New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-10-10

The chairman reported, also, that the
committee had under consideration
Senate bill No. 295, an act making appro.
priations for the general expenses of the
State for the unexpired term of the year
ending the thirty-frst day of December, 1868,
And had considered the same up to line
l63, and asked permission to sit again.
Granted.
On motion of Mr. McAIillen, of Carroll,
the House adjourned until tomorrow at
twelve o'clock NJ.
WILLIAM vIGERS,
Chief Clerk House of Representatives.
The following is the conclusion of the
debate of Saturday, October 8:
Mr. Lewis: The residents of the sterile
Tortions of the State will have to pay pro
lo "a tax for the purpose of making the lands
of person who has fortunately bought
piece OF land by river more valuable, and
to placing market at his door, provided he
can secure it from inundation Of the Missis-
sippi river. He buys his land in an unculti.
waited condition, perhaps, under the United
States government, at the very same price
that lands in the piney woods were-for one
dollar ana quarter per acre. By leVeeing
these alluvial lands they become worth
from twenty-five to one hundred dollars per
acre. This is a benefit to the person who
has bought the land from the United States;
and you call upon the man VINO has settled
in the piney woods, that barely provides
him living, to pay tax to build the levee
to enrich another section of the country in
which he has no immediate interest.
Mr.. Ray: How much are these piney
woods lands worth?
Mr.. Lewis: about one dollar per acre.
MIR. Ray: | suppose they pay taxes &C.
cording to their value?
Mr.. Lewis: Of course.
Mr.. Ray: Then they only pay tax upon
the value of one dollar for this purpose,
where the owner of the alluvial lands pays
tax on twenty-five dollars per acre.
Mr.. Blackman: If II man is worth only one
dollar and pays tax Un that one dollar,
does it not take as much away from him
proportlonately as it does from the man who
owns twenty-five dollars?
Mr.. Lewis: 1t is true he does not pay as
much tax because he is not worth as much,
but the poor pittance he does pay helps to
make the lands of the man who lives upon
the alluyial soil worth twenty-five times as
much as it otherwise would be. Now, WHY
do you not tax the State to pay for the en-
richment of our lands, | ask you, upon the
principle of Justice? No, you laugh at US,
and say, why do you go to such a country
to live? Now, sir, let this thing come down
upon the principles of justice. If you are
to be benefited by the levees, then it Is
nothing but fair that you should pay taxes
for these levees. | acknowledge that the
a.luyial land produces the greatest amount
Of commerce, but while it does so it puts the
greatest amount of money in the pockets Of
! the persons who happen to own these lands.
l ask you, upon the broad basis of justice,
if the inhabitant Of the sterile district is
to be t d in order to put money into your
pockets, by building Your leveGs? Then,
sir, tax yourselves to manure and enrich
his laud. l live in a district part of which
| is aliuvial land and part high land. But
| while this bill would protect one portion OF
my constituents, it would do injustice to
! another. If certain tax benefits ID certain
| set of individuals, and does not another
! set, then | say let the tax come cut of the
| pockets of the persons who are benefited
I am willing that the levees shall be built,
and that the taxes shall be levied but |
want every man who is to be benefited by
the levee tax to pay that tax, and those who
are not to be excluded from the pressure OF
that tax.
Now, sir, we have had levees built and
where are they now? They have been swept
away and the country to-day is in worse
| condition than il was at the time when the
St,000,000 policy was inaugurated. | have
| to-day, SIT, been in conversation with en-
| gineers that profess to unders tand what it
! will cost to ltree the State of Louisiana.
/ | asked those gentlemen if five millions
! would be OF any benefit in making a per-
manent levee upon these levees. Their
answer to me was that it would be patch.
| work it would be a mere wa ste OF funds.
| Ii we want permanent levee 1t will require
a much larger amount If you cannot
make it permanent or, to last longer than
the first flood. then why make it at al? p?
| This patchwork system is a wilfull and wan.
| ton waste of the peoples money. / intro.
| duced a bill yesterday for the loan of twenty
millions. My idea was that if we commence
! the levee system there should be means to
carry if out to completion; that the system
| should be perfect one. Not that pretend
to arrogate to myself superior wisdom, but
have the right to my own opinion
and II this Senate shall decide upon
fair Investigation that another sys
TEN is the best, Of course l will submit
to the decisicr of the majority, and will not
complain. But, believing, sir, that common
| Justice requires an honest investigation Of
| both bills, move that the bill before us be
referred to the same committee to which
mine was referred-to the Committee on
| Public Lands and Levees-to be reported on
the same day.
Mr. Whitney: second the motion.
Mr.. Braughn: NJ. President, while I am
willing to concede TO the Senator who has
| Just taken his seat the utmost sincerity and
/ honesty, l necessarily must differ with MIN
in the argument which he has advanced.
The principal objection he has to the article
now before the Senate is that the expense
of building the leyees and repairing them
will have 10 be borne by the taxpayers
! throughout the State without distinction,
| and taat it is unjust that the taxpayers OF
the hill portions should contribute to the
| exclusive benefit of those who are on the
alluvial lands.
That, sir, is, in my opinion, mistaken
idea, The Senator says that the pineY
woodlands now are worth about one dollar
per acre, consequently they are only taxed
to that extent. The alluvlal lands along the
Mississippi are only taxed according to
their value; consequently they pay
a proportionately larger amount of levee
tax. But, sir, speaking in behalf of the
city of New Orleans, which pays four ifths
of the taxes of the State, whose int rests
depend upon the prosperity of the State,
am perfectly willing as her representative to
say that the city of New Orleans would viii.
lingly pay any rates of taxes, provided GOOD
will be accomplished by it for the preserva
tton of the levees. But, sir, in the pursuit of
such remedies We will contribute to the
welfare of the State, which must increase
the prosperity OF the city of New Orleans.
1t .behooves us to pause ard examine the
measures that are proposed for that end. /
had the honor, sir, to be Que of the conf
mittee to examine the legality of the issu-
ance of five million dollars worth of leyee
bonds. proceeds of the law passed some
two years ago. l have also the honor to be
u member of the committee whose duty it
is to examine the expenditures of the Board
Of Levee Commissioners; and my expert
epce on these two committees was of such
a character as to almost induce me. SO far
as | was personally concerned, to report
against the legality of the issuance of these