New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-02-08


dences Of debt, at the rate of one hundre
dollars in bonds for every seventy dollars q
I Indebtedness.
Possibly, if the learned pundits VIII
compose the grand jury had consulted thi
section of the law, instead of relying upo1
q repealed section, they would have beel
spared the necessity of characterizing al
act Of obedience to its provisions as
''tiagrant malversation in office" For th,
claim paid was recognized as just by one
of the predecessors of Mr. Graham, Aud
itor Peralta, who had examined the claim
OF B. We'll in November, 1866, and certi
| fled, under his seal of Office, that it was a
just debt. He complied with the law OF
the State by issuing to the claimant certif
Gates of Indebtedness to the amount of the
claim. These certificates bear date No
vember %, 1866, two years before the
adoption of the fourteenth amendment of
the constitution of the United States, or of
the one hundred and twenty-seventh article
of our State constitution. And we may
remark, by the way, that the latter instru-
ment does not refer to thefcase in any
manner, either in express terms or by i'm
plication. These certificates We're given in
settlement with B. We'll on q contract The
nature Of this contract is not stated in the
certificates of Indebtedness, but the pre-
sumption exists that it was lawful, until
l ~, Nv
an Auditor of the State of Louisiana at
I time when the State was controlled by those
who had sympathized with the rebellion,
| and before there was any prohibition
either in the constitution of the United
States or of this State against the payment
of debts prescribed by the fourteenth
| amendment Of the federal constitution or
the one hundred and twenty-seventh article
| of our own. And as the certificates passed
into the hands of innocent third parties
the claim became a vested right, which
the State certainly could not divest, and
which the nation probably could not.
1t further appears that the considera-
ton upon which the claim was founded
was the furnishing of supplies, medicines,
provisions fuel and other necessaries of
life to the poor women and children of the
upper Red river parishes who had been
Impoverished by the war. Not one dollar
had been expended for articles contraband
Of war. All had been expended for
charity-to save innocent women and
children from perishing with hunger, cold
and disease. Their husbands, fathers and
sons were in the confederate army, fight
ing for the wrong, it is true, but under the
authority of the State, acting under
wrong impulse. Generous men were
found willing to advance money to pur-
chase supplies to save the innocent, neg
lected, needy families from perishing
Auditor Peralta subsequently recognized
the business of the demand of these men
for reimbursement, by issuing certificates
Of Indebtedness, and the Radical Legisla-
ture of 1871 ordered these certificates to be
paid. This the General Assembly had a
perfect right to do. The payment is not
inhibited by the fourteenth amendment.
Our constitution does not contain line
that forbids the liquidation. Only con-
federate notes and bonds are referred to by |
the latter, and debts contracted in aid of |
the rebellion by the former. These certi-
ticates We're not predicated upon confed-
crate notes or bonds; tire supplies were not |
furnished to aid the rebellion, but were |
distributed in the interests of hui |
mainly, and given in the sacred name Of |
charity.
g We are astonished that men who lent |
their voices and contributed their means to
aid the rebellion, now stand up and arraign
a generous foe for saving the women and
children from starvation. Yet such is the
case. The CITIZENS Guard, thaA has no
history, raised the scandalous objection.
The Times and Bee, that have decided
confederate records, echoed the SANDER
with additions, and Judge Abell,s grand
jury, whose foreman was once ambitious to
DE ueiu III HlSn fepute as an GNnerGnt to |
the lost cause, not only misquote law, but
pervert history to make case against
Governor Warmoth, Mr. Gaines and Au-
iitor Graham, for obeying the plain be-
hest of Legislature composed Of gene
rous foes to the rebellion.
We maintain that there WIS no error
The act of the General AS
'embly is clearly not repugnant to any con-
'titational provision; the action Of the
board Of liquidators was merely an ODE
Hence of its mandates, and the factious
of the modern refor1ners, so
trongly tainted with hypocrisy as to bring
he authors to discredit 49,. {
We hope the judge and the jnries Of tie
'riminal Court will hereafter confne their
forts to their legitimate functions, and let G
latters too deep for their comprehension
email for wiser men to look after. Il