LOUISIANA. 



495 



vidual defendants are the several officers of the State scrip for 500 acres, which he can place on other 



who, under the law, compose the board of liquidation. land belonging to the State, worth say $1 per 



fe^S^^^^rSS^SSi ? <>r& the tract recovered slalffeL, 



ure collected from this tax, just as he is the keeper of eighths swamp and three eighths good land, 



other public moneys. He holds them, but only as he may take the latter and leave the State the 



agent of the State, not as a trustee. If there is any least valuable portion, and have besides a little 



trust, the State is trustee, and, unless the State can snrn l n o SPr j n to rmf snmpwhprp plsn " 



be sued, the trustees can not be enjoined. The offi- SUI P 11 



cers owe their duty to the State alone, and have no It; wa8 also claimed that under the terms of 

 contract relations with bondholders. There is noth- the contract the State had been defrauded with 

 ing in the cases cited by counsel which, in the opin- the connivance of Register Richardson, who 

 ion of the court, authorizes the relief which is asked. res i gn ed on the 30th of June. Gov. McEnery, 

 &3 W^toSSSSSSftS !><%" <** on account of this contract, re! 

 Jurisdiction may be used to give full effect to what the Ped that it was in full force when he came 

 'State has, by its act of submission, allowed to be into office, and he had no power to annul it. 

 done; and it the law permits the coercion of public Levees. The drainage from over 1,200,000 

 officers to enforce any judgment that may be rendered, square m ii es o f t h e Mississippi valley, concen- 

 ar^^^^^SSE Ated above Louisiana's northern Lundary, 

 State can not be sued, to set up its jurisdiction over can only be kept within the banks ot the Mis- 

 officers in charge of public moneys. The decree in sissippi by a line of levees extending from Ar- 

 the suit in equity, and judgment in that for manda- kansas on one side and from Baton Rouge on 

 mm, are affirmed. the other ^ to the Gu j f of Mexico, 720 miles. 

 Finances. The State Treasurer had the fol- Add to this the 305 miles of levees built along 

 lowing cash balances on hand to the credit of the interior streams the Lafourche, Atchafa- 

 the various funds, March 31, 1883 : laya, Des Glaizes, Black, Tensas, and Rounda- 



Generai fund, 1883 $30,532 82 way- and we have a total of 1,025 miles. 



General fund, 1882 4,688 81 From Jan. 1. 1879, to May 31, 1883, the State 



General fund, i S8i 8.109 24 exp ended for levees $1,617,311, out of a total 



Serai J5ft X ! ! ! ! ! ! .' ! ! ! ! ! .' ! i ! .' ! .' i ! ! ! '. ! ! .' ! IS "I of cash expenditures for all purposes of $8,- 



run-ent school fund, 1883 876,872 over 18 per cent. From 1869 to 



&r e ent 01 Sna; IfsiV.V.V.V.V.V::::::::::: tffi % m the cash expenditures for levee purposes 



Current school fund, 1880 4,60882 amounted to $8,733,121. Since 1869, then, 



Current school fund 1S79 2,2*2 27 Louisiana has spent for levees $10,350,432. 



intercst-tax fond, 18S2. !."."! .'".I!.".'!";!!"!.'! 55,425 15 A Levee Convention, consisting of representa- 



interest-tax fund, 1881 98,109 so ti ves from thirty-four parishes and several rail- 



SSStSSS^SB::.:::::::::::::::::::::: S -f - ' ^ at ?? ton , Kouge on the , wu, 



Interest-tax fund, 1878, and previous 4,901 73 and 19th of June. Ihe Governor submitted a 



Levee construction and repair, 1878 . . 1,652 86 messa o;e containing various recommendationB. 



Levee construction and repair, 1877, and previous 821 22 _ caoai fo' , . 



Charity- Hospital fund, 1882. 20 45 The action of the convention was embodied in 



Poll-tax fund. 1 879 6687 the report of a committee on the Governor's 



iC^y^^::::::::::::::::::::::: 1I3S S message and in resolutions. The following are 



District-levee fund 7,188 41 the essential portions of the report : 



General-engineer fund 9,073 56 . 



Interest and redemption $5 bonds 3,111 92 1. The inauguration of a plan to prevent the cutting 



Judicial-expense fund 10,877 49 O f the levees, and the use of them as highways. Un- 



Ouachita subsidy 141 14 <jer existing laws, the local authorities are not invest- 



Caddo subsidy 3,375 70 ed wit]l su ffl c i e nt power to prevent the use of the 



I levees as roadways, and to impose proper penalties. 



u Se ::::::::::::'.:::-.:::V.:: 10 X We would therefore recommend the passage of laws 



account... 18,619 63 giving to the police juries full and ample power to 



pass laws and ordinances defining and providing ade- 



Total $775,876 76 quate punishment for such offenses. 



m, m -i ,1 / n 4. 4. 2. Maintaining and repair of levees. We would 



The Treasurer also made the following state- recommen a the passage of an act to compel work 



lent : upon the levees by the adult citizens living in the 



The bonded debt is about $11,800,000, requiring ^*^ i ^^^I O S b6 W^far^?ew 



9 nr > v $9^ft oon r vpnr thp TrpflsiiTpr direction of the police juries. Vv c iurther recommena 



I^nds Mnrh rontroversv has taken of the Governor in reference to the just responsibility 

 Lands. Mucn controversy nas UKen railroa d s to contribute to the maintenance and sup- 

 lace regarding a contract entered into be- t ofthe levces which pro tect their property, 



tween Gov. Wiltz and John McEnery for the r We recommend the formation of chartered volun- 



recovery of lands due the State from the United teer companies of levee guards in towns and cities ; 



,tes It was claimed that "the contract pro- ^^^^^^^SS^ 



les that scrip shall be issued to the contract- JJJJ^J, be p us & as depo ts for materials and appli- 



r, which he can place on any land. In other ances to stop crevasses or to strengthen weak points, 

 fords, when he recovers 1.000 acres of sea- 3. Improvement of navigation. The convention 



rsh, worth say 10 cents an acre, he gets has by independent resolutions fully indorsed the 



