New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-07-13
ORLEANS, SUNDAY

ANS, SUNDAY, JULY
The State Auditor and Treasurer.
The following is the correspondence that
has passed between Mr.. Clinton and Mr..
Dubuelet in regard to the sale OF State war
rants 70 come off next Tuesday:
TREASURER DUBUCLET TO AUDITOR CLIN-
STATE OF LOUISIANA
TreasuYe1's Office, ;
New Orleans, July ii, 1875 }
Hon. Charles Clinton STATE Auditor:
SIR am informed by an advertisement
published in the official journal, under date
approved by his Excellency Governor Kel-
Iogg, that you propose purchasing, on the
fifteenth instant, for account of the State
Of Louisiana, at the lowest price offered,
certain State warrants, and pay for the
same with funds to be drawn from the
treasury Of the State.
l know Of no law on the statute books
authorizing such purchase of State war
rants and the drawing Of funds in the treas
ury OF the State to pay for the same; such
action in fragrant violation of the con-
the Offices of State Treasurer and Auditor
beg leave to call your attention to the
several acts of the Legislature defining the
duties and obligations Of the State Treas
urer, and to cay that / can not, with regard
to my oath of Office, TO the duty and obi
cations imposed upon me by law, in any
manner as far as my authority as Treasurer
Of the State goes, consent to said purchase
Of warrants and to the payment Of the same
out of funds of the State.
You will please, therefore, take notice
that l will refuse to pay any warrants
drawn on the treasury Of the State for the
payment of the purchase price of said war
rants for which you have advertised bids to
be made.
have further to notify you that l am in
formed that you are receiving and detain-
ing in your hands funds due and belonging
to the State, which by law are to be paid to
the State Treasurer and to remain in his
hands subject to the appropriations made
by law, to be paid out on warrants drawn
according to law.
can not, without failing 70 the duty and
obligation Of the responsible Office hold,
permit that such a course be pursued, and
now call on you, and require and demand
that all funds you may have received for
account Of the State be handed over to me,
and that you discontinue to infringe on my
IikHUS 1Au uuIAC6 IL 1CCCAtAuS 0Ay AuuOo
due to the State.
An immediate reply and compliance with
my demand is requested, in order to avoid
legal proceedings, which propose 10 insti-
tute, in order to protect me in the legal ex-
ercise Of the duty imposed upon ne by law
as State Treasurer.
am respectfully,
ANTOINE DUBUCLET,
State Treasurer.
REPLY OF YHE AUDITOR.
STATE OF LOUISIANA
Auditors Office. }
New Orleans, July II, 1879.
Hon. A. Dubuclet, State Treasurer
SIR-Your favor of blank date, conveying
to me your opinion Of the law and my du-
ties, and threatening me with illegal pro-
ceedings' unless l comply Herewith, is
received. The communication ID grossly
discourteous and impertinent in substance
and language, but in view of the import
ance to the State of the measure proposed,
and in vie Of the evident misconceptions
under which you are laboring, waive OBJ
iections to this attempt on your part to
supervise my actions, and hasten to reply.
l. do not intend to draw warrants on
the treasury to pay for warrants purchased,
and, therefore, it is not material whether
you know of any law on this subject or not.
My object is to use the money to the credit
Of the general fund to pay warrants already
drawn, which are offered to purchase the
same. The warrants are to be paid by you
the same as heretofore, only at their market
which they are freely offered to the State
by their owners, instead of their face value.
l have examined the law carefully, and 80
far from finding it to be ''in fagrant viola
ton of the constitution l am satisfied
that it is not only Of great advantage to
the State, but just and lawful in itself.
If you desire to undertake the respon-
sibility Of refusing to pay warrants when
so offered-the matter being then beyond
my control-you can do SO without inter-
ference from this Office. You will then have
an opportunity to establish the legal propo-
sitiens you have volunteered for my con-
sideration, the chief of which appears to
be that the favored and clamorous few who
are constantly hanging over your counter,
shall be paid in full, while others, with
claims equally good, receive nothing at all,
as it is we'll known that there is not
enough to pay all.
?. I beg to inform you that | have exam.
ined "the various acts of the Legislature"
with perhaps as great care as yourself; have
taken competent advice on the subject, and
am well satisfied of the equity and legality
Of my course. When the contrary is estab
lished l will abandon it.
3. Your refusal to assist in the measures
proposed, and your expressed determine
ton to defeat it, will, if you succeed, Justly
place upon you the Odium Of refusing to
permit the State to profit by concession
amounting to several hundred Thousand
by its creditors. No creditor is wrOnged
by the course propose, and the State is
greatly benefited. / have deemed it my
duty to use all possible means to secure
this advantage to the State. If the meas
ure is defeated by what must plainly term
your captious and unauthorized opposition.
will, of course, be forced to abandon it.
but will do so with consciousness of duty
fully performed on my part, leaving you to
account hereafter for the use or misuse you
make Of your powers to the detriment OF
the State.
a. In regard to the manner Of my settle
ments with tax collectors l beg to refer
you to the law, which gives me large pow
ers and discretion in the premises, from
which you will see that that is not matter
which concerns you in the least. ! am
obliged to take reasonable time to ex-
anime the warrants of collectors to see
whether they have been received in accord
ance with law. As soon as their settle
ments are completed-.;which will always
be in the shortest possible time-the money
will be turned over to you, previous to
which you have, in my opinion, no right to
dictate to them or to me in regard to their
duties. l will not permit them to deposit
with and make their settlements through
brokers. as has been done heretofore with
out objection from you.
gret exceedingly that your anxiety in
regard to your securities is so great as to
impel you to throw yourself in the way of
every measure calculated to redeem the
credit of the State and to break up the