Year: 1859




Messrs. Editors. Herewith you will find me.
mortal to the Legislature, the part OF the levee
district composed of the parishes Of Carroll and
Madison.


The object Of this memorial is to call the imme.
date attention of the Legislature to what has been
done by the Board of Levee Commissioners in that
district in protecting portion Of the State in which
a large amount OF swamp lands have been brought
into market and sold not on the expectation that
they would be protected by any fund arising from the
sale Of the swamp ands but by the fund raised under
the authority given by the Legislature to the Board
of Levee Commissioners under the act Of 1852, and
the several acts amendatory thereof to make such an
assessment on all the property exposed to the dan
gers of overflow, as might be sufficient to raise the
necessary embankments for the protection of the
planting interest," which experience had found could
longer be done under the old system Of leveeing,
by which the whole burthen of building and repairing
levees had been thrown on the front proprietors.
This grant of power made at the request Of the
people living in the district in which the necessity
presented itself. They were willing to raise levee
fund in this way. 1t was to be expected that
lict of opinion would exist as to the most equitable
mode Of making an assessment for the proposed
object


As soon as the Board was organized under the act
of 1852, which at that time embraced the parishes of
Carroll Madison and Catahoula, the alluva lands in
that district at once were enhanced in value, or
rather, it created value where before existed,
to those lands which donated to the State of
Louisiana, under the acts Of Congress- passed in ls49
and 1850 except, perhaps, where the cypress grew,
which could be foated


So soon as the Board was organized and the mode
pointed out by which the fund should be raised to
build levees, those persons who can always find an
excuse for exemptng themselves from a burthen,
which in equity they ought to bear in common with
others, at once raised the Constitutional question
against this local assessment which was asked for by
the particular locality for selfpreservation, towit


that all taxes should be equal and uniform through
out the State" principle that was never intended
to apply to anything except the raising of that re-
venue, incidental to every political organization, and
the political organization of the State was the only
thing looked to in the fundamental law. That was
ever intended to make taxation equal and uniform
throughout the State to raise fund to protect any
particular locality, not exposed in common with the
whole State, and to impart value to that locality
peculiar to ITSELF would be to construe things clean
from the purposes of the things themselves" Ad-
mitting that the Constitutional principle may be ap-
piled to the raising of revenue for State purposes
in supporting such political organization and in
ferior political organizations for local government
yet it can not apply to local assessment asked for
by the inhabitants Of any particular district for self
protection.


case OF this sort, we venture to assert,
in the contemplation of the trainers of the Consttu
tion, and in this position are borne out in dec-
sion OF the Supreme Court referred to in the memorial
herewith transmitted, which places the organization
OF the Board of Levee Commissioners high grounds
| and which makes the collection of local tax or an
assessment for local purpose, just certain the
collection OF the State taxes, and any bonds issued
by the Board of Levee Commissioners are as high
security for the investment of capital bonds of the
State OF Louisiana. The only question is, has the
district of country comprised in such board the wealth
to meet the payment the bonds to the extent of the
liability which they contract 1t is well known that
the parishes of Madison and Carroll embrace one of
the finest growing regions in the State. They
ship to New Orleans not less than one hundred and
twenty thousand bales of cotton annually, and since
the first of January not less than five hundred me-
gros have been brought into the parish of Carroll
alone. As to how many have been brought into the
parish OF Madison, we cannot speak Of our own per-
sonal knowledge; and the lands in those parishes,
notwithstanding the recent overflow from the breach
in the levees at Point Lookout and the Haggaman
crevasses, have been rising in value. This has been
owing to the local organization clothed with powers
to make an assessment for levee purposes


10 meet the extraordinary expenses for replacing
the levees at the two points above alluded to, the
Board of Levee Commissioners have incurred liza
bility beyond the amount expected in its original Or
ganzation. The Board now proposes to ask addi-
tional powers from the Legislature by which they
will be authorized to issue bonds to the extent of
$4OOO00, bearing eight per cent interest from date,
payable at one of the banks in the City Of New Or
leans, to be elected as their fiscal agent which will
have the negotiation of such bonds. The interest for
the first year is to be paid in semannual coupons,
payable at such bank The funds are to be raised by
special loan tax for this purpose For the second
year, an assessment equivalent to the interest upon
the bonds and oneninth of the principal is to be
made, and so on for nine years. until the interest and
bonds are extingushed, in the manner that the
consolidated debt of New Orleans has been provided
for. And the act provides that the annual assess
ment shall be made by the said Board of Levee Com
mssioners at their annual meeting to date from the
issuing of the bonds, and that no act done by them
shall be legal or have any effect, until such assess.
ment is made; and in the event of their failing to
make such assessment, the Judge of the District
Court in which the parishes of Madison and Carroll


ie in connection with the Recorder of such parishes
are authorized Immediately to make the said assess.
ment for the payment Of said bonds and interest.


Under these circumstances, we can say to the CITY
of New Orleans, where is concentrated the active
capital of the State-we mean that capital which is
invested in high securities-that the bonds to be
issued by the Board of Levee Commissioners will be
promptly met. The district of country which they
represent has the ability and the willingness to do
so. We, therefore, on behalf of the Board of Levee
Commissioners, not only call the attention of the
Legislature, who are asked to give additional powers
to said Board but the attention of the City of New
Orleans which is deeply interested in the preserva
ton and prosperity of all parts of the State, to the
safe investment which be made, in the purchase
of the bonds to be issued


| Yours, respectfully,


/ N. P. WILLIS ON PERslMMoN-One of the first OF
my Virginia experiences was the very new sensation
OF eating persmmOn. By its frequent mention in
nego songs this fruit has become classic, and was
interested in tasting it the traveller in Italy with


his first pluck Of ripe fig. 1t resembles small ap
pie as seen hanging upon the eafess twig; though


the tree grows taller and with spready branches
than the apple tree. There were plenty of them il
the fields, as we drove past the corn plantations ia
the open country and our friend and conducto