St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1883-05-19
HOW MoENERY GOT SCRIP
FOR LANDS BELONGING
TO THE STATE IN 1877.

Il remember that Gov. Sam Meme,
came to the front for the secon
5 time On May 5th, and claimed tbs
E the PicaYasce was in error when
said that there had been an over
issue of scrip 10 John McEnery
a We claimed that as, according t.
: the Washington records, only 157,
] 527 acres ofland had been approve,
since March, 1850, the date of tL
Mcanery contract, he could onl
ask for 1878 acres of scrip
. whereas the Governor admitted til,
contractor lad gotten scrip TO,
92.2ol acres. The documentary
evidence is giver elsewhere in oul
columns to show that we were cor.
rect, and that the tracts which j,
was claimed were net in our list
were the property of the State in
1877. nearly three years before the
Governor went into office. The
tracts were approved by Carl
schnrz, and were passed upon
about the time the Nichols Admin
istrasion got possession of the State
government. Indeed, in the very
midst of the contest between the
Packard end Nichols Governments
the great advocate OF civil service
reform ana favorite Secretary of
President Hayes was considering
this claim of the Stats of Louisiana,
and affixed his signature of APP
proval, little thinking that one OF
the stout reformers then bowling
SO Justify down OIL the banks of the
Mississippi would three years after
wards claim that he had recovered
it. and demand $1O,50O worth of
scrip for the service.
1t viii be seen that the certified
copies forwarded to the Governor
showed clearly the date of the op-
prorcl, ard the fact was open to
any one even glancing g. the docu-
ment, that John IcEnery could |
claim nothing on it out of a con-
tract made III March, 1880. The
scrip account. of john McEnery in
the Louisiana LauDoffice was
therefore started with an outrage
upon the rights of the public. The
Very first issue of scrip was q grab
On the public domain. without the
shadow OF legal authority. The
bid Pelican must certainly have
screamed when this draft of blood
vas taken from her bosom by her
lungry offspring. |.
It will he observed that the Gov
rnor only claims that scrip was !
ssued on 2S,216 acres of land. c
Why was there any deduction of I
O,611 acres as having been APP
rovea before the MeEnery con- )
ract? There are two complete i,
SITS approved as sucli, and sent as C
Gch. One embraced $500 acres, :
pproved in one lot March 21st, !
ST., and tie other. 49, 67 acres,
pproved April 10th, 1877; making c
total of 3e.sS7 acres. Perhaps {!
le dose was most too large for one u
lip. When our readers are in .
rmsd that "list" is in the form 8
an itemized bill, footed up only S
the bottom, and without any 81
'eak il It from beginning to end, >.
sy will appreciate the nicely of
cling off this 1861 acres as hay-
g been approved before the Nc
1ery contract. There has evil lie
ntly been some erroneous fig o.
ing somewhere in Register Rich. ~
dson's statement, and we are nv
means satisfied that this is the
i extent of the over-issues of this
up. The blank in the Cover Ia,
RS first letter, which ought to ha
We embraced the number of acres ed
land recovered under the Nc CIV
cry contract. it seems did have nm
ne significance. 90,
toy