Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/36

Rh 22 L O U L U Louisiana is represented in the National Congress by two senators who are chosen by the legislature of the State for a term of six years, and by six representatives who are chosen for a term of two years by the voters of the several representative districts. Fiuauce. The following table, compiled from the returns of wealth, debt, .nd taxation of the tenth United States census, shows the financial ondition of the State in 1880. Valuation (Assisted) Real estate $122,362,297 Personal property 37,800.142 Debt State 23,437.140 Parish 1.107.951 .Municipal 18,320,361 Taxation State 1,171,084 Parish 710.573 Municipal 1,914,219 History. History. The early history of the exploration of Louisiana forms one of the most interesting chapters in the annals of the country. It was first visited in 1541 by De Soto, cf the Spanish Govern ment service. This daring explorer, landing on the coast of Florida, made his way through the pathless forests and almost impassable swamps to the Mississippi, and even penetrated many leagues west of it, finally leaving his bones upon its shores. In 1673 Marquette and Joliet, starting from the settlements in Canada, descended the great river from northern Illinois to the mouth of the Arkansas. In 1682 La Salle descended the Mississippi, also starting from the French settlements in the Canadas. He navi gated the river from the mouth of the Illinois to the Gulf. Re turning to France, he originated a scheme for colonizing the country, and succeeded in obtaining from France the desired concessions, and in collecting a company of colonists, which set sail from Eochelle on the 24th of July 1684. Owing to the difficulty of obtaining correct longitudes at sea, the vessel missed the mouth of the Mississippi, and finally landed on the shore of Matagorda Bay, in Texas, where they established a colony. From this point La Salle started to make his way overland to Canada, but was treacher ously murdered by his companions. Shortly after his death the colony disappeared. The first successful attempt at settlement within the State was made by the French under the leadership of Iberville in 1700. The colony was located at a point on the Mississippi about 38 miles below the present site of New Orleans, now known as &quot; Poverty Point.&quot; At first it was by no means prosperous, and it was only after the treaty of Utrecht that ib appears to have gained ground. At that time there were not over five hundred Europeans in the whole territory of Louisiana as then constituted; the greater part were in what is now the State of Louisiana, the others being scattered at a few little posts along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Immediately after the treaty of Utrecht the king of France granted the whole territory of Louisiana to Antoine Oozat, cading to him all the territories watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries below the mouth of the Illinois, with all the privileges of hunting, fishing, commerce, mining, &c. , which might arise in this new territory. Crozat appointed Cadillac governor of the colony. Affairs, however, went badly under the new administration, and after a succession of governors, the whole district fell into the hands of John Law, the originator of the famous &quot;Mississippi scheme. &quot; Desiring to control, among other commercial monopolies, the colony of Louisiana, Law found it an easy matter to obtain the charter and privileges from Crozat, who was only too glad to reliuquisi them in his favour. A company was formed under the name of the &quot;Western Company.&quot; Grants made to it were for twenty-five years. Subscribers to the stock were allowed to pay three -fourths of the purchase money in the depreciated bonds of France, one-fourth only of the subscription being asked for in coin. Bienville, brother of Iberville, and a man possessing great influ ence in the colony, was appointed governor. One of his first acts vva&quot;? to found the city of New Orleans on its present site. During the year 1718 7 vessels were sent out with stores and emigrants, numbering in all about 1500 persons. The following year 11 ships were despatched, and 500 negroes from the Guinea coast were im ported. In 1721 1000 white emigrants arrived, and 1367 slaves. In the meantime the Western Company had obtained from the regent power to join with it the East India Company grants, and its name was changed to that of the India Company. This inflated scheme burst in due time, but the misfortunes of the company did not check the prosperity of the colony. The year 1721, which was that following the financial ruin of the former, witnessed the greatest immigration to the colony which it had ever received. The company retained its organization and its grant of Louisiana until 1732, when the province reverted to the crown. At that time the population of the colony was said to have been 5000 whites and 2000 slaves ; but a census taken fifteen years later shows a population of only 4000 whites. In 1762, by a secret treaty, the province was transferred from France