annually receives for his services as a very able and popular member of the bar, there are few men known to be more dunned than he is. But he possesses privileges and immunities to which nobody else would aspire. * * * For instance, as an example of the liberties which he takes, if dunned too actively he will give a check on any bank of which he bethinks himself at the moment, and the person who presents it becomes an object of merriment. It is looked upon as done in fun. There is not, of course, any idea of swindling, or of doing any real impropriety. It is only one of Grymes' practical jokes. He will pay in the end, as everybody knows, with any amount of interest in addition, and without questioning the rate. * * * Such was John R. Grymes, the most careless of men about money, coining it by the bushel, and squandering it in the same way. But toward the end of his life he became more economical, honorably paid all his debts, and left to his family a competency when he died at a ripe old age."
ALFRED HENNEN.
Alfred Hennen, one of the most distinguished lawyers of the first part of the Nineteenth Century in Louisiana, was born at Elk Ridge, Maryland, on the 17th of October, 1786, and died in New Orleans, on the 19th of January, 1870. He was graduated from Yale and studied law and came to New Orleans in 1808. He was one of the most prominent of the Protestants in New Orleans and one of the founders of the first Presbyterian Church in the city. He accumulated the largest private library, both of law and of general literature, in the city. Besides being a profound lawyer, he was a man of wide culture, a linguist of considerable attainments, with a strong leaning towards the love of literature. He was professor of Constitutional Law for many years at the University of Louisiana.
Several members of the present bar received their legal education in the office of Alfred Hennen or attended his lectures at the Law School. Everybody who is now living who remembers him has a kind word for that venerable counsellor, for many years one of the most distinguished figures at the New Orleans bar. He was upwards of eighty when he died and had come to be regarded as the Nestor of the profession.
In his "The New Orleans Bench and Bar in 1823," Charles Gayarre thus describes Mr. Hennen: "Hennen is from New England. He is a tall, well-formed, massive man, with a handsome benevolent face, glowing with the warm tints of a florid complexion, which denotes his Northern origin. He is invariably self-possessed, and no provocation can throw him off his guard, in his fortress of cold
and passionless reserve. Nothing can niffle his temper, and if the attempt is made he turns it off with a good-natured laugh, which blunts the edge of his adversary's weapon. He is an erudite, but plain, dry, plodding, practical lawj^er, who never aims at any fancy flight of eloquence. He has a large and well furnished library which he liberally puts at the disposal of his friends. He is laboriously industrious and always comes into court with a long string of authorities, which he uses as a lasso to throw around the neck of his opponent. He is not much addicted to urge upon the court argumentative deductions from the broad principles of jurisprudence, but prefers relying on an overwhelming avalanche of precedents and numeroiis decisions gathered from far and wide, in cases which he deems similar to his own. His fees amount to a large income, of which he takes thrifty care, although he lives according to the exigencies of his social position. He is a conspicuous and worthy member of the Presbyterian Church. He is abstemious in hi? habits, very fond of exercise on horseback and on foot, and a strict observer of the rules and prescriptions of hygiene. Like all members of the legal profession from the other States of the Union, he much prefers the common to the civil law, the latter being looked upon by them as an abortive creation of the Latin mind, which they hold, of course, to be naturally inferior to the Anglo-Saxon
intellect."
CHRISTIAN EOSELIUS.
Christian Boselius, said by some to have been a Swede, by other authorities to have been born near Bremen, Germany, 10th of August, 1803, came to New Orleans in 1819, at the age of 16, on the bark Jupiter as a "redemptioner," that is, he hired his services for a stated period as a consideration for his transportation, a common enough arrangement with the emigrants to Louisiana of that day. Eoselius was at first a printer, and it is said that he learned French at the case, setting up French manuscript. Then he studied law and the French civil law became a passion with him. He studied law in the office of A. Davezac, and gradually rose into prominence. For a while at first he had to support himself by teaching.
In 1825, while still a printer, he started the first literary journal in Louisiana, The Halycon, which had a short-lived existence.
In 1841 Eoselius was Attorney General of the State. Not long afterwards his legal reputation had become so great that he was offered a partnership by Daniel Webster, but declined it, as he preferred to live in New Orleans.
For many vears Christian Eoselius was Dean of the law faculty of the
University of Louisiana, where for twenty-three years he was professor of civil law.
In 1863 he was offered a position as Chief Justice of the Supreme Bench, but declined it, as New Orleans had been captured by the Federal army, and was held under military law and Koselius refused to serve as a Judge on a bench when he would be subject to military interference.
Besides being a profound civilian Koselius became a very cultivated man in a literary sense, and collected a magniticent private library. At his large house surrounded by magnificent grounds in Carrollton, which was then just above New Orleans, but has since been absorbed into it, for many years he exercised a liberal hospitality. In his private life he was very charitable.
While not a remarkably eloquent speaker Christian Koselius was a profoundly learned lawyer, one of the ablest civilians that ever practiced at the New Orleans bar. Tradition has handed down the memory of his magnificent voice, of immense volume and great carrying power. When he spoke, it is said, it was as if there was a lion at the bar.
Christian Koselius died in New Orleans on the 5th of September, 1873.
JOHN ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL.
John Archibald Canijibell was born in Washington, Wilkes county, Georgia, on the 24th of June, 1811. His ancestry was of Revolutionary stock. His father had been a distinguished lawyer before him.
Judge Campbell was educated at the University of Georgia, from which he was graduated in 1826. In 1829 he was admitted to the bar by a special act of the Legislature, dispensing him from attaining his majority, as he was then only eighteen years old.
On the 22d of March, 1853, President Pierce, on account of the eminence to which he had attained in his profession, appointed him one of the associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Here he served with marked ability and distinction until 1861, when at the outbreak of the Civil War, out of sympathy with the Southern cause, he resigned and went to Richmond as Assistant Secretary of War in the Confederacy.
In 1856 Judge Campbell was one of the Confederate peace commissioners appointed to meet Lincoln and Seward. After the war he was held as a prisoner at Fort Pulaski by the Federal authorities, but was soon discharged on parole. Then he came to New Orleans, where he practiced law with marked success and distinction until his death.
Judge Campbell will be remembered in history as a distinguished jurist, as a statesman, who did as much as any man in either section in the country in 1861 to endeavor to avert the war, and as a patriot who resigned one of the highest offices in the world, of which he had a life tenure, to serve the South.
JUDAH P. BE>fJAMIN".
Judah P. Benjamin—Judah Philip Benjamin his full name was—was born in 1811 at St. Croi.v, West Indies. His parents were English Jews, and were emigrating to America. The British fleet was blockading the entrance to the Mississippi river, the second war with Great Britain just having commenced, and not being able to make New Orleans, their destined port, they put in at St. Croix, one of the islands of the West Indies, and here Judah P. Benjamin was born.
Part of his boyhood was passed at Wilmington, N. C. In 1825 he entered Yale College and remained there three years, finally leaving without a degree. Next he studied law in New Orleans in a notary's office, and was admitted to the bar on the 11th of December, 1832.
At first, he met with small success and devoted himself to teaching, meanwhile keeping up his legal studies by taking notes from the reports which he afterward embodied in the Digest of Louisiana decisions, published by him with Slidell in 1834. This was one of the first digests of Louisiana decisions ever published, and formed the basis of the digest of Hennen, which has superseded it, and is in use in the courts of Louisiana at the present day.
Benjamin finally succeeded in establishing himself in his profession, and had become a member of the firm of Slidell, Benjamin & Conrad, which had a large clientele among the planters. In 18-15 he had begun to turn his attention to politics and became a member of the Constitutional Convention of that year.
In 1847 Benjamin was retained in the cases of the Spanish land titles in California, and went to Washington on this legal business. Henceforth he had a considerable practice, his reputation as a lawyer having become national.
In 1853 he was elected to the Senate of the United States from Louisiana and re-elected, his term continuing until, with the other Southern Senators and Eepre-sentatives, he left Washington and his seat in the Senate at the outbreak of the Civil War. While serving as Senator he established a great reputation as an orator and a statesman among the giants that were in those days. So great was his reputation for ability that Northern writers have written of him in his after career as "the brains of the Confederacy."
It was while he was in the Senate that his defense of slavery was so zealous and aggressive that Senator Wade, of Ohio, wittily referred to him as "a Hebrew with Egyptian principles." While there is no recorded reply to the witticism of Senator Wade, Benjamin never came off second best in his contests with the statesmen of the North. Any. one can understand this who reads his magnificent farewell address to the Senate. Jefferson Davis' farewell address is cold, logical, deliberate. He even asks pardon if in the heat of debate he has unwittingly given offense to anyone or hurt the feelings of anyone. Mississippi has called and, as the delegate that Mississippi has sent to represent her in the Senate, it is his duty to obey the call. He goes because it is his duty to go. The eloquence is the slow and stately eloquence of Brutus. Not so with the fiery Senator from Louisiana. He admonishes, upbraids, and attacks them. It is a philippic. Like Mark Anthony over Caesar, or Demosthenes accusing the Athenians of subserviency to Philip, or Cicero accusing Cataline, or Burke impeaching Warren Hastings, he brings his accusation against the statesmen and people of the North and charges them with high crimes and misdemeanors, with fanaticism, uncharitableness and bad faith. In his peroration he bids the assembled Senate farewell forever in the tone of an orator of the ancient days. No one who heard it and no one who reads it can ever forget the ringing words of that speech. It is one of the masterpieces of modern oratory.
When the Confederate Government was first formed Benjamin was appointed Attorney General. In August, 1861, he was transferred to be Secretary of War and then later he was made Secretary of State, remaining in the Confederate Cabinet until the close of the war.
After the war was over he escaped off the coast of Florida to the Bahamas and took passage to England. In effecting his escape his knowledge of French gained in Louisiana was of immense service to him, as he was enabled to pass himself off for a Frenchman, and so elude his enemies.
Arrived in England, the country from which his parents had come, he at once entered himself as a student of law, to perfect himself in the knowledge of English law. This was on the 13th of January, 1866, and he enrolled himself at Lincoln's inn. The following summer he was graduated. For a time, as when thirty-four years before, he had begun at the Louisiana bar, he was unsuccessful. He had to resort to journalism to support himself. But he persevered, and after the appearance of his book on Sales his practice became established. Benjamin on Sales is the recognized text-book of English law on that subject. It is pronounced by competent authorities to be the greatest book on Sales ever written.
Benjamin's practice at the English bar grew and increased to an extent that was marvelous. In June, 1872, he was created Q. C. In the latter years of his practice he only accepted briefs on appeal and appeared only before the House of Lords and the privy council. It was said that at one time on his single law docket he had one-half of the appealed cases of all Great Britain.
In 1883 he retired. On the 30th of June, of that year, he was banqueted at the Inner Temple and toasted as one of the greatest lawyers that had ever been a member of the English bar. Shortly thereafter he went to Paris, where his wife and daughter were, and there on the 8th of May, 1884, he died. Without doubt Judah P. Benjamin was a great statesman and one of the greatest lawyers that ever lived. His portrait in the gallery of the Supreme Court of Louisiana shows in the dark black bearded face the stupendous intellect of the man. His work as a statesman was for a country that has been conquered; as a lawyer his memory will live in a text-book that is now a daily authority in practice and will always be one of the classics of the law.
MOREAU LISLET.
Moreau Lislet, who was a member of the commission appointed by the Legislature that framed the Civil Code of Louisiana, is described by Mr. Gayarre as follows:
"Moreau Lislet is a rotund Frenchman past the meridian of life. His eyes sparkle with good-natured wit under the large spectacles which bestride his small nose. Everything seems soft in him, even his bones. His flesh is tremulous, like blanc-mange or jelly, and as yielding under the touch. His hands are diminutive and plump. He does not look formidable, does he? No. Well, you had better beware of him. He is an artesian well of legal lore—deep, very deep. He is one of those two or three jurists who were entrusted by the Legislature with the work of adapting the Napoleon code to the wants and circumstances of Louisiana under her new institutions. He has no pretensions to oratory. He addresses the court or the jury in a sort of conversational, familiar way. He is always in a good humor, which is communicative. He is a very great favorite with the judges, tlie clerks, the sheriffs, the jurors, the members of the bar—in fact, with everybody. He is so kind, so benevolent, so amiable in all his dealings and sayings! His bonhomie is so captivating."
But Moreau Lislet, botihomie and all, was a great advocate, as Mr. Gayarre shows concluding his description of this famous lawyer with "Ho, ho! beware of Moreau Lislet and of his bonhomie!"
EDWARD LIVINGSTON".
Edward Livingston, of the distinguished American family of Livingstons, was the son of Eobert Livingston, one of the early American statesmen, and was born in Clermont, New York, on the 26th of May, 1764. He died at Rhinebeck, N. Y., on the 23rd of May, 1836. He was graduated from Princeton in 1781, and studied law in Albany, N. Y., with John Lansing. He was admitted to the bar in January, 1785, and removed to New York City, where he had as competitors, Benson, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, where he held his own with these formidable rivals. In 1794 his political career began, in which he afterwards attained the highest distinction. He was elected to Congress, to the House of Representatives, where he served three terms, till March, 1801. In this year, he was appointed United States District Attorney in New York, and before the expiration of that year, was elected Mayor of New York City. His extreme popularity was demonstrated when he stuck to his post, during the yellow fever epidemic in New York in 1803. He took sick of the fever, and it was learned, that although his physician had prescribed Madeira wine for him, he had given away all the Madeira in his cellar to those who were more in need of it than himself. When this became public, the people of New York sent him all the wine that he could use, and crowds daily gathered around his house to learn the condition of the charitable hearted mayor.
In 1804 he left New York for New Orleans. His brother Robert had Just completed the negotiations for the purchase of Louisiana. He left New York because he had run deeply into debt to the United States Government, by reason of the defalcation of his business agent, who had embezzled some forty-three thousand dollars of the Government money. With his characteristic and impulsive sense of honor, before it could be discovered exactly how much he was indebted to the Government, Livingston confessed judgment in favor of the United States for one hundred thousand dollars.
In New Orleans in 1805, he drew up the Code of Procedure which was adopted by the Legislature as a foundation of the Code of Practice of Louisiana. It was subsequently iised in making the present Code of Civil Procedure of New York.
