New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-07-03
WHOM DO THEY REPRESENT ?

The course of our corporate Admins
traitors seems of rather equivocal justice
The property holders demand that tn
Council shall subject the validity OF tn
city obligations to something like thu
same scrutiny as that to which the State
obligations have been submitted. 1
would appear that any taxpayer OF bond
holder might secure the same thing b.
making the question before the courts
and it would be an awkward position tina
the Council should stand as plaintiff and
| defendant in the same case and q: the
| same bar.
| The Council seems thus saf &c have
turned an Indifferent ca: to the request o.
the property holders. Cur columns teen
with advertisements Of property adver'
tised by the civil sheriff in paymen. o,
city taxes. The Counci! needs this money
to pay running expenses, and the cffsces
will be entitled to his commissions.
There seems. then, no anxiety or the
par. of the Council to relieve these i'm
! pertant and embarrassed interests. which
! thus appeal 70, its assistance.
There are certain par.ies-to us tn
known-who hold the obligations Of the
! city, payable. as is claimed. cu: Of the
revenues Of the wLa.ves.
There are other parties-cs whom we are
likewise ignorant who hold the obliga.
tons of the city entitled to pay for the
Waterwerks. once the property 0: com.
pany.
There has been - sale Of the right 20
tax the consumption Of fresh provisions
by the people Of New Orleans This
right Of indirect taxation is held BY Ger.
tain lessees unknown to US likewise.
While the City Council! has manifested
no disposition TO relieve the property
holders by favorins an investigation Of the
legal obligation OF the city debt there
has been an extra ordinary alacrity TO pre-
fer and take care of the holders Of certain
city obligations by conveying to them the
use Of the most valuable and productive
property over which the city has control
This has been manifested in the zeal with
which the Council has pressed the con.
tracts for lease Of the wharves, and the
activity of the same body in disposing Of
the birth right to water in monop-
oily. The same fidelity to corpor-
ate obligations has impelled the pu,-
suit Of persons who have dared to con-
vey meat and other edibles elsewhere than
to the leased markets IS was their liege
and bounden duty to have done. Why
the Council should have refused the in
vestigation into the pas: management of
the wharves in order to determine whether
they could be made self-supporting was
deemed singular. When this precipitate
action was followed by the acceptance of
ready drawn documents with an instanta-
neous order for immediate delivery Of the
leased wharyes, even before a court could
expedite the service Of process 70 arrest
the contract, it was sufficient to raise
question OF motive which the Mayor and
Council should hasten 20 explain 70 q sus.
picious public. A suspension Of iuteges. |
on all the corporate bonded debt |
is inevitable. Why this extraordinary |
anxiety to secure some debts Of the same
class? Messrs. Leeds and his cabinet |
IN effect say this to the public I
creditor. "We can no. pay the in:eres:
On our bonded debt on the first Of July"
They whisper at the the same time to
certain holders Of bonded debt, we are
nsolvent as to others, but We can secure
you. We offer no compromise to general
'ondholders except to give them tickets
n their own lottery, bu: we will convey to
'ou good property, paying well. and cer-
ain to iquidate your debt, !
Suppose any merchant indebted under
imilar circumstances. lie goes to pro-
est, shows balance sheet in which his
liabilities exceed his means. The general
reditor is coolly RENTED to the relief OF
he law. The special friend is taken af-
eetionately into his mercantile closet, the
afe is unlocked. and the confidential
reditor is delivered securities ample for
Of payment. This is the legal
'osition Of the Council, yet the refusal to
elieve the property holders, the declare.
ion of inability 10 pay the general
lebt, and the attempt to smuggle-we
ave no other word appropriate to the
ransaction-public property liable to the |
eneral creditor, and deliver it to satisfy
pecial obligations among the general OBJ
igations. is even less defensible than
hat Of the merchant as supposed. Why?
Because this administration is not respon-
IDLE for the creation Of these debts they
tand Hqlopede, ali on the same basis.
The administration is trustee for the
quail and uniform payment or protest of
II. The merchant may have confidential
reditors to whom he is under especial
nd personal obligations Of honor. the
Common Council can have 10 such OBJ
cations to prefer one public creditor to
mother.
There is evidently preparing that feast
f the law harpies which the battle
f public and private interests invariably
Can "the forbearance of the
ublic creditor" so pathetically invoked
y the minister of finance. be expected
hen the property Of citizens is sold by
ha colnmn rndar q Law which cr;ror a |