American watchman and Delaware advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1822-1828, 1825-02-18
STATE TAX.

MA II lAAs
An act Of the Legislature of this Stale hav'ns'
al the present session, passed both HOUSES 'o L.
sunnort of Government, for the current year. ~
le,ying the sum OF fifteen Thousand oola'' 49,
annortoninp that amount on the respective coun
~ according TO an assessment OF the real anu
nersona, propetty in the State, made under inc
provisions of an act appointing State hssesso' .
passed a, the January Session, 1910 ;-demana,ns'I
Inv this apporlionment from the county OF ~"
castle The sum Of seven thousand, one huhufeo
ana seventy nine dollars and fourteen cents from,
lthe county of Kent, four thousand three nunureu
and seventy three dollars and twenty TOUT GEMS ;
and from the county Of Sussex, three lhousaho lou
hundred and forty dollars and sixty TWO Gents
Thus apportionng upon the properly VI ~"
Castle county, by an of arbitrary power, ana az
l. time too Of unprecedented pecuniary emoarrass-
ment and difficulty nearly one moiety oil me Whoe
State Tax. =.
Az the course adopted in this instance by the
majority in our Legislature, is alike contrary 70 'ie
soundest principles oil free representative govern
ments and violation, as we conceive, OF inc p'ah'
est rules Of equity and justice, the undersigned DC
ing members OF the Legislature from the county o.
New Castle, have deemed it a duty, IN our onciai
stations, TO give TO this measure our most oeciceo
opposition. This opposition having proved unsuc-
Icessfu it only now remains for US briefly and non
e,ly to explain the motives which governed us IN
this controversy which, together with the question
at issue between the counties, we will then leave 70
our constituents.
! We feel no doubt OF the correctness OF that prin
ciple in politics which apportlons representation
upon the basis Of population, and IT IS equally Ger.
tain that n apportionng taxes, levied Tor genera or
state purposes there be no safe or correct oaa'
exceot that OF the number of representatives from
each state or district Practising upon THIS as
fundamental principle Of our federative government,
the Constitution of the Uni,ed States declares that
|" Representatives and direct taxes shall De appor
toned among the several states, which may be In
cluded within this Cnion according to their respec
tive numbers Sec. Q. Art. J. and In the 9Th
section of the same article, it is expressly declared
i hat no captution or other direct faI, shall be
land unless in proportion to the census, or enumefa-
tion herein before directed to be taken" II this
princple of taxation be right in the general gov
ernment. it cannot be wrong In the policy OF each
individual state For constituted as Is the NUM-
cipal government oil our state, each county pears
1.-The same relation to The other countless thai any
one OF the states does TO the United States. In the
Constitution Of our state, nothing is said in relation
to this matter. 1t was perhaps unnecessary. That
instrument Of compact was framed at time, when
the absolute necessity Of obtaining the consent OF
| any people, before the right TO lax them was EN-
ployed had recently been written mole LUMINOSITY
than with SIN beam Sit had Just been sealed with
the blood of our ancestors. This inalienabe right,
~hich had been embodied in the magma charta oil
our independence and had been defined 10 the Con
stltu,ion of the Union, and wes moreover, indeli
| bly, engraved upon the heart Of every freeman,-
| i. might have been thought unnecessary to repeat
IN the articles OF com pact for the three counties
in this state. For imposing taGes on as nithout
consent" stands cons pcuous in the catalogue OF
wrongs, which impeed us to separate from the
government Of Great Britain, on the memorable
4'h Of July, 1875 j. and what was understood to
be the extent oil his complaint 7 II Great Britain had
conse nted that her then North American Colonies
lshould have, in the parliament OF the Kingdom
1.-TWO three repre- sentatiyes would the people
there have consented on that ground, 10 be taxed a.
pleasure, by that Government surely not. But
on the contrary would and must necessarily still
have resisted, il shilling more had been impos
ed upon them, than sum bearing an exact proper.
ton to the number of their representatives, when
compared with the whole number OF members in
the British House OF Commons.
il To tax the people OF free government, with
their omn consent it is only necessary that they be
faxed with the consent of their representatives; and
to constitute representative. is it essential tina
d he should be chosen Immediately by those whom
he represents?
This state stands divided into three separate ant
distinct counties; the citizens Of each county elect
fling their own representatives in the state legislature
q and having no vote in such elections for the repre-
/. sentsves of the other counties. The number o
: representatives in the Legislature, from the respect
# i've counties, are now equal thus presuming tn,
. population OF all the counties to be the same.--l
then direct tax be levied and so apporoned lha
If one dollar more be exaced from the people Of on,
OF these counties, and dollar less from the PEG
pie OF another OF the counties, there necessar
y DC, TO that amount, number OF persons in III,
/. FIRST county taxed without being represented ant
: consequently without their consent and in the sec
!. ond number of persons, to the same amount re
o presented who are not taxed, We have only to ap