During his early days in New Orleans, he had as a client, John Gravier, who gave him as part of his fee, in a litigation in which he employed him, a part of the batture St. Marie, out of which grew the famous batture case. The people of New Orleans claimed that the batture belonged to them, and Livingston, who was about to improve his property was, by the authority of the United States Govern-
ment, ejected from it. He promptly brought suit in the court to vindicate his rights, and then it was that Jefferson assailed him, in a published pamphlet, although when in Congress he had supported Jefferson as against Burr in the vote for the Presidency. It was said, in justifieation of Jefferson's conduct, that Jefferson was influenced by the slander that Gen. Wilkinson had circulated, that Livingston was implicated in Burr's conspiracy, an absurd charge, of which Livingston completely cleared himself as soon as it was brought. Livingston replied to Jefferson in kind. It was universally admitted that Livingston had very much the best of the President in the controversy. Besides that, Livingston won his suit in court and got possession again of his land. The charge of complicity in the Burr conspiracy brought against him was originated by Gen. Wilkinson, and had only the slender foundation, that a private debt which had been reduced to judgment against Livingston in New York had been assigned to Aaron Burr.
During the battle of New Orleans, Livingston was an aide to Gen. Jackson, and served him with such ability that Gen. Jackson formed a personal friendship for him, which continued through his life, and which was of the utmost service to Livingston in his political future, when Jackson was elevated to the Presidency. When Jackson left New Orleans he presented Livingston with his portrait painted on ivory.
In 1820 Livingston was a member of the Louisiana Legislature. In 1822 he was sent to Congress, where he served for three terms. In 1823 he was appointed on the Louisiana Code Commission and drew, besides the Eevision of the Civil Code, a Criminal Code, which was never adopted by the Legislature, but is considered by jurists of the highest rank.
In 1826 Livingston paid his debt to the Government, which, with interest, amounted to over one hundred thousand dollars, by transferring land that he had acquired to the United States.
In 1829 he was elected LTnited States Senator from Louisiana, and in 1823 he was Secretary of State in Jackson's Cabinet. It was charged by Jackson's political opponents that Edward Livingston was the President's brains. He is suspected of being the author of the famous Nullification Proclamation of December, 1832. In 1833 he was appointed Minister to France, and formed a close friendship with Gen. Lafayette.
On his return from France he retired to his estate at Rhinebeck, New York, which had been left him as a legacy by his sister.
Undoubtedly Edward Livingston was one of the greatest lawyers that ever
^-^!^>^^c^^-^ /t^i:Ti^y~)
lived. His knowledge of law was inexhaustible. His legal works are of the highest authority: Judicial Opinions of the Mayor's Court of New York (1803), published in 1803; Report of the Plan of the Penal Code of New Orleans (1822); System of Penal Law for the State of Louisiana (1826); System of Penal Law for the United States (Washington, 1828); and there also has been published his complete works on Criminal Jurisprudence (New York, 1873). Livingston is thus described by Gayarre:
"Among the Americans who had come to New Orleans to better their fortune, none was so distinguished as Edward Livingston. He was of an illustrious family, and before emigrating to the extreme South he had been mayor of the city of New York. * * * jjg at once became one of the leading members of the bar, notwithstanding his enemies who spread evil reports against him, and his having incurred a great deal of unpopularity in consequence of the part he took in the famous 'T)atture case," which gave rise to riots in New Orleans, and to an acrimonious controversy between Thomas Jefferson and himself, in which he showed that he was at least equal if not superior to his great adversary. * * * Conquering prejudices, calumnies, and envy, he grew rapidly as he became better known and appreciated, upon the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens in his newly elected home, and was sent to represent Louisiana in the Senate of the United States. His career as such, as Secretary of State under the Presidency of General Jackson, and as Minister Plenipotentiary in France is well known. For the present I have only to deal with him as a member of the New Orleans bar, where he towered up as one of the giants.
"Edward Livingston was tall and spare in body, and with strong, clear-cut features which denoted his Scotch ancestry. The habitual expression of his face was meditative and rather austere, but his smile was indicative of the benignity of his heart. He was mild in manner, courteous, dignified, and indefatigably laborious. * * * His eloquence was of the classical order, and uniformly elegant. It would in forensic debates, flow at first with the modesty of a gentle stream, but by degrees, swelling and rushing like the mighty tide of the ocean, it would overflow far and wide and leave to opposition not an inch of ground to stand upon."
DOMINIQUE SEGHERS.
One of the most noted of the old French lawyers of New Orleans was Dominique Seghers. The following description of this old French avone of the ancien regime, as Mr. Gayarre describes him, is typical:
"Dominique Seghers was a perfect type of the red-tape old French avone of the ancient regime. He looked into every case entrusted to his care con amore, almost with paternal affection. * * * The very moment a subject of litigation was placed in his hands, he doubted not of its being founded in law, and if that law was not apparent, he felt convinced that by dint of patient researches he would discover in the end that the projected suit could be based on some article of the Civil Code, some special statute, some applicable precedent, some decision of court, if not on the broad principles of jurisprudence. For him professionally there was no right or wrong outside of the text of the law. Everything else was vaporous sentimentality, sheer romance. * * *
"He had to contend against a peculiar and very serious impediment for a luan of his profession; it was the extreme dilBculty he had to express himself. In court he painfully struggled for words. They stuck in his throat, and when at last they came out, it was as if they had forced their way through an obstructed passage. * * * No interruptions from court or jury, or from the adverse party, however frequently repeated, could put him out of countenance. * * * After a while he would start again, in his humorous style, precisely from the point where the thread of his discourse had been cut off. * * *
"His physical appearance would easily have denoted the inward man to a physiognomist. There was a great deal of character in his features. They were strongly marked—a sharp, long face; a large mouth; a much protruding and big nose; gray eyes participating of the elongated olive shape, with furtive and oblique glances to detect anything suspicious, from whatever part of the horizon it might come; large flat ears that stuck close to the side of his head, and for which no approach of a velvet-footed cat would have been noiseless. This gentleman acquired by his profession a considerable fortune."
ETIENNE MAZUEEAU.
The next of the famous advocates of the olden time, still following Mr. Gayarre, is Etienne Mazureau, a native of France, who has emigrated to Louisiana in search of a better fortune, and who in a few years has risen to be one of the magnates of the New Orleans bar. Of a medium size, compactly built, with flashing dark eyes, intensely black hair and a brown complexion, he is a perfect specimen of the Southern type as if to the manner and the manor born. He is of an ardent temperament, and the sacred fire of the orator glows in his breast. He is an adroit and most powerful logician, but on certain occasions his eloquence becomes
tempestuous. He delights in all the studies appertaining to his profession, and possesses a most profound and extensive knowledge of the civil law, from the twelve tables of Eome and the institutes of Justinian to the Napoleon Code. He is also thoroughly familiar with the Spanish jurisprudence, which is derived from the same source. He is deeply versed in the common law, which, however, when the opportunity presents itself it is his special pleasure to ridicule and treat with spiteful depreciation. * * * jje is equally great and successful in civil and criminal cases. Hence his income is very large; but he has a peculiar knack of getting into debt and parting with his money in the most unaccountable manner. He has this characteristic in common with many men of splendid abilities, through whose pockets silver and gold run as through a sieve much to the mortification of their creditors."
GEORGE EUSTIS.
One of the most distinguished Judges of New Orleans was Judge Eustis, who was a nephew of Governor William Eustis, of Massachusetts. Judge Eustis was born in Boston on the 20th of October, 1796. He died in New Orleans on the 23rd of December, 1858. He was graduated from Harvard in the class of 1815, and then became private secretary to his uncle, Gov. Eustis, who was then Minister of the United States to Holland at The Hague. It was while at The Hague, at the United States Legation, that he began the study of law. In 1817 he came to New Orleans, where he continued his legal studies, and was admitted to the bar in New Orleans in 1822.
Judge Eustis' public services began with his election to the State Legislature, in which he served several terms. He then became Secretary of State, and was subsequently appointed one of the Commissioners on the Board of Currency. In this office he acquired a very considerable reputation as a financier, on account of the reforms he introduced in Louisiana, tending to give to the finances of the State a more staple basis. He was next Attorney General of the State, in which office he served one term. Then he was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1845. He was appointed to the Bench as Chief Justice, and served until 1852. On account of the distinction he obtained as a jurist. Harvard, his Alma Mater, conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.
Judge Eustis' sons were both distinguished men: George Eustis, a member of Congress and Secretary of the Confederate Legation in France, and James Biddell Eustis, who enjoyed a long career of public distinction.
PIERRE ADOLPH ROST.
One of the most accomplished civilians who ever sat upon the Bench of Louisiana was Mr. Jiistice Pierre Adolph Rost. Judge Rest was born in France in 1797, and died in New Orleans on the 6th of September, 1868. He was educated at the Lycee ISTapoleon, and at the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. While he was yet a lad he served as a soldier in the defense of Paris when Napoleon was in retirement at the Island of Elba, and but for the defeat at Waterloo would have been given a commission in the French Army under the Empire.
In 1816 he came to America and settled in Natchez, Miss., where he studied law with Jos. E. Davis. From Natchez he removed to Natchitoches, where he practiced law with distinction. In 1826 was elected to the State Senate. In 1830 he was nominated for Congress, but defeated. The same year he removed to New Orleans. In 1838 he made a trip to Europe and on his return was appointed to the Supreme Bench, where he served for some time, but resigned to engage in the occupation of planting, in which he had extensive interests. In 1846 he was again appointed to the Supreme Bench, and served for several years.
During the war Judge Rost was Commissioner to Spain for the Confederate Government, and attained high rank as a diplomatist. After the war he returned to New Orleans and resumed the practice of law and devoted himself to caring for his large planting interests.
Judge Rost was an able Judge, a profound civilian, and distinguished for his learning in the Commercial Law. As a jurist, he was one of the ablest that ever sat upon the Bench in Louisiana.
THOMAS COURTLAND MANNING.
Thomas Courtland Manning enjoys the distinction of having been three times appointed Judge upon the Supreme Court Bench for the State of Louisiana. He was born at Edenton, North Carolina, in 1831. He died in New York City on the 11th of October, 1887. Judge Manning was graduated from the University of North Carolina and admitted to the Bar in North Carolina and practiced in his native town of Edenton for some years.
In 1885 he removed to Alexandria, La., where his marked ability, in a short time, brought him a large practice. In 1861 he was a member of the Convention in Louisiana which decided upon secession. Immediately after this, the war breaking out, he was given the command of Lieutenant in a Louisiana Confederate regiment, and was subsequently promoted to be a Lieutenant Colonel upon the
staff of Gov. Moore, the War Governor of Louisiana. In ISti;) he was again promoted to be Adjutant General of Louisiana, with the rank of Brigadier General. In 1864 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and served until the end of the war. In 1872 he was offered the nomination for Governor, but declined. His political prominence still continued, although he held no public oflfice. In 1876 he was vice-president of the National Convention whicli nominated Samuel J. Tilden. In 1S77 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and served in that capacity until 1880, when the new Constitution of 1879 went into effect, and a term was put to his oflfice bv the formation of a new court under that Constitution. He was apponited, about this time, one of the trustees of the Peabody fund.
In 1880 he was again a Presidential Elector, and in this year was appointed to the office of Senator of the United States, but his seat was refused him. In 1882 he was, for the third time, appointed on the Supreme Bench and served until 1886, when he was appointed by President Cleveland United States Minister to Mexico. He held this oflfice until his death.
Judge Manning was one of the ablest Judges that ever sat upon the Supreme Court Bench of Louisiana. Not only was he a jurist, but he was a man of culture as well. His attainments, as a scholar, and his accomplishments as a man of liie world, were recognized by President Cleveland by his appointment to the Mexican mission. His popularity as a Judge was greater, and his place in history more marked, inasmuch as he was the Chief Justice of the Court which succeeded tlie Ludeling Court, which held office during the period of reconstruction, and which is held by the people of Louisiana, as all the government at that time, as infamous.
JAMES BIDDELL EUSTIS.
James Biddell Eustis was born in New Orleans in 1827. He received a classical education and was graduated from the law school of Harvard. He was admitted to the Bar in New Orleans in 1856 and practiced in New Orleans.
During the Civil War he was appointed on the staff of Gen. Magruder as Judge Advocate, and subsequently transferred to the staff of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, where he served to tlie end of the war. He was one of the commissioners sent to Washington to President Lincoln with regard to Louisiana affairs at the close of the war. After the war he resumed his practice in New Orleans and began his life as a public man. In 1872 he was elected to the State House of Eepre-sentatives. In 1874 to the State Senate. In 1876 he was elected Senator of the
United States and served until 1879. He was then appointed professor of Civil Law to the University of Louisiana. In 1884 he was elected for a second term to ( n
the United States Senate and was subsequently appointed Amh^g^AoT to France /TMyyvv; by President Cleveland. Senator Eustis is only recently deceased. He was one of the ablest of the Southern statesmen and was a man of culture, and an accomplished writer. His writings show literary ability in a marked degree.
EDWIN THOMAS MERRICK.
One of the oldest and most distinguished of the practitioners at the bar of New Orleans in the early days, who survived until almost the present day, was Edwin Thomas Merrick, who, under the Constitution of 1852, was Chief Justice of the State. Judge Merrick was born in Massachusetts in 1810. Having received his early legal education and training in a common law State, in his long practice at the bar in Louisiana and on the Bench he was able to add to the profound knowledge of the civil law to which he had attained the broader point of view derived from his common law learning. In the United States Court in New Orleans he was distinguished for his eminence in the equity practice.
When Judge Merrick first came to Louisiana he settled in the Felicianas, where he practiced with distinction until elected Chief Justice in 1855. After his term of office, he practiced in New Orleans with much distinction until his death at the age of eighty-seven in 1897.
HENRY CARLETON MILLER. Henry Carleton Miller, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, was born in Covington, St. Tammany parish, Louisiana, in 1828, and died in New Orleans on the 4th of March, 1899. His father was S. W. Miller, a member of the Bar, of some distinction, who was one of the first reporters of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. Judge Miller was educated at private schools in New Orleans, and when he was a young man entered into commercial life, not having the means, on account of his father's death, to begin, at once, his legal career, in which he afterwards was so distinguished. He succeeded, however, by his own efforts, in obtaining the legal education necessary to admittance to the Bar and passed his examination before the Supreme Court. Once at the Bar he soon displayed the ability that so distinguished him throughout his professional career, and at the outbreak of the Civil War he was United States District Attorney, and had attained such prominence in his profession as to be considered a rival of the Honor-
able Thomas J. Semmes, who, for many years, was the leader of the Bar in New Orleans. After the war, Mr. lliller formed a co-partnership for the practice of law, with E. W. Huntington, and later was a member of the firm of Lee, Finney & Bradford, which was the successor of the firm of Benjamin & Bradford, and composed of Judah P. Benjamin, of whom an extended notice has been given here, and of E. A. Bradford, who, just prior to the war, had been nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States. During his practice, Mr. Miller, among other important cases, in which he was engaged, gained distinction in the PremiuiA Bond case—the Consolidated Bond case, and as attorney of the Board of Liquidation. He was dean of the faculty of the Tulane Law School for many years, lecturing on Admiralty and International Law. In 1894, he was appointed to the Supreme Bench, to succeed the Honorable Charles Parlange. In 1896, he was reappointed for the full term of twelve years. Had Judge Miller not been appointed to the Supreme Bench, it was acknowledged that he would have been recognized as the leader of the Bar upon the death of the Honorable Thomas J. Semmes. On the death of both of these distinguished lawyers, there has been found no lawyer in New Orleans sufficiently above his fellows to deserve the position of leader. As a lawj-er, Judge Miller, was painstaking, logical and profound, and was one of the most thorough lawyers who ever argued a case in the Louisiana courts. He was acknowledged to have been one of ihe ablest Judges ever appointed to the Bench.
