The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-04-23
THE SUBSTITUTE CITY RELIEF BILL.

Tne BULLETIN presented on Thursda
morning an analysis Of the original bill if
the relief the city. Hon. L. A. Wiltz, Chail
man Of the Committee on City Affairs, n
ported for his committee on that bill ~ sur
stitute, Which was passed in the House apr
22d, with some amendments.
/. The first section Of the bill author re
the City Council to sell, lease or hypoth ecat
all property of the city, real and personal, It
revenues and franchises, except revenue
from taxes; the proceeds Of such sales an
leases to be applied to the debt OF the city
and no: to current expenses.
9. Special authority is given to lease or sci
for forty years the Water Works, on terms a
the discretion Of the Council, payable in cash
bonds, legal obligations and overdue cou
pons, t he purchaser to be any person or per
sons, or any body corporate now in existence
or to be hereafter organized.
3. In payment Of price Of such sales, or thu
obligations growing out of them, the City
Council may receive bonds and obligations
matured or unmatured, at par.
4. The City Council is authorized, with the
consent of any of the city's creditors, to ar
range, adjust, compromise, iquidate or ex'
tend any Of her obligations, matuzed or un-
ma.ured, funded or floating, and to contract,
agree, arrange, transact and compromise with
her creditors for the exchange, substitution
or exte nsion of her tbligations as we'll for in
terest as for principal.
8. All debts or obligations for which the
city is liable, or which she has assumed, or
which have been imposed upon her, are to
be embraced in this bill, and the floating
debt is declared to embrace all unbonded OBJ
legations Of the city which are demandable
and overdue, including overdue coupons on
bonds.
6. Any company for the purchase Of city
property may organize under the provisions
Of the Revised Statutes concerning manu-
featuring and other business corporations for
q term Of forty year..
z. The act takes effect from date of its
passage and repeats inconsistent laws
The provisions Of the original bill as to q
Board of L;quidators and as to the issue of
q new series of bonds are omitted in the sub
stitute. The bill as passed in the House
makes no mention of the bonds and debts of
Jefferson and Carrollton, which come under
the general classification of debts imposed,
etc.
The bill contains no provision as to Especial
or other debt lax for interest or for paying
my part Of the principal Of the funded bebt.
The substitute bill does not fix limit to the
debt Of the city, nor relieve the Mayor and
Council from the penalties imposed by law
for failing to levy interest taxes, nor fix the
rate Of tax for city purposes, nor
exempt any bonds or property from tax.
1t is the purpose of the substitute bill to
separate the objects Of the original bill by
providing first for the lease or sale of city
property, and especially Of the Water Works,
in exchange for city bonds and obligations
The matter Of refunding and scaling the city
debt is reserved for seporat e and subsequent
bill. the two objects being essentially different
and not dependent one upon the other.
If, by the lease or sale Of corporate prop
'rty, the city fails to materially reduce her
iebt, then the process of issuing new bonds
With scaled interest will become necessary un-
ess some better plan is devised.