Richmond daily times. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1853, 1852-03-15
SPEECH OF MR.. SCOTT.
CONCLUDED.

Mr. ScoTT said To him, it seemed demon
strable that the proposed tax would be a second
burthen upon the same thing. Lands were tax |
ed ad valorem, and both their capacity for pro-
duction and the worth of their productions were
estimated in assessing their value, and all the
advantages derived from these considerations
were paid and accounted for in the land tax.
Mr.. ScoTr said He could not better illus
trate the argument than by the precise case sta
ted by the gentleman from Greenbrior Tho
lands of tho East, he said, possessed no greater
productive capacity than those of the West but
their advantages lay in the propinquity to mar
Aet and the convertibiiity of the crops into mo-
ney. He drew parallel between a tract of
land in the county of Groenbrier and Il tract in
the county of Albemarle-both were of equal
extent, of equal fertility, and Of equal produce
tive capacity. But the farm in Albemarle had
the advantage in position, it was near to market,
and when the tax camo to be assessed tho own
er should be made to pay for the advantage;
and so also, he said, it possessed an advantage
in the convertibility OF its products, and some
thing should be added for that Mr. SCoTr said
he agreed perfectly with all this, and il the pur
pose of tho gentlemau was to prove that the farm
in Albenarle was worth more than that in
Greenbrier, and should therefore be taxed at
higher rate, the argument was conclusive. But
it stopped very far of proving that, after the
HlTnef TAX illu DeSu dSScSStu uuu ttteSssduVHH-
tages fully accounted for, it was compatible with
Justice to tax these advantages second time, rs
unquestionably would be done by additional
tax on the value of the products OF the farm.
The proposition was so plain that it admitted
of statement in the form OF an A b G CASE
Let 'Aa represent the farm in Greenbrier, and
sD'' the farm in Albemarle, and then let &C.
represent the advantage Of position Of the latter,
andL1D" the advantage of the conyertibility of
crops. Considered apart from its peculiar adj
advantages, the farm in Albemarle is precisely
equal to the farm III Greenbrier, a. and ''B''
will, therefore, be taxed alike. But s.C'' and
.'D" are to be also taxed--shen let the charac:
ters ga" 3d." &C." and 3D." represent the
supposed conditions. Now if ssC'' and ''D'' be
added to ''B'' the characters will stand Al and
B-3, and these will represent tho taxable values
of the two farms. This precise thing is, in fact,
done by the Commissioners who assess lands,
for in every case advantages, such repre-
scented by .sC'' ard "D,' are estimated in do
termining the true value. But having taxed
ssC'' and ..D' each ohce, or which is the same
thing, having taxed .sB" three times, it would be
manifesty unj ust to tax them second time, for
it would be to levy double tax for the same
thing-and it will BIO uni ust after having va
lned land with reference to its advantages and
levied an assessment according to the value, to
levy upon it additional assessment because of the
advantages.
Mr.. ScorT said This very injustice would
be done if the amendment under consideration
should prevail + The value ofcerea crops, and the
facility Of transporting them to market had been
duly estimated in the assessment, and the ad-
santages accounted for in the land tax, and now
TO tax those crops would be to levy second con-
tribution for that which had already been paid
for.
But, Mr.. Scorr said, there were mineral
and manufactured, as we'll agricultural pro-
ductions and he desired to know what would
the gentleman from Kanawha think of a tax on
salt! After the Salines in his county had been
assessed for taxation with reference to the value
OF their productions, would the gentleman
think it compatible with justice to tax the salt
itself when it assumed the form of q manufac-
tured production And so when the coal lands
have been assessed with reference to the value
of the coal they contain, and the iron lands with
reference to the value of the ORE ought the coal
when dug from its bowels to be taxed Mt the pit,
and the ore when converted into metal be taxed
at the forge? And yet the claim of exemption
for these minerals was no whit better than that
of the productions of agriculture. And so in
respect to manufactured productions; having
taxed tho capital and taxed the labor bestowed
upon it, are we to so further and tax the joint
product of both
termined opposition to the cattle tax, and the
source from which it sprung; when tho opposi:
tlon was avowed to rest ON the unprecedented
inequality OF its burhen, notwithstanding tho
numerous other inequalities, prejudicial to the
other side, resulting from other subjects of taxa
ton; when he saw the effort to tax the produc- |
tons of the soil in the East, and to exempt its
chief production in the West, and when he
heard all these things defended III the name Of
Justice, he could but remark the faciiity with |
which mems thoughts, reasons and opinions
took their bue from whatever was supposed |
nosttruly to reflect their interests.
1t might be, after all, that the scales were |
upon his own eyes; ifso, it did not vary the case
or lessen the force sof the observation. But, |
nevertheless, the more he had observed since |
this question had been under discussion, and
the more be reflected on Whit he observed, the |
more confirmed was. he in tho conclusions to
which his mind had heretofore conducted him
respecting the controlling influence of the great
principle of seifinterest over the actions of men,
and the more he congratulated the country that |
although so much had been lost, there was yot
for time, in the constitution of the other |
House of Assembly, some assurance of safety |
against the wrongs and in justice ever likely to
flow from the unchecked domination Of antaso- |
mist interests
Mr.. Scorr said he had been charged with !
Introducing sectional considerations intothe ar |
gumsnt, and arraying, unnecessarily, in contrast
with each other the revenue derived itom the
several divisions; and the alleged error OF his
views was SAID to grow out of a supposed neces- |
slty tor sectional equality But this was not
true when he addressed the committee on
the cattle tax ne had said nothing to engender |
sectional amnesty, to lead any one II, suppose
that he was seeking, i'll any way n .ectionai adj
. vantage. He had never contended for sectional
>eduality in tho sensr attributed to him. he hand
\xer eontended that the four divisions shouH
Sssed with the like einount Of revenue