The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-09-13
THE TRUE ISSUE.

THE TRUE ISSUE.
In the several questions submitted to
the City Attorney Tuesday In relation
10 the Sugar Shed question by the City
Council, that body. we think. has omit
ted that one which lies at the bottom Of
the controversy. The amount Of the
charges imposed by the Sugar Shed
Company on sugar, and the several
other points touched by the interroga-
tories Of the Council, are certainly not
without great Importance to the public;
but, after all, they are of secondary
interest. The real question to be de-
termined, and upon which the Council
must act, II 1t acts In accordance with
the will OF the people and the interests
or the city and State. Is that one which
our correspondent Brutus." In his
letter In another column, first pro-
pounds, ibid tho Council that expropri-
ated the public levee to the private use
OF company, and to the exclusion of
the public, have the right to do SOP"
The matter Of charges upon sugar
affects In q measure our commercial In
terests. yet 1t may be influenced by COM
petition or ordinary legislation. But
the other questionable right of city
council or OF a Legislature to expropri-
ate the public property and grant ex.
elusive privileges to corporations or In
dividuals touches the foundations. not
only OF free, but Of all good govern
ment, and thereby every public and
private interest Of the community.
The worst and most iniquitous her
itage Radicalism has left the people Of
this city and State are the monopolies
10 created In the heyday OF It's power,
and In the support of which 1t has inter-
ested and enlisted 30 many OF our own
people. The policy Of creating monop-
olies has cursed every generation and
impoverished every country that has
ever adopted Ii. This policy was at one
time adopted by Elizabeth of England,
and carried out until all the interests Of
the kingdom were Frustrated. and the
people were on the very verge Of rev.
olution. We commend to the perusal Of
our public servants the noble utterances
OF Bollingbroke on the evils produced
by this system. Referring to 1t, Hume in
his history OF Elizabeth's reign says :
at engaged the queen to erect patents
for exclusive trade. an invention 30 per-
nicious. that had she gone on during a
tract OF years &C her own rate. England,
the seat OF riches, and arts and CON-
merce, would have contained at pres
cnt as little industry as Morocco. or the
coast OF Barbary."
But Elizabeth, though an imperious
princess, was wise and patriotic queen,
and when the Commons of England pre-
scented to her their protest against the
pernicious and oppressive system, as
the people OF Louisiana are now pro-
testing to the Legislature and the Coun-
Gil Of New Orleans against it, she
promptly and in the most gracious
manner cancelled the grievous and
obnoxious patents. Her wisdom recog-
nized the existence Of the monopolies
and grants OF special privileges she
had created as oppressive to the coun-
try, and her courage and patriotism
prompted her to strike them down.
The concessions OF Elizabeth to the de-
mands Of her people for the abrogation
OF monopolies is the most glorious
event In her glorious reign, and shows
her to have been wise and great
sovereign.
Under the carpet-bag governments es.
tablished by the bayonet in the South,
the system of munopolies was instituted
here, and has done more to depress our
trade and industries than all the taxa
tion and thieving the scalawags and
carpet baggers were guilty Of, and un-
less it is now destroyed, root and
branch. by the Legislature and the City
Council. this State. the natural seat OF
wealth, agriculture and commerce, will
in time, in the language Of Hume,
contain ''as little industry as Morocco,
or the coast Of Barbary." Certainly
the City Council of New Orleans in
1877 ought to have as clear and COM
prehensive knowledge of the evils Of