The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1871-03-04
MA, SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1871.
Cooley on "Necessary Supplies"

Judge Cooley, in a recent decision
thus 'slaid down the law" touching
Unnecessary supplies for the purpose O
raising n crop:
AS to the privilege claimed for 'tre
cciving supplies furnished in order tC
raise the CROP the objection has not
been answered that I raised, that the
privilege was not recorded. And since
have carefully examined the account,
have come to the conclusion that II the
privilege had been recorded could not
allow 81 privilege for such an account as,
this. There are two accounts, one by
OVERLY d Co., and one.by Payne Il Co.;
one for about $1,000 and one for $500 +;
in all 5000, advanced to seven or eight
negroes to raise twenty-one bales of cot
ton. Anybody who would read this
account, and would come to the conclu-
sion that there is anything in it which
can by the greatest stretch of the inn
agination be considered Unnecessary sup
plies' for raising crop, must certainly
have II very vivid imagination. There
is whiskey by the barrel, whiskey by
the gallon, whiskey by the quart and
whislSey by the pint; fish hooks and
fishing lines, (they must have tfshed a
great deal whilst making that crop,)
ladies' fine CATERS, sugar candy, decks
of cards, boxes of hair dye, Jews-harps,
Newfoundland bitters, and innumer-
able articles which even go beyond
luxuries, which might be termed luXu-
rious luxuricS.
So far as Unnecessary supplies" go,
there is but one item Of $500 in that
account which can be considered by the
fairest Interpretation as coming under
that head, and that is "three barrels Of
hour;' and they arc marked supertine
flour. do not know whether the ex-
ira sXXN' comes really under the
category of "necessary supplies" to raise
a crop; but this is the only item which
plies.'' do not know how many bar
rels and gallons and bottles Of whislSey
there arc in the account, but they re-
mind mo Of what King Hal said to Fail
staff, that it was an awful quantity of
sack for so little bread. There was a
great deal of whiskcy and very little
flour; the balance consisted Of rings
and gcwgaw for women. So that, even
if the account had been recorded, it
would not cntitle a privilege, as the ar
ticles did not constitute 'tneceesary sup
plics.'
In this account there are also such
items as judgments obtained against
these parties: paid $500 to me. That is
not for Unnecessary supplies" Drafts
drawn for cash advanced-those are not
Unnecessary supplies" "Claim Of steam
boat for frcight.' All those, with what
share l have already mentioned, form
ing an aggregate of s3l0O, and, with the
exception of three barrels of flour, for
which the party charged $2s, or some
thing like that, there is not an article
in the account which resembles "neces-
sary supplies"
The Judgment is therefore correct on
the points on which it was originally
predicated: want ofposscssiOn and want
of registry and even if not correct on
these grounds, it would be correct on
the ground that no Unnecessary supplies"
were furnished as shown by the account.
A storekeepcr cannot call anything
he likes Unnecessary supplies" He
cannot call etsardines,' "ladics' gait
ers," sIcad pencils" }" necessary supplies
to raise crop Of cotton. In fact, it
looks as if these negroes were not sar-
dimes at all, for they understood how
to run up an account if they did not
understand any thing else. The mo-
ton for Il now trial is OverruiCd.