New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-03-12


Common Schools, submitted 20 the Legisl,ture IN
accordance with the requisiton Of the law, ia the
early part ofast mouth, perceive that" the stan.
dard Of valuation for both real aud personal pro.
peTty varies in nearly every county Of the State.
while in tome it is estimsted at fair and fall mar.
ket value, IN others it is assessed at three6urths
two-:hirds and sometimes as low as one.hafns
actual value" Again in the same Report the
Superintendent, in speskingoi the bill which p.,s
ed the Assembly at iss last session, providing FOR
the support OF our Common Schools by a Stata
Tax, says, that under ne present GejeeiiUely al
mtAiStCTed System Ot assessment, such a tax will
operate VtTy VEe9u0Hy In different sections Of
State" Here 1t will be seen that We have an Of
fetal statement by Mr. MORGAN ga perintsndsnt sf
Common Schools, whose kGowled OF the opera.
tion OF our present system OF assessment will aot
be questioned, that our present system of taxa.
ton is so imperfectly administered ia diTarent
sections ofthe State, as % be regarded as an ob.
stdcIe in the way OF the UNIvERSAL FREE EpUci.
TIoE ofthe youth of the Empire State. Now If
this be So is it not the duty OF every honest cleo.
tor oil the state 70 petition the Legislature at once
to amend the Assessment Laws, at the earliest
practicable moment, with the view Of removing,
If possible the gross inequality and injustice aris-
ing from the present deectiveiy administered syf.
tenn Of taxation Yes, indeed, il the character
of the Assessment Laws is an objection to tho
payment of teachers wages by a tax on the pro.
perty OF the State it is clearly objection TO tax
for the pay nent Of the wages ofGovernor, Control
ler State Prison Inspectors Judges and for the sup
port of Courts Prisons, Lunatic ylums Hospitals,
and Institutions for the Deaf Ddmb and Blind
And if the present Assessment Laws are con-
coded to be good enough 70 raise taxes to support
the State Government, % pay State debs for
supporting State Prisons County J ails and Aims
Houses, who will dane T. say that they are not
good enough for the far nO6ler object OF providing
means of education for every chiid in the Statef
Now, suppose we admit, as We must thai the
practical operation OF the Assessment Laws is
UNEQUAL, unjust and. IN many instances, oppres
sive. will is not necessarily follow, that the per.
manent establishment OF Free Schools, by STATE
tar, will be far more likely 20 secure the desired
alteration in the Assessment Laws, than IL tha
present School Law shall undergo he crushing
process of unconditional repeal CERTAINLY, thu
Injustice of the Assessment Laws would then be
felt Just in proportion to the increase Of the aggrs-
gate oftaxes by the establishments of Free Schools.
Then, and only then, the electors OF the grestEm.
pire State will demand, with earnestness not 10
be mistaken by our law makers, the desired re.
forms in taxation. Then, | repeat, the people
will begin to care enough for the inequality sad
injustice of the Taxation Laws n right them.
l come now to point out some Of the defects in
the administration OF the present system Of a..
sessment that have come under my immediate
adopted by legislative action, will establish sys-
TEN Of Taxation, so adjusted ia its details, as to
bear equally upon all, and oppressively upon none.
To begin with, In the town in which reside, Real
Estate is assessed &. third it's actual VALDEZ
And in the town adjoining, Pers0nal Property Is
assessed at only one third its value that is,
man, clear Of debt, and having three thousand
dollars at interest, is taxed for only one hossaads
when q man in our town. IN the same circumstan'
ces precisely, 30 far, at least as personal proper
ty is concerned, il taxed for the whole amount,
three thousand dollars Thus, It will be seen, that
the taxpayers Ia the one town are assessed for
ALL their personal property, while the taxable
inhabitants in the other town, arc only assessed
for one third OF it, Hence, one town bears thred
times the burden, IN raising lands, for any pur.
pose, by State tax ia proportion to its actual
amount Of personal property, that IS borne by the
other. As specimen Of the inequality and in
justice arising from the present effectively adj
ministered system Of taxation ia country towns
generally, Twill confne myself ia Illustration TO
the town in which | reside.
The Assessors in our town meet three or iour
DAYS in each wear at the Town House TO make out
the assessment. Instead OF calling on the inhabi-
tants Of the town, personally with the view oil az
certRinipg the amount OF personal property In
their possession, and making that examination Of
the real estate necessary TO enable them TO plaza
a proper valuation on it, they here, during these
three or four days, copy tho Assessment Roll en-
stances where property had, during the past year.
actually changed hands The same old TAX Book,
in existence 20 years ago, has been copied, 40 Tar
as real estate is concerned az least almost UeTbG-
tim, from year 10 year, down to the present time,
except an occasional addition Of some young man
or woman, who by persevering industry and strict
economy, had accumulated a 10 v hundred dollars
liable TO taxation. man taxed for ten or fifteen
thousand dollars personal property ten years ago,
is still on the Assessment Book for the same
amount, notwithstanding be has been accumulate
ing sum, clear Of all expense, averaging from
five hundred to q Thousand dollars year, during
the whole period; when the poor young man, just
set out Ia the world, as it were-nOt sufficiently
skilled in that species of shrewdness necessary TO
conceal his property from the Assessors-is as.
sessed for sUeyy dollar liable to taxation.
In short, it is my honest conviction that nearly
one.half OF the taxable personal property OF this
town has failed to reach the Assessment Roll,
through the papably inefficient official action OF
the Asseasors.
Now are the electors of New-York ready to
concede that the Assessment Laws cannot be
amended so az to establish equality in taxation
throughout the State II not, let them petition
the Legislature al once to amend the Assessment
Laws, so as to change, radically, the mode Of As
sessment.
The plan | propose is for every taxpayer to
assess himself. Let there be but one Assessor In
a town. One good and efficient man 10, In my
opinion better than three, for the reason that he
would be more likely to discharge his official duty
than three or more, all depending on one another.
Let the Assessor furnish every adult person il
the town, who has property liable to taxation.
with blank, to be filed out and returned within
a certain period to said Assessor, under oath,
giving full and correct statement of all the prop
erty in his or her possession, liable TO DO taxed,
after deducting ali their liabilities, estimated at
its fair and full market value. or at price eacn
would be willing to sell for at public or private
sale. And in case any person should iall 10 COM
NV with the reouisitions of the Law, let the As.
SCISSOR have authority TO assess all the taxable
property belonging to such delinquent according
to the best reliable information TO be had, and
then be authorized 10 add a sum equal to one half
ofsuch assessment TO such assessment, on account