Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1879-03-15
of the world, and reduced her tax

of the world, and reduced her tax
alton to the mere nominal sum OF
four mills ON the dollar.
What Georgia has done, Lopisi-
ana ought TO be able to do, with
the advantage Of Georeia's exam
pie before her eyes. Under these
circumstances it becomes interest
ing to know what Georgia has
done. She began. Immediately
upon the accession of the Demo-
Gratis to the control Of the State,
by repudiating outright seven mil
lions Of her debt incurred 10y the
Bullock government, and certain
railroad Endorsed bonds amounting
to about one million more. Great
stress is laid by Louisiana bond
holders who are opposed to an in.
vestigatiou Of the State debt upon
certain resolutions passed by the
Nichols legislature of 1877, affirm
ing the sanctitv of the State debt
and declaring it invjola5le. Ex-
actly the same resolution was
passed by the first Democratic Le-
gislature Of Georgia, declaring the
validity of the very bonds which
were alterwa:d repudiatcd. AS in
Louisiana, t:.is resolution was
passed by the Democrats without
an inves igation. The people OF
Georgia very correctly held that
tho Legislature had no right Or
authority to make any such decla-
ration, and they refused to BE- bound
by il. They investigated the ques-
ton for themselves and repudiated
the very bonds the Legislature had
Endorsed.
Numbers of these bends were
held by Georgians, who have be-
sieged every Legislature that has
met since their Reputation for re.
lief, but without avail. The utmost
that these holders Of illegal bonds
have ever asked for is the enact
ment Of a law allowing them to
sue the State, but even this poor
privilege has been refused. No
Georgia Legislature would dare to
go even this far, for it is fact we'll
known to politicians in that State
that any man who iavors in any
way the payment of the Bullock
bond. cannot get into Office on De-
votes. The bonds are
worthless and the holders Of them
disconsolate; yet Georgia has not
bocn hurt, nor has her credi: by the
act repudiating them. Her four
per cents are at par, and her six
per cents are quoted at 1O7 prev
MUM.
The main argument, however, Of
the bond. holders, and it was urged
with the utmost persistence and ve-
hemence. is that it is impossible 20
investigate the State debt. The
good and bad. the ante bellum and
carpet-bag debts, they say, are so
minaoIy mixed that they can
never be separated.
To an ordinary apprehension ii
would occur that this was about
the strongest possible argument
that could be made in favor Of alb.
solute ana unconstitutional rcpudl-
alton. Silt pound Or so Of arsenic
in a barrel of flour and the cnure
barrel is very sure to lose its mar
ket value as -four, at least for family
use.
The bondholdcrs take the oppo.
site Wow, aud insist that the little
good Las Ieavencd the whole mass.
Upon this point south Carolina af-
f':rds US an illustration and an ex-
ample. In that State the Radical
thieves and garroters ran up an
enormous State debt, just as they
did in Louisiana. AS ia this State,
the amount Of the rluuder was tue
only limit to their rapacity. IL
the course Of few years the credit
Of the State was absolutely dcs-
troyed. her bouds were quoted at
Is cents, and could not he sold even |
1T that price. TO mend matters,
ner Radio al masters lesor1ed to
he same funding process that KEEL.
ogg foisted on this State. They |
scaled the debt to so cents on the |
dollar, including in their new issue
al the ante"be!lum as we'll as the !
Jew Radical bonds, and. by MAX
ng an eNtraol binary provision for
he payment of interest, they suc-
'ceded in c mrromising with the
reSitors of the State, as Louisiana
has done, at sixty cents, and their
onsols were sold at from fifty to