St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1899-02-15
louisiana.

IL 10 III luC pCSoIullStS vi
today to forget that we ever annexed
louisiana.
But, all the same, the truth is that
ninety-6ve years ago we annexed the
immense territory OF Louisiana, and
committed ourselves to the responsible
ity OF receiving the French part of that
territory into the Union as state as
soon possible.
At that time there was good deal of
just the talk we hear now about the inn
possibility of doing this.
All the same, we did it. We admitted
the so.called territory of O.leans as a
state into the Union in 1912.
Ia the readjustment OF Puerto Rico
the presidents then established have
practical interest.
1t should be remembered that the
white population Of Louisiana was
wholly French and wholly Catholic.
There probably were not five hundred
Americans of English origin in the pres
ent state of Louisiana in the year 1903.
For many years the laws were printed
in French and the debates in the legisla.
ture conducted in French. The old
French law held till it was superseded
by the admirable civil code in 1924.
Worship was conducted in Catholic
churches, and the machinery of the
Catholic church went on without fric.
ton or any necessity OF change.
This ought not to seem extraordinary
or exceptional to people who will remem-
her that the whole theory of the United
States government supposes that each
state does make all it's own interior ar.
engagements Tor its own affairs. Indeed,
in those days states had to. Nobody
outside their borders knew what they
were doing inside, and certainly nobody
cared. The United States guaranteed a
republican government, and it secured in
each state equal privileges to all the
citizens of the nation. Beyond that,
nothing. A state might educate or not
1t might tax tor religious purposes or
only the punishment must not be sun
usu IL"
Under an elastic system like this,
Louisiana became a state in the year
1912. With excellent good sense-which
has resulted in great advantage, not
only to that state, but to Jurisprudence
as science-the territorial legislature
ordered two able jurists to prepare a
civil code on the groundwork of the
civil laws then existing. This they did ;
and their digest oil the Civil Code"
which is synopsis Of the Spanish juris.
prudence, continued in operation for
fourteen years. 1t may be well to find
up some copies of it for use in Puerto
D;cN f,, 1000 na~t,.Sx,x,
ingston and l. slet were selected to revise
and amend this code. authorized to add
system of commercial law and code
of practice. This went into operation
in 1924 under the title "The Civil Code
OF the State " If this code were silent
on any subject. any preexisting law on
that subject of French or Spanish origin
would be considered as in force. In
1920, under the direction of the legisla-
ture, Edward Livingston prepared a
criminal code, which is the well known
code to which his name is attached. 1t
will be seen from this brief statement
that no difficulty was found in accepting
the existing jurisprudence of the new
state.
In those days, which are prehistoric to
people who study no history later than
the extras Of yesterday, it was the fash
ion to say that here would be a foreign
element constantly fostering in the body
of the nation. have the report of
debate of the Philotechnan Society in
Williams College, while the purchase was
new. Question: "Wll the acquisition
OF LOUISIANA be an advantage An.
swer: vote in the negative, seventeen
to one. This vote shows what the YER
dict of New England in that day would
have been. But history has reversed the
verdict Of those DAYS. And the especial
danger of the inclusion of a state of
people OF different habits and modes OF
faith-the danger which is dreaded now
bv people who are troubled about Puert
Rico-has never appeared Rev. Ed
ward E. Hale in the Christian Register.