intend to keep in
reserve this Louisiana acquisition for a bait to the
United States for profitable bargain? We Eecol-
leet having read in some Of his own memoirs that
in some Italian campaign large brbeS We're
offered him for the purpose of concluding
some treaties with Italian princes, but he de-.
clined these offered brides, adding very naively
that hewas not so simpls as to accept such offers,
because he would have sold himself and might
easily have been denounced upon such a proceed
ing to the Directory. We may then conclude, that
i he wanted large amount of money he would
take way more adroitly and for instance me-
sotiafe for tract Of country that he knew he
afterwards was sure of disposing Of with com
slqeraple advantage. Here then we have the
clue to this Louisiana transaction-this exchange
o. ltalian territory with the fayorite Don Manuel
Today, Duke OF Acadia, who terminated his NOR
tal career, as private gentleman some years ago
IN PARIS Wei, It was said after the consummation
Of the retranser Of Louisiana to the United States
IA 1893, that the Spanish monarch had been yery
dissatisfied it having been The express understand.
ing that the French republic was to have taken
Of the coded territoryin order 10 inter-
pose as a barrier against the spirit Of North
American invasion against the other Spanish
colonial possessions, Florida and Mexico, in tie
northern half Of the Western hemisphere. How
ever this may have been, however much assurance
may have been given by the French Consul then
the all powerful umpire Of the European dynas-
lies, in order to obtain the desired object, it snow
evident that from the first eession in 1900, the