The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1877-03-03
A Good Veto.

The veto by Governor Nichols Q
a bill granting leave to an emancipa
ted minor to practice before tn
Courts of the State is a lesson il
principle our legislators would d
well to heed.
If we mistake not the "Compro
mise House, introduced a constitu
tional amendment prohibiting spe
cial legislation, except at cost t.
the individual to whom benefit wonl'
accrue thercfrom. Legislators ar
public servants, paid q stipulated
salary to transact specific bu
sincss, and when they 2" outside o
that business to indulge in gratifyin!
the whims of individuals, or advance
their interests, they are neylecting the
public and tranScending their duties
The Constitutional Amendment II
which VIC refer, was sound In princi
pie, and for that reason a decent res
poet for public opinion, if nothing
else, should have actuatcd an obscr.
vance of that principle, whether the
law was there to force them to observe
it or not.
We conceive that no honest man
will doubt the wisdom of such a Con
stitutional Amendment which would
prohibit all kinds of class legislation,
especially when this wisdom is made
moro apparent after what Louisiana
and her material interests have snf-
fcred from too free indulgence in
that vicious species of legislation ;
such being the ease, why should it be
necessary to have such cnactments as
would force the observance of the
principles Of tight and justice
We are panied to see even a spirit
to do a thing known to be wrong in
principle, because there happens to
be no statutory enactment prohibiting
it, manifested by our legislators, es-
pccially when they were elected to
TO just the contrary.
We were not severe upon our City
COVER nment last week, as many sup
pose if we were, such was not our
intention. What we said then was
to the effect that no government could
exist financially, that worked on
promises to pay. 1t has been tried
often enough to convince any rea-
sonab|e being of its after futiity, aud
axioms to the contrary stand out IN
bold relief on every page of every
work on political economy.
Some of :our friends saw; "Wby,
you were in favor of the DeVargas
plan, of the collection of one half of
the licenses and taxes in cash, and
the other half in City paper" Such
is undoubtedly trne, but the cliugjuy
to the DeEargas plan nou is anoth-
er lesson unfortunately taught by
"Natchitoches Philosophers" When
Mr.. DeVargas recommended his plan,
the City had over-issned itself to the
extent Of $4,000. 1t had no way to
pay its current expenses and reduce
the Indebtedness incurred Ivy former
goveruments-hcncc the remedy, of
onc-half the taxes aud licenses in
currency, the other half in City pa
per. The currency collected was sold
to the highest bidder for city scrip.
BY this the city sustained its credit
in showing = determination to re-
ceive its scrip for its assets, and
strengthened their paper in these
sales Of currency-by rcdu-
cling the rolume which acos IN circu2a-
ton.
We see no such cause existing at
present as called for the extraordina~
ry action Of the DeVargas Board.
We are not in debt, on the contrary,
we have a great deal more owing us
than We owe, and all that is required
to do to reduce the rolume Of city scrip
nor IN circulation, is to collect it up
in taxes for years preceding 1876, and
issue no more unless the money is IN
the Treasury to redeem it on demand.
Wanted to exchange Texas lands
for Louisiana lands.
j. J. MCCoOK e. Bro.
J. G. LEWIS, negro legislator Of
this parish, introduced in the Pack
ard caucus a resolution iuquiring