The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1878-03-16
THE FERRY MATTER.


Among the advertisements in this
issue of the CHIEF appears-uerbatim
ct literdtim ct pWnctuatim- card
signed by the controlling proprietor
of the Bayou I4afourche ferry, pro-
voked by the course of this paper
relative to the proposed abrogation of
the legislative grant under which the
revenues of that valuable public
franchise were virtually donated to
private individuals. In order that
we may not be accused of refusing a
hearing in our editorial or reading
columns to person deeming himself
aggrieved by our writings, we will
remark that when the manuscript of
this card was presented to US with
request for its insertion, we ex-
pressed willingness to publish the
document if the personal illusions to
the editor which are entirely gratui-
tous and foreign TO the subject under
diseussion-were expunged. This did
not meet the views of the signer, and
he proposed to have it inserted as an
advertisement, to which, after consid
GRAFTON, we assented, mainly because
the opinions of both the writer of and
subscriber to this card are to us a
matter of Indifference, and because no
criticism of our political course, be it
we'll founded or otherwise, can OBJ
scure the merits of this ferry contro-
versy or conceal the fact that the
CHIEF. has taken stand in the affair
that meets the approval of the people
at large, without political or other
distinctions. Leaving other consid-
erations aside, the evident malice in
spring the personalities of the card,
and the position occupied by the
subscriber with reference to the ferry
franchise, deprive them of weight and
defeat their evident object.
Concerning our alleged serious
charges against the Representatives
from this parish, we have only to say
that we have simply represented the
mildest sentiments respecting their
course which are freely expressed in
this community. We mentioned the
report that u corruption fund had
been raised to defeat the bill repeal
ing the ferry grant; we rehearsed the
we'll known unjust terms of the grant,
and echoed the popular demand for
its extirpation and we forewarned
Messrs. Hill and Fobb that gavest
suspicion would attach to any men,
Der of the General Assembly opposing
the repeating bill, measure of mani
fest justice to all classes of their con-
stituents. They chose to disregard
the warning by ignoring the ferry bill,
and the suspicion of which we spoke
now covers them from head to foot,
figuratively speaking, as every man
knows who is familiar with the pre-
vailing opinion among the people of
this vicinity. They now have the
benefit of Mr.. SchoHberg's denial that
any one interested in the ferry privi-
lege used corrupt means to influence
their action and as we have no
authority beyond generally credited
rumor for attacking the good faith of
this denial, we pass it over without
comment, quite willing that it should
exercise the full weight to which it
may be entitled. If our Representa-
tives wish to g vindieate themselves
by showing that the suspicion of dis
honesty is IA unjust one, and that
their strange course is to be attributed
only to stupidity or malicious dis
regard of the welfare of their eonstit-
uents, the CHIEP will give them due
credit for all progress they make in