The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-05-11

ton then resolved itself into committee OF the
whole FOR the purpose Of considering the or
| tations.
| Delegate Lyons moved that the committee
| rise and report the articles OF the ordinance
Win me amendments thereto, already adopt
| ed: back to the Convention. Adopted.
Inc articles thus far adopted were then
taken up: The first article was adopted with
| On the recommendation of the committee
| OF the whole to strike out the second article
OF the ordinance, the yeas and nays were
calIed, with the following result: Yeas 93.
| nays g. and the article was stieken out.
Inc recommendation OF the committee OF
| the whole on article three, providing that
the general assembly shall have no
power r. to contract any debt except
suppressing insurreetion, was adopted by
vote on the call OF the yeas and nays, of-yeas
| So, nays II.
| The Convention then proceeded to consider
the ordinance OF the Committee on Llmita-
| tiuns In detail.
| Delegate McGloin moved to consolidate
articles 4, 5, and 20, and for that purpose
offered O. substitute therefor
Delegate Poche moved that the further
consideration Of the articles be postponed
and that the substitute be printed. Adopted.
! Article 6 was taken up. 1t reads as fol-
| lows:
| D. L
no power to grant or to authorize any parish
| or municipal authority to grant any extra
compensation, Zee or allowance 10 pupilc
| officer, agent, servant or contractor. alter
service has been rendered or q contract has
been entered into and performed in whole or
In part, nor pay nor authorize the payment OF
any claim hereafter created against the State,
or any parish or municipality OF the State,
under any agreement or contract made with
out express authority Of law; and all such
unauthorized agreements or contracts snail
| be null and void.
Delegate Moore, of Lafourche, moved to
strike out the words Gin whole or In part.
/ Delegate McGIoin moved substitute Tor
the whole article, which, he claimed, would
prevent seeming running together OF the
parts.
Delegate Blanchard opposed the substitute.
The original article was verbatim copy OF
similar provision In the constitutions OF the
States OF Missouri and Pennsylvania. lie
thought, therefore, its parts were sufficiently
well separted.
The substitute was voted down.
| The amendment offered by Delegate Moore
was then adopted.
/ Delegate Stone offered q further amend
ment to strike out all after the word con
struction," down to and including the word
part" and also to strike out the words
thereafter created" Adopted.
The article was then adopted as amended.
Article was then amended. 1t reads as
4 follows:
ART. 8. The General Assembly shall have
no power to release or extinguish, or author
ize the releasing or extinguishing, In whole
or In part, the Indebtedness, liability or Obli-
cation OF any corporation or individual to
| this State, or to any parish or other munich
l pal corporation therein except for taxes due
on confiscated property and drainage taxes
on assessments in excess OF the benefit con-
| ferred.
Delegate Stone moved to amend the article
by adding after the word "confiscated' the
words s'oT forfeited"
! Delegate Stone explained the scope Of his
Amendment to mean the relief OF those
| whose lands might be forfeited to the State
for taxes. Unless some such provision as he
proposed was adopted those who were 80 un-
fortunate as to be in default could get no re-
\ lief whatever.
Delegate Blanchard supported the amend
ment.
after the word "due" and add "after the first
of January, 1879"
| Delegate Forman argued In support Of his
| amendment that back taxes to the amount Of
| 81 ,000, 800 had accumulated upon the proper
ty of people who were entirely unable to pay
them. He favored restriction upon the
Legislature for the future, but insisted that
| some relief should be granted TO those whose
taxes have grown as a result OF spoliatiOn In
the government Of the State for the past ten
years. For himself, he would favor the oblit-
GRAFTON OF these back taxes entirely.
Delegate Steele offered a substitute for the
article and amendments, providing that after
January, 1880. the Legislature shall have
no authority to remit State taxes.
Delegate Land moved to refer the entire
subject to the Committee on Taxation.
Delegate Blanchard favored the reference.
He thought the subject properly one for the
Committee on Taxation, and not at all within
the province Of the Committee on Limitations.
Delegate Mcconnell also supported the mo-
tion to refer. He thought some regard should
be paid to those who had made sacrifices In
order to pay their taxes. He sympathized with
those who were unable to pay what was due
the State, but there had been abuses in this
matter of nOn-payment OF taxes. Many men
had refused to pay them with the deliberate
purpose OF getting them reduced to one-fourth.
Delegate Cunningham thought the mat
ter could be settled here He believed
that those who had refused to pay taxes to
the usurping government that had ruled the
State were true patriots. 1t would be useless
for the Convention to refuse to pass some
measure OF relief, for the taxes could never
be collected. In his parish Natchitoches) these
back taxes amounted to such sum that at
one time the burden upon the people for city,
parish, State and back taxes had amounted
to seventy nine mills on the dollar, in 1874.
That tax had never been collected and it
never would be. No tax could he collected
without the consent Of the people, and his
constituents had never given their consent to
the taxes piled up on them. The whole power
Of the government would be futile Ii exerted
do so.
Delegate Demas did not represent con-
stituency which had reputation for setting
the law at defiance. He did not agree with
the gentleman that such men were patriots.
TO pay them for their action would be equiya-
lent to paying the Confederate debt. The
Confederates believed they were right, and it
was as fair to pay them for their services as
1t would to pay what the gentlemen called
patriots for theirs. He hoped the bloody shirt
would not again be waved on this floor by
good-looking gentlemen. He favored the
reference.
Delegate Steele opposed the motion to re-
fer. He thought the question was one which
had properly been considered by the Com
mittee on Limitations, and he therefore
moved to lay the motion to refer on the table.
The motion to table was lost.
Delegate McGloin hoped the resolution, as
amended, would be adopted. He believed,
with the delegate from Natehitoches, that
those who had resisted the payment OF taxes