The star of Pascagoula. [volume] (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1873-1878, 1877-10-05

Ie ness would, in its incipiency, We,
'f naturally suggest the following e
y ticacious interrogatives: How ca
s Pascagoula be made q free port
d and if made a free port, Of what in
~terest would it really avail tn
State or county itself?
G The question has go frequent,
and intelligeptly presented itself tt
our mind that in a practicable view
] of the same we have intuitiyely pre-
scented, for consideration aud de-
liberation, this, in our opinion, mos
important and commanding theme
and in producing the same do moi
intend to censure or condemn
any laws or provisions of laws that
our State has, through its legislative
bodies, seen proper to enact fgovs
erning the commercial interest OF
its seaports; neither shall we infict
any censure upon any officer or
others whose appointment require
a strict compliance with and rigid
enforcement of such lawe,
What we wish is to merely sug-
gest a few consistent ideas that
really appear feasible in our judg-
ment, and which, if appropriately
and successfully executed, would I'M
questionably result most b~enefcially
in a commercial point of view to
not only our own port, but the en-
tire State at large.
The State has created o law and
laws requiring a special fee or tax
10 be collected from each and every
vessel coming into our port and
visited or boarded by two respect
i've officers, who rank and are paid
as follows: Quarantine physician,
fee for visiting vessels during quar-
S.; harbor master, fee for
entire year for each vessel boarded,
s5; which fees or tax are virtually
entirely unconstitutional, a late de,
'ision of one of our most eminent
judges, which decision was affirmed
" the United States supreme court,
declaring that Estates have a right
o establish certain laws, but not to ,
lace toll gatherers or others at the t
ates of commerce" {
Various complaints are frequently
endered by masters oil vessels and
nip owners in opposition to the
bove system Of tax az cited, which,
Though an Insignificant c~onsidera-
on apparently, yet is, when asso,
ated with the expenses of a dis
i%vantageous lading, pilotagc and
her expenses, of more prominence
ian would at first be realized.
Would it not be well, and yet
,ssibie, for our State TO entirely
rerthrow this present system of
xation on vessels entering her sea
'rts? Let the port be thrown open
the world for the reception of
| vessels of every nationality,
image, and rig; let a regular com
nsation be allowed yearly by the
ate for the maintenance OF the
Iarantine physician, harbor master
d other officers of the port. Our
'rt has, during the past few years, ,
rough the medium of its vast and ,
liable timber interests, attained :
lite q renowned and unrivalled ,
gree OF prominence throughout '
Q entire commercial world, and
, venture TO say would, in the J..
ent of its becoming q free port, i
:ume the most gigantic proporS
ms; larger quantities of lumber
d timber would be yearly ex-
rted, affording more work for the {
,orer as we'll as the shipping Ac
-. f En-
'rchant, and in the event of our spe
railroad from Jackson, to
on which our cotton could be con- '0
yed directly to the shipping for :
.portation, Mississippi would in. .
tab.y not only be greatly bene,
ed thereby, but she would possess p
; of the richest and most flour
ing maritime depots of the en- foi
!, Southern States, and stand
1nd to none. u