The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-06-22
IEVEE BOARD DONICILE.

DonaIdsonvilie Selected by Lafourcne
Board, in Accordance with Pro-
visions of Legislative Enactment
Creating Body, and Meetings
Should be Held Here.
AS the personnel of the membership
Of the Lafourche leVee board is about
to be changed and a new board or
sanized, it is proper that the atten-
ton of the governor and the prospect
i've appointees be called to the fact
that the legal domicile of the La
fourche levee board is in Donaldson
vile, and that the meetings of the
board should be held at this place.
The levee board organized under
act No IS of 1892, and on August 4,
1898, designated DcnaldsonVllle as
the domicile of the board. Meetings
were regularly held at this place I'M
til July s, 1897, when the board at
tempted to change the domlcile to
Gretna, and from that time until the
present date the board has never held
u meeting at its domicile.
In 1903, when the suit was brought
against the Lafourche leVee board to
lenioin the board from damming Ba-
you Lafourche, an exception was filed
lLhat the suit could not be brought
here, as this was net the domlc1le OF
| the levee board This exception, at
! ter trial and argument, was overruled
by the district court, Judge Lecke
rendering at that time the following
opinion:
| 1 " 3 x
.tThe question of jurisdiction ra-
! tionae personae demands consldera-
/ ton at the outset. Act No. - of
/ the general assembly of 1892, Great
ing the Lafourche leyee district and
providing for the organization OF
hoard Of commissioners to superln-
i tend and control the affairs of said
/ district, first repeats act No. OF
1 1879. creating the third levee district,
j and creates new levee district to
/ be styled The Lafourche Basin Lee
! wee District, defines its territorial
/ limits and specifies the property there
in subject to taxation. Section 2 pro-
vides for the appointment OF commits
sioners, fixes their term Of office
and gives them the supervision OF
i the location, erection, repairs and
. maintenance Of levees in said dis
trict. The third section fixes the
! time and place for the first meeting
J; of the commissioners and the man
ner of organizing the board, the
Z manner of removing commissioners
and filling vacancies, and the sala-
ries Of commissioners. The fourth
/ section relates to the adoption OF
} bylaws and the letting out of work.
The fifth and sixth sections provide
{. for the assistance to be given said
$ board by the state engineers. Sec
, lion Z, in addition te the powers al
. ready conferred, constitutes said
board into a political corporation IN.
: vested with the power Inherent IN
/ said corporations, with authority te
t sue and be sued, directs that pro
! eesses be served upon the president
! OF. secretary, and contains the furthe1
provision, The board shall at. its
first regular meeting, elect a dom
S EIeile for the purpose OF being suee
i land keeping its office and archives
etc.
esThe board at its first meeting
= held under section 8 on the fourth
J of August, 1898, at Donaldsonville
) elected DonaldsonYille, in the parisl
$ OF Ascension, as it's dvmicile unde
+ The authority delegated to it in see
zion Z On the 9Th Of July, 1897, TIL
= board, by resolution, changed it
n domiciIe from Donaldsonyille to Gre1
e ma, the change to take effect fron
- August /, 1897.
? ssThe question presented is Whethe
the board had the authority unde
'. the act creating it to make TIL
s. change. do not believe that tn
. act conferred that authority. 1t
!; apparent to me that the power t
Z select "a domici1e, when once exc
le cised, was exhausted, and that
# was never intended to be a contin1
ir- ing right to be exercised by th
commissioners at will. But the co11l
- sci for the Lafourche basin boar
re says the act also directs that at th
of first meeting Of the commissioner
W. they shall elect a president and
$ secretary, fix the latter's salary, etc
= and that it might with equal fore
e be held that the election of thes
ed officers and all the other acts of til
m board at its first meeting were
an be permanent and never subject
change. A mere reading of this Ia,
eu the order and arrangement of Il
ay subjects treated in the different Sc
III tons, will expose the fallacy
=. this conclusion Section provide
: for the organization CT the boa1
y iand sets out in detail every a.
re- which the commissioners shall pc
les form at their first meeting, and ear
MI one of these acts is inherent
! every board which manages or {
~ reefs the affairs of a corporatio
to such as the election Of officers al
fixing the time and place (the bull
ha ing or office, for holding meeting
!, Section Z on the other hand dea
az with powers that are vested excl
It's sively in the sovereign which Great
sr- corporations, to-Wit: corporate {