Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1852-06-09

cal view of this subject, will find that this
long and exciting controversy has been
commenced and Kept up for the purpose
OF e1empting this one article from taxa
ton. If you enquire of the eldest or the
youngest inhabitant in the East or in the
Vally, he will tell you the amount of grain
in either section is small and insignificant
on the first of February in any year, and
that clause exempting the annual sup
plies for the year, will exempt the whole
of it, and that the value of wheat and 9TH
er grains raised has assumed, and, at that
time, would be taxed in the form of mo-
ney, bonds, or other property. Cereal
grains are perishable by nature, and sub
ject to be destroyed by vermin and such
produce the provident husbandman would
dispose of at the earliest period. But to-
bacco cannot be got ready for market,
and both it and cotton are improved rath-
err than injured by time. A large amount
of tobacco, and considerable quantity of
cotton, are raised, and none of one and
but a small amount of the other in the
West Here, sir, is the unavowed but
real cause of the proposition to exempt
agricultural products from taxation and
of that exemption, the East enjoys the
entire benefit. Taxation shall be equal
and uniform throughout the Common
wealth, and all property shall be taxed
according to its value, except slaves. The
chairman of the committee of Finance has
East was valued at 1928, 100000 and q
fraction. have shown that the taxable
slaves of the East, under the existing Con-
stituton, will be valued at $65, $40, 100,
leaving S57, 1873, 900 Of untaxed property
in the East. Was not this enough If,
AS the gentleman from Albemarle Mr..
Rives) has said the West, in the Conven-
ton, agreed to pay taxes in consideration
Of power, ask, was not the Constitutional
exemption Of $57, 600, 600 Of slave proper
ty from taxation enough to pay for that
power? Your slave property is partially
exempted, and now you seek to exempt
the produce Of their labor, while you tax
the white man Of the West, and refuse to
exemp: his labor. Sir, it calls up unplea-
SAINT "reminiscences, and l will not pursue
the subject further. One word, however,
as to the history of this tax upon cattle.
We may gain from it useful lesson of
instruction.
Benjamin Watkins Leigh stated in the
Convention of 1929, that, as Chairman of
the committee of Finance in the session of
l8l2-'l3, of this House, it had been his
FORTUNE to be the first person to propose,
or rather to suggest tax on neat cattle.
To use his own language" 1t was re-
ceivcd with such moaning low. as if the
animal on which it WAS proposed to lay
the tax, had smell the blood Of slaugh
tered fellow creature, and raised It's plain
tive voice for sympathy from man and
brute" 1t WAS not then imposed. But
to quote again from Mr. Benjamin Watkins
| Leigh" The war continuing. and the
State Treasury as we'll as the Federal, ut
tering many n hollow groan, the tax on
cattle WAS at length imposed in 1915.
but never aftcrward renewed, and ever
since, the rs-bellowing of that cow tax,
and the spectrcs of our Gellow-ctizenS
whose deaths are imputed to the pestilen
tjal climate of Norfolk in the month of
November. have been raised again and
again, on all occasions, to prove the cnor-
nifty of the burthcns borne, and the tran
sceMding services rendered for the defence
of their Eastern brethren by the people Of
the West" And he further states that
in that early day 'rhs burden OF that tax
WAS borne, in almost exact equality, by
the East and West" I wished the coun
try to have the benefit of this history.
make no comment upon it. 1t speaks for
itself.
do not envy, sir, the position of those
who oppose this amendment They may
succeed in voting it down--they may en-
Joy a triumph here but their triumph
and fame will be only for day. Public
opinion, that stern arbilcr before which
election representatives must at all times
bow in humble submission, and whose
mandate the faithful republican obeys
with unfcigned pleasure, will not sanction
or applaud the deed. Able and ingenious
arguments have been made in opposition
to the amendment and in support of the
bill, doing credit to the advocate, but not
in my opinion, conducive 20 the fame of
the statesman. l have cndcavorcd to
fairly state the position and argument Of
others, and with right reason have attemp-
ted to meet and combat the one and to
show the unsoundncss Of other. Imay
have failed. IhAvc confidence, however,
that truth and justice will in the end pre-
vail.
The Chinese in California.
A letter from Hong Kong, dated 18th
January last. states, Z" that we may look
to China, for an emigration of $4,000
souls to our population within the next
five years" An intelligent sea captain
informs me that thousands are saving up
tbo;r a o,,u in IRE II, Order tO collact GSS mas