The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1877-11-30

petition. A prominent farmer livinga
few miles belows.rrenton On the west
bank Of the river was In town last Sat-
uulay. He read our article in your last
issue, and remarked to q friend of ours
ti-lt he had signed the petition for a
free ferry, but stl,at@he was going to
Monroe and have his name erased. He
said if the Monroe ferry was made
for one dollar n year, and that the tax
payers would lose an annual revenue
derived from the two ferries of about
1920. We say to the Monroe mer-
chants, you may as we'll quit hood
winking country folks; you do not
help US support the parish government,
our parish taxes are already ten mills,
and we are not able to give you the
5000 per annum that this matter would
cost US, even if u Trenton merchant
does put an embargo upon your trade.
But let US examine this matter in q
legal sense. Many years before the
war the ferries were under the control
of the State, but the Legislature for
some reason turned them over to the
parishes, with the express enactment
that the ferries should be advertised
and let out at auction to the highest
bidder, at the court house door, once
every four years. We contend that i,
would be unlawful for the Police Jury
to donate or sell the ferry, or lease il
privately. It must be let out to the
highest bidder at public cutlery. The
Police Jury is the creature OF the Legis-
lature, from whence it derives all its
authority, and any act performed by
its members, not expressly delegated, il
So1. .fnfs SHnt
The law plainly says how the ferries
shall be let out, and the Police Jury
cannot do otherwise than lease them to
the highest bidder at public cutlery.
We say to the merchants of Monroe, do
not deceive yourselves with the false
idea that the Police Jury will donate
this ferry to you, or that the people
will vote it to you, Or that you can get
it at Il private sale or lease. Such pro-
ceedings would be illegal, and would
not stand the test of an injunction. Ii
you want the Monroe ferry, you must
lease it at public auction and pay the
parish for it. No one objects to your
leasing the ferry and running it in the
interest of your trade, and if you had
said nothing about getting the Monroe
ferry donated to you, our pen would
have been silent on this subject.
Since writing the above, Monroe
correspondent of the Electric Letter, in
its issue of yesterday, attacks us under
the nom de Plume of Pro Bono Publico.
Instead OF his signing himself Pro
Bono Publico, would it not have been
more appropriate to have signed Pro
Bono Monroe: We certainly think
50. We have neither the time nor
space to take an extended view of this
communication, but for fear this may
to taken for Il RECITATION Of our letter
we may have occasion to, make some
remarks upon it in Il subsequent issue
Of your paper. This correspondent says
that every name which has been signed
to their petition has been placed there
after an attentive reading and intelli-
gent consideration of the subject mat
tor. 1t is notorious that this is not the
case. We have met several men, be-
guiled into signing the petition, who
now say that their names must come
of that they signed it with the idea
that Monroe would make a free ferry,
and that it would not cost the tax
payers anything. He seems to think
that the Monroe ferry will lease for 1,
very insight ficant sum, but tell you
now that whoever leases this ferry will
have to dance to the tune OF at least
$1,000 a year. We intend to see that
this ferry is advertised and let out ut
public cutlery, as the law directs, and
all must have chance to bid. He
says Monroe has far stronger claims
upon the people than Trenton that
her representative men have struggled
hard for their people, and that she has
borne many honorable scars. 1 sup
pose you refer to the late political cam
paign. Yes, you struggled, but 1t was
always Il struggle not to pay any money
nor do any work in the canvass. Well
DO remember the night when the
negroes were on the march to burn and
sack your city you furnished two
men and Trenton Il whole company to
defend your lives and property. These
arc some of the honorable scars that
you bear.