New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-02-10
alf,,, Orleans Republita'..
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES
)FFtClAl JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS
DEBATES OF THE HOUSE.
TUESDAY. February :. 1871.
TCoNTISUkn.l

The House having under ConSldtraIloL
House bill No. Sc, an act relative to public
education the second section was read.
Mr.. Thompson. of st. Tammany: have
an amendment to offer to this section. which
Is this: Strike out the words i'll the second
line estate Board of Education, and insert
the words 1.-THE police jurors III their rcsrcc.
tive parishes shall appoint. And now
shall state my reasons for offering that
amendment. They are just these: That
ALWAYS. until lately. ii was the system to
allow the police jurors of the respective
marshes to make these appointments. to
control this matter in their own parishes,
and in incorporated towns and cities 1t was
ALWAYS the rule to allow the municipal
authorities to control the matter i'll their
respective towns and cities. That rule was
found to work well for some tlmc and
hold that it ia most just, for this rrason-
that those parties who are residents OF that
town, citizens, are acquainted with the resi-
dents best, know those parties residing
among them, and know who are best suited
to hold these offices. If You leave ii to the
State Board of Public Education. sitting
here in the city of New Orleans, to attend
to this matter in every town, IN every
village and in every parish III the State
Won will find that in nine cases out OF ten
they will appoint men who are utterly IN
competent to perform those duties: they
know nothing about the parishes: nothing
about the towns in which the duties
are to be performed, and with no
other recommendation than that they are
the friends of the State Board of Public
Education: that they are in many instances
their friends who need something TO sup
port them, and they. consequently, put
them in these positions in order that they
may have something. 1 hold that this is a
matter that directly concerns the inhab-
itants of the towns and the inhabitants of
the parishes, and that they themselves are
the best Judges of the men who are qualified
to fill these places. and that the State Board
of Public Education can not make as good
appointments as the citizens OF the towns
can make for themselves. 1t is for that
reason that offer that amendment. II you
adopt the bill Won place all this business in
the hands of a few men residing in this city,
who assume control of the entire State.
They know nothing about the different par
ishes yet they know. in many cases. nothing
about the men they appoint, whether they
are competent or incompetent. l hold that
the people OF the places where these APP
pointees are to serve would be the best
iudreS of the men. For that reason | offer
the amendment.
Mr. Moncure, of Caddo: slr. Speaker. l
say it without any equivocation whatever
that there is not man in this House Il bet
ter friend to education than l ain myself.
Mr.. Stamps, of jefferson: l rise to a
point of order There has boon Il motion
made to Law the amendment on the table.
Mr.. Moncure, of Caddo: 1t has not been
made: it was made without proper author
ity. The party who made the motion had
no right to the floor. l do not believe that
men should be gagged in this House. We
have the right to express our sentiments.
and for myself l demand that right. for my
self and my constituents. l say that am
as good a friend to the cause of education as
any man in this House. to whatever party
he may belong. | have but one motive in
view, and it is that this law shall be made
effective, shall accomplish the purposes for
which it was designed. and not that it should
be made utterly worthless and futile by lJe
coming an engine for politica! machinery.
Sir, for one moment consider. and beg the
House to consider. whence comes this board
Of education. Whence derive they their
Did the voters of this State put them in
their position DO they derive their au-
thority from the voters OF the State of
louisiana or are they not rather the ap-
pointees of single individual. If. then.
they are the appointees of single indi
vidual in point of fact. We have The whole
system of this State under the
absolute control OF a single man: and thi.
you call-this you call. torsooth. 4 vepubli-
can government
And this powerful engine this machinery
for the enlightenment, and Improvement.
and cultivation of the people. both white
and colored, is to be controlled and manipu-
lated by the ipse dixit of single indvfl-
,lal 3D.! There are many men who would be
fully competent to discharge that duty. but
whether the individual who has the ap-
pointing Of this board is n person of that
character or not l am unable to decide: but
l do say this, that it is a dangerous system.
a dangerous precedent, when the people are
prepared to surrender their power into the
hands OF any one man, or anv set of men,
or any party Of men. l say it is not re-
publican-I don't mean republican in the
mere party sense of the term. [ say it is
neither republican nor democratic.
Then, it is proposed by this bill to put the |
power of controlling this most important
matter, the importance Of which we all
in the hands of this Board of
who are the creatures and the |
tools of the power from whence they de- |
rive their authority. The amendment
which we propose does otherwise. and is. in
point of fact, in full conformity with Re
publican principles and Republican senti- !
nents 1t is to give the power of these APP
pOintmcnts where, and to whom, 1t is to give !
men whom the people themselves elect. |
Don't you elect your police Jury Don't |
you elect your own municipal authorities |
And are you, the Representatives of the |
people, prepared to say here that yo,l are |
unwilling to trust the man whom the people |
IN their own parishes shall select |
70 discharge these functions. These men |
are best competent to appoint these school
directors They are best competent why! |
t,nc3USp n tl
the community; they know the wants of |
the community III which these school |
directors are to be appointed. because they !
come fresh from the people themselves. for |
the benefit of whose children these schools |
are to be established. II you establish a |
school system-and I have no doubt |,
in the world this is good one-it !
receives my sanction and my earnest and
cordial support If You establish thi, |
system, in the name OF all that is reasona
bic, make it effective by putting The power
Of appointment into the hands Of men who
will exercise it for The good Of their fellow
citizens. Sir am sick and tired of this
perpetual system in the operation of which
our legislation is tending to the ccntraliza-
ton OF all power in the city of New Or
leans. There is no reason why every resi-
dent in the city of New Orleans. and Of
fcials resident in the city of New Orleans.
should control these of us who reside in tho
country parishes, III matters OF this sort
The whole tendency of this age is toward
and | think that il is high
time that we, the people who come from the
different parishes in the country. should put
a stop to it. Let this power be disseminated
through the country. so il will be exercised
not for political partie. and purposes. but
FOR the public good-!or the real. efficient
education OF the children. rather !
"a 10