"These people were brought here by
the Louisiana State Department of
Agriculture and Immigration under
the provision of the United States
immigration laws which permits a
state or territory, through ets'proper
officers, to import, and, if gpeessary,
prepay the passage, of inmpigrants.
This has been done within %he past
few months by the state of South Car
olina and by the territory of Hawaii,
and the state immigration bureau of
Louisiana has exhibited commendable
celerity in so quickly embracing the
opportunity thus presented for reliev
ing the acute labor conditions preva
lent on the farms and plantations of
Louisiana.
"The immigrants arriving last Tues
day were secured in Spain by a repre
sentative of our state government;
they were met on arrival by a second
representative of the state, and after
they had been allowed to land employ
ment was found for them and tendered
to them by a third representative of
the state immigration bureau, having
the title of state immigrant distribut
ing agent, and whose duties consist
solely of finding employment for the
persons brought here by the other
officials of the department to which he
belongs.
"A special board of inquiry was
convened, when the vessel arrived,
consisting of several of the officers of
the United States immigration service,
and after an exhaustive and careful
consideration of the case the people
were admitted as being in full compli
ance with the law, and a precedent
thus established which will be of in
estimable value to our farmers and
planters; or, to be more accurate, the
precedent already established in the
cases of South Carolina and Hawaii
was confirmed locally.
