The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1874-07-25
A TALK ABOUT THE PARISH
FINANCES.

Hint at the Causes Thereof---A Word |
About the Funding Bill---Probabilities
for the Future--How the Parish Taxes
for 1873 are Classified and How Pay
able---signifcant Attitude of Prom
inent Tax Payers.
1t is deplorable fact that the pres
ent condition of the treasury of As
cension parish is one OF absolute
emptiness. There is not dollar IN
the hands of the officer who is sup
posed to receive, guard and properly
disburse untold parochial public
wealth, and such is the uncertainty
existing in the minds of the mass OF
our citizens as to when this state OF
affairs will be bettered, that the credit
of the parish may be said to scarcely
compete in monetary value with the
historic "tinker's dam" IAN almost
universal synonym for utter worth
lessness. The present Treasurer
AYERS that for number of years past
the receipts from collection OF taxes
and other sources have annually ex-
ceeded the expenditures, as his books
will show, yet there are now old
warrants and certificates of indebted
ness outstanding against the parish
to the amount of about $25, 900. 1t
is not our purpose at this time to ex-
anime with detail into the causes
which produced this extraordinary
state of affairs, but that there has
been mismanagement, gross and I'M
deniable. must be apparent to all. We
will not now inquire what proportion
of this outstanding debt represents
f either totally or partially invalid and
exorbitant claims, or what part is
composed OF evidences that have been
t once turned into the treasury and
, afterward criminally put into circula-
/; ton again but we will say a word
/ regarding our1opinion as to the man
uer in which this Indebtedness will
: be wiped out, and attend to the
| matters we have limited at some time
: in the near future. The Supreme
r Court has decided that no Police
5 Jury is or has been empowered with
t authority to issue negotiable paper
r transferable by Endorsement, or, fur
Their, to incur expenses in excess Of
: the revenues at their command, and
: that, consequently, the outstanding
y warrants so literally dealt out in days
t past to persons who in many eases
: did fifty cents worth of work for the
h parish and charged two dollars for it
e are all illegal instruments and theil
e payment can not be enforced. Thus
h holders of these warrants are thrown
d wholly upon the honor of the Police
e. Jury to receive compensation for thu
II same, and unless that body choose tt
o devise some method of obtaining the
n power to redeem the taboOed claims
II said holders may as well throw theii
Y scrip in the fire.
II 1t has not been and is not now, W.
II are glad to say, the desire or inten
IL ton of our present Police Jurors t.
take advantage of the power whicl
e the decision of the highest legal til
y bunal of the State gives them, to Ell
n gage in a scheme of total Reputation
ID of existing indebtedness. Although
"a a large proportion of the outstanding
st warrants are undoubtedly either ex
+ brilliant or wholly fraudulent i
es amount, still among them are nu
IN merous just claiAss, and that thes
O. should he ignored upon technicalit
IN of law is manifestly wrong. No sue
a injustice would be perpetrated b
u honest officials or countenanced b
OF conscientious people.
lit 1t was to give the Police Jury au
+ thority to separate the wheat froI
the chaff among these unpaid wal
OF rants, and to provide for redemptio
EF of good and reputation of bad, thu
a the Ascension Funding Bill VIZ
on framed and urged through the Ger
Sc eral Assembly by our Senator an
ly Representatives last winter. An
ne while the primary object of that hi
to was approved upon all sides, it VIZ
n the proposition to pay eight per cen
its per annum interest upon the del
se when determined, that met with OF
us position from Governor Kellogg an