The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1871-12-30
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Un MONDAY ueAb lne OtlleIdI As-
sembly of the State of Louisiana will
convene in regular session at the Me-
chanics' Institute, New Orleans. As
Monday will be New Years Day and a
legal holiday, the Assembly will i'm
mediately adjourn until Tuesday.
The opening days of the session will
be stormy ones, for there are many
political and partisan scores to be
settled before the Assembly can quiet
down to legislative work. The heat
of battle will be greatest in the House
of Representatives, and the noise and
turmoil of contending factions in that
body will resound throughout the
length and breadth of the State. A
determined effort will be made by the
Republican members to displace Mr..
Geo. w. Carter from the Speakers
chair, and the future welfare and sue
cess of the Republican party demand
that the effort prove successful. Mr..
Carter has not only been false to the
party which elected him, but he has
become involved in numerous dishon-
est transactions, incurring the pay
ment of thousands of dollars of pub
lie money to persons who were not
entitled thereto and for which no ser
vice whatever was rendered, there
fore his displacement is due fully as
much to the dignity of the Represen-
tatives, individually and collectively,
as it can be to.poitical considerations.
Each Representative, no matter what
political faction he may favor, should
be careful in placing himself upon
record in this matter, and remember
that he will be morally responsible
for the dishonesty of the present in
eumbent of the Speakers chair if he
votes to retain that disreputable per-
son in the high position which he has
disgraced. The feelings of an over
whelming majority of the people of
the Seventh Senatorial District, COM
prising the parishes of Ascension and
ST. James, are doubtless well under
stood by their representatives in the
lower house of the General Assembly,
and it shall be the especial province
of the CHIEF to watch the respective
courses taken by those representatives
and to give them credit for faithful
performance of a plain duty or to de-
denounce them for a dereliction of it,
as the case may be. We set it down
here as an undeniable fact, that the
Representative from either of the par
ishes forming this District who shall
have the temerity to vote for or other
wise aid the retention of Mr.. Carter as
Speaker of the House, will meet with
prompt Reputation at the hands of his
constituents and be declared unworthy
his position.
In case of the election of the present
Speaker there will doubtless be sever
al aspirants for the position. Among
the more prominent ones we have
heard mentioned is Hon. Emerson
Bentley, of St. Mary. As that gentle
man is our brother we shall leave his
praises to be sounded by others, and
content ourselves with expressing the
very natural hope that he may be the
successful candidate.
In the Senate less political excite
ment will prevail, as that body has al
ready elected its presiding officer. 1t
is probable desperate effort will be
made by the disaffected Republican
members, combined with the Demo-
Gratis, to reconsider that election, but
there is no likelihood that the move
will be successful. t3
We shall keep our readers informed
in regard to the proceedings of the