Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1843-01-23

gave no inilfIiailon oil lis intention 10 impose. II shall, by
That circuitoss mode, reduce The dividends # its stock
holders. without their consent, and by lis mere sac roio.
We were indebted, not To the finance committee, but TO
Mr.. Randolph personally for the catalogue Of taxable sub
Jetts upon which the debate arose; for which, reason Mr..
Lewismovedt the accompaniment ollhe whole subject, in o.
der that 4 bill might be q, once reported, bringing forward
tangible Poposiiions for the action Of the House; which mo-
ton is still pending. The second resolution of that com
mlltee proposed, indeed, to lay down general principles
for It's future guidance in the preparation of a tax bill !;
but II Is manifest that its adoption even can settle moth
ing; and hence the entire discussion thus far has been a
waste Of time, since il will be reiterated when It's scheme
shall have been fully digcsted, and reported to the House.
That resolution reads thus:
2. Re5olred, as The opinion Of this Committee, That
the taxes on existing subjects be raised fol- that purpose,
aud that the taxation Of the State be- eqnalized by a grad
ua,lon OF merchants licenses, and by including capital
which has hitherto been exempted; and requiring proper
Tomato contributions from persons not possessed Of capt
tai, but enjoying incomes from other sources.
What, Tor example, Is meant by ''inclnding capital
which has hitherto been exempted'2 What, indeed
rs capital? But the most remarkable phrase is that with
which the resolution concludes, to wit: "roqniring pro-
portionaie contributions from persons not posses
sed OF capital, but enjoying Incomes from
other sources" Who are these? The day laborer, the
mechanic, the overseer, the clerk, the physician, the
lawyer, and all men who live by the labor OF the head or
The hand, are embraced in this comprehensive sentence.
Yet may it not be that thousands of this class, who have
"no capital" but who derive an ..income from other
sources" scarcely sufficient to afford daily bread, to their
families, pay already on a horse, or on hired servants, a
tax as far greater than their ''proporiionate contribution
to the bur'hens of the State, as ii is beyond their actual
9iiltv ia uav2 Tho po,pi,,r IF ,lis ,.,,,i,n ,f H., ,or,
mitice's resolution is interpreted, presume. by Mr..
Randolpt's explanation, in which he says that the snia
ries ofonicers and the incomes Of individuals, over $3.50
are to be taxed , per cent; and as there are very few
men. of any trade or calling, whose Incomes, from their
persona labor alone, do no, exceed $3.50 the States long
arms will be pretty certain to reacl, every mans pockets,
in many cases taking perhaps the last penny from his
purse. To ihisproposilion. too, ii strikes me that there is
this formidable objection-that is udi1lsly inqnisiterial in
its ch,rac,cr-requiring. as Mr.. Daniel, in the course of
the discussion, remarked, the rich man to give a precise
statement of his unconnted boards, and The poor to iit The
veil whic, now hides his poverty from The vulgar raze
of the curious and the impertinent-tosay nothing of the
powerful temptations to perjury ard fraud which ii Oilers
as well to the proud, who, like the decayed MOBILES of
Spain, would conceal his rags under Il robe carefully
thrown over the shoulders as a stranger passes by. as to
lIt va l'hH. hh' - ~ 4" l'iiA ~ iit 'liIp NIln
more reluctance than the Nenitian merchant would have
parted with his pound Of flesh.
Then we have the proposition to graduate merchants
liccnses-a principle in itself perhaps Just, but in The ap-
plication of which we find ourselves beset by almost in
surmounlable difficulties. The plan proposed by Mr..
Randolph is to fix maximum Of saifs. (by way Of il
Illustration, SGGCo,) upon which he would require the
existing license tax; the merchant at The close of the
year TO render an accurate account of his sales, and to
pay pro rata for the amount above the minimum. To
this, it may be objected, III the first place. that, like the
tax on money and The ,'agtso labor, ii is, Extensively in
lulsitorial; in the second place, ii opens a wide door to
fraud and perjury, of which the dishonesk woud always
avail themselves, and tempting to these who are not of
st"rnly fixed principles. without heina actually dishonest;
and thirdly, that the amount OF sales, which, In many ca
scs, are forced by the merchant al rninous sacrifices. in
order to sustain his credit, is not in numerous cases. a
fair criterion Of profits, and therefore not of his ability
to pay,or oftha' equality q taraiion which, the above
quoted resolutions lays down in tho outset, and truly
lays down, as the only just basis Of legislation On this
complex and intricate subject.
The question presents, confess. difficulties 10 my
own mind-on the spur Of the moment, have thrown
out the foregoing suggestions, rather TO elicit the rffec-
items of others, better qualified to disentangle and eluci
udlP IL, as Il gulut 10 me IN future action. than 10 indicate
with certainty what that action will be. do not doubt,
Of course, the truth of the axiom, laid down in the Sc
cond resolution Of the finance committee, that '1axation
should be cqnalizcd; - hut. i, may well be questioned
whether tie plan Swallowed forth in the able and obvi-
ously carefully digesfed e11osc Of the chairman of the
committee would effect this desirable result, or if it
would, whether the intrinsic difficulties of carrying it in
to execution, and its probable effects, as well of IA iinan
cial as Of a moral character. would be compensated by
the additional revenue 10 be derived from the new sub
Jccis of taxation. The speech Of Mr.. Daniel, of this city,
in reply to Mr.. Randolph, is justly described by the
Wing as one ''of great power aud bi liant eloqnence;''
but what effect it produced ON the minds of members, ]
am not able to say.
Tomorrow, | suppose the question will be resumed
to-day having been entirely wasted in debate upon one
Of the most frivolous subjects that ever occupied the at
Icntion of a deliberatiye body-ihe House resembling
emphatically
cold Ocean into tempest wrought,
To wait a feather or TO drown a ny.n
Some weeks ago, the Legislature instructed our SEN
ators and requested our Representatives in Congress to
use their utmost eXortions To procure the passage of a
law %reiunding to Gen. Jackson the fine imposed upon
him by the L. s. District Court at New Orleans in 1914.
To "this request, - which the House had no right. strict
y speaking, to make, the members of the House of
Representatives being responsible 10 the people of their
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