The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1904-04-30
The Mass Meeting Last Sai

parish, a mass meeting eEAAhe
citizens thereof was aheId RAe
Courthouse last Satutday,t lss5aace
purpose of taking the sensf ayts
people on the question off Alivi-
sion of the parish. hYA
The meeting was called }asI Ider
by Judge Lewis. HoRglfN J.
Thompson was made PEI M senS
chairman, and Messrs. w, IAN
doz and Moore GarlaY, Ns1.e-
taries. ~ iN
IL committee on rM Itions " hs
appointed, as follQeAI5ra ~. J. Bal5y,
Yves Andrepont,A had. Lewis, II.
L. Garland, T. Il gXkwis, Mari Is
Fontenot, Frank AMebedeau, VI.
A. O'Quinn, Cha aaafafleur, w. iR.
Rogers, W. 3. kBscott, Hem E
Singleton, Adelr Guidry, Paul b
Fontenot, j. LaA23lIe. /
The committee reported the foA
lowing resolutions, which, aftef
thorough debate, were adopted,
viz:
Whereas. it has come to our knowledge that
some of the citizGfs of Avoyelles and ST. Lam
dry parishes have formed plan to appeal to
the General Assembly to pass an act creating
q new parish, to be taken from the northern
part of st. Landry and the southern part of
AVOyelles; aud whereas, no issue or question
of that character has been submitted hereto
fore to our people. or at the recent primary
election, and nur representatives in that body
must neces sarily be ignorant of the wishes of
their constituency in the premises; and where
as this meeting is opposed TO any division OF
trPb territory OF our parish, and, as far as we
have been informed. our citizens, with but few
exceptions, are decidedly of the same opinion;
Therefore. we, citizens, voters and taxpay-
ers of the parish of st. Land }. have this day
assembled pursuant 10 the call issued for the
purpose of making public protest against the
division of any portion OF our territory with
which to form lew parish, or in any manner
changing our larochial boundary lines. We
feel a just pride in the fact that we have, next
to Calcasieu, the largest parish In the State;
that we have the llrgest population except
Orleans, and that with that exception our nat
ural resources will i'll the not distant future,
when fully developed, 8 ve us tue proud dis
friction OF being the wralthlest and most pop
uleus parish in the State, as we'll as the most
influential politically speaking.
I'VE, therefore, regard with extreme disfayor
any proposition that would deprive ue in the
least degree of the power and prestige which
we now enjoy among our sister parishes, and
Which we hope ut no distant day to enjoy to
much greater degree than at present. We Op
pose the proposed division OF our territory be
cause it would be the entering wedge for
still further dismemberment of our parish to
crafty the local pride ana interest of other
communities cont iguous to our boundary line
We oppose the plan, also, because the precpi
ton of such an issue among our people would
bring strife, discord and bitterness not to be
healed up iii a generation. We further declare
that there is no pressing necessity iustifyiDg
the cutting eff of Il portion of our parish, and
that the plan, il carried out, in addition to the
evils above mentioned would not only increase
the burden of taxation upon the inhabitants
of the new parish, but would deprive our par
ish OF much of Its revenue. large part of its
richest territory, and some uf its best, most in-
teligent and patriotic people, from whom we
can rot and Will not voluntarily part.
1--WE Furthermore freely admit that our cti
zens who desire to enter the proposed parish
are subjected to much Inconvenience in reach
ing the county seat, and that they are entitled
to have quicker and more convenient access
to that point than they have al present; but we
remind them that this ia not the day or time
for cutting up or disturbing old established
communities To meet local or temporary con-
ditions, and that it is rather the epoch OF rail-
road building and road-making, for the pur
pose of bringing distant communities into i'm
mediate touch with eacn other; that the cit1-
Zens OF Opelousas and Washington have loug
since contemplated establishing direct railway
communications between those two towns by
the Texas and Pacific Railroad, and we assure
our fellow citizens who are suffering the in
convenience mentioned thar tho present agita-
ton for the formation of new parish will, We
believe, hasten the construction of the con-
Meeting link, thus relieving them of all occa-
sion tor complaint And we further declare
that the subject matter of taking away from
our parish portion of Its territory to go into
new parish is of such hparamOuHtinterest and
Importance that DO step, looking to that end
should be taken in the Legislature without
having previously taken the sense of our peo-
pie upon the matter, and we, therefore. re,
spectfully request and urge our Senators and
members Of the House to vote against and op-
pose any enabling act submitting he question
TO the voters of the two parishes to be affected,
or any act introduced for the creation of the
proposed new parish. or any other new parish,
taking from ST. Landry any portion OF its ter.
ritory."
Speeches were made by Messrs.
Thos. H. Lewis, j. J. Bailey, D.
B. Hudson, w. B. Rogers, Henry
Singleton. D. L. Guilbeau, NJ. l.
Swords, E. 7. Lewis, J. K. San
doz, r. L. Garland and DR.. Dave
Haas, the last named and Mr..
Hudson being specially invited to
be present at the meeting, they
being the president and vice-pres-
ident, respectively, of the pro-
posed new parish committee.
| Mr.. Hudson, in his speech, de.
clared that the plan of the com.
mittee of which he is the head is
to secure the passage of an aet
creating the new parish of Blan.
chard out of the southern portion
of Avoyelles, about 180 square
miles of territory, and the north
ern part of St. Landry, about AZ;
square miles of territory; thaI
this is TO be done without submit
ting the question to the voters
and that as the people of boil
parishes, outside the portion to b'
included in the new parish, ar
admittedly opposed to the dis
memberment Of their respective
parishes, that the committee want
ed no enabling act submitting tn
question to the voters. The speay
ers on the other side of the ques
| ton declared that such a law a
| the one desired would be uneen
stitutional, and in this opinion
they are supported by the unan
imous opinion of the Opelousa
bar.
There we're about 200 peopl
present, representing every sec
ton Of the parish, and SO far a