The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-08-14
THE DRAINAGETAX MATTER.
The Tax in the Second Drainage
District Barred by Prescription.


The following comm unication contains
some very important and interesting facts in
regard to the drainage tax. The document
has been carefully prepared by Mr.. Pascoe,
and laid before the Property Holders Union
of the Thirteenth Ward:
5~ New ORLEANS, Aug. IA. 1875.
To the Property Holders Union of the Thirteenth
Ward: re tta ~ sit.
Gendemea-In reply to your inquiries con-
corning the drainage tax in the Second Dfaia-
ing District comprising the late cities OF JEFF
ferson and Carrollton, and extending from the
river to the lake), I would respectfully state
that the act creating the Board of Draining
Commissioners and providing for the levee-
ing, draining and retaining of swamp lands
in certain portions of the parishes of Orleans
and Jefferson, was passed by the General As
sembly of the STATE of Louisiana, and ap-
proved March Is. 1868.
The;several acts supplemental to the above,
approved respectively the 18th March, 1852
17th March, 1853. 14th March, 1860, LIST
March, 1851, and 28th June, 1867, provides
for the building of protection levee, the is
suing of bonds by said board, the making out
Ol aLuu1I eStiLuaIo5 VI tUo dmOuuG required
to construct, keep up and maintain said
assessme tents, the reduction of draining INSTALL
ments from ten to eight The act OF June
28th, 1857, provides that no further issue Of
bonds shall be made by the Commissioners Of
the Second Draining District.
Act No. 80, approved February 81, 1871,
entitled can act to provide for the drainage
of New Orleans" repeats all of the foregoing
&C IS, and transfers to the Board of Admins
traitors of the city of New Orleans all moneys,
unpaid asse ssments in the several draining
districts, titles, plans books, judgments, etc,
in favor of said Board of Draining Commits
sioners, and subrogates the Board of City Ad-
illustrators to ell the r:gl. e. powers and priv
ileges possessed and enjoyed by the Board of
Commissioners of the several drainage dis
tricts, and authorizes them to collect the bal
snce due on draining assessments. Said col.
lections to be placed to the credit of the "Mis-
sissippi and Mexican Gulf Ship Canal Oom-
pany," and held as q fund to be applied to
the drainage Of New Orleans and Carrollton.
The several acts above referred to did not
grant to said Board of Commissioners, extra
ordinary powers Or privileges, they were to
perform certain work for which they were to
be psid by the property holders, in the shape
of direct tax levied for that purpose; and to
secure the payment of which the Law gave
them first lien and privilege on all property
within the district to be drained. The laws
of this State provides for the manner OF pre-
serving privileges by recordation in the Mort
gage Office of the parish in which the priv.
ilege exists. ~ , li1 VS.
The Board Of Commissioners for the Second
Drainage District never recorded their priv
leges in the Office of the Recorder of Jeffer-
son parish. On the 1l,h of January, 1861,
they simply deposited or left in said office
books purporting to contain the names of
landed proprietors in this district, with de-
scription of property aud the area in super
fetal feet. This was done for the reason that
they could not agree with Mr.. Commagere (then
as to his fees for recording same,
and were not willing to pay the rates under
the fee bill.
The law id force at that time required the
Recorders in the several parishes throughout
he Safe to keep three books OF record in the
70 ortgage Office the first, in which to record
Ill acts from which resulted conventional
u legal mortgage or privilege, the secoud
% record all Judicial mortgages, the third to
record donations which have to undergo
hat formality, these three books to be signed
' Ne Yarietur," on the first and last pages by
he Judge of the District or two Justices
If the peace for the parish. Art. 1850 and
1853, Old G. @. - ,3if'i
The act creating the Board of Draining
never repealed this law. nor
lid it provide for the Authorization of the
books purporting to contain draining privi-
eyes, deposited in said mortgage Office
Consequently the number and kind of books
being limited by law, no other books, whe Their
,ept by the Recorder in his official capacity
" deposited in his Office by other parties,
Gould become authentic books OF record.
In April, 1861, q decree was rendered in |
he Third Judicial District Court (uow the |
'econd) in the matter of the Board of Com |
nissioners Of the Second Draining District.
praying for decree of mortgage and privil-
riot, Judge r. K. Howell presiding, in place |
# Judge Burthe, Reused, which said decree
vas duly recorded in the mortgage Office of
he parish of Jefferson on the 29th day of 1
April, 1861; and no transcription of this judy
nent was ma le until the 12.h diy of Decem-
'er, l871-tsn years, seven months and sew
nteen days after the first inscription.
1t is very plain that the Board of Commits
toner's in the Second Draining District have
cen guilty of ldcles in having allowed the
prescription of ten years to run against their
lain, and they ale to-day. together with
hose subrogated to their rights, debsrred
nder the statute of limitation from collect
ng prescribed debt
l. is my opinion that the the collection of
raining taxesiu the Second Draining District
dead letter, on, the grounds and for the
essons stated, that the privileges upon which
aid decree was based had no existence, never
aving been recorded; that prescription of
N years has extinguished the claim, and
nat no legal transcription OF the decree was
YER made at the time and in the manner
ointed out by law. These hold to be good
nd suffi sient reasons why refusal Of the
ayment of this tax should be made.
Very respectfully,
VIM. r. PAscoE, Notary,
% Carondelet street
The dungeon, the stocks and the horse are
az h. rata i