The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1879-02-08
The New Orleans Times on the late
lamented Legislature of Louisiana;
Sine Die.

lamented Legislature of Louisiana;
Sine Die.
There is one comfort-just one-in all
this Legislature business, and that is that 1t
is over and we are still alive. 1t IS no
small thing to have suffered the afliction OF
such a Legislature as this of 1879, ana yet
to obtain some feeble grip on life and
few articles of portable property which we
can call our own. Of course there is the
Constitutional Convention and the year OF
solid campaigning still ahead of us, with
all of the dangers that are involved; bat
| for the present we are at least able to draw
one long breath and to shake ourselves to-
o, Their as it were. So little pleasure lies III
tho retrospect that we are moved to dispose
of it very briefly. As far as we can see at
| this writing, the session of 1879 has, to put
it playfully, laid three eggs. 1t has plunged
the State into the turmoil and agitation OF
three successive elections with all their at
tendant disturbance; it has abolished the
Lottery it has exonerated (Sjc) the State
Printer. Naturally it has spent all the
money it could hold of-and this We cannot
| sum up Just now. Naturally, also, the
gifted statesmen composing the Assembly
took care to pay themselves in preference
warrants-and this we feel able to take no.
tice of right he'e.
It was pathetic to hear talented and pa
triotic Legislators, last night, insisting tina
they ought to be paid in money instead OF
warrants worth only 995 cents on the dol
lar. One particularly talented and patriotic
legislator occupied the House for quite n
while explaining how he deserved the last
red cent of his per diem, and as he spoke
the clammy sweat of exertion in the PEG
ple's cause could be seen trickling from his
fervent nose. 1t seemed quite plain to
this noble Legislature that whilst the Judge
and the State officials and the school teachN
ers and the public servants generally, who
labor hard and faithfully and honestly,
ought to be glad and grateful to receive or
binary warrants, worth about so cents for
their services, the gaudy and beautiful
creatures who composed the Assembly
were entitled to complain if they were
asked to take anything but the living cash
And they did complain nay, we may say,
in the ribald veruacdlar of the times they
sduealed If this were a period in which
effrontery received the encouragement OF
popular opinion if the time were ia
vorable for decency and conslstenc,
and Justice to assert themselves II
one could appeal to the sacred name
of right with any hope of re
Spouse; we should ask on what principle
these gentlemen are to help themselves on
of the public purse whilst the deserving
and the laborious go half paid, or not pai'
at all. But we prefer to conserve our en-
ergy. We shall rest a moment whilst GU
recent egislators-Heaven save the mark
stuff the plumber into their carpetNbag
and eallop back into the brush-piles iron
which the malignant destiny of Louis ana
has lately summoned them. We are glaC
to rid of them on any terms. Indeed
thel is vet something to be grateful TO
when we reflect that we have few scatter
ing chatteIs left which we can gather to
gether and start fresh with. Hop'
springs eternal in the human breast, som
bard las sung. 1t springs in ours to-day
and " consider that Hope never achieved
a greater feat than in rallying after such {
session of Legislature as this last. Whel
we look back upon it all, when we realize
what we have passed through and convinc'
ourselves that we are still alive. it seems t
us we have a right to hope for anything
within the reach of fancy.