New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-11-21

country. Inc new corners were 6OuSnt &c
be stgmatzed as carpet-baggers, and thu
new State government just organized I'M
der the reconstruction laws was styled 9
carpet-bag government. This was the
condition of Louisiana when the first
Legislature met under the present consti
tuition. The feeling was decidedly against
the ''new order of things" and the great
Republican party, that represented the
North, East and West-three sections Of
q common country-and was endeavorine
to give representation to the South along
with restored peace and prosperity.
The war for slavery had sadly crippled
the South; but the result was due to the
action of the Southern people rather than
to Republican administration, or the
Republican masses who supported the
government. After the rebellion was
crushed it became the interest of every
good citizen to have the country-and
this embraces all sections restored to
prosperity. A change of our labor system
of the South had rendered other changes
absolutely necessary. And chief among
these changes is the system of cultivating
the soil. With free labor it is believed
it will be found impracticable to con-
tinue successfully the system of cult
waiting large plantations. With slave
labor this could be done; but with free
labor but few men who invest their capital
in the cultivation of large plantations
succeed in making it profitable. It be-
comes obvious, then, that different
course has to be pursued: that the South
| has got to be resettled under a different
system. 1t has got to be settled by new
men, who will cultivate the soil as it is
| cultivated in other sections of the Union
1t was to help work out this change and
restore good feeling and prosperity in the
South that induced Northern capitalists
to commence the construction of rail-
roads and other improvements down here.
The South was not able to undertake
the work, and men of large capital and
big hearts undertook to benefit the whole
country and themselves by giving rail-
roads and other means for encouraging
the development of our agricultural, min
ing and manufacturing resources.
The necessity for a railroad between
here and Texas had long been acknowl-
edged, when the New Orleans, Mobile and
Texas Railroad Company asked and OBJ
tanned charter from the Legislature of
this State, granting State aid. Yet that
charter was not obtained without en-
countering most bitter opposition, in
huenced by the causes we have stated.
Our citizens will recollect the exciting
meetings that were held in parlor P of
the St. Charles Hotel, and the one that
was held in the St. Charles Theatre in
which an expression of the people was
sought to be obtained in favor of
the Morgan monopoly of the Mobile
and Texas carrying trade to and
from this city. The idea then was
to defeat the passage of the charter
Of the company that has built over
two hundred miles of their Mobile,
New Orleans and Texas road But lead
ing Republicans here, among them ex-
Governor Hahn, determined to prevent
this, and they did. A Republican Legis-
lature passed the charter and the road
was commenced, and over two hundred
miles of it built at a cost of not less than
ten millions of dollars of Northern capt.
tai. Unfortunately, last spring the old
feelings! of prejudice, and individual in
terest got the best of Mr.. Morgan, his
friends, and the enemies of Republican
government, and induced them to take
step that has proved most prejudicial to
the interest of New Orleans This step
was the publication last spring of docu-
ment headed ITO the Public" and
signed, according to the Times, ''by
several hundred of our most solid citi-
zens, capitalists, property holders, bank
presidents, etc." The Times rep ublished
this document yesterday morning, pre-
ceded and followed by some interesting
remarks Of its own. That paper, which
now defends the New Orleans, Mobile
and Texas Company, admits that it
opposed the granting of its charter, and
gave warm and cordial support to the
bill favoring the extension of Mr. Charles
Morgan's road into Texas. In speaking
of the delays in the construction of the
New Orleans, Mobile and Texas road, the
Times says:
We have seen nothing to rejoice at or
marks upon the delays and embarrassment
which recently interrupted the progress of
the work, seeing that the same have arisen
from causes which ought to be obvious to
all well-intOrmed persons, over which the |
company had no control. It gives us no
pleasure to refer to the principal Of these |
causes of delay and embarrassment, which |
may be found in the following notice, that |
appeared i'll the papers of this city in March |
last:
TO THE PUBLIC. |
New ORLEANS, March 18, 1871.
The undersigned, property owners and |
taxpayers of the city of New Orleans, salts |
fed that the State Legislature has, at its |
last session, exceeded its power in the loans, |
and other obligations and |
grants authorized on the part Of the State,
the total amount of which is limited, by the |
recent amendment of the constitution, to
$25, 0OO, 900 ALREADY incurred), as shown by
the annexed official statement of the Au-
ditOr, take this early opportunity Of
notifying bankers brokers' and dael- |