The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1872-01-13
DONADSONVIILE, "A, 13

} repealed. They stand in the way O
} capitalists who can and would do tn,
work, and should be removed.
THE LEyEEs.
On this important subject I iavs
much to say. Upon these works de.
pends the prosperity of our State in
Fer agricultural and railroad in
terests. Possibly New Orleans
might exist upon the commerce
passing between the great North
west and the outer world, be-
cause OF her position on the Missis-
slppi river; but the wealth of the
State depends upon the completeness
and safety of our levee system, and it
deserves and should have, as it has
heretofore, your most earnest consid-
Grafton. For the first time in the his
tory OF Louisiana, one comprehensive
plan has been adopted, and let us
hope it will be effective.
The various laws passed since the
settlement of Louisiana to 1871 have
all proved Intellectual to stop crevas-
ses, and occasionally vast destruction
OF property and if it were even then
proper to trust to the old riparian
proprietor plan, all such ideas are
now obsolete, from the change of the
labor system and the only way to
compass the object was decided to be
either by constitutional amendment
making the leVee tax perpetual, or by
contract with a private company or
corporation for term of years, that
some plan could be developed for per-
manent security, instead of the vaeil-
lating policy which has heretofore
been followed.
The first contract proposed and
passed by the Legislature of 1870 was
subject to many constitutional objec-
tons, and | was compelled to veto it.
The next act, No. A of 1871, for the
same purpose, had and has several
Objectionable features, and the addi-
tlonal act or contract, known as act
No. 27;, approved February %, was
required to obYiate these objections,
and still the two bills do not properly
harmonize. You may, therefore, dur
ing this session, be asked for supple
mental legislation to make the system
complete and effective. Act No. a
provided for the issue of one million
OF dollars in State bonds, but as the
constitutional limit of indebtedness
has been reached, this assistance could
not be given to the company. They
We're also authorized to issue five hun
dred thousand dollars of their own
bonds, on the anticipated estimates.
This was not permitted to be done,
and the company We're either unable
or 1ndlsposed to commence the work
OF building the levees until since De-
tober 1. While probably without nv
sphere of duty, strictly construed, yet
| felt constrained to take an interest in
the management of the affairs of the
Louisiana Levee Company, and hope
my interference has insured to the
benefit of the State, as well as the
company, for their interests are now
identical, and it is to be hoped that
under the present management our
alluyial lands will be protected, our
railroad communications preserved,
and our State resources developed,
according to the prophecies of the
most sanguine friends of the present
levee system. The "outlet" and ssthe
cutoff" advocates are the most bitter
opponents of the present system, and |
have directed the State Engineer to |
prepare papers on these subjects,
which will be embodied in his annual |
report.
In Act No. 2, approved February
"a, 1871, creating the Board of State |
Engineers and abolishing the Board
OF Public Works, you allowed one
hundred thousand cubic yards to COM
plete the existing contracts of the |
Board of Public Works. This was
not sufficient, as appears from the re-
port OF the State engineers, and you
are asked for an appropriation of
$53, ,584 rs to pay the certificates of
Indebtedness issued by the Auditor
for the one hundred thousand cubic
yards, and $57 1853 70 in payment of
the certificates of.indebtedness issued
by the State engineers to complete
the works.
During the high water last spring
number of crevasses occurred, and as
the Levee company had not taken
charge of the works, and there had
been no legal provisions for such a
contingency, was compelled to pro-
vide means to close, or attempt to
close the breaks. For this purpose
the Citizens Bank advanced sixty
thousand dollars, and the Louisiana
National Bank twenty thousand dol
ars, which money was expended by
the State engineers, assisted by SEN
ator Lynch as disbursing agent, with
The result you will read in the State
report, and the special re-
port of Mr.. Lynch on this subject.
That promptitude of action and the
given by these banks pre-
vented vast destruction of property,
S evident, and l would ask You to
make the proper appropriation to re-
'und the money as early as practicable.
No special appropriation was made at