The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-10-22


less than par. thus saving the city one mill ooi
lars, which added TO the one half OF one per cent
given to the financial agent for mis- services YOU'D
be total saving to the city Of one million twenty
SecoBdly-The city of New Orleans cannot
afford 10 nav iuteresf in gold. This bill provides
for the payment Of three hundred Thousand dollars
IN gold annually. The city has no so,r sevenae
tains to meet the interest on these bonds. Gold
1, selling At q lower rate to-day than 1t has for
months past, and II may be twenty per cent.
higher two months hence. Inere Is no Germany
sble To buy at 1873 to-day and thus pay four hum
d. ed and fourteen thousand dollars Tor interest In
currency the present equivalent OF three hundred
thousand dollars in gold Gu. next yesa a., specie
peled to exhaust the six hundred thousand dol
lars of taxes in order to meet the annual interest,
leaving no fund with which to redeem the bonds
twenty years hence. The bonds should bear
property of the city would not be subjected to
such enormous taxation, and the city government
would ALWAYS know the amount to set aside with
which to meet the interest on the bonds,
ICES the mayor and the financial agent, 10 the
event the bonds cannot be sold at par, to nego.
tiate a loan. 1t il Questionable for the reason
that 1t does not limit the loan in amount. and does
not indicate the security to be given by the city
nor the length of time for which the loan may De
effected. If the financial agent fails 70 sell the
bonds at not less than eighty cents on the dollar
what is there in this bill to prevent him rom Dor
rowing two or three millions Of money and Pledg-
ing the whole issue of bonds as collateral to be
paid in ninety or one hundred and twenty days.
This might be. in the present Strengthened condi-
ton Of the city government. considered Q gooo ar
ranpement for the time being, but when we re-
member that there IL nearly four millions OF this
money in the hands of spectators. and that this
bill does not prohibit its receipt for taxes and
other dues to the city who can say but that these
- ~ol> ,xvlo nj al "a
feed for less than fifty cents on the dollars.
This authority to negotiate loan should be
O hedped In by restrictions that the city may not
ss at the mercy OF the SpWsTer honest and
Fourtbly-There is too much power conferred
nrnn the mayor In the appointing of the financial
agent, and the amount of bond furnished BY tho
latter should be rather five millions than ffty
thousand dollars. There should either be no Sc
curity exacted at all, and the whole matter
intrusted to the honor Of the officer, or bond
should be exacted sufficiently large to secure the
city from loss.
Fiftbly-The bill does not give Immediate re-
lief. 1t will be, in my Judgment, impossible to
sell at this time these bonds for eighty cents on
the dollar. The best securities Of the State, with
only Sc 500 900 of debt and s240 600, 900 Of taxa
BILE property cannot be sold for sixty cents on the
dollar. Such being the case, is it to be assumed
that these bonds, S. 600 900 in amount, can be
sold at eighty cents when the debt Of the city Is
over 81, 200 900, and the taxable property less
by over $780, 0G0 900 than that Of the State? What
will be the consequence then! Either the
mayor and financial agent will effect loan, and
hypothecate the bonds at the risk of the most
ruinous sacrifice, or the agent will be forced to
exchange the bonds at twenty per cent: discount
for city money at par, which the holders have
count, which will, whether sold for greenbacks at
eighty cents. or exchanged for city money, be
giving five millions Of gold interest bearing bonds
for four millions Of city money, besides loss OF
= L. az. a. IL
The provisions Of this bill are neither demanded
by necessity nor by any just conviction of duty
to the holders of city money.
very little If any, Is in the hands of the PEG.
pie; it is all held by spectators, who have taken
It at ruinous rates Of discount, and who were
fully apprised of the doubtful legality of its
issue. They knew that there was no authority In
the charter of the city for it, and that 1t was
pie currency when they had none. and supplied
the Deficiencies of the treasury arising from unpaid
taxes. They knew that on the twentieth of No
vember, 1867 the then mayor denounced 81 1884,.
$50 of it as having been issued by city officials
clsndestinely, fraudnlently and without color Of
law or right" With this evidence before them,
the holders cannot complain at some delay Of the
city in redeeming this money, which has cost the
tax payers double its value already in the
increased prices fixed upon everything bought
by, or labor done for, the city.
advocate the redemption Of this money. and
desire it to be effected at an early day; but /
cannot give my assent to bill which fxes upon
the city over million more debt than Is neces.
sary, and obges it to pay on that debt S. 900 900
interest n gold, or. at the present rate of gold.
81. $50 900 in currency. and total sum of $751;
In my judgment the remedy is simple and within
the control Of the Legislature.
First-The city should be authorized to issue
its bonds bearing not more than six per cent. in
at the option of the city, and exchanged at par
for city money. A tax OF one-third OF one per
cent should be collected to meet the interest and
supply fund to pay the principal
the city treasury should be set aside each month
aud applied to the redemption Of the notes Of
those who prefer to wait than to exchange for
the bonds of the city as above indicated.
Thrdly-The treasurer should be prohibited
from paying out any mere of the city notes. and
those now in the treasury should be destroyedand
any further issue prohibited.
Fourthly-The law should provide that United
States currency only should be received for taxes
and other obligations due the city.
To the last proposition 1t may be said that the
city cannot refuse to receive its notes for debts
due it, but that question involves the legality Of
the issue in the first place. and the right Of the
State to intervene to protect its people from the
abuses Of its creature the corporation of the city
of New Orleans.
with great Difference for the opinion of the
gentlemen of the Legislature who passed this bill,
| cannot refrain from saying that can hardly
conceive the provisions Of bill on this subject,
which could be more Objectionable to the tax
payers of the city of New Orleans than the one
before me. 1t would be by far preferable to levy
direct tax of three per cent on the property Of
the city and collect it at once, than to enforce the
provisions of this bill.
Respectfully, h. G. WARMoTH,
Governor Of Louisiana.
slr. RAY move to reconsider the vote by
which the bill finally passed. and call for the main
question.
Mr.. Lynch call for the yeas and nays on or.
dering the main question.
The yeas and nays were ordered, resulting:
Yess-Beares. Braughn, Foute, Ogden, o. Hara,
Ray, Smith, Whitney, Wilcox, ENTHUSIASTICALLY.
Nays-Anderson, Antoine, Bacon, Campbell,
Darrell, Day, Francois, Futch, jerks, Jewell,
Kelso, Lewis, Lynch, Monette, Ofut, Pinchback,
Poindexter, Thompson-lS.
The Senate refused to order the main question.
The chief clerk of the House appeared with
message from that body, announcing concurrence
10 the following Senate bills
Joint resolution No. 2S, relative to the sitting Of
the joint committee on the late election and the
condition of peace and good order in the State
during the recess or adjournment of the General
Assembly;
No. 252 an act for the relief of William G. Bell,
of the parish of st. Landry;
No. 1884, an act to secure the collection OF taxes
of the CITY of New Orleans for the year 1861: and