The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1868-08-12
The State Printing Law.

The law lately enacted by the so-callei
Legislature delegating to three individuals
the duty of selecting State Printer, (ihe
main portions of which we publish to-day
is one of the mos: indefensible and inde-
cent acts of these carpet-bag Legislatures
which have J'st fallen under our observa-
tion. The person selected for that Office
has been guilty of the yet more indecen.
act ofgiviny to his own journal the monopo-
y of all the printing, State, parochial
municipal and judicial, to be done in the
parish of Orleans. And that journal is not
read by one in hundred of our capitalists,
merchants or working men. So far as Che
State printing rro?er-the publication of
the journal Of The Legislature and Che pub
lication of the laws--is concerned, this
monopoly might be submitted to for the
short period during which these men may
rule the State, but, when we consider the
interference authorized by this law with
personal rights, the outrage is not SO easily
borne. OuI dr;t objection 70 the law is,
that it is enacted not for the benefit of the
people at large, but Tor tie special benefit
Of one or few individuals represented by
the person chosen as State printer, and ia
monopoly as monstrous as any that coull
well be conceived. The Legislature might
as well pass law compelling the people to
90 to one church and support one priest,
patronize one hotel, consult one lawyer and
deal with one merchant as force them to
support one newspaper. It is an abridg-
ment of personal rights which finds no
countenance even In the present Constitu-
ton of Louisiana. It weakens the remedy
guaranteed by that Constitution to every
person for injury done him in land or goods
and is practically denial of justice. So
far as publication ofjudicia1 process is con-
cerned, in cases where the parties litigant
and interested in the judicial sale Of proper
", have the control of the litigation, it is
clearly one of those privileges inherent in
the individual which the State is without.
The constitutional power to take away.
The object Of making publication Of $
judicial sale is to give as wide promulga-
lion as possible Of the sale, that sufficient
number of competitors may be drawn to-
gether and thus the full value Of The proper
iy to be disposed Of may be Obtained
The publication is therefore for the inter-
est firstly Of the debtor and secondly OF The
creditor, the public at large being without
any interest in the natter The interest of
the debor and creditor was fully recognized
by section I'd of the act of the Legislature
of Louisiana Of 1855, relating to Judicial
advertisements, which gave to the defend
ant in execution, or in his default, The
plaintiff. the privilege ofselecting the news
paper in Which the advertisement should
appear. This law worked we'll in practice,
and no complaint has ever been made
sgaint it. IT was just law, and there
was no good reason why it should have
been repealed. None but robbers by ua-
ture would ever have thought ofrepealing
it. And we repeat the difference in prin
ciple between the man who compels the
people of the State in their individual ca
pacity, for the publication of their person
al affairs, to pay tribute to him, and the
highway robber, is SO little that it cannot
be appreciated. That ways and means can
be and will be discovered to resist or cir.
cumveut this wholesale spoliation we con.
slider certain, if the people are true to
themselves.-[New Orleans Bee.