to Spain. This treaty was not made public till a year and a half after it was signed, and Spain did not obtain possession until 1769. Meanwhile, in February 1763, by a treaty made between France and Spain on the one hand and Great Britain and Portugal on the other, the portion of Louisiana lying east of the Mississippi frarn its source to the river Iberville, and thence along the middle of the Iberville and the lakes Maurepas and Pontchar- train to the sea, was ceded to Great Britain. In this treaty, by implication, Louisiana was made to extend to the sources o f the Mississippi, and this is the view commonly held. The province was governed by Spain till the year 1800, in the meantime making little or no progress owing to the narrow and oppressive policy pursued towards it by the home government. By the treaty of 1783 with Great Britain, the United States were placed in possession of the eastern bank of the Mississippi river, as far down as the 31st degree of latitude, while Spain held possession of the other bank, and had complete possession of the river below the 31st parallel. From the time of the first settlement in the valley of the Missis sippi and its tributaries, the importance of the river as a means of transportation to the seaboard, and the almost absolute necessity of possessing the country about its mouths, were recognized by the United States. As settlements increased in the valley and spread down the river, and as the hostile policy of Spain became more and more plainly developed, the feeling of the settlers became stronger against the restrictions of the Spanish Government. In 1800, however, Spain ceded the territory back to France, and in 1803 it was sold to the United States by Napoleon, in order to prevent it from falling into the hands of Great Britain. The price was 60,000,000 francs, with a stipulation that the United States should assume the claims of its citizens against France (French spoliation claims), which were estimated to amount to $3,750,000. The pro vince which thus came into the possession of the United States was of vast though ill-defined territorial extent. In 1804 nearly all of what is now the State of Louisiana was erected into a territory, under the name of Orleans. In 1810 this was increased by the addition of the south-eastern portion, east of the Mississippi river, and in 1812 it was admitted as a State under its present name, and with its present boundaries. During the war with Great Britain, which followed shortly after, a battle was fought for the possession of New Orleans, between the British forces under Pakeuham and the American army under Jackson, in which the former were signally defeated. Up to 1860 the development of the State was very rapid, especially in the direction of agriculture and commerce. Upon the outbreak of the civil war the State promptly joined its fortunes with the Southern Confederacy. Its act of secession from the Union was passed December 23, 1860, and from that time until the final suppression of the rebellion the State government was in the hands of the Confederates, although for the last two years of the war its territory was held in the main by the Federal forces. In the early part of the war the State suffered but little, but in April 18G2 Admiral Farragut with a powerful fleet succeeded in passing Forts Jackson and St Philip, which defended the approaches to New Orleans, and captured the city, thus compelling the evacuation of the forts. The navigation of the Mississippi being secured by this means and by operations from the north, the State was at the mercy of the Federal Government. At the close of the war, on the reorganization of the State government, the administration fell into the hands of the ignorant negro classes led by unscrupulous whites, and an unfortunate state of affairs ensued, which was brought to an end only by the arbitrary and forcible assumption of power by the better elements of society. This occurred in 1877, and since that time the State has prospered markedly in all material respects. (II. G. ) LOUISVILLE, the sixteenth city of the United States in population, and the most important place in the State of Kentucky, is situated on the south bank of the Ohio river, in 38 3 N. lat. and 85 30 W. long. The river is here interrupted by a series of rapids which, except at high water, oblige the steamboat traffic to make use of the Louisville and Portland Canal (2| miles long, constructed in 1833). The city, which has an area of 13 square miles, and a water front of 8 miles, occupies an almost level site about 70 feet above low-water mark. Its plan is regular and spacious, and, in the residential portions the houses, for the most part, have lawns and gardens in front. Among the public buildings of importance may be men tioned the city-hall, the court-house, the public library, the female high school, the industrial exhibition building, the Roman Catholic cathedral, and the State school for the blind. From the time of the introduction of steam navigation upon the Ohio by Fulton in 1812, Louisville rapidly gained in importance as a centre of river trade. Owing to its