THOMAS JENKINS SEMMES.
Thomas Jenkins Semmes, one of the greatest Louisiana lawyers, was born in Georgetown, District of Columbia, December 16, 1824. He was educated at Georgetown College, where he was graduated in 1842, and then studied law and went to the Law School at Harvard, where he graduated in law in 1845. He practiced law for a number of years in Washington, and in 1850 removed to New Orleans. He was appointed United States District Attorney by President Buchanan, and attained such prominence in his profession, he was elected Attorney General of the State before he was thirty years of age. He was a member of the Confederate Senate from Louisiana, and made the report of the committee that devised the motto of the seal of the Confederacy. After the war, he resumed his practice in New Orleans, holding, until the end of his life, the position of leader of the Bar. He was twice professor at the Law School of Tulane Universitj'—first, professor of Civil Law, and later, professor of Common Law, which position he held at the time of his death. His lectures to the law
classes have never been surpassed in learning or brilliancy. His arguments before the courts always attracted a crowd, and he was listened to by the judges and the lawyers with the utmost attention. His oratory was of the old school, but surcharged with profound learning and of a range that has rarely been equaled. It was when he had a case that was seemingly difficult that his ability was the most strongly called forth. He took absolute delight in presenting what seemed to be an untenable proposition and in demonstrating, with his remarkable logic and eloquence, that sound reason required that that proposition should be held. He was president, for a term, of the American Bar Association. Many of his addresses have been printed—notably, "Codification the Natural Eesult of the Evolution of Law," delivered before the American Bar Association. Mr. Semmes was a profound civilian, and although learned in the common law, of which he was professor at the Law School, preferred the Civil Law as the superior system. He was fond of arguing that all the improvements in the Common Law have been derived from a Civil Law source.
Mr. Semmes accumulated a large fortune in his practice, which he employed liberally in charity. His character was as kindly as his learning was profound. His demeanor, both in the court room and out, was always of the utmost courtesy of a gentleman of the old school. Without doubt, he was the most distinguished figure of the Louisiana Bar during the period from the close of the war to the present time. He died in New Orleans on the 23rd of June, 1899.
PEESENT BENCH AND BAR.
The present Judges in New Orleans are:
Of the Supreme Court—Chief Justice Francis T. Nicholls, Lynn B. Watkins, Joseph A. Breaux, Newton C. Blanchard, Frank A. Monroe.
Of the Court of Appeal—Judges R. N. Ogden, Horace L. Dufour, I. D. Moore.
Of the Civil District Court—Judges N. H. Eightor, T. C. W. Ellis, Fred D. King, and George H. Theard, and John St. Paul.
Of the City Courts—Judges R. H. Downing, P. J. Patorno, Wynne Rogers, and Thomas F. Maher.
Of the Criminal Court—Judges James C. Moise and Joshua G. Baker.
Of the City Criminal Courts—Judges Thomas M. Gill, Jr., and A. M. Ancion.
The present Bar of New Orleans has, in its numbers, many distinguished lawyers, who would bear comparison with the famous advocates of the past days. It is considered more in accordance with traditional propriety not to mention any of the living members of the Bar.
CAUSE CELEBRES.
The famous cases arising in Louisiana have been numerous, on account of the quantity of litigation which the city has seen, and the number of distinguislied lawyers who have practiced at the New Orleans Bar. There may be mentioned the case for contempt against Gen. Andrew Jackson, in which Judge Dominick Hall, of the United States Court, fined him one thousand dollars; the famous batture case of Edward Livingston, in which he got into a controversy with President Thomas Jefferson, and they printed pamphlets against each other, a controversy in which Livingston was acknowledged to have gotten considerably the better of his distinguished opponent; the McDonogh will case, in which was involved the large bequests of John McDonogh to the public schools in New Orleans and Baltimore; the Martin will case, which has been referred to under the notice of Judge Martin; and the Gaines case, perhaps the most celebrated case in the United States, which was brought by more lawyers, before more courts, and involved more property, and attracted more notoriety, and was more romantic than any other case, in any court in the world, of which there is record. An excellent resume of the litigation as it finally took shape, is found in the 131 U. S. Reports, page 192, summarized by the reporter of the Supreme Court of the United States, the title of the case being. New Orleans vs. Gaines' Administrator.
The Louisiana Law Association, now the Louisiana Bar Association, was incorporated in 1847 by John R. Grimes as president, and Alfred Hennen as vice-president, Thomas AUen Clark as secretary and treasurer, and Pierre Soule, Charles Watts, Christian Roselius, Richard H. Wilde, Edward Rawle, John Win-throp and William W. King, as the committee on membership.
In 1899 the association was reorganized and its name changed to the Louisiana Bar Association, at the same time the extensive addition to the association's library was begun, which has raised the number of volumes to some twelve thousand volumes. The State library in the Tulane Hall is also a law library of considerable value.
LAW WRITERS.
On account of the peculiar system of Civil Law in Louisiana, differing from that of the sister States, and the consequent limitations put upon the themes to which a law writer in Louisiana can appeal, the number of authors upon legal subjects has been less than it otherwise would have been. The Digest of Benjamin and Slidell, referred to under the notice of Judah P. Benjamin, may be mentioned, and the Criminal Code that was drawn by Edward Livingston, although it was
never adopted, is considered by lawyers to be of the highest rank. David Hennen, the son of Alfred Hennen, compiled the first of the Digests which are now in use, which was the model for the subsequent Digests, which were compiled by Charles Louque, of the New Orleans Bar, and Jas. F. Taylor, of the Minden Bar. The edition of the Civil Code now commonly used was edited by Judge Albert Voor-hies. Mr. E. D. Saunders has published a book on Taxation, and Mr. Henry Denis one on Pledges. Mr. Solomon Wolff has edited an edition of the Revised Statutes, and Mr. Henry L. Garland is the editor of the last edition of the Code of Practice. Mr. Robert H. Marr compiled an admirable index of the statutes. Mr. Edwin T. Merrick has gotten out the first volume of a new edition of the Code, which will undoubtedly supersede all other editions.
Since the year 1847 there has been a law department attached to the University of Louisiana, in which the most distinguished members of the Bar and Judges have been professors. The present faculty is: Henry Denis, Professor of Civil Law and Lecturer on the Land Laws of the United States; Thomas C. W. Ellis, Professor of Admiralty and International Law; Frank Adair Monroe, Professor of Commercial Law and the Law of Corporations; Harry Hinckley Hall, Dean and Professor of Criminal Law, the Law of Evidence and of Practice under the Code of Practice of Louisiana; and Eugene D. Saunders, Professor of Constitutional Law, Common Law and Equity.
SUPREME COURT GALLERY. In the room of the Supreme Court there are hung on the walls, from floor to ceiling, portraits, in oil, of the distinguished judges and members of the Bar of New Orleans who have passed away. There are busts o'f Judge Martin, Pierre Soule, Judge Marshall and Edward Livingston, and the portraits of all the celebrities—Roselius, Hennen, Judge Rost, Grymes, Slidell—all the famous judges and advocates of former times.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND CHARITIES. By a. G. Duhno.
PERHAPS the most interesting of the public buildings of New Orleans is the old Cabildo building, on Chartres street, adjoining the Saint Louis Cathedral. Like its neighbor, the sacred edifice, the Cabildo was built by Don Almonaster y Roxas, the contract for this and the sister building on the other side of the church having been secured at the same time with that for the cathedral itself. It was called the Cabildo from the fact that it was here that the Governing Council, called by the Spanish the cabildo, held its sessions. This body was instituted by O'Reilly to replace the Superior Council of the French administration, though with greatly diminished powers. It consisted of ten members, besides the governor, who presided at its meetings, and an escribano, or clerk. Four of the members were elected on the first of each year by the whole cabildo, including the members who were about to retire. Two of these filled the office of alcaldes ordinarios, or common judges, each holding his daily court in the town hall, and, for causes involving not over $20, an evening court for one hour at his own house, where he rendered unwritten decisions. A third elective officer was the sindico-procurado-general, or attorney-general-syndic, the official advocate of the people in the deliberations of the cabildo; and the fourth, the mayor-domode proprios or municipal treasurer. The other six members were styled regidors, or administrators—literally rulers, and acquired their seats in the cabildo by purchase. They were the alfarez real an honorary office, without official functions except in case of the death or absence of one of the alcaldes; the alcalde mayor provincial, a magistrate whose jurisdiction extended beyond the city limits; the alguazil mayors a civil and criminal sherifE; the depositario-general, keeper and dispenser of the government stores; the recibidor de penas de camara, receiver of fines and penalties; and a sixth, to whom no official functions were assigned. The cabildo held its sessions every Friday, though the
governor liad power to convene it at any time. When he did not attend one of the ordinary Alcaldes presided and immediately after adjournment two of the Regidors went to his house to inform him of what had been done. The ordinary Alcaldes had the first seats in the Cabildo, immediately after the governor, and below them sat the other members in the following order: the alfarez real, alcalde mayor provincial, alguazil mayor, depositario-general, recibidor de penas de camara, sindieo-procurado-general, and clerk.
The old Cabildo has passed through many vicissitudes, and witnessed many changes. It was within its hall that the transfer of Louisiana from Spain to France took place, and here a few weeks later, Laussat, the French Colonial Prefect, delivered up the keys of the city, so recently surrendered to him by Governor Sal-cedo, to Commissioners Wilkinson and Claiborne, and turned over the Territory of Louisiana to the United States. When Lafayette visited New Orleans in 1835, as the city's guest, the Cabildo was fitted up as his residence during his stay, and the Democrats, in their contest for the mayoralty in 1858, turned it into a fortress. With the removal of the city offices to the new City Hall on St. Charles street, the glory of the old Spanish Cabildo departed. Its historic hall is now used by the Supreme Court of the State, while the lower floor serves as a magistrate's court and temporary jail. But it is found illy adapted to even these purposes, and there is a question as to what disposition shall finally be made of it. Some iconoclastic individuals have suggested tearing it down, but the proposal brought out a storm of protest from citizens who are interested in the preservation of the few remaining monuments of the past, and it is not probable that it will ever be carried out. The Historical Society have taken the matter up, and it is proposed by them to thoroughly renovate and restore the picturesque old building, and convert it into a museum for the reception of "pictures, statuary, old furniture, old books, miniatures, silver and gold works, parchments, velvets and brocades, arms and musical instruments," everything, in short, that recalls the past of the city. This project meets with the Avarm approval and support of Charles Dudley Warner, who takes a deep interest in the history of New Orleans, and who, during a recent visit, made an eloquent appeal in its behalf through the columns of one of the daily papers. It is proposed to obtain possession of the building in time to have it in readiness for opening on the centennial of the cession of Louisiana to the United States, and to celebrate its inauguration as a museum with religious and military ceremonies similar to those that accompanied the great event of December 20th, 1803.
Lowenstein, in his History of the Saint Louis Cathedral, says that at the time of
the acceptance of his proposal to rebuild the parish church, Don Almonaster also
secured the contract for, and built the buildings on each side of the Cathedral, at
about $5,000 apiece; the one on the left intended for a presbytery, * * * the
6ne on the right built for a town hall and jail, in which the cabildo held its sessions."
From a passage in the petition addressed by the Wardens of the Cathedral in
1843, to Judge Maurian, of the Parish Court, praying for relief and protection from
the usurping pretensions of Bishop Blanc, who claimed the right of appointing a
curate to succeed the deceased Father Moni, it would appear that the presbytery,
whenever begun, was not completed until after 1805. The passage reads as follows:
When, in 1805, the first Church Wardens elected by the Catholics took possession of the property and commenced the administration of the affairs of the Church of St. Louis, the real estate belonging to it consisted in a space of ground situated on the left side of the church, and comprised between Chartres, St. Anne, Royal and the continuation of Orleans street. Said space of ground was at that time covered with small buildings of brick and wood, of little or no value, and yielding but a small revenue. The large building, which is in part opposite the Place d'Armes, had only been commenced, and in the imperfect condition in which it then was, being only raised to the first arches, was used by being temporarily covered with boards by the person to whom it had been rented, and produced only a small annual rent. The large building fronting on Place d'Armes has been finished and completed by your petitioners according to its original plan, and distributed in such a manner as to be conveniently occupied at first by private individuals, and afterwards by some courts of justice in this city. When the public desired that all the courts sitting in New Orleans should be held in the same building, your petitioners, both with a view to conform to the public exigency, and to derive a certain annual revenue from the property, caused important additions and alterations to be made to and in said building, so as to afford convenient halls for the session of different courts, and for the clerks and sheriffs thereof.
This passage renders it certain that the Cabildo's twin building was erected, not by Don Almonaster, nor, as has been asserted, by the United States Government in 1813, but by the Wardens of the Cathedral, at some period subsequent to 1805. Though of similar appearance to the Cabildo, its columns, wrought iron balconies, entrance, etc., will not bear rigid comparison with those of the older building. Its pediment is a flat plaster space relieved only by a medallion, while that of the Cabildo is ornamented with the American eagle and piles of cannon balls, which no doubt replaced some similar emblem of Spanish dominion. In 1850, probably about the time of the repairing of the Cathedral, the low flat roofs of the two buildings were ill-advisedly surmounted by French mansards, which it is to be hoped will disappear under the restoring hands of the architects employed by the Historical Society.
THE NEW ORIE.iNS MINT.
An act of Congress passed in 1835 to become effective in July, 1838, authorized the establishment of three branch mints, one to be located at Charleston, S. C,
one at Dahlonega, Ga., and one at New Orleans. Work was begun on the New Orleans building in 1836, and it was completed in 1838, the work of coining beginning in the following year. The building is the largest mint building in the United States, the cost of erection having been $182,000, and the capacity of th*e plant being about $5,000,000 per month. The structure is of fire brick, granite, and iron, very strong and fire-proof. The supports, ceiling and beams are all of cast iron, the flooring throughout of stone, on which plank is fixed. Outside it is of brick, covered with cement, and painted a reddish brown. It occupies the site of the old fort St. Charles, at the foot of Esplanade avenue and Barracks street.
