The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1872-01-13
ANNUAL MESSAGE
OF
Governor II. G. Warmoth,
TO THE
General Assembly of Louisiana,
SESSION OF 1872.
STATE OF LOUISIANA, J
Executive Department,
New Orleans. January l. 1870 \

| LAtcutlNe department,
Il New Orleans, January |. 1872.
GentlemeF of the Senate and House of Reu
resentstives of the State of Louisiana
In compliance with my duty, unde
the constitution, have the honor tt
lay before you the following informa
ton resi- betting the general condition
of atfairs4i the State, with the recon.
mendatidh of such measures as | have
deemed ,)f sufficient Importance to
merit yo5r especial consideration
PUBLIC DEBT.
The State Auditor persists in pub
fishing to the world that our debt is
$41, ,l94, ,473 81, which he makes uu
by add;xg to the actual debt of the
State, lich is $22, ,2295, ,79O SO, an
amount hich he calls contingent
debit ofB18, ,s98,6 ,683 33. This last is
indeed Contingent. It is contingent
in that ix becoming actual debt is en-
tirely dependent first, upon the con-
struction' of certain railroads, for
which the State has agreed to indorse
second Alortgage bonds for Sl2,5 500
per milf the companies having the
right to $sue first mortgage bonds for
the same: amount; and, second. upon
the foolish presumption that these
roads, with all their franchises, rolling
stock, fixtures, trade. ETC., will not be
worth 81 900 per mile, the aggregate
OF the fir and second mortgage bonds.
This is nj more debt, to be employed
as such At the expense of our State
credit, taan is the Endorsement of a
promissory. note by All individual who
is secured for the liability he assumes,
by a pla ge of five-twenty bonds or
real est Ee, i'll the proportion of four
dollars Il one.
In the first place, there is not the
slightestsprobability that any of these
roads, except the New Orleans, Mobile
and Texas railroad will Reconstructed
and, in the second place, if every one
of them should be built, the State
would Ne amply secured from ever
having to pay the Endorsement, for
the reason that the roads chartered,
if constructed, would be worth four
times the amount guaranteed.
This unwise course of the Auditor
has tended to depreciate our securities,
and has given the enemies of recon
structi0n capital from which to mis-
'epreseIA our government and to
throw d8credit upon us abroad.
In l8tN our debt was $40, ,157, 8a2 I2.
N 1865, ,swhen the present administra-
ion came into power, it was S14 ,347,s
)5l w, and it is now about $23, ,045,-
'9O 56. 6his increase consists in three |
million dollars employed for the repair
# leveeS; three million to take up the |
ioatingH ebt which had been incurred |
'rior toI Ehe inauguration of the pres
mt govSrnment; two and half mil
ions subscribed for stock to the New |
)rleansz Mobile e. Texas Railroad |
company, and seven hundred and fif- |
y thousand dollars subsidy granted
o the same company. The present
administration is not properly charge
BILE with the three million dollars for |
Ioating debt because it was mostly, if
lOt entirely, created before its incOm-
ng. So that the real increase of the
ebt by the present government has
een only about six and half million
ollarss and the wisdom of the sew
raj ac involving the increase is gen.
rally nceded and almost universal
Y app1y yved.
The bonded debt on which interest
, being paid is Sl9, 1858 300, the annu-
| interest on which amounts to ST.
O3,s20: Of this debt, 81 1857 900 in
tate ! 'nds have been purchased, and
re helH by certain trust funds in the
reasu1t, which, if cancelled, would
educe{ our interest paying debt to
l8, ,50A30O, and the annual interest
D 81 ,3a2, 400.