LOUISIANA. 



509 



Confederate soldiers of the State of Louisiana, and to 

 the widows of Confederate soldiers, wounded, disabled, 

 or killed during the late civil war, who are now in 

 indigent circumstances. 



An act. to encourage sheep husbandry ; to protect 

 sheep from the ravages of dogs ; to make it a misde- 

 meanor to knowingly own a sheep-killing dog, and 

 to provide a penalty for the same ; and to invest police 

 juries with power to pass certain ordinances, to de- 

 clare the violation of such ordinances misdemeanor, 

 and to provide the punishment thereof. 



An act to prohibit the sale in this State of oleo- 

 margarine, butterine, or other substances as butter, 

 and to provide a penalty for the violation of the 

 same. 



An act regulating insurance companies conducting 

 business in this State, either domiciliated or by agent, 

 as to the rebate allowed. 



An act making it a crime for any physician or prac- 

 titioner of medicine to prescribe spirituous or intoxi- 

 cating liquors with intent to evade or with intent to 

 assist others to evade payment of any license re- 

 quired by any State law or parochial or municipal 

 ordinance for the sale of said spirituous or intoxicat- 

 ing liquors, or with intent to evade or with intent to 

 assist others to evade any such law or ordinance pro- 

 hibiting the sale of said spirituous or intoxicating liq- 

 uors, and to provide the punishment therefor. 



An act to establish the rank and order of prefer- 

 ence of privileges and pledges on crops. 



An act for the protection of buyers from the fraudu- 

 lent acts of nurserymen. 



Joint resolution proposing to submit to the electors 

 of the State an amendment to Article 207 of the Con- 

 stitution of 1879 relative to exemption from taxation. 



An act to regulate the hours of labor on and con- 

 nected with the street railroads. 



Speaking of the work of the session, the 

 New Orleans " Picayune " says : " It is not to 

 be forgotten that these alleged law-makers 

 turned a deaf ear to appeals from the people 

 who asked for legislation for the purification 

 of the jury-box, for the protection of the bal- 

 lot-box, for the vindication of the laws upon 

 criminals, and for the securing of honest elec- 

 tions. It is not to be forgotten that the peti- 

 tions of citizens for the institution of whole- 

 some and needed reforms were treated with 

 contempt and contumely in the halls of the 

 State Capitol, and the prayers of petitioners 

 were disregarded and their motives maligned 

 and misrepresented." 



The following are the chief provisions of 

 the Sunday law : 



That from and after Dec. 31, 1888, all stores^ shops, 

 saloons, and all places of public business which are 

 or may be licensed under the law of the State of Lou- 

 isiana, or under any parochial or municipal law or 

 ordinance, and all plantation-stores, are hereby re- 

 quired to be closed at twelve o'clock on Saturday 

 nights, and to remain closed continuously for twenty- 

 four hours, during which period of time it shall not 

 be lawful for the proprietors thereof to give, trade, 

 barter, exchange, or sell any of the stock, or any arti- 

 cle of merchandise kept in such establishment. 



That whosoever shall violate the provisions of this 

 act, for each oifense shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 

 demeanor. The provisions of this act shall not ap- 

 ply to newsdealers, keepers of soda-fountains, places 

 of resort for recreation and health, watering-places 

 and public parks, nor prevent the sale of ice. 



Tfiai the provisions of this act shall not apply to 

 newspaper-offices, printing-offices, book-stores, drug- 

 stores, apothecary-shops, public and private markets, 

 bakeries, dairies, livery-stables, railroads, whether 

 steam or horse ; hotels, boarding-houses, steamboats, 



and other vessels, warehouses for receiving and for- 

 warding freights, restaurants, telegraph-offices and 

 theatres, or any place of amusement, providing no 

 intoxicating liquors are sold in the premises; pro- 

 vided, that stores may be opened for the purpose of 

 selling anything necessary in sickness and for burial 

 purposes ; provided, that nothing in this act shall be 

 construed so as to allow hotels or boarding-houses to 

 sell or dispose of alcoholic liquors, except wine for 

 table use, on Sundays ; and provided further that no 

 alcoholic, vinous, or malt liquors shall be given, 

 traded, bartered, sold, or delivered, in any public 

 place on said day, except when actually administered 

 or prescribed by a practical physician in discharge of 

 his professional duties in case of sickness ; in such 

 cases the physician administering the intoxicating 

 liquors may cnarge therefor. 



Finances. The collection of taxes has been 

 vigorous and close, and there has been a 

 gradual increase in the percentage of collec- 

 tions since 1877-'78. The following statement 

 will show the increase : 



Taxes of 1877, collected in 1878, to Jan. 1, 



1879, 41 per cent. 



Taxes of 1878, collected in 1879, to Jan. 1, 



1880, 48 per cent. 



Taxes of 1880-'84, from 82 to 89 per cent. 



Taxes of 1885, collections in the last four 

 months and paid into the State treasury, 80 

 per cent. 



" The necessities of the State," says the 

 Governor, in his message to the Legislature. 

 " will require an increase of revenue, and the 

 best source from which to secure such in- 

 crease is from licenses. Licenses by the ex- 

 isting law are not well graded, and in many 

 instances the license levied is entirely too 

 small. The licenses can and should be so 

 graded as to realize a revenue of $400,000, 

 and this with the general fund tax will be 

 ample for all expenses of the government." 



In 1880 the total assessed value of property 

 in the State amounted to $177,096,459. In 

 1885 it amounted to $212,725,566 an in- 

 crease of over $36,000,000. 



The Governor recommends an amendment 

 of the tax and assessment laws, so that more 

 of the taxation, which now falls mainly on 

 real estate, may be borne by personal and 

 corporate property. 



The bonded and floating debt of the State is 

 as follows: 



Four per cent, bonds and certificates $11,967,752 02 



Coupons 1 to 11, inclusive 543,784 58 



Bab? bonds and coupons 1,437.0-25 39 



Warrants 1878 and previous, fundable 16,396 65 



Warrants 1S78 and previous, neither fundable 

 nor payable, having been issued since adop- 

 tion of Constitution of 1S79 4,605 72 



Levee contractor and repair warrants, 1878 



and previous 10,700 00 



Total $13,980,264 36 



The baby bonds were issued in pursuance 

 of " miscellaneous ordinances " of the Consti- 

 tution of 1879, and the payment of the inter- 

 est on the bonds and their final redemption in 

 six years were based upon taxes and licenses 

 due prior to Jan. 1, 1879. These back taxes 

 have been collected only in part, defective as- 

 sessments and other irregularities in the years 



