The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-04-12

1oOl1h AoNA DOdEu; IL C' DdllcS,
Secretary of Lafayette Parish Board
Patterson, Secretary of St. Mary Par
ish Board; J. A. O'Niell and W. Nc
Kerall, of Franklin Town Board; Ro-
dOlphe Brand, of Ascension Parish
Board. These gentlemen appear to
give general satisfaction to teachers
and the public in their respective To-
c~alities, and have always been prompt
in their cooperation with the Division
Superintendent. Their reports indi-
cate better than words the value of
their labor, and their services should
not be underestimate by the general
public, which can have but little knOwl-
edge of the vexatiOns and difficulties
that necessarily confront them. |
should have been pleased to add other
names to the list, as | doubt not there
are others equally m~eritOriOus, but an
absence of information, either of an
Otticll or general character, prevents its
extension.
In conclusion, allow me to express
the hope that the State Superintendent
will visit the parishes of this division
and examine the general condition Of
the schools. On every hand an ex-
preston of disappointment ismade that
his visits have not been Oftener and
more extended in time and length.
Very respectfully,
EMERSON BENTLEY,
Division Super. o fPublic Education,
Third Division, of Louisiana,
IDLE PLANTATIONS.-We are informed
that there are many plantations in the
Attakapas Parishes and on the coast
formerly cultivated in sugar, which
are not worked the present year. In
this Parish, we believe, the only planta-
ton turned out to grass, is the Aubert
Place owned by the heirs of the late
DR.. Scudday.
What is going to be done with these
rich lands?
Are they going to be kept, as garden
for rabbits and r~attlesnakes to enjoy
themselves in? Some of them nearly
or quite ruined every man who has at
tempted to cultivate them, and it is
hardly probable that any one else is
going to risk their money upon them in
the condition in which they are found
to-day. Can they be rented or leased
to industrious farmers for a fixed pOr-
ton Of what they grow? Can they be
bought by small farmers who would
purchase small tracts, cultivate the
Dull ulICLIloC1R CSS anu LIlhC OIlCll1CCI Cos
a happy home for their families, make
good citizens, and benefit the cOmmuni-
ty i'll which they live?
Time will disclose that fact. Who
can estimate the difference in the de-
yelOpment and prosperity of this and
our n~eighbOring Parishes, if each of
these idle plantations were owned by
fifteen to twenty-five good hard work
ing farmers?
They would all aid in the resuscita-
tatiOn of our soils, in the preservation
of peace and good order; they would
furnish labor to u mechanics, the
sound of the trOwel and saw would be
heard on all sides, they would buy gro
ceries, hardware, dry goods, &C., from
the merchants and every person in theil
vicinity would be benefited by them,
AS it has been heretofore these planta-
tions, instead of aiding in the prosperity
of the people, have been an %intOlerable
burden. If work vas given to mechan-
les they have not been paid, if goods
have been bought from the merchants
the accounts OF their books have to be
Loss only. Taxes have, perhaps, not
been paid, thus throwing the burden OF
carrying ON the Government on the
shoulders of the industrious classes Oh
farmers and citizens.
All the money for which the crops
have been sold goes into the pockets
Of the grasping commission merchants
some Of whom have no hesitation il
telling their customers, that they neet
not pay their country debts as they
hold mortgages over their lands which
will keep that class of creditors from
Selling their property.
The question whether Lower Louisi
ana is to become prosperous again O
remain i'll the present state of ruin an(
~desolation lies in the proper issue o
these two positions. In one side i
prosperity, on the other continued
ruin.-[Thibodaux Sentinel.