New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-02-18

made up, IN part. .ot. the f,llovh~3
NJ. %, Decean st; 1865, for levee ~. ~
bonds, 81, 000, 900. which were sold f~p
they wodld brfng-at about thirtssnnN
cents on the dollar; act No. lis. III -
100000; oct No. 80 1870, IS, GOO, OOo: ~. r.
the relief Of 2. J. Kennedy. 1874 OOo: SIe
ing that in the short space of avs ~
r. TO-" ~ lS s 70 1870 the levees Sss.
The committee finds that there ar. -.
EARLY comprised within the general ~
system the parishes of Ascension, 1.."e
ton, East Baton Rouge, West Baton ~
lonly partially, Carroll, Concordiar
vile, Jefferson, LsfOurcbe, Nadia. n.
leans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupe. 81
nard, st. Charles, st. James, St. 'IoS,
Mary. Tensss and Terrebonne, besidss -
parishes ON Ouachita river and in ~ ~.
river district, which may be said to no...as
each q separate local system, and vh.sl
population can not be COMMENSURATE ~
etitted by belng subject to An identidsss.;aal
with the main or e neral sys' em.
And the COMMITTEES are of the opph,
that the levying of the three mill leyes -
upon the parishes Of Benville, Bos.;.l
Caddo, NatchitOches, Red River. Co.
Rapides and AvOyelles, naturally sltus.S
within q system different from the MI.
sippi river district or sy stem, ia ineout.S
and unjust, and the committee have ~.
to the same conclusion in regard IN n.
parishes OF Cald well, Catahoula. NJ rshor..
Ouachita. Rlchland aud Union a. natnrsiI
comprised with the Ouachita district !
system. The general plan has been incos
Plete and nadequate-alt0gether diam.
Fortunate to tho amount of taxat;~ :
contributed by them. winch enur.
chiefly to the benefit OF twenty psrishs.
within the main district or systsm
In fact. in various parts of the Ouachit.
and Red river parishes, in the parsS
of CaIahOula, for instance, not one fonrN
of the pari-h is subject to overflow, and n
that one-fourth not one-fifth is CLEARED
land, and Of the cleared land perhaps nct
more than three fOurths is or can ba cnlt;'
waited on account of the paucity of Donn.
lation and that lack Of the element q.
productive industry that pervades thu
country, and for the greater period ~
the present generation must continue IA
exist And in such parishes it would b. II
equitable snd improper even to subiect tha
entire parish to levee tax.
The doctrine OF even indirect bena6t
inuring to the whole community, parish and
State, by legislation and taxation in favor
OF local and partial interest or communi
ties, is at best of questionable legality.
&Ao w VDo RoA AS0 Va OIlCoub, LILO lov0en
now in existence are for the greater part Of
such substantial character, and their main.
continually insured by the REQUIRE
ments of our commerce, 80 that she ia CON.
PEELED to- maintain and care tor, and don
her own, in greater part, without
upon the State for protection.
As she contributes the three mills levee tsx
upon her whole assessment of about &I25.
300, 900, against the assessment of about
e75, 0OO, 900 Of property in all the other pa1.
shes, being in the proportion of near two
thirds. the city is compelled to pay about
two thirds OF the entire levee tax of the
State.
Again, the parish of Orleans is compelled
% pay two levee taxes. or is taxed twice for
me and the same purpose under certain
avs regulating the leveeing and drainage
If the city OF New Orleans, which, though
1no wn as the drainage lave, yet comprise
he leveeing xs we'll of the parish of Or.
cans. The laws referred to are the scts
No. les of fifteenth March. 1858, an act To-
provide for the leveeing and drainage and
swamp lands in certain portions
If the parishes of Orleans and j, fferson.
md the acts of fourteenth and seventeenth.
darch, 1859, and the act to provide for the
drainage OF New Orleans, of February, No.
70 Of 1871, under which laws the properties
re compelled to submit to special tax of
wo mills for every superficial foot, and
cen years to the extent of q, 1872. 593 81,
7hich, with the 81 Get, 400 of gold bouda,
rainage series, in the mean while issued.
makes an aggregate of % S58 1893 81, or
early $4,000, 600 put upon the parish of Or
sans for leveeiDg and drainage purposes,
7hich ID amply sufficient to have leveed and
rained the city and to have absolved the
arlsh from levee taxes for manv years to.
ome. And the city therefore pays annually
bout 1919 900 toward levee building and
maintenance, when one-tenth or one-twen--
eth of that amount would protect her
mits. The nine-tenths, or $500. 900, she
Hys tor suppositious indirect benefit re-
slved from the increased crops of the
s'enty parishes. The consideration is too
direct to form the basis of direct taxation
r the purposes.
Your committee find that one of the great
It burdens in the past aud the greatest in
10 future, in the m after of oppressive tax
ion, is attributable to the vain effort to
eep up the present levee system. We have
lown that great portion of the existing
late debt has been caused by the present
stem, and that one oppressive tax to-day
nd for the immediate future is the levee
x. being three mills on about 5000 ,000, 600
aggregate country and city assesementa,
$6OO, 900 per .annum for levee purposes
one.
In this connection We think proper to
1Ote the expression of State Engineer
thompson. In order to show the utter in
of the means of the State 20 the
of the general system of levee.
e:
This shows that since the war the State
~ paid $lO,070, 609 for Is, $50, 0S7 cubic
ards of levees, showing an average of
Co., 600 of cubic yards per year, and this
Ill be the average forever, never mind
hO pays for it."
Now, remember this is the expenditure
J shown on the engineers books, and the
scount on bonds, tho enormous interest
aid and all other expenses and contin-
'ncles have to be added to the dollar
'lumn.
In fact, the letter and estimates of Octo-
er Is, 1875, from the commission of engi
eers shows $50, 900 cubic yards for the sea-
N OF 1856, tor the twenty one parishes
Ascension, Avoyellus, East Baton Rouge,
est Baton Rouge. Bossier. ca dwell, Car
III, COncoIdia, Iberville, j tferson, La
urche, Madison, Orleans. Ouachita river
strict, PIaquemines, Polnte Coupee,
apldts. RED River, st. James, st. John
~o'.S"S tiOoNlUS out oV' DCIudTU anu
J. Charles), amounting. at half dollar
10 cubic yard. to $4l0,23o, 1.-The same be-
g reduction from the lists already trans
tilted on account of limit alton o. tax col.
cited for levee purposes" which signifies
IT the amount of work required aud essen
81, but only in part, or just 80 much as can
paid for to the extent of the utmost
Mount that can be distrained from all the
,pulatiOn of the State.
Then this demand upon the taxpayers
$4,000. in addition to tie amount that
yet to be wrung from them for uncol-
cted levee taxes of the preceding years,
not accompanied with any assurance of
election or any pretense that the levee
i'll be put up. for the Bonnet Care Gre
use . is not to be presently restored;
ither the Levee Company Mr. the State
opose to even partially reconstruct it.
'rroll parish is also completely subject to
9 river above in Chicot cnuntv Arkansas