Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1839-01-22

gifted. The passage Of s general bank
ng law, similar 10 It's character to the one
o New YORK under existing circumstan-
Is nld ol he distresses
: - country
ItAppears from i ftof the Au.
1itoF, thai ne total annuns Of receipts in. |
10 the 1s0rp. from the 9TH Of Decem-
bef, 1857, 10 he 8lstof December, 1888,
amouul Is lie nm Of one hundred and
ninety-six thousand, nine hundred and
nineteen dollars, and ninety.slx cents /;
md the disbursements, during ile same
period, TO the sum Of three hundred and
fifty thousand, SIX hundred and forty.four
dollars, and nineteen cents showing 40
excess Of expenditures over the recelts, Of
one hundred and siilty. -four thousand, four
hundred and twenty four dollars, and|
tWenty.three cents. Six thousand, i've
hundred and ninety dollars, and forty
four cents of the money PAID into the
Treasury, during that period, was on ac9
count Of 1.-THE Literary Fund; and i've.
thOusand, nine hundred dollars, on account.
of the Three per cent. Fund, and Is not
subject .olbe drawn out 10 defray the or.
dInarv expehsesof the Government. The
report of the Treasurer shows one hum.
dned and forty thousand, four hundred and
seventy dollars, and fourteen cents in the
Treasury, on the thirty.6rst day Of De.
cember. 1898. This sum, il it can be re-.
allied in money which the public credi-
tors wilt receive, will be exhausted by the
close of your present session; and, twill
be necessary, either to resort 10 loan to
carry on the. operations of the Govern.
ment, or provide more efficient means for
the collection of the balances due to the
State, by tax collectors and others. The
borthens on the people are already snffi-
ciently onerous. But few ofOur banking
institutions pay any tax. either on their
capital stock or real estate. Tie report
of the Auditor, herewith transmitted, viii
showtlle amount of tax assessed on them
:ast year. The Commercial Bank of Man.
chester, lam informed, was not assessed,
because the actto tax bank stock, provides
it shall betaxed as provided in the act Of
incorporation. The charter ofthat bank
contains no clause in relation to taxation,
Some of the banks have refused to give
10 the assessors a description Of their real
estate, alledging, that in as much as their
capital stock as exempt from taxation,
no taxes could be imposed on their real
estate. Efficient measures viii, in due
season, be taken to enforce the collection
of all arrearages of taxes now due, 0nd tc
collect taxes of all the corporations Liable
to taxation, under the existing laws, which
have not been regularly assessed.
Believing the right of the Legislature
to tax any property in her borders, to b
unquestionable, | recommend that a tal
of one quarter of one per cent. be impos.
ed on the loans of all the banks in the
State, except those that are, in good faith
constructing the Railroads they were char
tered to make. An individual who loans
his money at interest, is taxed one quartei
of one per cent, but he who invests it il
bank stock, and draws interest on three
dollars for each one he pays in, is exemp
from taxation, by an express provision il
some of our bank charters, and in most 0
them the tax is limited 10 one quarter o
one per cent. on the capital paid in. Tht
is clearly wrong. 1t enables the stock
holder of bank to draw treble intereS
on his money, and exempts him from tn
/ burthens of taxation. A tax of one quar-
ter of one per cent. on the loans and dis
counts Of the banks, not engaged in tn
i construction of Railroads, would yield al
annual income of more than seventy-iv'
thousand dollars. These institutions ar
/ participating largely in the benefits of ou
Government, and justice requires that the.
should bear fair proportion Of It's bur
/ thens. The tax on money loaned at in
terest is now but seldom assessed. III
usurer shaves paper, and when called o.
d to give in under oath, the amount of mo
\ new he has loaned mt interest, denies tina
4 he has any invested in that manner.
4 isadeserVing your consideration, whethe
i tax should not be imposed on all notes
] bonds and bills purchased by the none,
lender. aa7a
| lAtthe request of Major General E. P
q, Games, of the u. S. Army, ] transmit I
you diagram of his system of Railroads
and his letter explanatory of the same
Also, at the request of the administrator
of the Charity Hospital Of New Orleans
submit to your consideration, their cir
cular letter relative to that Institution.
take pleasure in submitting the Eeso
lutions adopted at the late Commerce.
Convention of the Southern and South
Western States, at Augusta, Georgia.
4 The object proposed is direct trade be
tween those States and foreign countries
I The. importance of opening a direct trad
with those countries, in which the cotto
of this State is manufactured, as well a
} with those which furnish US with merchan
die, will commend those resolutions Z,
favorable consideration. Experience ha
fully demonstrated that cotton canbe ship
] ped, much cheaper, and in better ordeI
from our own ports on the Mississipr
River and the Gulf Of Mexico, direct t
. the market where il is consumed, than b
the channels through which itghas usualli
beer forwarded.
Resolutions ofthc Legislature Of Geor
gia, inrelation to the demand on the Gov
ernbr Of Maine for certain fugitives fror
justice, charged with stealing a slave; q
, The legislatures of Connecticut, Ohio, an
Arkansas. in relation to public lands q
J the Legislatures Of Vermont and Main,
E relative to an extension of the Franklin
privilege; Of the General Assembly 9th