New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-20

on this subject | will return my thanks to
the gentleman from Orleans (Montaldo) for
his kind interest in the affairs of Point
.Coupee He has proposed measures that
have relieved me OF the necessity OF offering
| the same. The interest he has taken is en-
hanced by the motives which it is well
known actuate the gentleman His lofty
| patriotism and freedom from party spirit is
manifest in his desire to have the wards of
this city represented By hi. present friends.
Mr.. Decker rose to question of privilege.
His remarks vii. IL. found in full! N the
minutes
Mr. Davidson offered substitute for the
fuading bill, but the House refused to .efer
1t TO the cOmmittee.
Ga motion Of air. Young. tbs Houss re.
| solved itself into Committee of the whole TO
| consider the fuodins bill. Mr. Mathew. bein.
| ia TIE chair.
MIR. Allaip. sf:e: the reading o: the ,,s:
! section. said;
| The measure was :ue cause OF the peo-
| pie; it demands the closes. attention and
| III ature deliberation. tor its aim is to relieve
| the State of a large proportion of taxation,
and place the finances on sound basis.
| The bill has been drawn with great care
i! and profound foresight. The Senate bill
! was very good one, but its trainers forgot
| that such bills must OH ginate in this House.
| The bill before the committee proposes to
| convert our Indebtedness into 81 5000, 900 of
bonds, payable forty years from January l
| 1874, with interest at seven per cent This
! will give US forty years to pay our
! debt in, during which time our State will
| increase hundred fold in prosperity. The
trainers of the bill have carefully guarded
against fraud and malversation. Every
provision has been made that there shall be
10 jobberv or malfeasance IN respect to the
new issue of bonds as they can only be
used by the board Of control in exchange
The payment of the interest is provided
for by a tax of five mills, which is set apart
for this and no other purpose. The present
| tax is twenty-One and half mills, but this
bill provides that it shall never exceed
thirteen mills. which is a saving of thirty
three per cent PEI annum. The bill pro-
! vides for the destruction of the outstanding
| bonds as received in exchange. Severe
| penalties are provided for any violation
! or obstruction of the provisions of this act.
| Each provision Of the act is declared to be
| contract between the State and the hold
era OF the bonds. Never has there been a
document displaying more legal ingenuity
for the protection of both State and cred;-
tor, and giving SO perfect and entire securi-
ty. The bill provides all lapsed grants shall
be repuu'ateu' anu tIdt inc olate dtDt shall
never be moro than Sl5,000,000 until
tho year 1914. The bill is d signal
proof Of the Salsity Of che charges
tha: the Republican party is a band of pub
lie plunderers, and that this House i,
ac,ua sed solely with view to its own az
| grandizement. In it are all the elements of
our future prosperity. 1t will be taken as
an earnest by the people that the Republi-
can pledge OF economy has been redeemed.
lnd rirr:- afoI
Governor Kellogg, because when in 1872
the majority OF the people voted for him
they believed llis administration would
redeem the State from the pangs of exha us
| .ion and depletion tha. she suffered under.
| When this measure becomes a la ", peace
will reign supreme in our beloved State
advocate this measure because am native
of Louisiana: because l love her soil. her
people. and the constitution of my country.
aud believe it will bring about and pro.
mote the mutual good feeling which I
long TO see permanently established in our
State. Aside from the manifest justice of
this law. there - paramount reason for
advocating il: the interest o: the people.
regardless OF nationalites and politi-
cal sympatnies. demand it. When this
measure passes. the bank. of the river
vii! be whitened with cotton. the levee.
sweetened with sugar. printing presses
will multiply. and schoOihoUses be
established in every ward in our eoun-
try parishes: then viii the pure gospel of
peace and good vii! 10 men be preached in
every church and yracticsd in every family,
and then will Louisiana become wha. she
ought to be--thc garden spot Of America;
then shal! we stand together. shoulder to
shoulder, and exclaim. Happy, happy.
proud louisiana thine is the higher law.
and thine Che consecrate1 home of liberty
Mr.. Mu-rell. Of Madison. gave the bill hi.
hearty support. IN the course Of mis- re-
marks he called attention 20 discrepancy
o! $4,000 between the reports Of the Audi
tor and Treas !re,. and called ;ov - expla
nation.
IIr. Allan in the cha;rl
The committee proceeded to consider .ie
bill in detail.
The first section was amended by striking g
out the chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee aud o: that Of the House On
! Ways and Means.
Mr.. Davidson offered two sections az a
substitute for the first section. His amend.
| men: Tecited the several acts making rail.
road appropriations and repealed them. lie
| spoke for some time on the amendments.
Mr.. Gair saij
i. seemed to him there was something IN
! derneath all this - defeat the bill. He
urged members 20 abandon their personal
! prejudices and give the bill calm con
| sideration, and not propose frivolous
amendments At present it was an impOssi-
bility for people to prosecute their business
| Capitalists could not buy plantations be-
| cause it was detriInent to own land at the
! rafo of pfx--n a,l hn1f mill Of 70
ton. They could do better by receiving
interest, by depositing it in the bank,
| and thar was the reason why there
I were so many unemployed men in this city.
| Our time ought not to be flibustered away
in frivolous amendments His friend from
Livingston had passed many honorable
years in the public service. His head was
whitened with the frosts of age. 1t might
| be said, without Offense, that but little
| time remained for him to act with US. He
| hoped to have seen a more magnanimOus
| spirit in him, and not see him oppose a
measure that all the newspapers, all the
| people, and even the children were stretch
| ing out their hands for.
Mr.. Murrell. of Lafourche. here objected
to personalities, but on receiving The as
eurancs pf the Chair :ha: Mr.. Davidson
| was being euiogfzed. and observing that The
latter seemed to sathes like it. subsidized.
SIR. Gair proceeded. When the Repub.
lican party came into power IN 1868, every
levee was down. no tax was collected, and
the State staggered under deot she could
not support. The party has now to meet
those who created that debt in opposition
in these measures Of reform, because they
are not willing the Republican party should
have the credit of doing more for the good
of the State IN six years than they had ever
done. He urged all who knew the condi-
tion of the country and the burden of tax