New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-03-04

said duties shall be performed imnaedi
ately thereafter by the commission of
persons appointed under act No. q of the
session of 1871. ratifying and confirming a
contract between the State and the Louis
rama Levee Company, approved February
~, 1871, and the reports and certificates
made by said commission of persons shall
have the same force and effect as though
made by the joint committee herein pro-
vided for"
Section three provides "that 1t shall be
the duty of the board of liquidation created
by act No. 3 of the session Of 1871, approved
January "a, 1874, upon the presentation to
them OF a report and certificate made as
prescribed in the preceding sections OF this
set, and of a demand made in person or in
writing by the president of the Louisiana
Levee Company, to issue and deliver n suffi-
Gent number Of the consOlid ated bonds
of the State Of Louisiana Of the de-
nomination and descriptions prescribed
in the act creating said board OF
liquidation 10 cover the Indebtedness OF the
State to said company as ascertained in the
manner herein described"
The sections above quoted assume that
the Louisiana Levee Company is a creditor
Of the State, and that its claims against toe
State can be legally met by the issue of
consolidated bonds under the funding law.
l am advised that the Supreme Court has
expressly decided that the Levee Company
:s not, and can not bo a creditor OF the
State; that the State has created no debt in
favor OF that company, and has assumed no
responsibility on its account. l I'm further
advised that the terms of act No. 3, ap-
proved January 81, 1874, known Us the
funding bill, and of the constitutional
amendments adopted in connection there
with, expressly prohibit the issue of con.
/ SCli1afAd hnnda FIR onv oNCh y,fyrNOan a.
that set forth ia this act.
Section three of the funding bill provides
that the bonds authorized by this act "shall
be exchanged by the board of liquidation
for all valid outstanding bonds of the State
and all valid warrants drawn previous to
the passage of this act" warrants OF con.
stitutional officers alone excepted). Section
five Of the same act provides that the con
sol,dated bonds herein authorized shall be
held and used by said board Of liquidation
only for the purpose of exchange as afore.
said"
The first amendment to the constitution,
adopted at the last election, enacts that "the
issue of consolidated bonds authorized BY
the General Assembly Of the State at its
regular session in the year 1874, as afOre-
said, is hereby declared to create a valid
contract between the State and each and
every holder OF said bonds, which the State
shall by ne means and in no wise impair.
1t seems to me that the adoption OF the act
now under consideration wOuld impair this
contract. the debt which the joint commit
tee Of the General Assembly, created by
this act, may certify to have been due the
Levee Company on the first of October,
1873, and which the funding board upon
their certificate are required to fund by the
issue of consolidated bonds under act No.
3 of 1874, can not be considered as "valid
outstanding bonds of the State, or valid
warrants drawn previous to the passage of
this act ii. g., the funding law|, inasmuch
as up to the presen: time neither bonds
nor warrants have been issued for this
alleged Indebtedness, which remains still
to be ascertained by the mode prescribed in
this bill. 1t will further be noticed, that
while all other State creditors are required
by the funding bill to fuud their obliga-
tons at sixty cents on the dollar, the con-
solidated bonds to be issued in liquidation
of the Indebtedness to the Levee Company
are to be- issued at par, thus placing the
company, with this unascertained indebted
ness. in a much more advantageous position
than the holders of the most sacred bonds
Of the State. 1t appears to me that to
authorize the funding in this manner of
such obligations, amounting, as l am
credihly informed they will do, to
81 ,0O0, 900 or more. would be a greet injus-
tice to tho holders of both old and new
obligations of the State, and a palpable
infringement of the constitutional amend
ment, which provides distinctly what
obligations of the State the new ~consoli-
dated bonds shall be issued for. and creates
a valid contract between the State and
each and every holder of said consolidated
bonds, which the State is prohibited from
impairing,
WILLIAM p. KELLOGG,
Governor.
Mr. Whitney moved that the bill now
finally pass. the veto of the Governor to
the contrary notwithstanding.
The President ordered the roll to be
called, and stated that all those who de-
sired to pass the bill, the veto to the con-
tray. would vote yea; those to the contrary
would vote nay.
Yeas--Ailain, Blackburn. Blunt, Breaux, |
Burch, Cage, Chadbourn, Crozier. Ola,
Harper, Herwig, Kelly, helso,
Landry. Mascot, Pollard. Stamps, Steven,
TWitchell, Weber, Whitney, Young-23.
Nays-Dumont, Grover, Ogden. Robert
SON.. White-5.
Acknowledgements. Anderson, Brewster, |
Detiege, Eustis, George. Sypher, Wharton
8.
Before the vote was announced On the
veto Of the levee bill, Mr..
Brewster, Of Ouachita, arose and asked
leave to record his vote in the negative.
WhereupOn Senator Harper, Of Caddo, |
the point of order that the Senator |
from Ouachita was not within the bar when
the question vas put by the Chair. |
The President decided the point of order
well taken.
The President declared that the bill hav
ing passed tie House, the veto of the Gov
9rnor to the contrary notwithstanding, by |
two-thirGs vote, and it now having passed
the Senate by a two-thirds vote, the veto of
he Governor to the contrary notwithstand-
he then declared the bill had become a
aw.
Mr.. Young moved to adjourn till to.mor-
row a. ten o'clock.
Two Senators called for the yeas and
The Senate refused as follows:
Yeas-Allain, Burch, Chadbourn, Detiege.
Kelly, Ogden, Robertson, Steven,
White, Ioung-ll.
Nays-Blackburn. Blunt, Breaux, Brews-
Jer, Crozier, Dumont, Ola. Greene, Harper,
Ierwig, kelso, Landry. Masicot, Pollard,
Twitchell, Weber, Whitney-la.
Absent - Alexander. Anderson, Cage,
iustis, George, Sypher, WHARTON.
Mr.. Brewster called up the following:
House bill No. liz, to be entitled a Joint
changing the venue in the cases
# tho State against d. j. w. A. Jewett
nd Edgar Seelye, now pending in the
District Court for the parish of
Jackson. for forcibly and feloniously siez-
ng aud removing, from one part Of the