The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1888-04-21
FAULT FINDING EDITORS.
From Valley Record ]

the action of our Legislature,
during lts last session, than the Re-
publican convention recently held
in jackson. If what such papers
astho Natchez Democrat has said
be true, the Democratic voters of
the State have actually become
incompetent to elect Legislature
worthy of the name, and it is time
to turn this job over to the Re-
pubIicars. That many of the acts
of the Legislature are wrong, and
deserve condemnation, cannot be
successfully denied; and that
many are good, and deserve ap-
probation there can be little doubt.
We have not yet reached that
point, and never will, where q
Legislature can be elected OF whose
acts it can be said all are perfect
and without fault.
There Is one thing, however,
about some of these fault-fndiug
editors which appears strange,
and it Is this. they have found no
fault with the Legislature fol acts
which are In the interest of cor
porations. Lot mo specify and
notice few OF these:
Fer refusing to repeal that out
ragcous law which gives the Gulf
and Ship Island Railroad Company
tho right to become the owner of
certain State lands, by paying
the tritling sum OF two cents per
aero for them, we hear not a word
of fault finding.
For refusing to pass the b Il
repeating all laws ex-mpting COR
porations from taxation. no fault
is found, but on the contrary
praise is lavishly bestowed. We
read That the Legislature acted
nobly lii this. 1t refused to re-
pudiate. 1t refused TO violate a
solemn contract, and kept the
plighted faith of the State. The
Legislature is the agent of the
people. This authority for its
acts Is found IN out State Con-
stltution, given by the peppe.
Tnat Constitution says: "The
property of all corporations for
pecunisrY profits, shall be subject
10 taxation the same AZ that of
individuals. This does not au-
thorizo any Legislature to exempt
the property of corporations from
taxation. If A., authorized b.,
his general agent to sell a hose
for him and b., gave tho horse
away, would this unauthorized
act of BIS, be contract that A.
would bs either legally or moral
ly bound to respect or abide by?
lie would 60 and &c: his horse
back whenever he chose to do SO,
and no one would say he had re-
pudiated, violated a solemn con-
iract, or committed breach OF
faith in doing so. The Senate in
passing this bill proposed to re-
turn to tho psople the horse
former lie ,islature hsI without
authority given away, but the
minority of ths House decided
that the horse lightfully belonged
to tbs corporations.
For passing bill to quiet land
titles IN the Yazoo Delta, the
Leg slature is highly cxtollsd by
some of our fault-inding editors.
This bill was the offspring of a
suit, brought by the State
Revenue agent to recover taxes,
claimed to be due the Stare by
the l.. n. o. & L. Railroad on
some $50 900 acres of Delta lands,
and was introduced as cont
promise between the Railroad and
State. This of itself was
sufficient to give strong grounds
9 any man of ordinary gumption,
Tor the Suspicion that it was bill
70 corrupt. and hide fraud, or
lesallze wroag; for who ever
heard of a powerful railroad cor
rolatlon lIstennlng to any propo-
sition for a compromise Of any
quostioa or matter unless they
kHow tha. they had neither law,
nor gospel on thsir side. These
Dolta lands (some 1900, 900
acres 70 AL had belonged to the
? ate. and have gone out Of its
possession into the possession of
corporation, spectators aud
others. The way they went out
4 of the possession OF the State.
vas evidently 50 crooked a. TO
Cause q dark cloud 10 rest over
the titles to them. To remove
his cloud and prevent the crooked
Tay by which they went out of
me State ! possss,ion from belng
iFastd out end examined must
hass been the purpose of this bill.
10 remove clouds from Land