The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-01-05
THE NEW ORLEANS DEMOCRAT SUNDAY. JANUARY s, 1879.

details and makn requirements which are
neither alluded b. and still less supplement-
ed, In the repeating act2 And more especially
when such rule Of construction would abso-
lutely paralyze one important section tsec. 81,
and render nugatory remarkable paragraph
(par. 81 Of the same repeating act.
Previoss 10 the year 1856 the official reports
OF the heads Of the departments Of the State
government were transmitted to the Senate
and TO the House In manuscript. These re-
ports were printed both In English and
French In the official proceedings OF the
House and Senate separately, and published
Ia the official newspaper along with the min
utes Of the parliamentary proceedings, such
az motions, roll-oails, the votes by yeas and
nays, etc. When so published In the official
newspaper these reports were published In
minion type, as far as practicable. and the
forms made up In newspaper measure, !. e.,
In columns, the State Printer being paid at
80 much square Of ten lines solid matter.
This same matter (so paid for upon
insertion in the official newspaper, at
the close OF the session Of the Legislature,
was printed In book form, In pages OF
two columns In width, the book was
stitched and covered with colored paper, and
was to be delivered TO the Secretary Of State
within o time fixed by law, and In such mum.
Der as the Secretary Of State In his discretion,
had ordered at one time. This book, 80 made
up, was paid for at specified rate per page.
This rate varies from 81 30 to fifty cents In
the printing laws from 1885 to 1856. In addl-
ton to this the Senate and House. each sepa-
rately, invariably ordered certain number
OF copies Of these same reports, to be printed
separately In pamphlet form, in EnOhsh and
French, for their own use These reports
were printed under the law, In long primer
type, the page 70 be fifty-ssven lines In length,
ETC., and were paid at rates varying all the
way from IS to 50 so per page, under various
laws prior to 1856.
Thus IL will bs readily seen that In this sim
gle matter Of the reports OF the heads Of de-
partmeilts the State paid the State Printer
previous to the year 1856, rs follows:
| I. For the insertion and publication In the
newspaper Of the copy sent to the House, at
80 much per square. In French and English.
q. For the insertion and publication In the
newspaper OF the copy sent TO the Senate. at
30 much per square, In French and English
3. For this same copy In the Journal Of the
House. In book form, at 30 much per page, In
French and English.
! 4. For this Same copy In the Journal OF the
Senate. In book form, at so much per page. In
French and English.
| 8. For this same report In separate pam
phlet form. as ordered by the Senate, at so
much per page In French and English.
G. For this same report In separate PAM
phlet form. AZ ordered by the House, at 80
much per page, In French and English.
| This was found to be an extravagant Gus
tom and an evil Hence, In 1856. q law was
passed to limit and fix the printing and pub
fishing Of these reports. This law Is now to
be found embodied In the Revised Statutes Of
Louisiana, sections 1857 1868, 1869, 2611 2e12,
2613. to which call your special attention.
These statutes. after specifying what State
officers and what institutions shall hereafter
make annual reports, and how and by whom
printed and In what number Of copies, pro-
vide expressly (section 1912, Revised Statutes):
"The aforementioned reports, and oil other
reports ordered BY the Senate or House Of
Representatives to be printed In pamphlet
form, shall not be published in the State paper"
| Now, In order to countervail this curtail-
ment In the publicity Of important documents,
and to provide for their preservation among
the archives OF the State, this same law Of
1856 provides as follows (section 2613, r. 81:
"All executive messages communicated,
ments, and Of all standing and special COM
mittees Of either branch Of the General As
sembly, and the documents accompanying
the same, shall be printed and bound In q
separate volume, In the manner and form pre-
scribed for the printing and publishing the
journals, and shall be designated, Documents
Of the - Legislature, 49,, and there shall
be two thousand volumes Of the same deliv-
cred with the journals"
| This, as succlnctly as / can write It, fs the
history Of the printing and publishing OF the
legislative documents and reports from 1885
to 1856. To prove all have said on that
score, / will produce copies OF the books men,
toned, which are to be found in the State Lii
brary.
Iprinted the Legislative Documents Of the
Second Session OF the Fifth Legislature, 1873"
AS provided for In section 1918, r. Sand
on the twentieth day Of March, 1878, I deliv-
cred 1000 copies Of the same to the Secretary
Of State, who approved my bill Of the work.
SECOND THIS WORK
WAS NOT DONE IN ACCORDANCE WITH
PARAGRAPHS 2 AND OF SECTION 10,
BECAUSE NOT A LINE OF MINION TYPE
Is TO BE FOUND THEREIN.
To understand this fully, 1t becomes neces-
sary first to read very attentively sections
and Z, together with paragraph 2, section 10,
OF act No. 40 Of 1877. The State Printer La
therein ordered to publish the journal OF each
house In the official newspaper Of the State,
within two days after said journal shall have
been approved by each house respectively.
For this publication the State Printer Is paid
by the square, fixed by law. Section 10, para
graph ~ This same matter, so printed in the
newspaper, must subsequently be made up
into book form, and such number OF copies
must reprinted as the Secretary Of State may
deem necessary for the use OF the Legislature.
Sections and z, and paragraph 2, section |
IN