Up to 1853 there had been expended on this establishment, including the cost of construction, the putting in of machinery, and pay of employes, $778,-630.78. The imports of specie for the four years, 1846-47 to 1850-51, inclusive, were as follows: 1846-47, $6,630,050; 1847-48, $1,845,808; 1848-49, $2,501,250; 1849-50, $3,792,662; 1850-51, $7,937,119. During the year ending July 31, 1851, the gold deposits amounted to $8,285,637.14, and the silver deposits to $822,085.25. The gold coinage for the same year was $8,994,000, and the silver coinage, $1,-050,500.
In 1861 the mint was abandoned by those in charge, and did not resume operations under the auspices of the United States Government until 1878. Immediately after the abandonment of the mint, citizens went through the building as they chose, taking away such tools as they found. Between January 26 and May 31,1861, the State of Louisiana had possession of the mint, and during that period coined in double eagles, $195,000, the Confederate Government coining during the same period, $59,820 in double eagles. In February and March of the same year the State of Louisiana coined 1,240,000 silver half dollars, and the Confederacy coined in April and May, 962,633 half dollars, making a total by the two governments of $1,101,316.50. All of this coinage was done with the regular dies of the United States supplied late in 1860 for governmental use during the following year.
Thirty-two pairs of dies of 1861, more or less complete and of all denominations, of United States coins, were found at the mint by the agent of the United States Mint Bureau in January, 1865, and destroyed by him on the 15th of that month. The following items of information are from Dr. W. F. Bonzano, melter and refiner of the mint, during the period above referred to:
"The branch mint at New Orleans, with all its contents, was 'taken in trust' by secession convention in December, 1860, through a committee of the convention, at the head of which was the president of the convention, ex-Governor A. Mouton.
The committee called at the mint, ascertained the amount of bullion in the hands of the treasurer, melter and refiner, and coiner, and required an especial bond for same from each of these officers. A rough settlement was made, and all dies of 18U0 were defaced in the presence of all the officers, except Mr. Guirot. By order of the superintendent, coinage was immediately resumed with the new dies of 1861, and continued until the 31st of May, 1861, when a final settlement was made and all bullion transferred to Mr. A. J. Guirot, who had in the meantime been appointed Assistant Treasurer of the Confederate States; at the same time all the United States dies, of whatever description, after careful examination and recognized agreement with the coiner's die account, were, with the consent of the coiner, defaced by the foreman, Mr. John F. Brown, with the assistance of a workman, Mr. Eichard Stevenson.
"Under the auspices of the superintendent, treasurer and coiner, designs for a Confederate coin were made, and that for half dollars offered by the coiner, accepted, and was executed by an engraver of New Orleans, who produced a die of such high relief as rendered it impracticable for use in a coinage press. From this die four pieces were struck by successive blows of a screw press. The four pieces differed from the United States standard only in the legend. With the exception of these four pieces, no coins of any kind, different from the United States standard, were ever made at the New Orleans branch mint during the interval from May 31, 1861, to the early part of 1879.
"Another mark in the mint's life was the alleged burning, in June, 1893, of $25,000 in United States paper currency, in bills of various denominations and character, which were deposited in a large tin box in the steel vault connected with the cashier's office, then in charge of Mr. James M. Bowling, who was cashier, appointed by Dr. A. W. Smythe, recent director of the mint, under Harrison's administration. There was some mystery and doubt as to the manner in which this money caught fire, and suspicion falling on Mr. Dowling, he was arrested on a charge of embezzlement, and bound over to await the action of the Federal grand jury; was indicted, tried and prosecuted vigorously and ably by the United States District Attorney, Frank B. Earhart, and was acquitted.
"The theory of the defense being, that the wires connected with the electric globe or bulb lighting the vault became overcharged with electricity, causing the bursting of the bulb, which was made of very thin glass, and scattering about the heated glass and carbon, and that the currency was ignited by these fragments, electrical experts testified that such ignition was possible. Mr. Dowling was
STANDARD HISTORY OP NEW ORLEANS.
indicted for embezzlement, a government witness, expert in such matters, testifying that a minute microscopic examination of the ashes of the burnt money, disclosed a sum of original bills amounting to only $1,185, Dowling alleging $35,000 as being in the box."
The method of working the metal is as follows: Bullion is received by the superintendent's weigh clerk in many different forms and conditions, such as bricks, bars, dust, washings, old jewelry, plate, spoons, etc., which are called, and treated as deposits. No smaller value than $100 in either gold or silver is received, and since November 2d, 1893, the purchase of silver has been discontinued. The depositor, on delivering his metal to the weigh clerk, receives a certificate of deposit, showing the gross weight of the metal deposited, but he is not paid therefor until the metal has been carried through many processes of refining, assaying, etc., to ascertain its exact value, which he is paid, less the mint charges. This system prevents fraud upon the government in the shape of deposits of gilded bricks, plated iron dust, and other simulations of gold, since an attempted fraud is certain of discovery, and the would-be cheat never calls for payment.
In this connection it may be of interest to note that gold has the following degrees of fineness:
Carat.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 • 24 21.6
One carat is equal to one pennyweight, or the one-twentieth part of an ounce Troy—the only weight used in any department of the mint. All the scales are of very delicate construction and are examined, weights adjusted, etc., several times a week by im cxjicrt, wliifh insures exact weighing and (lie i)est possible conditions of llic instruments. (Jold is weighed to the oiic-lumdredtli part of an .nince, and silver to the cnn'-twciilicth part.
STANDARD HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS.
423
The following tables show the amount of coinage at the New Orleans mint from the time of its establishment in 1838 down to June 30, 1898, it being understood that operations here were suspended from 1861 to 1879, since which time it has been in continuous operation:
STAXDARD HISTORY OF NEW ORLEANS.
Silver. Total Coinage.
Half Quarter Half
dollars. dollars. Dimes. dimes. Gold.
Silver. Total Value.
1838.. 1839.. 1840.. 1841.. 1842.. 1843.. 1844.. 1845.. 1846.. 1847.. 1848.. 1849.. 1850.. 1851.. 1852.. 1853.. 1854.. 1855.. 1856.. 1857.. 1858.. 1859.. I860.. 1861t. 1879.. 1880.. 1881.. 1882.. 1883.. 1884.. 1885.. 1886.. 1887.. 1888.. 1889.. 1890.. 1891.. 1892.. 1893.. 1894.. 1895.. 1896.. 1897.. 1898*.
$81,488
427,550
200.500
478,500
1.134,000
1,002,500
1,047,000
1,152,000
1,292,000
1,590,000
1,155,000
1,228,000
201,000
72,000
664,000
2,620,000
1,844,000
1,329,000
409,000
3,647,000
1,417,000
645,000
165,000
195,000 694,500 1,069,000 883,000 462,000 316,000
1106.300 113.000 192,250 242.000 185,000
92,000
103,000
22,000
24,000
333,000
371,000
44,000
242,000
295,000
130,000
65,000
97,000
17,000 660,000 849,000 713,000 704,000 371,000 353,000
$40,243 124,327 117,500 200,750 202,000 15,000
23,000
30,000 51,000 40,000 43,000
iio;ooo
177,000
118,000
154,000
29,000
48,000
4,000
454,000 384,170 176,000 72,000 44,000 61,000 ■66.600
$54,827 46,750 40,750 17,500
11,000
30,000 7,000 34,500 43,000 13,000
•".-.^ooo
78,000 30,000 55,000 69,000 83,000 28,000 $53,000
$44,452
217,500
85,200
405,500
3,177,000
3,010,000
680,000
1,272,800
6,085,000
358,500
454,000
3,619,000
9,795,000
4,470,000
2,220,000
1,274,500
450,500
292,750
805,000
905,000
205,000
243,'000
100,000
61.500
92,000
83,500
108.200
8,000
213,350
336,880
720,000
1,158,000
980,000
425.000
$40,243
260,642
698,100
555,000
890.250
1,391.000
1,198,500
1,070,000
1,211.000
1,384,000
1,620,000
1,192,000
1,456,500
327,600
152.000
1,225.000
3,246,000
1,918,000
1,744,000
927,000
3,889,000
1,918,000
1,314,000
165,000
2,887,000
5,305,000
5,708,000
6,090,000
8,725,000
9,730,000
9,185,000
10,710,000
11,550,000
12,150,000
11,875,000
10,701,000
8,425,529
3,983,170
2,019,500
3,577,000
2,081,000
5,794,000
4,740,300
1,100,000
$40,243
305,095
915,600
640.200
1,295,750
4,568,000
4,208,500
1,750,000
2,483,800
7,469,0u0
1,978,500
1,646,000
5.075,500
10,122,600
4,622,000
3,445,000
4,520,500
2,368,500
2,036,750
1,732,000
4,794,000
2.123.000
1,557,000
265,000
2.948.500
5.397,000
5.791,500
6,198,200
8,733,000
9,730,000
9,185,000
10,710,000
11,550,000
12,363,350
11,875,000
10,701,000
8,425,529
4,320,050
2,739,500
4,735,000
3.061,000
5,794.000
5,165,300
1,100,000
Total. 27,421,038 6,324,250 2,784,590 812,327 44,356,132 166,129,335 210,485,467 tNo coinage from 1862 to 1878, inclusive. *Six months only.
The above totals include three-cent pieces to the amount of J21,600 minted in 1S51, and three dollar pieces to the amount of $72,000 minted in 1854.
P'or purposes of comparison it may be stated that at the Philadelpliia mint there were coined from the time of its organization in 1793 to June 30, 1898, a total of $1,303,635,491.42 in all kinds of coin; at the Charlotte, N. C, mint, from its establishment in 1838 to its suspension in 18G1, a total of $5,059,188; at the Dahlonega, Ga., mint, from its organization in 1838 to its suspension in 1861, a total of $6,106,569; at the San Francisco mint from the time of its establishment in 1854 down to June 30, 1898, a total of $1,143,994,428.80; at the Carson City, Nev., mint from its organization in 1870 down to June 30, 1898, a total of $49,274,434.30; and, as given above, at the New Orleans mint, $210,485,467.60, making a grand total at all the mints in the United States down to June 30, 1898, of $2,718,555,579.12.
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1899, there were coined at the New Orleans mint the following amounts: In standard silver dollars, $10,540,000; in halves, $627,000; in quarters, $707,000. In checking up the several accounts or amounts of bullion, subsidiary coin and other forms of money, the year's balance sheets closed without the variation of a cent.
Following are the lists of the several officers of the mint since its establishment :
Superintendents—David Bradford, 1837-1839; Joseph N. Kennedy, 1840-49; 11. McAlpine, 1850-52; Charles Bienvenu, 1853-57; Logan McKnight, 1858; William A. Elmore, 1859-61, resigning January 30; from April 18, 1861, to May, 1862, "mint of the Confederate States;" M. F. Bonzano, on May 16, 1862, ordered to return to New Orleans to take charge of the mint, and in 1874 was assayer in charge; Michael Halm, July, 1878, to January, 1879; Henry S. Foote, December, 1879, to June, 1880; Martin V. Davis, 1880-82; A. W. Smyth, 1882-85; Gabriel Montahue, 1885-89; A. W. Smyth, 1889-93; Overton Cade, 1893-98; C. W. Bothby, 1898.
Assayers—Dr. William P. Hart, 1837-52; H. Millspaugh, 1853-61; Dr. Joseph Albrecht, 1878-83; Dr. B. F. Tatlor, 1883-84; W. C. Wilson, 1884-85; F. F. Claus-sen, 1885-93; E. A. Schroeder, 1893-94; A. M. Delavallade, 1894-96; F. F. Claus-sen, 1896-97; Dr. W. M. Lynch, 1897.
Melters and Eefiners—James Maxwell, 1837-38; John L. Riddell, 1839-48; M. F. Bonzano, 1849-61 and 1878-83; F. F. Claussen, 1883-85; L. Magruder, 1885-.91; Dr. J. Cecil Lagare, 1891-93; Lewis Guion, 1893 to March 1, 1899; H. Dudley Coleman, March 1, 1899.
Coiners—Eufus Tyler, 1837-38; Philo B. Tyler, 1839-47; John Brooks, 1848-
50; A. Devall, 1851-53; A. J. Guirot, 1854-57; Dr. B. F. Taylor, 1858-Gl; Dr. M. F. Bonzano, 1878-79; Martin V. Davis, 1879-80; Jacob Helfrich, 1880-81; F. K. Jones, 1881-85; General Allen Thomas, 1885-90; A. R. Burkdell, 1890-93; H. Gibbs Morgan, 1893 to March 1, 1899; Mayer Cahen, March 1, 1899.
Philo B. Tyler, mentioned above as coiner from 1839 to 1847, was the inventor of the Tyler Cotton Press and of the converting machine for coin. John L. Eiddell, melter and refiner from 1839 to 1848, was the inventor of the binocular microscope and of the rotary ingot mold. The first gold dollar coined at this mint was on June 11, 1849, at 6 P. M.
The total coinage for the New Orleans mint for the calendar year 1898 was $5,770,000, and for 1899, $14,078,000; eagles (gold), $370,470; standard silver dollars, $12,290,000; half dollars, $862,000; quarters, $601,000; and dimes, $265,000.
POSTOFFICE.
A postoffice was established in New Orleans soon after the acquisition of the Territory of Louisiana by the United States, with Blaise Cenas as postmaster, his commission being dated October 1, 1803. On October 9, 1804, Postmaster Cenas made public the following announcement: "The mails for the future will arrive at New Orleans on Monday at 5 P. M., and will start every Tuesday at 7 A. M., closing at 6 A. M. on the day of departure." On February 22, 1805, the postmaster removed his office to the residence of Dr. Zerbau, on Royal street. The mail via Fort Stoddart started for the first time on Saturday, September 21, 1805, and returned to New Orleans for the first time on the following Thursday, September 26. In November, 1807, the postmaster, B. Cenas, gave public notice that the mail via Fort Adams would in the future arrive every Saturday at 10 A. M., and would be closed every Monday at 11 o'clock, and that he would deliver oa Sunday between 11 A. M. and 1 P. M. letters received by that day's mail, "but not at other times on that day, and to no other person whatever."
