New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-07-13

The Mayor INDY read them over from
now to doomsday, and shall not pre-
vent nv voting as think proper ] have
proved him thrice inconsistent. He comes
here and thanks me for an ordinance which
he vetoed few weeks ago, and came down
from his seat and spoke against in the most
vehement manner for hours together. /
am very glad have put into shape an
ordinance which the Mayor subsequently
approved. 1t is an honor l did not expect
But what has my humble course got to do
with the acts of the Legislature, or with
the progress of events which teach US the
danger of delayl A large portion of this
city has been flooded since then, and may
be again. He argues that because certain
inward defenses may possibly answer the
purpose of preventing another over
flow, that we are to stop, and do
nothing more. l cay let us go on and
perform both of these works. Money has
been expended at different times in this city
on solid improvements, and l don't know
that the city has ever injured its credit by
performing works which the interest of the
city demanded. The whole of this work
will cost for excavation $553, 1000. / have
gone through the calculation in my office,
and that lie the cost of the whole thing
abont which the Mayor makes such tug
a-boo. All the iron we can use for all the
work this year will not hurt this city. A
hundred thousand dollars will buy all the
iron we will require this year. hold that
notwithstanding any difference there may
be in the price of the iron, we have no right
to put off this work on that account. TIE
aggregate cost of the levee will be FIVE hun
bred and fifty thousand dollars. The iron
may probably cost four hundred and forty
seven thousand dollars. Put these together
and they make a million dollars, and the
Mexican Gulf Canal Company have agreed
to take city bonds in payment of this work
at prices greater than the market values
and you know what interest at the rate of
eight per cent per annum is Eight per
cent per annum on one million of dollars is
eighty thousand dollars. That is all the
Mayor is making this fuss about / hope
that the Mayors ideas will succeed in all
retrenchment, but there is no
sense in retrenchment which prevents bar
riers from being interposed against food.
What would you think of man, who, when
his plantation was threatened with overflow
instead of protecting himself, went into his
Office and began to think about bad debts and
promissory notes and liabilities running
from one year to another, some of which
might not reach him for two or three years.
The whole cost of this thing is going to be
one million. If the Mayor wants to answer
me and say it requires further works, /
admit it. We require upper lines and lower
lines to connect with it, but the city is going
to protect itself from these foundations,
even if it is going to cost two or three mil
lion dollars. Whenever the Mayor is going
to show me that entering upon this work
will lead to greater disasters than / have
by figures, he will make some
upon me; but he will make none
by reading my impressions three months
ago on an act of the Legislature which
perhaps had not in N.Y. hands
more than twenty-four hours. Let the
Mayor direct his attention to other nearer
and more important matters-not, perhaps,
more important, in the full sense of the
word, than this. There are plenty of re-
forms which his peculiar talents can point
put; plenty of things upon which his action
will be of service. Then, again, am re-
minded that the bill puts in our hands
certain assets. 1t is true the Mayor takes
the position that they can not be collected.
The Mayor: No, don't say that. i say
have doubts.
Mr.. Shaw l am very glad of that. At
any rate it is our duty to try, and if we do
not do the work, we can not attempt to
collect the tax. The duty and the right to
,ollect the tax go hand in hand. presume
the Mayor is not going to relieve any of
these persons from the tax; presume he is
in favor of collecting it, and if so we must
first commence the work.
The Mayor: Article twelve of our rules
says that no member shall speak more than
twice on the same question, but the mover
open and close the debate. If no one else
desires to speak l will simply say have
spoken on questions of this sort in the
private conferences of the Council many a.
time, and it is no new thing for me to be
entirely beaten by the gentleman's elo-
luence and by his vote. l am prepared for
that do not stand up here expecting to-
gain anything, and certainly not to wrest
from him the palm of supremacy in argu-
ment. But do intend to bring the gentle
man to the point. The first part of his
was that we were compelled to
do this thing by law; it is a legal enact
ment and we can not get away from it. 1
said thanked him for this ordinance in the
same way as Portia said to Shylock, in the
Merchant of Venice:
81 thank thee, Jew, for tea IA ng me that word
| thanked him for the ordinance in that
sense, and he knew it, and does little credit
to the intelligence of the Council if he
thinks they did not understand me in the
same way. 1t is not the gentleman's first
assertion that l have read to you, not his
crude and half-considered opinions which
be launched out with such earnestness and
energy on the first occasion when this mat
ter came before us, and carried the Council
with him, but his ''sober second thought
as expressed and drawn up in that ordi-
nance, viz: that we are not compelled to do
this thing. / now come back upon him,
and ask was this delusiOn and a snare mn
in to carry the Connect with him. or did he
mean what he said Did he mean that tho
Council could. if the emeroencv ooournoa