Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-11-20
TAXATION OF SLAVES

TAXATION OF SLAVES.
. FREQUENT inquiries have been made OF US as to the
votes given in the State Convention by the four cand
dates, Messrs. Summers Johnson, Watts and Bocock,
who were members Of the body on the provisions con-
corning Taxation Il is very difficult to ascertain from
the official Journal the effect OF the various votes
that are recorded, because the subject matter OF the
proce edings esdom set forth. The true positions
of members were best Indicted by their votes in Com
mittee of the Whole but proceedings in Committee do
not appear in the Journal.
The following abstract exhibits the votes of the four
gentlemen referred to- on the provisions concerning
Taxation, after they had assumed their final shape.
FRIDAY, July IS, 1s5I.-The first two sections Of
Art 4, as reported by the Committee of the Whole,
and afterwards amended, by the Convention, were ia
these words
ID ''No slave shall be taxed who has not attained the
age of twelve years."
GI1 l. A captation tax shall be levied on all male
citizens of the age of twenty"one years andover,
equal to twice the levied land OF the value OF
one hundred dollars.
q Taxation shall be equal and uniform throughout
the Commonwealth, and all property other than slaves
shall be taxed In proportion to its value, to be
tanned in such manner may be prescribed by law
80 And all slaves above the age OF Il years, shall
be assessed per capita. with tax equal to, and not
exceeding that assessed upon land of the value OF 300
dollars.
al And any property, otRer than slaves under IL
years OF may be exempted from taxation Dy the
vote of majority of the whole number of members
elected to each house of the General Assembly.
(5) Provided that the molety OF the caplatlou tax
upon white persons shall be applied exclusively to the
purposes of education in primary and free schools
o. But nothing herein contained shall prevent ex-
empuons of taxable polls as hereto ore prescribed by
law, in cases OF bodily lnfrmity.
The question was first taken on agreeing to the first
clause, marked ~ of the second section; and it
agreed to-ayes 81, nays 49-[Mr. Bocock and Mr.
S. Watts in the affirmative, MIR. Summers and Mr.
johnson in the negative
The effect of this vote was simply that there should
be capation tax on all white males over q, equal
to twice the tax on land worth 500.
The question was next taken on agreeing to clause
() of the I'd section; and agreed to- ayes g.
43-[Mr. Bocock, Mr.. Summers and Mr. S. Watts in
the affirmative and Mr. johnson III the negative
Mr.. Johnson had previously voted to apply the od
raorem system of taxation to all species of property;
and his for voting against this clause was
doubtless that 1t excepted slapes.
The question next taken clause (3) "and
all slaves above the age of IL years shall be assessed
per capita with tax equal to, and not exceeding that
assessed land of the value of $780,; and the same
was agreed to- ayes 81, noes 25-[Mr. Summers, Mr..
Bocock and Mr.. S Watts voted in the affirmative;
Mr.. Johnson did not vote.]
Mr.. Johnson's declining to vote on this clause was
evidently owing to his desire tax slaves generally
according to their value and not per capita.
The question was next taken agreeing to the
clause (D and it was agreed to without division.
The question was next taken on clause o. and i
was agreed TO, ayes 49, noes 20-[Messrs. johnson,
Summers and Watts in the affirmative; Mr. Bocock
in the negatlve Mr.. Bocock, therefore, was against
applying half the white capiation primary edu-
cation.
The last clause (6) of the I'd section was then con-
Cured in without division
The question was then put agreeing to the Is
section, above copied, viz 'No slave shall be
taxed who has not attained the age of twelve years.
and it was agreed to, ayes rs, noes 3S-[Messrs
Summers, johnson. Bocock and S. Watts voted in
the affirmative.
The Enquirer republishes from tho South Side
Democrat an account of the discussion at Peters
burg, in which it is asserted that Mr.. Summers
avowed the opinion in genaral terms that Congress
has power to abolish slavery in the District of Co.
lumbia. We are perfectly confident that he could
not have taken any such position 1t is utterly
inconsistent with the OPT Mon which he expressed
in the Convention, and now reiterates in all his
speeches, that even the State Legislature has no
right to emancipate the slaves. We think we
know what opinion it was that Mr.. Summers did
avoW in Petersburg, for we suppose that it was
the same he maintained in the Legislature of
1886. He then declined to vote for a resoIu-
ton declaring that any attempt on the part of
Congress to abolish slavery in the District would
be violation of the constit uton. The obiec-
ton he made was, that if the Shareholders of the
District should themselves ask Congress to
emancipate their slaves, he thought Congress
might, being the local Legislature, grant their Pc
tltion. But he declared his readiness to unite in
a resolution declaring that any act of Congress
for the abolition of slavery in the District, against
the consent of the owners, would be unconstitu-
tional. The speech made by Mr. Summers, on
the occasion, was a manly and able vndcation
of a series of resolutions on the slavery question
offered by Judge Stanard, which, he cohtended
were stronger and more pointed than those pro-
posed by the Democratic party of the House It
was at the inception of Northern agitation against
slavery, and the Wing resolutions, according to
our recollection, went farther than the Demo-
cratic resolutions in calling upon the Northe IN
State Governments to interpose for the purpose
Of suppressing the tanatical proceedings of the
Aboltonists.
The proceedings of 1886 having been brought
upon the taps, we may revert to them more par
ticulary.
The Democrats of the Tennessee Legislature
did the handsome thing, if the telegraph reports
their action truly, by allowing Gov. Jones to re-
ceiye nearly unanimous vote in the election of
a Senator to succeed Mr. Hopkins L. Turney.-
Perhaps the latter gentleman had given them
such sur;eit of their own party policy, that they
were hannv of an oonortun nifty to Sirnifv their