Thomas B. Johnston succeeded B. Cenas as postmaster, his commission being dated April 1, 1810. In August, 1810, the postoffice was removed to Custom House street, between Royal and Chartres streets, to "the house lately occupied by Tully Robinson, attorney-at-law." In September, 1810, the mails began to arrive and depart more frequently, those via Fort Stoddart arriving every Saturday and departing the same day; those via Fort Adams arriving every Tuesday and departing every Friday, and those by way of the Balize boats arriving every Friday and departing every Sunday. By May 1, 1811, the mails began to make such fast time as
xo attract special attention, and to be something to boast of. From Washington they came through in twenty days; from Baltimore, in twenty-one days, and from Philadelphia, in twenty-three days.
In 1853 or 1853 the postoffice was removed to the United States District Court room between Canal and Custom House streets, and in 1860 into the Custom House building, where it still remains. Two stations were established in 1882, one in Algiers, the other in Carrollton, and in 1890 four other stations were added, aU being called sub-stations. On October 1, 1895, the sub-station at Algiers was made a full station, and denominated Station A; that at Carrollton was converted into Station B; Station C was established at 3314 Magazine street; Station D on Dauphine street, between Louisa and Piety; and on January 1, 1896, Station E was established on Euterpe street, near Dryades. The special delivery system was put into operation in 1895, and the collection carts, September 1, 1899.
The following statements for the year ending June 30, 1886, and for the year ending December 31, 1898, will serve to show the increase in the business of the postoffice for the last thirteen years:
For the first year named the total receipts were $264,890.14, and the total expenditures, $119,355.96, outside of the money order department, the receipts of which amounted to $4,018,277.57, while the total amount paid out on money orders was $2,391,906, and remittances to New York, $1,613,235.04. The number of carriers employed was sixty-four. The total number of pieces of mail matter delivered was 11,596,263, and the number collected was 8,705,454.
For the second year named the gross receipts in the cashier's division were $437,588.44, and the total expenditures, $201,414.46, while the total money order business amounted to $1,985,000.90. The total number of pieces of mail matter handled was 97,669,037, and the total business for the year amounted to $5,-379,158.
Following is a list of the postmasters at New Orleans since Louisiana was ceded to the United States, together with the dates of their appointment, furnished upon request by Joseph L. Bristow, Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General:
Bloise Cenas, October 1, 1804. William McQueen, July 27, 1839.
Thomas B. Johnson, April 1, 1810. Gabriel Montamat, September 9, 1840.
George Croghan, November 5, 1824. William Debuys, July 10, 1841.
Antoine Dupuy, March 27, 1826. John B. Dawson, April 18, 1843.
David C. Kerr, April 23, 1829. Alexander G. Penn, December 19,1843.
William H. Kerr, June 6, 1829. Michael Musson, April 18,1819.
William G. Kendall, April 7, 1853. Charles W. Ringgold, March 1, 1873.
Eobert M. Adams, April 14, 1855. John M. G. Parker, April 6, 1875.
Arthur S. Nevitt, May 3, 1855. Algernon S. Badger, July 19, 1878.
Robert E. McHatton, March 23, 1857. William L. McMillen, February 19, 1879.
Samuel F. Marks, February 10, 1858. Washington B. Merchant, March 2, 1883.
John L. Riddell, August 16, 1860. Samuel H. Buck, July 23, 1885.
John M. G. Parker, February 19, 1863. George W. Nott, May 19, 1887.
Eobert W. Taliaferro, March 20, 1865. Stephen M. Eaton, August 13, 1890.
Walter M. Smallwood, July 30, 1868. Frank A. Daniels, May 9, 1894.
Charles W. Lowell, April 5, 1869. John R. G. Pitkin, September 17, 1898. B. P. Blanchard, December 2, 1870.
THE CUSTOM HOUSE.
Some time in the forties the First Municipality, as the district between Canal street and Esplanade avenue was then called, offered the United States Government its choice of several squares to be conveyed to it in fee simple provided that a custom house adequate to the demands of the growing commerce of the city should be erected thereon. The proposition was accepted November 32, 1847, and the Secretary of the Treasury selected "Custom House square" as the most eligible of those offered. This square, which is bounded by Canal, Custom House, Decatur and Peters streets, is the site where formerly stood Fort St. Louis of the colonial days. At that time it fronted directly upon the river, but the constant "making" of the bank upon this side has interposed a stretch of "batture" ground between the site and the stream from which four new blocks have been cut. These, having been sold to private individuals, a number of large stores and business houses now occupy the place where formerly ships lay at anchor. The old Custom House, which was torn down to make room for the new structure, was, according to the first directory of the city, published in 1822, "a spacious, plain brick building, with a coating of white plaster, situated on the levee, where, besides the offices connected with the customs, are the United States District Court room, and offices of the United States Clerk, Marshal and Land" (commissioner, probably).
The corner-stone of the new building was laid by Henry Clay in 1847, and on October 23d, 1848, work was begun, the plan of A. T. Wood having been adopted. This plan called for a large granite building in the Egyptian style, to cost $800,000. It was proposed to construct in the center of the edifice a large hall to be devoted to the business of the customs, the remainder of the building to be used as a general bonded warehouse. In furtherance of this plan it was determined to make
the building very strong and thoroughly fire-proof. The walls of the vaulted rooms were made of great thickness, and only iron and brick were used in the construction of the floors, there being perhaps less wood used in the whole structure than in any building of its size in the world. The nature of the soil upon which this enormous mass of brick and stone was to be superimposed rendered it necessary that the greatest care be taken with the foundations. The huge cypress logs which formed their base were laid at the depth of 17 feet, and it being foreseen that there would still be a gradual subsidence of the massive structure, the walls were bound together by strong iron bands, in order to insure its settling evenly. These bands remained in place over thirty years, but notwithstanding all the precautions, the walls sunk at one corner fully two feet, and it was found necessary to substitute an iron cornice for the stone one contemplated by the original plan. The work was carried on with greater or less expedition, according to the means at disposal, until the beginning of the Civil War, when, for a time, it was entirely suspended. It was resumed soon after the close of the war, and continued at intervals up to November 1st, 1884, when, the appropriations being discontinued, the work ceased. Up to the date mentioned above, the total cost had been $4,212,368.50, and it is estimated that nearly a million more will be required to bring it to completion.
The building, which is constructed of Quincy (Mass.) granite, is 81 feet high, with a frontage on Canal street of 340 feet, and a depth of 297 and 309 feet, respectively, on Decatur and Peters streets. Entering by the great door on Canal street, and ascending to the principal floor, the visitor finds himself in a wide vestibule roofed with thick glass skylights, which are supported by iron columns. From this he passes into a hall extending around the whole building, and giving access to all the offices. In the center of the building, and encircled by this corridor is the famous "Marble Hall," one of the finest rooms in the world, and perhaps the very finest room devoted to business. While not so large as St. George's Hall of Liverpool, it surpasses it in point of material, only marble and iron entering into its construction. This room is a parallelogram, measuring 128 feet in length by 84 in breadth, with a height of fifty-four feet from floor to glass dome or roof. An iron frame painted white and gold forms the setting for the great plates of heavy ground glass, which are ornamented with an elegant Grecian border in blue. Fourteen lofty columns are so placed as to give the central part of the room a space of 45x65 feet, for the use of the general public, the officers and clerks being accommodated outside. The columns are of the Corinthian order, with Attic bases, the lower portion of the shafts plain and polished, the capitals varied
to allow of designs indicative of the purpose to which the room is dedicated. At the top of each is a basso-relievo of Juno and another of Mercury, together with designs of cotton and tobacco plants. These are so arranged that each faces its opposite on every column, and by looking at four capitals from any position, all the designs are comprehended at a glance. Each one of these beautiful fluted shafts of pure white marble is said to have cost $8,000. The floor is of black and white marble tiles, each one two feet square, laid in a pattern, with border of black extending from column to column. Sixteen plates of glass one inch thick, cast on a hammered surface and ground smooth to break the rays of light, are set in the floor to give light to the room below. Each plate is the center of a star, handsomely inlaid with black marble. At one end of the room is a life size basso-relievo of Bienville, the only monument of the founder the city possesses, and one of Jackson, the two separated by the coat of arms of Louisiana, the pelican feeding her young. The hall is heated by steam, the steam coils being suspended in the floor from the arches, and shielded by hexagon pedestals with marble tops.
At the white marble counters around the hall sit the officers of the customs. Here vessels from all parts of the world are entered and cleared, duties collected, and all business transacted relating to the commerce of New Orleans.
On the left of the main entrance are the U. S. Courts, the Marshal's office, and that of the Clerk; and at the end of the right-hand corrider, the Sub-Treasury office.
The other offices on the second floor are the Land Office, the Surveyor General's Office, and the Signal Service Station. General Butler, when he took possession of the city in 1862, established his headquarters in the Custom House, and occupied the suite of rooms on the Decatur side as his office. The upper portion of the building, then in an unfinished condition, was used as a military prison, and in the room beneath the Sub-Treasury office, at the foot of the dark staircase, Mumford, the man who was hung for tearing down the United States flag from the mint, was confined while awaiting his trial.
On the ground floor, the Decatur street side of the building is occupied by the postoffice. The corridor of this office is 247 feet long. On the ground floor are also the Appraiser's store, the office of the Inspector of Boilers and Steamboats, and other offices.
THE CITY H.\LL.
The City Hall, situated six blocks above Canal street, opposite Lafayette square, was built in 1850 by Gallier. The model selected was the celebrated Temple
of Minerva of the Athenian Acropolis. The front of the building is of white marble, and is adorned with a noble portico of Ionic columns, upon the frieze of w hich is a bas-relief of Justice, flanked on either hand by figures bearing emblems of the commerce of the Mississippi Valley. A flight of granite steps leads to the pavement of the portico, where a wide doorway gives access to a hall, paved with black and white marble, and extending the whole length of the edifice. On either side are the various offices of the City Government. On the left, near the entrance, is the Mayor's parlor and office, in the first of which hang portraits of Washington, Jackson, and several of the former Mayors. On the right is the library, a large apartment containing an extensive collection of books, which are free to all who desire to read. The room is ornamented by a number of busts, among them that of Samuel J. Peters, the founder of the library, and under whose administration the City Hall was planned and built. Mr. Peters was, indeed, one of the most remarkable men who has at any time taken part in the public and commercial affairs of the city. Coming as a young man from Canada, his birthplace, he began his career as clerk in a store, but his ability rapidly advanced him to the position of head of the largest wholesale grocery in the South. Mercantile affairs, however, did not afford sufficient scope for his intellectual activity, and he soon began to interest himself in municipal matters. As member of the Council of the Second Municipality he took the lead in every measure of importance, becoming in time the autocrat of its destinies, which he controlled with admirable vigor and ability. He organized the police on a new plan, created a fire department, introduced a system of public schools modeled upon the best New England system, besides establishing the library already alluded to, building the City Hall, raising the credit of the Municipality, and accomplishing a number of other improvements. In addition to all these public services which were rendered without remuneration, Mr. Peters was president of a large and flourishing bank, director in many other corporations, and for a short time Collector of Customs for the Federal Government. Yet at his death, he left barely enough property to afford his children a good education, while his partner, who was unknown beyond the commercial circle in which he moved, who never performed any public service. or promoted any public enterprise, left a princely estate.
Some historic interest attaches to the City Hall in connection with events of the war. Several regiments received their colors from its granite steps in the exciting days of 1861, and it was here that Admiral Bailey came on that eventful April day in 1862 to demand the surrender of the city. When Hex makes his
annual entrance on the day preceding Mardi Gras, it is his custom to pay a visit: to the Mayor in his parlor, where he is presented with the keys of the city.
TULANE HALL.
This building, formerly the Mechanic's Institute, was erected to serve as an institute and library. The original building was destroyed by fire shortly before the war, but was replaced within a year or so. The present edifice has an historic interest from the use to which it was put after the war and during the reconstruction period. Upon the formation of a State Government under the protection of the Union forces, it was made the State Capitol, and continued to serve in this capacity until 1866, when the famous "July Eiots" occurred. It was in its assembly hall that the members of the old convention of 1864, who had met without the authority of either the former president or the Governor of the State, for the purpose of capturing the control of the State, then, with the exception of the Governorship, in the possession of the Democrats, entrenched themselves against the Sheriff of the parish and his posse of policemen, who had been ordered to disperse them. It was this hall, too, which, in 1872, the U. S. Marshal and his company of Federal soldiers, acting under the "midnight order" of Judge Durell, of the U. S. Circuit Court, seized and held against the members of the Democratic Legislature, in order to prevent the counting of the election returns; an action -^hich, with its resulting complications, had the effect of fastening upon the State a Governor not of the people's choice, who was maintained in his seat by United States bayonets.
This building is now the property of the Tulane University, and the home of the State Library. Its "hall"' is used as a lecture-room, and as an assembly room for the dances and entertainments given by the students of the University during the winter.
WASHINGTON ARTILLERY HALL.
The Washington Artillery Armory stands on St. Charles street, near the corner of Girod. The second floor is divided into two immense rooms, each 81x170 feet, and was formerly known as "E.xposition Hall." The hall proper, fronting on St. Charles street, is handsomely frescoed, and embellished with a stately colonnade of fluted columns in white and gold on either side. On the night of Mardi Gras the ball of his Majesty Rex is held in this hall, the rear room being transformed into a throne room. The double apartment thrown into one gives commodious accommodation to fairs, bazaars, and exhibitions requiring space. The front hall is also used as a concert room, and for the annual balls of various societies..
THE COTTON EXCHANGE.
In 1871 the cotton merchants of New Orleans formed among themselves an association for the purpose of regulating the cotton trade of the city by means of systematic rules for sampling, purchasing and delivering, as well as for the adjustment of disputes by arbitration. The original membership of one hundred rapidly swelled to three times that number, and the usefulness of the organization was so clearly demonstrated, that it was determined to erect a more commodious building for its accommodation than the one first selected. A site was chosen at the corner of Carondelet and Gravier streets, and under the superintendence of Mr. Thomas D. Miller the present elegant structure was put up. The material used is a cream-colored stone, and the style is that of the Italian Eenaissance with elaborate ornamentation of bas-relief and carving. Wolters, of Louisville, furnished the plan, and the building was delivered to the association, complete in every detail, at a cost of $380,000 including the ground.
The Exchange room proper is situated on the ground floor, and extends from Carondelet street back to Varieties alley, a distance of 100 feet, with a width of fifty feet. The Eenaissance style prevails throughout the interior, which affords a fine illustration of the school of Lienard. The ceiling and walls are lavishly embellished with frescos in gold, crimson, violet and other rare shades. Above the Carondelet street entrance are three medallions in gold, and back of these, surrounding an ornate centerpiece, are four paintings, representing De Soto's first view of the Mississippi; South Pass and the jetties, with steamers passing; La Salle taking possession of Louisiana, and a cotton-field, with cotton ready for picking, all of which are bordered with medallions of exquisite tracery. On the walls are panels of grifiins' heads with borders of intricate design, and a profusion of fruit and flowers, wreaths and festoons, rich friezes, in which gold predominates. The ceiling is supported by four double columns of perfect proportion, resting on pedestals, and adorned with rosettes of a rich pattern. Near the Varieties alley entrance is an ornamental fountain, from the basin of which rises a bronze Triton, holding a conch shell to his lips.
