The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-12-19

her devoted followers.
Information for Taxpayers and Bond
holders, and More Especially for tn
City Council.
Editor N. o. Bulletin:
When taxes are light and reasonable, pros
perity reigns. The last thing the great mas
of taxpayers think of is to fully acquain
themselves with the laws authorizing exist
ing taxes. Light taxation is philosophical!
taken as d necessary evil and they accep
blissful ignorance and trudge along in "th'
struggle for existence" An unerring conse
quence of this is that officials elected to attent
to everybody's business either neglect theil
duties or, what is worse, and certainly more
common, easily glide into systematic fraud
and steadily and surely bring untold evil or
those who have chosen them to guard anG
serve the public veal.
Pa,i passu with this inactivity and unpar-
donable ignorance of the masses is found
growing q criminal neglect Of duty on the
part of the really legitimate creditor of organ
lied communities, and ut the same time the
most active and systematic efforts on the part
of the dealers in doubtful or wholly illegiti'
mate so-called securities; until, at last, cor.
/
degree that is subversive Of the happiness OF
nearly every individual member of either.
In this condition of misery is New Orleans
to-day. She is the unhappy victim of igno.
rance on the part Of her masses OF their own
laws governing or controlling the conditions
and privileges OF public Indebtedness, as well
as the victim of negligence and scoundrelisul
ON the part of her public officials, from her
legislators down to her administrators.
With the view of making all parties stop a
moment to think over the present situation
of things, offer you herewith two extracts:
l. An act to consolidate the city Of New
Orleans, and provide for the government and
administration of its affairs. Acts Of 1852,
No. II, sec. 81, page 81, says:
"From and after the passage of this act,
no obligation or evidence Of debt of any
description whatever, except those herein au-
thorized, shall be issued by the city of New
Orleans, or under its authority; nor shall any
loan be contracted, unless the same be au-
thorized by a vote of a majority of the quail
fed voters of said city, which shall be taken
in the manner prescribed by the City Council,
after ten days proclamation by the Mayor, in
the newspaper chosen by the Common Coun-
Gil; and no ordinance creating debtor loan
shall be valid, unless for some single object
or work distinctly specified therein, and I'M
less such ordinance shall provide ways and
means for the punctual payment of running
interest during the whole time for which said
debt or loan shall be contracted, and for the
full and punctual discharge at maturity of the
capital borrowed or debt incurred and such
ordinance shall not be repealed until principal
and interest OF the capital borrowed or the
debt Incurred are fully paid and discharged. ;"
Referring to the report Of the Department
of Public Accounts, June 50, 1874, find
that the total Of consolidated bonds then
due, and nearly all drawing per cent inter-
coupons Of consolidated bonds due but not
presented for payment, and we have total
consolidated bond debt Of 81, 45S, $50.
But the same report says the total indebted
ness OF New Orleans is $22, 245, 663 G1, or
ST., 787, 213 81 more than the old consolidated
debt. Of this latter Indebtedness only the
other railroad bonds Jackson, Opel6usas and
Pontchartrain), were ever voted on by the
people Of this city, as is required by the
clause l have quoted. The bonds of these
three railroads amount to SO, 263, 600. Add
these to the amount Of consolidated bonds,
and we have a total of 81, 721, $50. that would
seem to be the legitimate debt OF New Orleans
under the act quoted. Or, per contra, We
have S14, 524, 213 81 more Indebtedness on
the 3Oth June last than solemnly enacted
law of the State allows.
Have we any unbiased. unprejudiced and
acknowledged intelligent authority to the
effect that this large additional debt imposed
upon us is iilegitimate, contrary to law, void?
beg the reader to ponder well the following
from "Dillon on Municipal Corporations"
page 1856. This is authority universally re-
spected by the legal fraternity of this country:
$50 when the effect Of an act Of the LeSis-
lature authorizing city 10 fund its floating
debt was, in substance. pledge to those who
surrendered their claims and received new
obligations to trustees Of u portion Of her
revenues and property, to be applied to the
payment OF her obligations in q specified
mode, this, if acted on. constitutes a contract
,rhich cannot be materially altered either by the
municipality or Tie Legislature. ,eithoM the sane
ton Of the creditors.
$50, also, when the Legislature authorized
an indebted city to issue bonds to specified
amount, in payment of like amount of its
bonds, and, among other provi-
sions plainly intended to induce creditors to
make the exch ,nge. was one prohibiting the
city from thereafter issuing its bonds,
except in payment OF its bonded debt, and
this authority having been acted on, and the
accepted by the creditors, and
new bonds issued. it was decided by the
Supreme Court of Wisconsin that ''the pro-
hibition against the issue of further bonds
constituted in favor of the holders of the new
bonds a contract. ,chich the Legislature could
not impair by a subsequent enactment, authoriz-
ing the municipality to issue additional bonds for
these purposes.
All italics are my own, and I use them |
to make the reader think.
Were this Wisconsin, the City Council |
would realize that they are flesh. bone and |
brains Of the people, chosen from the people |
by the people for the people, and with func-
lions far higher than simply squeezing taxes
out of that people to enrich the enemies OF
the people.
But in Wisconsin we should have courts |
Of law and Justice to appeal to, and even |
we're Council derelict or worse, the humblest |
Of the people could approach them conf |
lently as such, and not as they are in Louis |
organized SHAMELESS in which the dearest |
interests Of man are slaughtered by partisan |
and the precious blood that flows |
caught to be used in the fertilization of the |
1ilest weeds that ever grew in the way of
honest industry.