The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-06-29
the laws authorizing the issue were not In
strict confo1 nifty to the constitution.

Ing ample provisions for the payment OF the
principal and inter rs y Is easy 70 ascertain a
vision made was ia 1t or not. il not there was
no validity to the bond and the holder took 1t
with knowledge and cannot be heard to
complain, when the people shall say, our
agents, or those who assume to act as our
agents, have violated their trust, have disre-
garded our expressed prohibitions, and you
have and had knowledge OF the fact, and We
II a de facto government issued bonds, or
did any act, not for the good Of the people,
knowing that government vas DE- tacto,
should have made you cautious In taking the
bonds, should have caused a more rigid scru-
tiny, where the power Of one assuming TO act
as agent is questioned. And all the world
knows that we have questioned, have de-
nounced as Illegal, the government since 1861;
The one dealing with such an agent should
have examined, and 10 equity II called upon
to examine carefully, into the power OF attor-
| ney which such agent held, and to have care |
4 fully sCrutfniHed every act OF such suspected |
agent before dealing with him as our manda- |
tory.
There is another branch of this question Of
equity. donot propose to gointo it in detail
1T has been ably presented by other delegates
In argument upon this floor.
/ 1t is brought up by the friends OF the bond
holders, and Is this: That the State has actu.
1 ally received more than the present debt Of
i bonds, and that equity requires that at least
to the extent OF the amount received, the
/ State should pay the bondholders, and that
this amount exceeds the whole funded debt.
i This proposition / deny, and submit to the
4 Convention that the amount actually received
A by the State governments which were In exis-
tence at the time is much less than the
amount Of the consols now outstanding, and.
as has been shown, SO far as that portion
of the debt reported against BY the committee
is concerned, has been more than repaid by
taxes already collected and paid into the
treasury. submit that this has been fully
demonstrated. Z
But even were It not 80, there u.s. 1t seems
TO me, less force than is pretended
holders ss pf L does not net follow that Be-
cause Imy agent, without my authority,
issues written obligations in my name and
obtains upon them o sum equal to their full
value, IL good, and actually expends the en-
tire amount upon my property in his charge
it does notlfolow, say, that am even IL
9 equity bound to pay, in any event, these obll-
: cations, forit does not necessarily follow that
/ have received d corresponding benefit.
! Indeed, II such obligations should be bind,
2 ing on me because Of the amounts received
! On them having been expended 70 t ING
extent OF every dollar on the
q My property might have been safely held,
7 producing enough for oil my wants, and 9
e surplus over, without the improvements but
u with the debt created for the purpose of ef-
q fecting these improvements, hanging. over
,. me, the annual interest to be paid would more
), than consume the revenues; the day Of pay
g ment soon coming, all have would go for the
q debt. Is It not 50 to-day with the State, with
q the people Of the State Of Louisiana?
% Even ii an amount equal to the amount Of
); the consols has been received by those acting
e for the State, and il that amount has been &C
II tually expended BY those self-constituted o.
II imposed agents OF the people on the property
, of the State, and # that money, with fall
q interest, even the interest called for Ia the
bonds, has not already been taken from the
t, people by taxation, all Of which propositions
50 we deny, emphatlcalIy deny; yet this Is
81 after all, q debt We, as people, have paid, Z
y debt claimed as due by US, bearing interest
4 tended improvements, calls for and consumes
y the entire net revenues Of the people. AM
u keeps them bound down in poverty to tn
earth.
m | ask, again. where Is the equity in favor 0
Of those who make these claims against Us
ty What have we gained by reason OF the none
to you have advanced on these bonds to thos
IS who have assumed to act for the people 9
ks the State OF Louisiana? We have nothing +
'rt show for all this pretended loan, your pre-
N, tended investment We. have already pal
he more than the original ADVANCE with inteEe res
d taken from us, and for nothing, IS gone. Ca
you in equity ask Of us more, when that az
he mand In addition to the. sum already pal
ne takes our ALL the original property and you
nR pretended improvements
as The equity Of the case Is, that where &C
lst vances are made TO- one appearing as on
Id agent. and he uses the funds thug advance
IN thereby, though the agent acted Wlthol
j authority, we are In good conscience beln
ebt thus benefited, bound to reimburse, TO rep!a
as the advances made, by virtue 81 th r. maxi ,1
pes of another. But where does the benefit al
Ok pear Id the cities and towns Of Louisiana
nth resulting from this unsolicited liberalIty
the holders Of the bonds Where Is 1t foun
the in the several parishes of the State, or In an
eed one Of them ? Where can this benefit be sett
rid among the members OF any profession or ca
ley ing Is it to be found in the families or abode
ned of the planter, the small farmer, the artisa
the professional man, the educated or the Ign
va rant, the owner Of the farm or the factory,
the the laborer thereon, among the whites or Il
cir blacks2 ALI alike are, or should pc, the gu
~ nosed beneficiarfes Of this unsolicited bount
sne for Ill these classes combined compose u
nv State: and yet, Notwithstanding all tn
riZ yaunted claim for benefits conferred, ruin
found In every town and city, " every n a.
the in every factory, In every mansion ana nov
ers All, all alike share poverty and want g. 81
suffer stagnation in business, and from tx
oe ing that the worst may noG = even ta y lewe
did, deep lower deep still threatening 70 devo
the me opens wide, to which the hell surfer seel
the a heaven"
nv. the State consois BY reason Of the beneh
III conferred upon the State by their advances
go When claim for gratitude is made up
the us we seldom ask "What favor have you co
are ferredY' .,
Tho When did you find me In hunger and fe
,lly me- or thirsty and gave me drink, or max
new and We clothed me?
1 lse But when one claims as q right payne
hay for q benefit conferred, we do ask, hem I,a
nen In what shape ulu you sonio, sno 81, ~ nanef
rate We nave no evluences a. ounu us ~ a
AXE conferred We knoW w navs IS pm1 a. !,
to continuously pala alge su e - h17o 90
lich from our snall eallllss, puv W. ,n h
In them under uh1oWaIu ciieueeesnss.n, W. -,
lpe at the emo q great lllsloI Culip W -
ould selves poor and needy. ~ Inese pay Io.
the you have, as we know, participated and n q,
one we have never seen Lne Color ol your Aou
Dad We have seen those VINO were actllR lol
that and with you, during the past year. TOLL
nesa ia wealth and luxury spending freely, VIII
lera, we have had noth1ag TO spend. we Ia
Or a counted up your eXacLlOns ana uhe cqSI
had what you pretend your money mas mace
~ ind W.