Around the walls are set slabs of slate of extraordinary size, quarried expressly for the purpose, upon, which which are noted the market quotations and the movements of cotton. A recess separated from the main room by an ornamental screen, is fitted up in handsome style as a counting room for the officers of the institution.
The building is four stories high, and an elevator near the rear transports
visitors to the upper story, wliere a stairway of easy ascent leads to the roof. This is enclosed by a handsome iron railing, so that parties can walk about without fear of falling, and from it can be obtained such a view of the city and its environs as can hardly be had from any other accessible building. In clear weather Lake Ponchartrain can be distinctly seen, and the windings of the Mississippi traced for miles above and below the city. On this roof are hung the bells which strike the hours, half hours and quarters.
THE SUGAR EXCHANGE.
The Sugar Exchange Hall proper is of magnificent proportions, being 110x60 feet, with a height of 54 feet from floor to skyligTit. It is lighted on three sides by immense plate glass windows, 13 feet wide and 24 feet high, and from above by the skylight already alluded to, which is 23 feet square. The wing building is 120x33 feet, and is two stories high. On the first floor are a public vestibule, a telegraph office, offices of the Exchange, board room, lavatory and closets. On the second floor, a library 12x19, a reading room and museum 77x20, two committee roms, lavatory, etc. The ventilation is through the cornice of the skylight, and the acoustics are perfect. The entrances to the hall are covered by porches, and a Schillinger pavement is laid on three sides and in the yard at the rear. A small triangular islet, set aside by the council as a public park, under charge of commissioners appointed from the members of the Sugar Exchange, is planted with trees and ornamental shrubs, the surface sodded, walks laid, and the whole surrounded with a high dressed curb, with a Schillinger banquette on Bienville street.
THE PRODUCE EXCHANGE.
Until the year 1883 the merchants of New Orleans wore without any building specially devoted to the purposes of a Produce Exchange. In that year the dealers in Western produce came together and determined upon the purchase of the old St. James Hotel, on Magazine street, near Natchez, in the rear of which they have caused to be constructed a spacious and well-lighted hall, where, at all hours of the day the produce merchants congregate for business.
LIBRARIES.
According to tradition the first public library of New Orleans was established about 1801, but no reliable data concerning it is obtainable. The New Orleans Library Society was incorporated in 1805, with an unlimited capital, the shares being $25. The mayor and recorder of the city, with the treasurer of the territory
and three other gentlemen, were appointed as commissioners to take subscriptions, and as soon as fifty shares should be disposed of the subscribers were to meet for the purpose of electing seven of their number as trustees, said trustees to remain in office until the third Monday of January, 1806, when their successors, who would have been elected on the previous Monday, were to assume control. In March, 1816, a supplementary act was passed providing for the sale of forfeited stock, no sale being valid unless the amount realized should suffice to pay the arrearages on the shares sold. This does not indicate a very prosperous state of affairs for the society. The same act authorized an annual lottery to be held for ten successive years for the benefit of the institution. The capital stock of the lottery was not to exceed $2,000, and the directors were allowed to retain not more than twenty per cent of that amount. The ultimate fate of the society is involved in obscurity, but it is probable that it died of inanition.
Eight years seem to have elapsed before another attempt was made to establish a public library. Finally, April 10, 1824, upon petition of a number of prominent gentlemen, the Touro Free Library Society of New Orleans was incorporated. It was called for Judah Touro, the philanthropic merchant who gave away over $400,000 in charity, and who is credited with the intention of erecting a building for it. There is no record of the building having been constructed, but the library is said to have existed for six years.
The State Library was established under an act of the Legislature approved March 12, 1838, beginning its existence with about 3,000 volumes, which increased within a short time to 6,000. It was designed for the use of citizens, strangers and members of the Legislature—chiefly for the latter. With the transfer of the State capital to Baton Rouge, the library was also removed to that city. In 1861 it contained 50,028 volumes, including duplicates and State publications. Many of these were of great value. During the war the State House was burned, greatly to the loss of the library, the remnant of which was removed to the City Hall of New Orleans. In 1864 the librarian, Mr. J. B. Carrigan, reported the number of volumes to be 24,120, which he recommended should be removed to the Tulane University building, corner Tulane avenue and University place, which recommendation was adopted and acted upon. In February, 1896, it was again removed to its present quarters in Tulane Hall, on University place, near Canal. The library at present contains something over 20,000 volumes, among which is a collection of works in French—about 5,000 in number—relating to the history of the State, many of them of great value.
A private library, known as the "Commercial Library," appears to have come into being about 1838, and to have endured until 1842, when B. F. French, a public-spirited citizen, bought it and threw it open as a free library. In 1846 it occupied two rooms in the Merchants' Exchange on Royal street, and numbered about 7,500 volumes. This, too, lived about six years.
The Young Men's Free Library Association, instituted about 1842, and opened at the corner of Custom House and Exchange place, contained a well-selected collection of 2,000 volumes. It seems to have vanished, leaving "not a rack behind."
The Lyceum, or Public School Library, was inaugurated in 1845, through the efforts of Mr. Shaw, superintendent of the public schools; Samuel J. Peters, and others, as an adjunct of the public schools of the second municipality. It numbered at first some 3,000 volumes, and by 1848 had increased to 7,500. A monthly subscription of 25 cents entitled the pupils of the public schools to the benefits of this library, while a fee of $10 made the subscriber a life member, without further charge. In 1850 the library was placed in the still unfinished City Hall, and soon afterward became the property of the city.
The Fisk Library was founded in 1849 by Mr. Alvarez Fisk, who in order to carry out the wishes of his deceased brother, for the establishment of a library which should be free to all, bought the old "Commercial Library" from Mr. French, and offered the entire collection, then consisting of 6,000 volumes, to the city, with "a building on Custom House street for their reception." A singular apathy seemed to prevail in the community with regard to the handsome gift; no adequate provision was made by the city council or the public for its acceptance, although it still continued to increase under the generous zeal of its custodian, Mr. French. Finally the use of it was granted to the Mechanics' Institute, and subsequently to the Louisiana University, and to its successor, Tulane, the city continuing practically without an entirely free public library until January, 1897, when the doors of the present "Fisk Free and Public Library" were thrown open.
This library has been formed by the consolidation of the Lyceum Library— the volumes of which circulated only among life-members and teachers of the public schools—and the Fisk Library, which was almost exclusively a reference library. In February, 1895, the city council took under consideration the subject of providing a building for the reception of these two libraries. The court building on Camp street, opposite Lafayette square, having been determined upon, the two libraries were given over to the control of the city in 1896, the newly appointed library board meeting for the first time in December of that year. Mr. William
Beer, librarian of the Howard Memorial Library, who had been active in urging forward the movement of consolidation, was appointed librarian, and under his energetic and sagacious management the new institution was rapidly organized and put upon a working basis.
The fund for the organization, equipment, and support of this library for 1897 was $17,000, including interest and unexpended balance from the Fisk endowment of $2,000, the rental of stores on the ground floor of the library building, and an annual appropriation by the city council. For this first year this appropriation was $1,500; for the second year $7,000, for $1898, $48,500. The annual appropriation will doubtless increase as the library becomes more and more appreciated.
About 28,000 volumes were received from the two libraries, each contributing an equal number. Of fiction only 250 volumes were available, and as this class of literature is always and everywhere in demand, nearly 8,000 volumes were immediately added, including a considerable number of volumes of French fiction, and about 800 books for children. From the day of opening the circulation of books has been very large, indicating the crying need for a free circulating library. The conditions governing the drawing of books bring them within the reach of all classes of people.
The number of cardholders is 10,200, which does not include children who draw on the cards of their parents. The average monthly circulation is 6,800 volumes for home use, and 500 for library use, and the number of cards issued monthly is 400. The highest circulation for one day is 504, and the lowest, 110. The staff consists of the librarian, six assistants, one boy and two porters. Nearly one-third of the issue is to children under fifteen years of age.
The library is on the second floor of the building in ^^'hat was formerly known as St. Patrick's Hall, the dimensions of the floor space being 80x100 feet. Adjoining the large room on the southeast side, and opening into it by a wide double door, is a room of 1,200 square feet reserved as a reading room for ladies and children; and at tlie west end, is tlio room occupied by the board of education. The large room is well lighted by large windows on the north side, and smaller ones on the other sides. At night electricity is used for lighting at a cost of $72 for 112 lamps.
This library has on file nearly 300 of the best current periodicals,—American, English, French. German and Italian publications being represented. Thirty daily papers from different sections of the country are also taken, as well as one from
each of the great cities of London, Paris and Berlin. It is the intention of the library to circulate most of its books and bound periodicals, and those over two months old are allowed to be taken out. Valuable works may also be drawn by making a deposit.
As soon as funds are available it is the design of the directors to convert the large gallery of the main room into a special study room for teachers and pupils, and to make generous loans of books to schools. The facilities of the library will also be rendered more accessible to the public by the establishment of three delivery stations in different portions of the city. And thus in every way possible the library will become more and more influential as an educational factor in the city's life.
The Howard Memorial Library, at the corner of Camp street and Howard avenue, was erected in 1888 at the expense of Miss Annie T. Howard, now Mrs. Walker Parrott, at a cost of $115,000. It was presented on the day of its opening to a board of trustees consisting of the most prominent men of the city, with a sum of money which has grown to $200,000, and which is invested for the maintenance and increase of the library. The original 8,000 volumes have also (1899) swelled to 40,000 books and pamphlets, and the library has become an exceedingly valuable institution to the citizens of New Orleans, and to all who have occasion to visit it, and avail themselves of its advantages. All departments of learning are represented, and in many languages. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, works on religion, and philosophy, sociology, political economy, law, naval and military science, education, customs and fork-lore. Works on the history and development of the Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic and Eastern languages, as well as on history of the early French, and on the sciences, including mathematics and chemistry, medicine and agriculture. Literature in all its phases is well represented, including general and local history.
In the basement are sets of New Orleans papers in occasional years to 1873, and regularly from that date to the present time, w'ith numerous governmental publications. The library is one of the congressional depositories, and has a fine collection of publications of the Smithsonian Institute, and a large number of the publications of the different departments of the United States Government.
The building, which is unique in appearance, is of rough brown stone, and was designed by Richardson, the celebrated architect, being the last plan he ever drew. The interior is beautifully finished in polished hardwoods, and is divided into numerous alcoves for the reception of books, an alcove being devoted to every
branch of learning, and a large cirenlar reading room abundantly lighted by broad windows. Mr. Frank T. Howard, brother of Mrs. Parrott, has de\oted much time and attention to the enlargement and perfecting of the library, which reflects great credit upon its managers.
The Howard Memorial Hall is the gift to the city of Mr. Frank T. Howard. It was erected in 1889 from a design by Sully, as a depository of objects of historic interest, and relics of the Civil War. It is of red brick, and is finished on the inside in the same manner as the library, with the addition of a number of glass cases arranged about the walls, and filled with documents, swords, pistols, muskets, and other relics of the "late unpleasantness." Battle flags adorn the ceiling, and beneath their dingy folds Confederate veterans often assemble to fight their battles over, and to discuss the affairs of their various camps. The Hall is imder the management of a board of governors, composed of five members from each of the four camps of veterans forming the Louisiana Historical Association, and five from the board of directors of the Howard Memorial Library.
The Memorial Hall adjoins the Library on the north side, and is entered from Camp street. It was dedicated January 8, 1891, and transferred by Mr. Howard to the Louisiana Historical Association. The original cost of the building was about $4:0,000, which lias recently been increased by the addition of an ornamental portico to the Camp street front.
On September 19, 1899, an interesting ceremony took place at this entrance. The occasion was the presentation of an historic gun, formerly belonging to the Fifth company of the Washington Artillery to the Louisiana Historical Association. The gun was called the "Lady Slocomb," in honor of the wife of Captain Cuthbert Slocomb, who commanded the Fifth at the time of the surrender, April 4th, 1865. It was in use at Spanish Fort at that time, and lay buried in the earth until 1890, when it was resurrected by surviving members of the company. It was presented to the Association by Colonel J. A. Chalaron, the last remaining offieer of the company. Colonel Edward Palfrey, president of the Association, introduced Rev. A. Gordon Bakewell, Chaplain of the Artillery, who offered the opening prayer. The gun, an eight-inch columbiad, was unveiled by order of E. P. Cottraux, commander of Camp No. 15, U. C. V., the veterans who unveiled it being under command of Corporal Charles W. Fox, who commanded the gun in action. Colonel Chalaron delivered the presentation address, Colonel Palfrey the address of welcome and Rev. B. M. Palmer, the oration of the occasion.
HOSPITAI,S.
The Charity Hospital takes precedence over all the charities of Xew Orleans, both in point of age and in the munificence of its far-reaching benefits. Its original dates back to the very early years of the colony, and was the gift of a humble sailor, Jean Louis by name, who, having acquired by some fortunate commercial transactions what for one in his station was a competency, bequeathed his whole estate for the foiinding of a hospital. The precise date of this bequest cannot be fixed, but it must have been many years anterior to 1737, at which time Bienville mentions it in one of his reports to the home government as having been already applied to the designated purpose. The sum M'as not large,—only 12,000 livres,—about $2,500—but it sufficed for the purchase of a house "situated upon a vast location at one of the extreme limits of the city," and for the necessary repairs and furnishings, leaving even a small balance, which was held in reserve for future needs. This humble precursor of the splendid institution which has grown up in the course of something over a hundred and seventy years, was known as the "Hospice des Pauvres," and stood on the west side of Eampart street, on the square bounded by St. Peter and Toulouse, as Miro says, "upon a portion of the grounds allotted to the city's fortifications." The situation was far from favorable, the ground being low and marshy, and therefore insalubrious, but this did not prevent it from becoming an important factor in the municipal economy of that early day, when the city's population hardly numbered 5,000 souls. The fallacious inducements to immigrants held out by Law's Mississippi or East India Company brought over scores of penniless adventurers who were infallibly destined to become a charge upon public charity, and who doubtless swelled the list of patients in the hospital to a number quite out of proportion to the legitimate population. The hospital withstood the hurricane of 1778, which brought such desolation to the colonists, but a similar visitation in 1779 converted it into a heap of ruins, leaving only the kitchen and storehouse standing. In the universal distress nobody was able to offer any assistance to the unfortunate patients so summarily discharged from the shelter of their wards, and Governor Miro describes them as "wandering through the city in quest of succor and shelter," and "hourly exposed to perish upon the very streets, or in some obscure by-corner."
