Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-07-20

that the present constitution of Virginia u
defective, and that it ought TO be amended.
Justice to our western brethren requ'rs
It-and AZ citizen of the lower country.
l am willing that justice should be done
to them, by calling convention to revise
and amend the constitution.
On the other hand, sir, I do hope that
the citizens of the western counties are e.
qualy willing to do justice to us. their
Brethren or the Lowlands. We also CON-
plain not indeed of the constitution. but OF
law which seems to be deemed as sacred
| as the constitution, for it has existed almost
rs loug as the constitution. & is, | am sure,
unalterabie by the ordinary legislative pow
er, under existing circumstances. 1t will be
readily understood. that refer to the law
passed in 1882, entitled " an Act for equa-
zing tie Land Tax" and which. by the
change ut circumstances, has, for the last
twenty hive years, operated as unequally
band oppressively upon the people of the
blower country, as the constitutional provi-
SONS respecting representation have on the
people of the western country. BY that
act. the state was arranged into four dis.
tricts. and standard value of the lands in
each district was fixed. The object was a
good one {: it was declared To be "that the
Tax upon landed property may be laid with
ease &oertainy, & collected with all posi-
| ole equGhty. The first district was compo
sed of the counties of Brunswick, N ottoway,
Amelia, Cumberland, Goochland. Hanover,
| Caroline, Spottsylvania, Stafford, Prince
William, Fairfax, aud all the counties ly-
ing east of them, down to the bay and
sea shores. The standard value of lands
| in that district, was fixed at ten shillings
| the acre. The second district was COM
posed OF the counties lsing between the first
district and the Blue Ridge, with the cx-
| cePtion OF Pittsylvana, Henry, Patrick,
and Frankln-aud with the addition of
Frederick, Berkely and Jefferson counties,
on the other side of the Ridge. The STAN
| dard value of lands in this second
aud very fertile district, was fixed at
seven shillings and sixpence.--The
| third district was composed of the four
| Counties just mentioned on the east of the
| bue Ridge, and all Of the counties in the
rich valley between the Blue-Ridge and
the Allegheny Mountains, except the three
before mentioned counties, and the stand
| ard value of lands in that district, was
liked at i've shillings and sixpence the "a
ere. The fourth district was composed of
the counties west ofthe Allegheny Noun
tains, and the standard value was fixed at
three shillings. These standards or aver
ages, have continued unaltered to this
| day, and whenever tax on lands is laid
by the Legislature, the invariable language
l OF tie law is, that SO much is laid on every
hundred dollars value, "agreeably TO the
| equalizing law" The standard value fixed
| 10 82.was probably below the real average
value OF lands, even at that time-but that
IS OF no consequence; the proportions have
invariably continued as then fixed, notwith-
standing the prodigious changes which
have taken place in the relative values of
| the land in the different districts of the
state. The prodigious inequality in the
standard, and consequently in the Land
Lex, at this time, must be obvious to eve
| ry man who knows any thing of the price
and value of lands in cur state. The aver
| age value OF lands in the second and third
| districts at this time, is probably two or
three times greater than that in the first
district. i t the average of lands in the Sc
cond district was now fixed at ten shiilngs
the acre in the third at seven shilliries 8.
sixpcnce, and in the first at FIVE shi!lings
and sixpence, it is probable that those
proportions would be more nearly equal
and just than as they now staud. Out of
the millions of dollars which have been
paid into the public treasury for the
last twenty-five years, the lower counties
have paid upon their lands a great deal
more than their just proportion, at the
same.t time that the very convenient reve-
nue. derived from the tax on slaves has been
raised almost wholly from them and the
people on the east fthe Ridge.
have not referred to docu ,nents, Mr..
Editor, butt am perfectly willing that any
person who can easily have access to
them, should produce thcm--I know that
they will prove my positions to be substan-
! TALLY correct. Thus then, the people of
about 43 counties in the eastern section of
| the state, have real grievances to complain
OF. and whilst they admit that their West
ern Brethren have TOO fen reftres e1tatfues.
they say that they themselves hay zoo much
Let both errors be corrected-let the evils
| on both sdes be redressed Jet Justice he
done equally to all.
1t may perhaps be said that the subject
OF unequal taxation, needs not resort to
cGnventlon--that the Legislature is per-
fectly competent to cure that evil. True.
sir, the Legislature is comhetent to do it,
but 1t never will be done by them under
present circumstances. Whenever an at
tempt has been made to eeualize the land
tax, the ready answer given by the ives
tern members is -" You have more than
your share of representation, you must
therefore pay more than your share of tax
| es" And on this subject, they always
have the assistance of the members from
the. second district, which gives a decided
majority against the reformation of the
land tax. 1 do not state THE from, ans,