Piney Woods planter. (Liberty, Mi. [i.e. Miss.]) 1838-1840, 1840-01-25

i county CourI OF eaCn county IN this State
to recommend to tho Governor az man
persons as thep NAV deem necessary, VIII
shall be commissioned as auctioneers; an
\ subsequent act, requires such officers {
! pay over 70 The tax collector one per cen
!. on the whole amount Of their sales. Tn
!, probate and county court was aboIshe,
= by the provisions Of the revised Constitu
ton, and, conceiTing That there is no la
: now IN force authorizing the appointment
Of auctioneers, have determined to com
mission no more until provision is 1 ade
by law Tor their appointment A great
= lumber OF auctluneers are now doing bu.
sIness under commissions Granted them
many year since, and but very few render
any account Of their sales, or pay over to
the collector tho lax required by law
Sales at auction are highly injurious to
the regular merchant, and are not always
beneficial to the purchaser. Many Of the
articles sold are damaged and OF little va
lue, and flauds are frequently practiced.
The power Of recommending auctioneers
might safely be vested in tue boards Of
police, and tits worthy of your considera-
ton, whether the tax on sales at auction
should not be increased, and heavy pen
atty imposed upon any auctioneer who
fails to give in true account his sales,
and to pay ever the legal tax when de-
manded
beg leave again to call ylur attention
to the existing laws prescribing the du-
ties Of the Auditor OF Public Accounts,
State Treasurer and Assessors and Col
lectors. The law gives to the Auditor
control over the sinking fund as one OF the
Observation-Disclosures him To collect
the amounts due 10 the seminary and
I three per cent. fund, and gives him the
control Of the notes taken for the lots in
the city OF Jackson, sold by the State
The Offices OF Auditor and Treasurer were
created in order that one might be a
check upon the other. Prudence requires
that the Auditor should not be authorized
to receive the public due, and that the
! Treasurer should be prohibited in oil cases
from receiving the money Of the State eX-
cept On the Auditors receipt warrant
The people of the State in their revised
Constitution, provided for the election and
appointment Of nearly every officer necos-
sary 10 carry on the Government, except
Assessors OF the revenue and tax colec-
tors. This omission would seem to indi-
cate that the mode of appointing those Of
icers then in existence, was satisfactory
The long list of detanlters given in the
Auditors report, and tho immense amount
OF arrcarages remaining unpaid, she" that
sometlng is wrong IN the present system.
The Government cannot be supported
without the prompt collection Of taxes aud
their punctuat payment into the pablo
treasury. II is outrageous that taxes should
be wrung from tho hard earnings of the
people, and squandered by the officers
they have chosen to collect them. In most
of the counties the Offices of Assessor and
Collector are united in the same person.
Tho Collector can only be charged on the
books Of the Auditor, with the amount OF
the assessment roll returned by tho As
SCISSOR, and the collector is now authoriz-
ed 20 collect taxes when he has failed to
assess them. This system enables the AS
SCISSOR, by failing to make raturA, or ma
king one imperfect, to defrand the Gov
ernment Of its dles. Many cases Of this
kind have come under my own obserya-
ton. therefore urge upon YOU change
of the whole system, and TO sever the otli-
ces of Assessor and Collector in every
county. submit TO your conside Grafton,
the propriety of providing for the appoint
msnt Of Assessors and Collectors annual
Iy, and to vast their appointment in the
Governor and Senate, or in the boards OF
police. Power should be given TO the Ex-
ecutiye, 10 remove any defaulter, and to
fill the vacancy for the whole unexpired
term. The exercise Of the power of ma
king such appointments, could never be
desirable to me. The applicants would
usually be numerous, and some difficulty
experienced in making proper selection.
The number disappointed would be ten
times as many as those chosen, and the
influence of the Executive would thereby
be diminished rather than increased. Il
have no wish 10 increase the patronage Of
the executive arm OF the Government.-
Should YOU in your wisdom think fit to let
the election of those officers remain with
the people, i, would still be essential to
mako provision for tho removal of default
tiers, and the filling Of vacancies OCCASION
ed thereby.
The Reports of the late Treasurer, Sa-
muel Craig, Of the present Treasurer, Jas.
G.. williams, and Of the Auditor Of Public
Accounts, ore herewith transmitted. The
receipts into the Treasury, from the LIST
Of January to the 30th Of November, 1889,
(bOtA days included) amounted 70 the sum I