New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-09-11
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TERMS; sl6 90 PER ANNUM,

su4aclentiy large board for the timely reg
oh1- Vl 'uls city. There should be two
members Tor this ward alone. T1i1F
IL Will take them several days to meet
anu ta!K the matter over, and there Ia very
lite time to be actually EMPLOYED in the
registration. The books for the countrv
parishes were sent to the Sheriffs. The Sec
retary informed me that he was 60 informed
BY the Secretaries. The bill as it now stands
is incomplete
Mr. Packard: / will read article twenty.
hVe OF the constitution. "At its first Sses-
sion under the constitution, the General
assembly shall provide by law that the
names ana residences of all qualified cleo
tors shall be registered in order TO entitle
tnem 70 vote; but the registry shall be free
OF cost to the electorsn
This matter has been already investigated
ana TAXED over, andit is conceded that so
long as we have got to have registration
Tor those not already registered it will not
facilitate thngsto adopt the old registration,
Tor the reason that many of those already
registered under the reconstruction acts
may not be entitled to register under the
constitution unless they have fled their
Certificate or recantation oath. Aud so long
as the registration must be gone through
to register those not already registered, is
will be about as much work to omit those
already registered as to include them. We
do not know who is registered, and unless
the party applies we must go through all
=
tered or not, and can't conceive how we
can adopt the old registration without vio--
lating article twenty-five Of the censtltu---
ton.
move that the rules be suspended to put
the bill on its final reading. -s- tfl
The bill was finally adopted.
House bill No. Ill, an act levying special
tax, ETC., being under consideration, Mr.
Ray moved that it be read section by see-+-
ton.
Adopted .s-.,
Section first having been read
Mr., Ray. Mr.. President, l regard this
bill as perhaps of more Importance
than any one bill before the Legislature
The object of this bill is to provide for the
payment of the mature Indebtedness of the
State. The different amounts of State in
debtedness now mature, consist first of
coupons on bonds past due, State notes that
have been paid out for the past indebted
ness OF the State; next are warrants paid
out for previous appropriations unpaid.
Next is the debt created for the expenses of
the convention. These four amounts of in
debtedness which are now due, or will be
on the first of January next, viii amount to
81 600 600, in round numbers. This tax
that is now proposed IS q special tax for the
purpose OF meeting this Indebtedness Of the
State.
Now, Mr. President, our State Treasury
is empty. There is no means whatever
provided by which this mature indebted
ness of the State can be settled, and it is
necessary to enable us to carry on the State
government, and to protect. the State from
inundation through the levies and other
wise. Now, it is quite out of the question
tor us to extend the credit OF the State to
amount to any thing unless the Legislature
shall provide means to settle the indebted
ness of the State: and the main Oh
~
State credit by meeting our mature liabili---
| ties. 1t is for the purpose of carrying on
the State government and protect us from
overflow and other disasters that we should
protect the credit of the State We ought
to authorize the sale of the four millions Of
leyee bonds already issued, or provide for
the issue of new bonds. We can not expect
our credit to be maintained without meet.
ing our mature obligations. Hence it is,
that after most cautious consid Grafton by
the Finance Committee of the Senate, and
the Committee of Ways and Means of the
House, and after conferring with men who
are believed to understand these things the
best in the community, and after comforting
with all classes of taxpayers, 1t is unani
mously thought that this bill is the best
ing up the State credit, to do what honest
men ought to do to provide for the payment
Of the debts of the State. The bill was
passed with considerable unapimity by the
Ways and Means Committee of the
| House, and the Finance Committee z
of the Senate. They have sought in
| formation from every source from
| the commencement of the session
| up to the present time in order to qualify
| themselves for action upon it. | have my
| self gone to every man that | thought was
| competent to offer mature and correct
| opinion upon the subject-merchants, me-
| chanics and every class of men have met
with. and their opinion has been most
unanimous that the safest and really the
! only plan by which we could give the State
! credit now is to levy a tax sufficient to meet
| the mature Indebtedness of the State.
| With this explanation of the first section of
the bill, its material portion, will further
| observe that the back taxes due in 1851.
| 1862, 1868 and 1864 that have not been col
| lected are suspended by law until the first
Of next January, There is a bill now in'
the House, which will doubtless be passed.
| suspending the payment of these taxes.
The voice of the Legislature is almost
unanimous in favor of remitting the taxes
of 1861, 1862, 1868 and 1864. With this ex-
PLANTATION shall move that the first section
of this bill be adopted.
Sections one and two Of the bill were then
adopted. l5salsa
Mr.. Blackmap: offer an additional
section, to be section third:
Be 1t further enacted, etc. That the
taxes now due the State for the years 1861,
1862, 1868, and 1854 be and they are hereby
remitted, and shall not be collected.
The additional section was adopted. s Il
Mr. Braughn: The people of New Orleans
having in their possession large amount
Of city money expect to pay their taxes in
the city currency.
Mr.. Blackman: This has no reference to
the city currency or taxes, but to the taxes
due the State. r aga at ,3AlQ
The bill was finally passed. as 55R.a
House bill twenty.eight, an act to incor---s
porate the town of Alexandria, having been
read, afFIs Is.,
Mr.. Blackman presented a petition signed
by l29 citizens of Alexandria, and said:
Mr.. President, presume that Mr.. KeIso.
who represents the District in which
Alexandria is situated, knows the mar.
ties who have signed this petition. The
principal property,holders and citizens
of the place do not seem to desire
that the corporation should be changed
and its limits extended. They beg Of
the Lcgislatu to defeat the measure,
and have taken the trouble of sending for
ward this petition. 1t is duty that we
owe to these citizens, and mark of respect
that representatives should always pay 20
their constituents to defeat measure which
Is obnoxious 10 them. am not from that
district; Mr. kelso is; but whether / be-
from district or not. II the people of dis
trict ask my services to oppose a bill which,
as seems to be the case with this is obnox-
ious to their best citizens and property
holders | shall ever be ready to present
their petitions, and defend them so far as T.
can from aoiust legislation whether their