The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1912-05-04
EXTENSION OF THE INCORPORATED LIMITS
OF PASS CHRISTIAN.

Il
pansionist" persuasion. For, at it
! regular session held on the second Q
/ April last, an ordinance was adopted
extending the corporate limits of th
little city so that, should the action o
| the municipal authorities in this behal
be legal and valid, the corporation lin
will run from point in the Mississippi
Sound upon the western boundary o
Longbeach, extended out over the water
one mile from the shore, following thu
meanderings of the sea shore, one mill
from the beach, westerly, until th'
Hancock county line is reached; Themes
northerly along the line dividing the
counties of Hancock and Harrison Cir
the middle of the Bay of ST. Louis) te
! point due west of the intersection OF
Bayou Portage with the Bay of St
Louis; thence the line runs easterly
quite distance through the pine for
ests; thence southerly to the northern
line of the right OF the Louis
vile & Nashville r. r. Co.; thence
easterly to the western line of the cor
poration of Longbeach to the sea shore;
and thence to the point of beginning
one mile from the beach.
Obviously, there is no basis to the
theory that growth is slow. Imagin
yourself standing upon Front street, in
our city, and trying to realize that the
graceful vessels sailing the Bay of st.
Louis, making beautiful pictures with
their background of dark-green pine
forests on the Harrison County shore,
are plowing their frothy way through
the incorporated area of the, City OF
Pass Christian. Or, fancy the latter
day Nimrod firing upon the elusive
water fowl resting upon the bosom OF
the waters of the great Bay of st. Louis
and being haled before the municipal
court of Pass Christian to answer that
city upon the charge OF having dis
charged fire-arm within its limits
The reverberating detonation of the
aforesaid fire-arm would die in the all
| before it could reach the limits Of ouI
ambitious sister city, as they stand
without this ordinance.
| But to realities. Necessarily there
are inhabitants and property holders in
the extensive pine forests and reaches
of uncultivated lands sought thus to be
in inyitum bodily included within the
incorporated limits of the city of Pass
Christian. Inevitably their taxation
will be enormously increased. Gould
they be benefited in return?
| For every sound theory OF govern
ment taxation stands upon the same
.footing as taking persons property oil
money for any other purpose. He must
be given consideration for it. If citi-
zens have imposed upon them a munich.
pal tax, then it is incumbent upon the
municipality taxing them to render in
return the benefits of municipal govern
ment: streets, lights, health sup ervision
police and fire protection, etc. Can the
city Of Pass Christian give the benefits
to the inhabitants of the area sought te
be annexed by this ordinance those ben.
efits in return for the city taxes thai
would be imposed upon them? .Coule
the city patrol with its police these pine
forests, marshes and miles of navigabls
waters of the United States? Gould i
build city streets in the woods ane
across the marshes and bayous lying
between Henderson's Point and Bayou
Portage and light them? Could it give
fire protection there OF any other henefi
of municipal government?
Then there arises another phase o.
the question. Upon failure to suppl!
these benefits in return for taxation, Oh
some of them, would not the municipal
lity be liable to respond in damages
ciyilly, TO the person injured by suel
failure7 Suppose an injury should oc'
cur to one using a public road in thi
annexed pine forest, the injury resulting
from negligently defective condition
of the road. The City would be mad
legally to answer for it. The annexa
ton would not, therefore, be an un
mixed blessing even to the citizens Q
1.-THE city proper. For this reason, Th
/ Echo is informed, number OF though t
| full citizens of Pass Christian are lou
I in their protestations against the pro
posed extension, and viii join in resist
| ing it in the courts,
| However il may be viewed by dif
| ferent citizens, the questions above sug
Igested will be answered by the Circui
Court OF Harrison county, for no fewe
than thirty interested parties have al
Iready taken an appeal from the ordi
nance to that court, and others are ex
pected TO join later. The Echo await
with interest the result OF the action.