Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1851-03-25

merchandize Where is the righti Is it right Of na
sure Is it not rather right derived solely from the
institution of government How could you assert that
claim protect that right in state of naturei You
would have the right to claim him and he would havethe
right claim you and that would be the extent of your
right But state of society these rights recognised
and you are defended aud protected in them You owe
that property then to society and what is the extent Of
you obligations to society Is to the full extent Of
that property You owe the whole of to society and
for the protection that society renders you the
oymeu of that property that you are Justly bound to
contribute due taxes to the support of government
IN proportion to the protection that you receive that is
10 say in proportion tho true value of the property
Why did in the simplicity of my heart at very early
day IN the session propose what thought be me-
catoria! concatory proposition BY virtue of which to
concate the east and the west and to assure the east
that we edtated no assaults upon their property De.
slrons 10 dlsPel th'S Illusion which By some singular
f-tity rests upon eastern minds proposed that sys-
of ad raorcm taxation should be adopted no. upon
all property, the gentleman from Fauouer very nm:
seasonaty suggested the other day, not upon all
property but upon all property subject to taxatuu Let
that property be defined and not left TO conjecture or
legislative caprice 1t is not the first time that such
proposition has been made In Virginia This I'D yaloYe
system of taxation ia not novelty in Virginia Long
ago in the better days of this republic the system Of
al ralorem taxation prevailed and included according to
my recollection every species of property. 1t do
cared IN The Legislature of Virginia in the year l777.
Of property should contribute to the common defence
AND protection III proportion TO its value | am now
pe"A'S IN regard 10 taxation general and have
serted what maintain, and will always maintain that
however great Tue contributions of brethren of the
east they are not cqutaby propetoned TO the burhens
imposed on the west You may reduce tho taYa,ion but
sa that so long eastern taxation remains at It's pre-
sent per centage the western tax not as il should be-
IN other words we pay proportion to our wealth
and ability than do the people of eastern Virginia
repeat this Is no novel doctrine but old doctrine
Virginia / will refer gentlemen TO the Statutes at
Large, vol ., p $40, where they will find tax bill of
October, III, in this language:
an ACT tor raising supply Of money for public ext
5encies, declaring it to be done " in mode which is
judged VIII be least burnensome to the people of any
shiinss for every hundred pounds value of lands &C.
slaves, DC, horses. DC, shall BIO paid.
hat If the nd valorem principle recognized by Vir9i
MIA herself in her first days. find in the year Ills,
another statute proposing an increased tar upon the
same principle. In May, 1870, there was another in
crease Of tax and then was that the specific or CAPT.
tat'on OF tax was introduced and introduced too not
Tor the purpose OF reducing the amount Of tax but from
me greater facility in imposing it, Another act. in
the Year 49, declared that it is just and right that
properly oil every knd should be equally burthened for
the defence and protection of tho State These were
he sentiments Of Virginia, expressed through her
General Assembly in those days. We'll, a change
hns come over the spirit of things since then
nave demonstrated that the increase Of wealth.
population and taxation, greater in tho west than in
the east mean tho per centage The tendency Of
increase is in tho west and consequence Of this
increase Is that the tax this peculiar propcrty-oh
saves-has been diminished from the earliest date to
the present tn1o because the tax them has been i'm
posed upon other property. other property has in
creased in proportion. have table which exhibits
rather singular state Of things. begin at 1900 and
stop every decade of years. and show the total revo
uue Of the State-hat derived from slaves and it's pro
portion Of per centase to the total revenue The table
is as follows.