The frequent and lengthy conferences between the Governor and the Cabildo resulted in nothing, and matters were at a desperate pass when Don Almonaster y Eoxas, the good genius of the city at this period, stepped forward with ofllers of relief. His proposition was to rebuild the hospital at his own expense, and to
appropriate a yearly revenue for its support. Strange to say,, this generous proposal, instead of being gratefully accepted, was met with much carping and criticism on the part of certain members of the Cabildo who had never been able to reconcile themselves to the Spanish domination. Don Almonaster was not in the least deterred, however, by the adverse comments of his opponents. Having secured the king's approval of his enterprise, he set about the work in 1782, and in 1784 the new institution, called in honor of the King of Spain, the "New Charity Hospital of St. Charles,"' was completed. It stood upon the site of its predecessor, "a commodious, substantial edifice, built of brick and mortar, surrounded by suitable dependencies, and provided with a chapel." At the time of Charles' death, in 1785, this chapel was the only house of worship standing in the city, and it was here that the Eequiem Mass, and other religious ceremonies in his honor, were performed.
So far Almonaster had carried out his purposes and faithfully fulfilled his promises, and his hospital was doing good work. But a change of administration now occurred. Miro, who had stood his advocate and friend through all the opposition raised against his project, was succeeded by Baron do Carondelet, a stranger to the colony, who knew not its "Joseph." Quick to take advantage of the new state of affairs, his opponents now set on foot a struggle for supremacy in the management of the hospital which resulted in the total dispossession of the founder of the controlling power he had heretofore exercised. Almonaster, however, who had by this time entered the Cabildo as Regidor Perpetuo (Life Councilman), wasted no time in seeking redress at the hands of the provincial government. He wrote to his King, making a full statement of all his grievances, and when, on a certain day in October, 1793, the members of the Cabildo assembled in their "Salas Capitulares," he had a nice little surprise for them in the shape of an address from "their Lordships, the Governor and Intendant of the Province," enclosing a Real Cedilla, making known the fact that the Eoyal Supreme Council of the Indies approved of the founding in the city by the Regidor Perpetuo, of the "New Charity Hospital of St. Charles," and declaring Don Almonaster to be the "founder, patron, and endowcr" of that institution. The Council, having heard these documents read, kissed them and placed them upon their heads, "as is done with a letter from the King, our lord and natural master," and pledged themselves henceforth to recognize Don Almonaster as directed. This submissive attitude, however, was not altogether sincere, and many ways were found to hamper and annoy the generous Don in the prosecution of his charitable work. Not only was his demand to be
installed as Patron of the Hospital complied with tardily and with an ill grace, and his appointment of a physician rejected, but he was subjected to pecuniary loss from unjust lawsuits brought against liim in the course of his purchase of grounds facing the Place d'Amies for the parochial church, now the Cathedral, and the Government house he was about to build, and no redress was granted him, when in open audience he had applied to the Governor. He went again to the King, who again interposed in behalf of his faithful servant, and Alnionaster, no doubt, felt himself fully recompensed for all the indignities he had suffered when he was able, in November, 1796, to present to the Cabildo two royal "Cedulas," or letters patent, the first of which ordered that the physician appointed by him be put in possession of his office with a monthly salary of $30, and that henceforth no confirmation of appointments made by him should be required, it being only necessary that notification be sent to the Governor with a statement of the circumstances prompting the action; and furthermore, that the said Don Almonaster should be relieved from the obligation of accounting for his administrative acts in said hospital. The second conferred personal prerogatives which were no doubt dearer to the recipient than even this autocratic power. He was authorized to occupy the most prominent seat in his church, second only to that of the royal vice-patron of the province, and to receive the peace embrace (la paz) during the celebration of mass. It was also ordered that whatever he might undertake, or whatever might occur, he should be treated with distinction, greeted with solicitious regard, and given aid and support, and the Governor of the Province of Louisiana, the Intendant of the Eoyal Exchequer, the judges and justices of the above mentioned province, were strictly commanded to comply with the royal decree, without contravening it.
Don Almonaster did not long enjoy the honors accorded by the "Royal Decree," On the 26th of April, 1798, he was transferred to another sphere to which the authority of the King of Spain did not extend, but he still continued to be "treated with distinction" in the city for which he had done so much. He was interred in a vault beneath the floor of his own church, where a large marble slab in front of the altar of the Sacred Heart, and of Saint Francis of Assisi still preserves the memory of his honors and of the deeds of which they were the reward. For many years, as the sun went down on Saturday evening, the bells were tolled, and before the altar prayers were offered for the repose of the soul of Don Almonaster-y-Eoxas. This custom is, for some reason, no longer observed.
In 1803 occurred the transfer of Louisiana to the United States and with this event the hospital passed from the jurisdiction of contending Cabildos and Gov-
eninrii into that of praeticiil, matter-of-fact mayors and counoilincn, wlio seem to have heen able to "get on" more harmoniously. Xothing worthy of note ai)pears to have taken place during- the first two years of the new regime, but in 18Uj the struggle for control again broke out in a new form. The widow of Almonaster, who had become Mrs. Castillon by a second marriage, assumed as tutri.x; of her minor daughter, Micaela, the title of Patroness of the hospital, with all the privileges and authority which had belonged to her former husband. Intrcncliing heself behind the alleged immunity conferred by the title, she resisted any interference in iier nianageiiient,—or rather, mismanagement,— and all attempts to reform the abuses of authority on the part of the director and subordinates of the institution. Through her attorney she threatened to foreclose and sell at auction the property of the hospital, if the least infringement were attempted upon her exclusive right and privileges, by any one, no matter how high his position, or what his authority in the community. In justification of her attitude she cited the article in the constitution of the hospital, as originally submitted to the King, and approved by him. The men with whom she had to deal, however, stood in no awe of the King of Spain, and were perhaps rather glad to have the opportunity of demonstrating the fact by ordering an inquiry into the jirovisions of that Eoyal Charter upon which all these extravagant pretensions were based. The investigation, which was conducted by Mr. Peter Pedesclaux, notary public, and former clerk of the Cabildo, developed some surprising facts. It appeared that the lady, so far from having formerly exercised sole control in the affairs of the hospital, had always been obliged to allow the Governor of the province a share in its management; and furthermore that Don Almonaster had left no instructions which could in any manner justify her actual pretensions to the direct possession of the patronage. Her name was not mentioned among those recommended by him for this office in the event of his dying without issue, these rights being conferred upon his sister's children, and preference being given to those of the male sex. Failing these, they devolved upon the colonel commanding the militia forces of the city, who was also made the patron's representative in case of his illness or absence from the city. It was also alleged that during her widowhood Madame de Almonaster had made no pretense of controlling the affairs of the hospital in any other capacity than that of tutrix to her minor daughter, an office which, it was claimed, she had forfeited by her second marriage. The Governor was therefore requested to assume the authority over The hospital formerly exercised by the Spanish rulers, and to have the title of patron conferred upon the colonel
of militia. "But who in the name of Mars was this colonel of militia?" demands Dr. Castellanos, from whose interesting address before the Alumni Association of the Charity Hospital, April, 1897, this account is condensed; "or with what propriet}^ could a military personage be made to assume charge of a civil hospital in time of peace, and under a form of government so totally different from the preceding ?" Four years of contention and indecision passed and found the vexed question no nearer to a solution than at the beginning of the controversy, when suddenly Fate intervened. On the night of September 23rd, 1809, the Charity Hospital of St. Charles went up in the flames of a great conflagration. Rescued from the burning building by the strenuous efforts of Mayor Mather, the unfortunate patients were temporarily quartered on the upper gallery of the City Hall, whence they were, within twenty-four hours, transferred to the plantation of Mr. Jourdan, below the city, one-half the residence being surrendered to them in consideration of a monthly rental of $125. Here they fared but badly, being without bedsteads and blankets, and at times lacking the barest necessities of life. Xor was their condition improved when, after six months, Mrs. Jourdan wishing to resume possession of her entire house, they were again removed to the La Vergne residence. But still the contest went on, Mrs. Castillon relinquishing none of her claims to the patronage of the hospital, pitiable wreck though it was, and while clinging to them with one hand, holding out the other for the "subsidies" which she alleged the city had formerly allotted to the institution. The matter was carried before the Legislature, but before a decision could be reached the researches, which were still being pur.sued among the original documents relating to the hospital, brought to light a circumstance of a startling, and almost scandalous character. A comparison of the original inventory of property belonging to the hospital with a second one drawn at a later date showed that the first list had been tampered with, that there were no longer any slaves attached to its service, that its property was rented at exceedingly low prices, and was for the most part in a decaying condition, although the Almonaster estate was actually indebted to it to the amount of $6,344, a sum more than sufficient to cover the cost of repairs and renovation. This revelation created much excitement. It was proposed by the city authorities to sell the rentals and other possessions of the hospital at public auction, and altogether such a pother was kept up about the matter, that the lady patroness, seeing little hope of ever again enjoying peaceable possession of her assumed prerogatives and the honor and distinction flowing from them, finally offered to relinquish to "a public corporate body" all rights in the hospital, in
consideration of being put in possession of the property situated in the basement of her actual residence, which she proposed to redeem for the sum of $18,000. This was subsequently increased to $20,000, and on the 9th of March, 1811, Mrs. Castillon and her curatrix formally relinquished "all the rights and privileges previously conferred by his Catholic Majesty upon Don Andres Almonaster y Eoxas, with reversion to his heirs, direct or collateral."
On the 23d of April of the same year the Legislature passed a special act providing for a thorough organization and administration of the Charity Hospital, making the Governor of the State ex-officio president with power to appoint six administrators, the city council appointing three of its own members for the same purpose. The act was not welcomed by the council, which for reasons of its own, connected apparently with the maladministration of the sum of $20,000 received from the former patroness, passed a resolution opposing the measure, and it was only in Xovember upon an order from the superior court directing the president and members to appear and show cause why a writ of mandamus should not be issued against them to enforce compliance with the act, that they appointed the three members as required. No agreement between the administrators and council could be arrived at, however, with regard to the settlement of accounts, or even as to the site upon which the hospital should be rebuilt, and after more than a year of inharmonious jangling, the board resolved to petition the Legislature for an authorization to abandon all their control over the institution in favor of the City Council of New Orleans. This abandonment was finally effected in 1814, and the council at once entered upon negotiations for the purchase from the city of the square bounded by Canal, Common, Dryades and Baronne streets, and in 1815 the "Hospice des Pauvres" of Jean Louis, the sailor, entered upon the third stage of its evolution as the New Orleans Charity Hospital.
In 1830 the square and building were purchased by the State for the University, and the hospital was removed to its present location on the square bounded by Common, Gravier, Freret and Howard streets, one of the largest squares in the city, measuring 450 feet on Common and Gravier streets, and 420 on the side streets, and containing about four and a half acres. The central building alone was erected at that time, but from this the hospital has branched out in every direction until it not only covers the entire square, but has outgrown its limits. A wing was added on the left, then another on the right; then came rooms on the Howard street side for the employees, kitchen, laundry, etc., the engineer's department on Gravier street, the lying-in hospital at the corner of Gravier and Freret. In 1881
outdoor clinics were established, in 1884 a separate building was opened for women and children, and one for the pathological department. The ambulance service was added in 1885, a new building being erected for it opposite the hospital, on Tulane avenue. In 1890 two new operating rooms were added to the old amphitheatre, and in 1891 a new building for clinics for women and children was erected on Tulane and Locust, and another for men on Tulane and Howard. The most recent addition is the Milliken Memorial Hospital for Children, built by Mrs. Deborah Milliken, as a monument to her deceased husband. This building, which is separated from the hospital by Locust street, cost about $100,000, and ranks among the most complete hospitals for children in the United States.
The following table shows the number of admissions, discharges and deaths from 1832 to 1893 :
Grand total of Admissions 514,931
Grand total of Discharges 431.120
Grand total of Deaths 75.357
Mortality 14 per cent
Since 183-1, the hospital has been under the charge of the Sisters of Charity.
The United States Marine Hospital was established in 180'2, but no building was then erected. The President was authorized by Congress to appoint a "director," and Dr. William Barnwell was appointed under the title of "physician and surgeon," with instructions to purchase in Philadelphia the necessary medical supplies for the equipment of a hospital. In the absence of a suitable building the sick were cared for in the Charity Hospital, an arrangement which continued until 1837, when the sum of $70,000 was appropriated by Congress for the construction of a hospital. The site chosen was near the river, just above the line dividing Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, and consisted of a square of ground 350.X350 feet. The building was of brick, 150x78 feet, and three stories in height. When completed by the additions ordered in 184i and 1847 it had cost $130,000. In 185.5 it was determined to build a new hospital, and a plot of ground containing aboiit five acres and located about a mile from the river in the rear of the city was purchased at a cbst of $12,000. A fire-proof, iron structure was begun, consisting of a main building three stories in height, and two wings of two stories. After an expenditure of over half a million dollars, the authorities discovered what the townspeople had known from the beginning,—to-wit, that the distance from the river and the swampy nature of the ground made the location entirely unsuitable as a location for a hospital of any kind, and particularly for sick sailors. Work was therefore discontinued, and the imfinished (building and grounds were finally sold for $25,000, after having served for some years as a colored orphan asylum under the auspices of the Freedmen's Bureau.
In 1882 Congress authorized the construction of a new hospital, for which was purchased, at a cost of $35,000, a plot of twenty-two acres of batture land on Tehoupitoulas street, between Henry Clay avenue and State street, which had formerly been cultivated as an orange plantation. The buildings consist of three wooden one-story pavilion wards, with a capacity for 100 patients, an executive building, a house for the surgeon, the old plantation house and cabins, a lodge house, and a stable. In 1896 an electric plant was constructed for the lighting of the premises, and also a steam laundry. Congress has recently appropriated $5,000 for the erection of a new amphitheatre.
The Howard Association of New Orleans deserves commemoration, and though they had no permanent hospital, their work among the indigent sick in times of epidemic connects them naturally with the subject of hospitals. This association dates its actual existence from the epidemic of 1837, though it was not legally incorporated as a chartered institution until 1843. Among the most
active promoters of the organization were Farquhar Matthews, its first president; Yirgil Boiilmont, its secretary; Thomas W. Morgan, J. W. Andrews, G. Henseheidt, J. P. Breedlove and F. W. Leslie. The charter was to extend over twenty-five years, at the end of which period, unless renewed, the funds and property in possession of the association were to revert to the Charity Hospital. As an illustration of the good work accomplished by the organization it may be stated that during the epidemic of 1853 over $150,000 were disbursed, and 11.000 sick and destitute persons relieved. In 18G5 the charter was renewed, and during the epidemic of that year 5,000 persons were cared for at an expenditure of $78,000.
