LOUISIANA. 



483 



insufficient to accommodate the insane of the 

 State. Those who can not obtain admittance 

 are detained in the country jails. The annual 

 appropriation for the asylum is $50,000, which, 

 if paid in par funds, would be an ample pro- 

 vision. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF 1879. The Governor, 

 in his Jast message, expresses much discontent 

 with the practical working of the Constitution 

 adopted in 1879. He says: " The instrument 

 is voluminous, and contains many provisions, 

 borrowed from other States, not applicable to 

 our system of laws or to our condition. The 

 appointing power of the Executive is too great, 

 and it is not well distributed. With an im- 

 mense patronage, he has no power, and his ef- 

 forts to execute the law result in recommenda- 

 tions and remonstrances. The system of re- 

 moving officers for delinquencies, incompe- 

 tency, and corruption, without the power of 

 suspension, is too complicated. The result is, 

 that a judicial contest is equivalent to the 

 prosecuted officer serving out his term, and 

 enjoying the emoluments of his office. The 

 judiciary system is unsatisfactory, and has been 

 the cause of much complaint. The restrictions 

 on the Legislature are unwise, and exclude from 

 its control many subjects which should demand 

 its attention. The limitation on taxation is un- 

 fortunate, and the financial system under it is 

 confused and embarrassed. The General As- 

 sembly can be liberal in its appropriations, but 

 it is limited in the taxation to meet them. The 

 Constitution declares gambling to be a vice, yet 

 it encourages that vice in its worst forms, not 

 only inciting to breaches of faith and embez- 

 zlement in the effort to get rich in the turn 

 of a wheel, but demoralizing society, corrupting 

 politics, and impeding legislation. The Con- 

 stitution was intended to expedite judicial in- 

 quiries, and to cheapen litigation, "but it has 

 crowded the dockets of the courts, and in- 

 creased the costs to such an extent that many 

 are afraid to venture within the halls of jus- 

 tice. The instrument is difficult to interpret, 

 and impracticable in its execution. A new 

 Constitution would be a blessing, and I hope 

 to see the State under an organic law suit- 

 able to our wants, and in harmony with our 

 laws.' 1 



THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS DEBT, ETC. 

 The long- vexed question of the heavy debt of 

 the city of New Orleans has been, it is hoped, 

 finally and satisfactorily adjusted by the Legis- 

 lature, and the grievous load of judicial taxa- 

 tion which, for more than two years, has 

 crushed the tax-payers of the city, averted. 

 Acts have been passed authorizing the munici- 

 pal authorities to levy annually, commencing 

 in 1883, a tax not to exceed five mills, in 

 addition to the ten-mill tax authorized by 

 the Constitution of 1879, and the tax of five 

 mills required by the premium bond act, to 

 pay the annual interest on all outstanding 

 bonds of the city, other than premium bonds, 

 the surplus, if any, to be used as a sinking 



fund ; and authorizing the renewal, extending 

 the payment for forty years, of all outstanding 

 bonds, except premium bonds, providing for 

 the payment of interest thereon at six per 

 cent, and reserving to the city the right to call 

 in and pay the bonds at par after the year 

 1895. Provision is also made for the issue of 

 certificates of indebtedness dated January 1, 

 1888, payable with six per cent interest per an- 

 num, in ten years or sooner at the option of the 

 city, for the sum of all matured coupons out- 

 standing on January 1, 1883. It is further pro- 

 vided that all legal proceedings instituted to de- 

 lay or obstruct the operation of these acts shall 

 be tried summarily and by preference over all 

 other causes, and determined immediately, 

 whether the courts be in vacation or not. The 

 creditors have thus the option to accept the 

 terms of either of these acts. This settlement 

 faithfully carried out will benefit every material 

 interest of the city, enhance the value of prop- 

 erty, and restore public confidence in the good 

 faith of the people. With the cheap transporta- 

 tion of her great river and her now completed 

 railway communication with the Pacific coast, 

 New Orleans will command the bulk of the 

 trade of the valley of the Mississippi, and re- 

 gain the Mexican, Central and South American 

 trade. There is now a through railroad con- 

 nection between New Orleans and San Fran- 

 cisco. The New Orleans Pacific Railroad ex- 

 tends in a northwestward direction from New 

 Orleans to Shreveporfc on Red River, a distance 

 of 325 miles, through the richest part of Louisi- 

 ana. At Shreveport, junction is made with 

 the main line of the Texas Pacific Railroad. 

 The first ninety miles of the line out of New 

 Orleans follow the general course of the Mis- 

 sissippi River, running through the largest 

 sugar and rice plantations in the State. At 

 Brusle", a branch eight miles long connects the 

 road with Baton Rouge, the capital of the 

 State. From Brusle the road turns more west- 

 ward to the Atchafalaya River, which it 

 reaches at Church ville, 130 miles from New 

 Orleans ; thence in a northwesterly direction, 

 striking the rich valley of the Red River the 

 great cotton-producing section it reaches Al- 

 exandria, 200 miles from New Orleans. From 

 Alexandria it follows the course of the river, 

 passing near Natchitoches, traversing the 

 largest timber region of the State, and reach- 

 es Shreveport by way of Mansfield. Along the 

 whole line from New Orleans to Alexandria, 

 immense cypress thickets are easily accessible, 

 and thence to Shreveport it passes through 

 forests of the finest " long-leaf " pine. During 

 the summer shipments of wheat via the South- 

 ern Pacific Railroad reached New Orleans, as 

 an experiment to prove whether the overland 

 shipments can be made as cheaply as by the 

 long ocean-voyage from San Francisco, and 

 whether, although there may be theoretically 

 a limit at which actual cost of transportation 

 may check railroad business, practically, mini- 

 mum freights may not be more remunerative 



