Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1851-01-11
CITY A FAIRS i.
Proposed Prohibitory Ianes on the Selling of
Negroes.

proposed Tf0ha0Ho7y IdIeS on the Selling OF
Negroes.
Amongst the various city taxes proposed to be
levied for the present year by an ordinance report
ed to the City Council at one of its late meetings,
and still pending before that body, our attention
has been specially attracted by the following
On every person who keeps private negro Jail
whether slaves belong to keeper or others, $50.
On every person who is agent hire slaves for
profit who is dealer in slaves unless he licensed
auctoneer or keeper of a,pegro Jail, S. for the LIST
class $40 for I'd, SIS for Sd, and $50 for 4h class
On special license to sell slaves only $lO0-tto sell
| real estate only, $50)
Per cenage 10 be accounted for and paid to the CITY on
Sales viz Hall OF one per sales at auction
of real estate; per centum on sales at auction of all
other property Gncuding slaves one hal of one per
centum slaves sold not auction and which is to be
deemed an additional tax upon the license.
In any case in which slave shall be put up and cried
at auction although he she be not knocked out to the
highest bidder lie she sha il be deemed to be sold at
auction, il sale be made within days thereafter.
1t will be perceived at a glance that the taxes
here proposed to be laid upon the selling of me-
groes within the limits of the corporation are ex-
tremely onerous. Leaving out OF view the tax of
$l0o on the privilege selling slaves at auction,
and that of $3.50 for keeping them while for sale in
the cty the exacon of per centa,na upon The TO-
tai amount Of public sales, and one half Of one per
ce1ltatm on The total amount of private Sales can
scarcely fail to drive the business entirely out of
the city. Such, we learn, will be the immediate
| effect upon some of the largest sellers. Expelled
from the corporation, the question would be with
| them, where they are to go? Some might re-
| move to the suburbs of the city and thus escape
the tax, while others would doubtless be attracted
to other cities In any event, our city, by endeav-
orng to repenish its Golfers by loo greedy taxing
the trade in negroes would find that had put an
end to that source ofrevenue 1t not to be suppo-
sed that the trainers of the ordinance in question
propose these heavy taxes upon negro sales from
motives OF morality and with real purpose TO
Danish them altogether from the city. We have
too much respect for their good sense to suspect
them OF meaning to essay moral reform which
is nothing less than moral impossbility The
internal slave trade, of federal interference with
which the southern people are so justly jealous,
is necessary incident to slavery. We all know
and feel it to be SO, however much we may de-
plore the abuses to which this trade is confessed
ly liable AS long as slavery exists amongst
US, slave property must be subject to all
the changing circumstances of human life
and any prohibition of its free interchange
amongst the citizens, would only be fatal to the
institution itself. As moral question, therefore,
we take it for granted that no member of the City
Council has serious scrupes on this subject, scru-
pies which prompt them to favor prohibitory tax
upon the slave trade in our CITY, The case would
be different if this trade were so conducted as to
be offensive in the eyes of the community and
persons soloufning among us. 1t was perfectly
proper to prohibit the practice which formerly pre-
vailed of holding negro auctions in the Streets
But under the present regulations, the business is
carried on out of public view, and with less expo
sure in fact to observation than if it were expelled
TO the suburbs of the city.
Ii we are right thinking that the proposed tax
alton will be prohibitory, we trust the Council
will consider well before they sanction it. We have
not the statistics before u.s. but the revenue deri-
we'd by the city directly from this source cannot be
less than $4,000, and it is worth while to reflect
whether the corporate fsc is in condition to spare
such an amount.