New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-01-30

| The price paid for building levees, ex
| elusive of the expenses for engines, etc.
! has ranged from twenty-five to sixty gh'
| cents per cubic yard, depending upon the
heighth of the levee, the character OF the
land, wht Their through woods or open fields
and whether intersected by bayoHs Oh
| sloughs. The average actual cash price pei
| cubic yard paid to contractors has beer
about thirty-eight cents. The State agrees
TO pay sixty cents per cubic yard, Oh
credit of many years, and requires thf
maintaining by the company IL thorough
| repair, for tWenty-one years, OF the leVet
! when completed, under a penalty OF dam
| ages in case of loss from overflow. The
| question as to the utility of levee com
| pany, or an organization of some KIND tc
build and keep in repair the levees, suggests
| the inquiry as to the necessity OF tevees u
| protect the alluvial portions OF the State
from utter and total destruction. 10 any
one who is at all copversant WIN the 70
biography of Louisiana, there can oe ou'
one answer. Levees are first necessity
| and must he kept up, or the country aoan
| dOned. There are three methods oE WHICH
the levees may be maintalned
First-By the uuaided individual efforts
of the riparian proprictors. This system Is
| totally impracticable. 1t would be as Wise
to insist that each person Oh whose prem
Uses d fire occurs should put out the tire by
| his unassisted efforts, as to require each IL
| parian proprietor to build his own leVee
In many respec cts the effect on others Wonld
| be the same, for the loss as in case OF ire
often extends far beyond the point where
it originated A break in the levee devas
tates the country for miles above and be
| low, and TO require each individual 10 Dnllu
| his own levee, when ia many instances tie
cost of building the levee would be greater
than the value OF the land Immediately be-
/ hind ii and belonging u the partlcu ar per
son who is called upon to build 1t, Is noS 10
be thought of, if general security is ex-
pected.
SecOnd-The levees may be built by the
| State through the instrumentaIlfy OF
| board of levee commissioners acting as
| agents of the State, without responsibility
| or interest in the matter beyond that OF d
| general nature. This system has been tried
| tor four years from 1867 to 1870 inclusive,
| under those different leVee boards, and
found 10 be inefficient and most expensive.
During these our years the State issued
bonds to the amount OF SS,OOOOOO, besides
making large appropriations In money, for
| the building of 12,00O,000 of cubic yards, or
at the rate of seventy-iye cents per cubic
yard.
The third system of building and main
tanning the l,.vees in good condition is the
one now, for the first time, adopted. That
of contracting with an Incorporated, respon-
sible company to build, at d fixed price per
cubic yard, with the addition OF keeping
the levees in repair for tWenty-one years,
and liability for damages in case of over
flow. These conditions rendering il the
interest of the company to build the levees
properly, gives an assurance of strength to
the levees and of security to the public
never had before:
Though this system has been tried but a
single year, enough work has bren done 70
show is efficiency and prove its adv Intages
over either of the others, i'll cost and secu-
rity to the public.
Experience has shown that certain
changes in the contract with the Levee
Company would be advantageous to the
State and not injurious to the company,
and your committee propose, at an early
day, to report bill providing tor such
changes and notifications as they deem de-
sirable.
Z. w DEVICES. Chairman;
j. A. JUDGE.
j. P. WILSON.
ARTHUR ANTOINE.
JOHN HEDGEPATH.
III. MAHONEY,
JAMES HEFFNER.
On motion. the report was received and
ordered to be printed in the journal.
Mr.. Heating, of Caddo, called up the
report of the Committee OF Education.
The following amendments 80 House bill
No. 6I entitled an act to provide additional
regulations for the board Of directors of the
public schools Of the city of New Orleans;
TO provide for peImsrent revenue for said
schools: to prevent litigation against the
schoo! fund; TO fund the schocl debt: 70
regulate the employment of teachers, and
to direct the Council of the city of New Or
leans 30 levy school tan and perform
other duties in connection with the public
schools, were adopted:
amend the title by saying. aboard of
school directors for the city of New Or
leans" instead OF aboard of directors of
the public schOols OF the city vi New Or.
leans"
Section one-Strike ous in line four. com
mencing with the word that down 70
and including the words in the twenty
fourth line, and insert N lieu thereof the
following:
That The board Of school directors for the
city Of New Orleans shall be in future com
posed of twenty directors, to wit: One
from each representative district, as at
present constituted, and one additional d.
rector for each municipal district. the Ad-
ministratOr of Finance of the city of New
Orleans, who shall be e1-otficio a member,
and the superintendent of the sixth divis-
ion, who shall be ex -Otiicio a member, with
the right ta speak, but not 80 vote III the
board. The State Board OF Education shall
appoint the directors from the municipal
districts as soon as practicable after the
uassage of this act, so that two shall retire
annually; the said State board 90 determine
a., It,,
They shall require said directors To possess
the qualifications Of an eleCtOr in the city
of New Orleans, aud the necessary fitness
and capacity for the Office and each new
director, before taking his eeat, shall take
the oath OF office prescribed tor State off
GERS.
did noe think then that party should
Oe permitted TO stand his trial, and take the
chances Of an acquittdl, ard at She last
moment, when the Senate was IN the act Of
pronouncing his guilt, to defeat the trial by
sending q letter OF resignation to the SEN
ate. am still OF that opinion. Bat the
question presented in this case is different.
The term of the officer accused has expired
by law, and with it, think, the prosecu-
ton should end.
This is clearly che opinion Of MFR. Justice
Story. On the contrary, Mr.. Rawle see&s
10 have entertained ditfe ent opinion.
2. As TO the policy of proceeding with
the trial, give an opinion with great diff
dence, as that is not a judicial gu p ton;
bu. as it seems to be desired by che Senate,
I will not shrink from the responsibility
thus imposed upon me. 1t is my deliberate
opinion that the mere disfranchisement of
an individual is NOS worth the time and
expense of an impeachment "Le ieu ne
ysut pas la chandele," and question the
policy of g kicking dead lion
I, therefore, answer the questions en-
braced in abe Ordey of she Senate. in the
negative.
The managers can not but express =
doubt as to the sOundness OF the view pre-