The Touro Infirmary owes its origin to the generosity of Judah Touro, who left a bequest of $40,000 for the endowment of an almshouse in New Orleans. The Touro Infirmary Society was incorporated in 1854, and a hospital was established in a small building at the corner of Levee and Gaiennie streets, which formed a part of the property bequeathed. The institution "was found too small for the growing demands made upon it, and in 1881, a consolidation having been effected between the Infirmary Society and the Hebrew Benevolent Association, a lot of ground was purchased on Prytania street above Louisiana avenue, and the three large buildings were ready for occupation by January, 1882. In 1899 Julius Weis donated to the Infirmary the generous sum of $25,000 for the purpose of erecting a new building on the grounds designed for the aged and infirm. A Ladies' Sewing Society greatly aids the institution, which is now one of the finest and best equipped in the city.
The Southern Hospital Association was established in 186G, for the purpose of providing artificial limbs for Southerh soldiers maimed during the war, and otherwise caring for them until they were able to maintain themselves. Up to 1868, 800 soldiers had been relieved by this institution, and others had been assisted in obtaining situations as teachers, or as managers of farms. The resources consisted entirely of individual contributions, and of the proceeds of fairs held by the women of New Orleans and Mobile for its benefit. In 1868 the sum had reached the figure of $80,000, of which $25,000 remained in hand. The hospital was situated at No. 319 Carondelet ^Yalk, and contained at the time mentioned, forty-seven inmates. As the war receded the necessity for such an institution gradually diminished, and at length it ceased to exist.
The New Orleans Sanitarium and Training School for Nurses was established about fourteen years ago, principally through the efforts of women of the city. The original purpose of the organization was to afford a school in which women
coiild receive the training necessary to enable them to adopt the calling of nurse as a profession. In order to afford the proper facilities for instruction, a Women's and Children's hospital was founded in connection with the school, both institutions being located on St. Joseph street, near Carondelet. In 1893 the woiuen who had hitherto conducted them surrendered the twin institutions to a corporation composed of about tliirtj' of the prominent physicians of the city, and with the change of management the name was changed to the one it now bears. It is, in fact, a private hospital for both sexes, and a model school for a limited number of nurses, the management being thus able to select only the best of the applicants. In 1894 the institution was removed to its present quarters. No. 731 Carondelet street, to a building provided with modern improvements and furnishings. It is now one of the best training schools in the United States, possessing the prime quality of selectness, together with the age and experience attaching to it as a pioneer institution.
The New Orleans Polyclinic owes its existence to a small number of earnest men, who, realizing the need for an institution of the kind, formed a corporation in 1887, with Dr. J. H. Bemiss as president. The organization provided itself witli a home at the corner of Canal and Lil^erty streets, which it occupied until 1895, when the present modern building at the corner of Tulane avenue and South Liberty was erected by the members without external aid. In every way adapted for the purposes to which it was destined, this building is at once an ornament to the city, and an example of the enterprise of medical men.
The session of the Polyclinic lasts more than half the year, and is attended by medical students from all parts of the country. It enjoys all the advantages afforded by the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, and has, by act of Legislature, full use of the wards and outdoor clinics of the Charity Hospital, besides which free consultations are given every afternoon at the Polyclinic itself for the benefit of the poor. The faculty numbers eleven professors and about twenty assistants, all representatives of the profession in New Orleans and the South.
The Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital is one of the noblest charities in New Orleans. It was instituted in 1889 for the benefit of patients too poor to pay for the services of a physician. It is under the management of a board of trustees, consisting of thirty-three members, three of whom are ex-officio, as belonging to the city government. The doors of this hospital were first thrown open on Dec. 5, 1889, at South Rampart street. In 1892 the building and ground at No. 203 North Eampart street were purchased, and the hospital removed to that
place. During the first year of its existence 4,816 persons were treated; there were 627 operations, and 3S,01G consultations.
In 1894, when the discovery of Dr. Koch's serum for the treatment of diphtheria was announced, a committee was appointed consisting of Dr. De Eoaldes, surgeon-in-chief, James T. Haj-den, and Julius Weis, with power to deal with the question of securing serum for the purpose of experiment. A sufficient sum of money was obtained, and on January 15, 1895, it was reported that every claim made for the anti-toxine had been sustained.
From the date of its establishment up to November 30, 1899, there have been treated, iu the ej'e department, 23,062; ear, nose and throat department, 26,896; dermatological department, 365; dental department, 724; total, 51,047, an average of 4,641 per year. The white persons treated numbered 35,882; colored, 15,165. The entire number of consultations to the same date was 345,304.
The Hotel Dieu, originally called Maison de Sante, was opened in the year 1852, by four Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul from St. Joseph's, Em-metsburg, Maryland, Sister Teresa Sherridan being Superioress. The Maison de Sante, the nucleus of the present well known Hotel Dieu, occupied the premises of Dr. Warren Stone, whose friendship for the Sisters, and support of their establishment, ceased only with his noble life. For some years the institution was carried on in its original location. Slowly but surely the humane work gained prominence, until it became evident that in justice to its many patrons, a more commodious building must be provided. Then was the project for the erection of the present Hotel Dieu formed and carried into effect.
In 1858 the Sisters transferred their jjatients from the old Maison de Sante to the present Hotel Dieu, as it was determined that the institution should henceforth be styled. Since that date, the good work has steadily continued to enlarge its opportunities of service to sufl'ering humanity. From time to time needful additions have been made, until to-day it holds an honorable place among institutions of like character, not only of the South but of the United States.
Among the late movements of special interest made by the Sisters in charge are the surgical operating rooms, in which are afforded facilities for realizing the crowning success of this grand era of surgery—asepsis.
The institution is happy and proud to have connected with its noble work men whose names are foremost among the medical and surgical lights of the South. Prominently interwoven with its progressive development are the names of Dr. P. C. Boyer, Dr. A. B. Miles, Dr. F. Parham, Dr. D. Jamison, Dr. D. Raynaud, Drs. E. and H. S. Lewis.
The training school for nurses is connected with the Hotel Dieu, which, in its lecture course, class-work, and practical advantages, ranks favorably with the prominent training schools of the country. The course covers three years, and the staff of instructors includes sixteen of the most eminent and scientific members of the New Orleans medical faculty. Dr. H. S. Lewis is at present (1900) house surgeon.
ASYLUMS, CONVENTS, HOMES FOR THE INDIGENT.
The first orphan asylum of New Orleans, and indeed of the State, owed its existence to Julian Poydras, already alluded to as author of the first epic poem of Louisiana. In 1816 this charitable man gave a large lot and a house on Poydras street for the purpose of establishing an asylum for orphan girls, with the proviso that by the consent of the board, "any female child may be admitted" though not an orphan. The Legislature appropriated $4,000 for its benefit, and it was opened the same year with 14 orphans. By 1821 the number had increased to 41, and a new house had been built at 153 Poydras street, which is described as a neat "frame building with a large garden." By a clause of the constitution the society is to "provide a house for the reception of indigent female orphans and widows, which shall be enlarged according to the income of the society."
The asylum has since been removed to Upper Magazine street, corner of Peters avenue, where it is installed in a large, four-story building surrounded by ample grounds. It is managed by a board of directresses, and is supported by the income from the property devised for that purpose by the founder.
The Poydras Male Orphan Asylum, at the corner of St. Charles avenue and Dufossat street, was also endowed and founded by Mr. Poydras.
The Protestant Society for the Eelief of Destitute Orphan Boys was organized at a meeting held in the Presbyterian Church March 28, 1824. At this meeting a committee was appointed to solicit subscriptions for the establishment of a home for destitute boys, one of their number being charged with the task of requesting aid from the city council. Up to 1841 the institution was sustained by contributions from the community, but was without a permanent endowment. xMmut this time the dormitory, library and fine schoolhouse were destroyed by fire, and an appeal was made to the public for aid. John McDonogh donated $100,000 to the society, which was thus enabled to build the present large, substantial house on St. Charles avenue, between Dufossat and Bellecastle streets. The asylum is now sustained by the income derived from the rentals of its property.
St. Mary's Orphan Asylum (Catholic), at the corner of Chartres and Mazant streets, was established in 1835. It is governed by a board of gentlemen, but tlie internal management is in the hands of the Sisters of Charity. The only condition of admission is that of orphanage. It is supported in part by private contributions, and in part by the income derived from property acquired either by donation or purchase.
St. Vincent's Home for Boys, established by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, 1836, is for the maintenance of half orphan boys. Its resources are derived from the State, from donations, from work, and from contributions from the society. There is also a St. Vincent Asylum for half-orphan girls on Cam-bronne street, corner of Third.
The New Orleans Female Orphan Asylum (Catholic) dates from 1843. It was incorporated under the management of a band of Sisters of Charity, for the purpose of "receiving, harboring, nursing, raising, maintaining and educating destitute female orphans under the age of fifteen," who were to be entirely under the control of the Sisters until they had attained their majority, or were married. Since the establishment of the St. Elizabeth House of Industry, in 1855, it lias become the rule to transfer the inmates of this asylum at the age of twelve to the latter institution, where they are taught needle-work, housewifery, and given a good education. The asylum owns property to the amount of about $40,000, but is assisted by appropriations from the State and from the city.
The Protestant Orphans' Home, corner of Constance and Seventh streets, was called into existence by the necessity of supplying a home for the children orphaned by the epidemic of 1853. It received its first aid from the Howard Association, which sent fifty-six orphans left to its care, each with a dower of $100, and gave an additional $2,000, making $7,600 in all. Orphans of both sexes are admitted, as well as half-orphans whose surviving parent is incapable of caring for them. Its support comes from the State, the city, private subscriptions, and membership dues.
St. Joseph's German Bo3-s' and Girls' Orphan Asylum (Catholic), also established in 1853, is supported by the State and city, and receipts from St. Joseph's Cemetery. It is situated at No. 2044 Laurel street.
The St. Elizabeth House of Industry, already mentioned as having been founded in 1855, admits girls between twelve and thirteen, who are permitted to remain until they are eighteen. This institution is self-supporting, deriving a good income from the needle-work, fine washing and other industries practiced by the
inmates, which is supplemented b}- that arising from property valued at many thousands of dollars.
St. Vincent's Infant Asylum, established in 1862, serves as the foundling asylum of the city. It is strictly for infants, who, at the age of seven, are transferred, the girls to the Camp Street Orphan Asylum, the boys, to some other institution. This asylum, which is one of the most interesting, as well as deserving, in the city, is located on Magazine street, at the corner of Race. The building is a commodious brick edifice, and its nurseries, halls, and dormitories are models of neatness. It is supported by the State and city, and by private donations.
The Episcopal Home, situated at the corner of Jackson avenue and St. Thomas street, is an asylum for girls under the care of the Sisterhood of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and a well managed institution.
Other asylums for children in the city are:
Saint Alphonsus' Orphan Asylum (Catholic), Fourth, corner St. Patrick.
Orphan Girls' Asylum, Immaculate Conception (Catholic), 871 North Rampart street.
Asylum of the Societe Frangaise de Bienfaisance, Saint Ann, near Roman.
Mount Carmel Female Orphan Asylum (Catholic), 53 Piety street.
Saint Isidore's Institute (Farm School), North Peters, corner Reynes.
Asile de la Ste. Famille (for colored children).
Providence Asylum for Female Colored Children, Hospital, corner North Tonti.
There are also a House of Refuge for boys, established by the city authorities in 1848, and one for girls, established in 1853, as reformatories for boys and girls not over fifteen years of age.
As early as 1839 an institution for the reclamation of fallen women was established by the Sisters of Charity under the management of a Lady Superior and a corps of twenty assistants. In 1868, at which time its inmates numbered 130, the Sisters of Charity retired, and the house was taken in charge by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. The buildings, at the corner of Bienville and Broad streets, are of brick, and very extensive, comprising dormitories, working-rooms, chapel, etc. It is divided into two departments, one for girls who are placed there by their parents, and the other for those committed by the city magistrates. In addition to the household duties performed by the inmates they are employed in various kinds of needle-work, and in laundry work for private families, hotels and steamboats.
CONVENTS.
The French Ursulines, established at Paris in 1611 by Marie Lhnillier, was the lirst religious commiinity to find a footing in New Orleans. Tliis order originated in Brescia, Italy, in 1537, having been founded by Angela de' Merici, chiefly with the view of devoting itself to the education of young girls. As early as 1724 Bienville realized the necessity of providing some sort of educational advantages for the girls of the colony. He consulted Father Beaiibois, the superior of the Jesuit missionaries, who had recently arrived from France, and who suggested the Ursulines of Rouen as likely to be able to supply religious teachers. Application was immediately made, and in September, 1726, an arrangement was concluded with Marie Frangoise Tranchepain, known as Sister Augustine, and Marie Anne le Boulanger, known as Sister Angelique, by which they agreed, with the assistance of Mother Catherine Bruscoli, of St. Amand, and four other nuns of their order, to take charge of the education of the young girls of the colony, and to nurse the sick in the military hospital. According to the contract they were to reside permanently in the colon}', whither they were to be transported with four servants at the cost of the company, a gratuity of 500 livres being paid to them before departure. They sailed from Port I'Orient in the ship Gironde, February, 22, 1727, and according to tradition had a most adventurous voyage. Not only were they beset by terrific storms, but they were chased by corsairs, and at one time, says the legend, all the ladies were driven "to assume male attire and man the ship to save her from pirates." In the Caribbean Sea they again encountered fearful winds; they were stranded on Dauphin Island, losing nearly all the ship's cargo, and only reached the shores of Louisiana in July. At the Balize they were transferred to pirogues for the journey up the river, which consumed fifteen days, the voyagers going ashore at night for such rest as the mosquitoes would permit.
At last, when their friends had given them up for lost they gained the scene of their future labors, the little village of New Orleans, which at this time presented "no better aspect than that of a vast sink or sewer," fenced in by sharp stakes and surrounded by a broad ditch.
According to some accounts, Bienville gave up his own residence, a flat-roofed, two-story building, with many windows, covered with linen instead of glass, which stood in the midst of a "deep forest," on the square now bounded by Customhouse, Bienville, Decatur and Chartres streets,—to the use of the nuns, but others, with more probability, say that the military hospital, which was then situated at the corner of Chartres ami Bienville, was placed at their disposal, and tliat they resided there