The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1855-06-27
Previous to tho aesessment of persor

in the month Of February Of that year,
ftho Supreme Court Of Ohio, after elabo-
ratio argument, decided the tenth section
of the law, which authorized such deduc
t5tions, to be utterly in violation Of the
Constitution and therefore void aud Of
no force or effect. At no former period
fnor at that time, did the law allow sim
ilar exemptions to real estate, nor to
horses, cattle, or any other species Of
tangible property, whose owner was in
Fdebt. 1t seemed unreason able, there
fore, and it was held to be in conflict
with the spirit and equality required by
the. Constitution, that one mans proper
ty should escape taxation for no better
reason than because it was in form of
moneys and credits, and that at the same
time his neighbor, although in debt to
an equal extent, should be compelled to
pay tax on all he owned, simply because
his property was in the shape of horsos,
cattle, and lands, and not in moneys and
credits. This decision of the Court was
received, in most portions of the State,
with that prompt ecquiesceuce which
may we'll distinguish selfgoverning
people. But in other localities, and
more especially in theicity of Cincinnati,
and in that region of Ohio directly lia-
Bile to its influence, the tenth section Of
the law, although declared by the su-
preme Court of Ohio to the Void from
tie beginning, was held to be the true
rule of assessment until the legislature
should pass formal act repeating the
provision which the proper tribunal, in
the exercise of it's legitimate functions,
had already solemnly decided to be des-
tituto of the essential elements of law
Tho efforts of the Assessors to carry out
the,decision of the Court, were openly re-
sisted, and combinations formed with
tho avowed object of obstructing the
Payment of taxes, unless assessed in con-
.fsFmity to thc-xeid seetion unfortu-
nately, these unwiso and disorderly pro-
ceedings had the offeot of creating great
inequality and confusion in the assess
ments, and results in releasing certain
classes of property holders from their
just share of tho public burthens and
imposing corresponding and undue
amount upon others. It is gratifying to
believe, however, that recent decision
(Gas Company Us. Bowman) of the Sui
perior Court of Cincinnati-a tribuna a.
enjoying the special confidence of tho
tax resistants-has served to convince
all well disposed persons in that city,
that the action of the Supreme Court of
tho State was binding, not only upon
inferior judicial tribunals, but upon the
State Auditor also, and that until that
decision shall bo reversed, tho former
privilege Of making deductions must be
withheld.
! It is worthy of remark in this oonnec :
tion, that although the,total taxes levied
for the year 1854, on the taxable prop
erty of Cincinnati, amounted to the enor-
nous sum Of one and half millions of
dollars, but little moro than one-ffth of
that entire sum was levied for State pur-
poses, including the tcrr for State COM
mon Schools, large proportion of which
remains in tho city for its own disburse-
ments. The exact figures wero as fol,
lows:
Total taxes levied in Cincinnati
for all purposes, ........... 81 SAC, ,514 50
Deduct State tax Gucluding
State Common School. .Fund,) G21 ,275 %
Balance being taxes levied by
city, county and other local
Officers, 81, Ia, ,239 3U
Tho objects for which these taxes
levied exclusively by local authorities
were intended and the necessity for their
imposition, arc questions of direct, if not
exclusive, personal concern to the COM
munity on whose property they were as
sessod. Amounting, ns they do, to nesr-
ly eighty per cont, (four-6fths) of tho en-
tire tax burthen resting on tho city of
Cincinnati, it is but wise to keep in mind
the fact that the means of ireleif frem
this burthen, as we'll as the authority
by which it was imposed, are almost
wholly within themselves.
Owing to the general failure of the
private bankers, and the refusal of the
chartered banks to pay the assessment
made against them, the amount of taxes
actually collected in Cincinnati, falls
largely below the amount levied. Of
tho entiro sum assessed for local purpo-
ses, the comparative amount assessed
on the classes of property named below,
were as follows:
Whole amount of taxes for city,
county, d other local purposes, 81 ,2225, ,:239 30
Assessed on Banks. S37 ,463 SO
Assessed on Brokerage 62,676 81
Assessed on Manuf'ing %. AIS Sc
Assessed on Nerds $1,000 AZ
Assessed on Moneys q
Credits 90, 363 69
S274,le9 09
Assessed on other property, real
and personal real. .......... 1851 ,050 2l
It is possible that the burtheus of To-
cal taxation distributed as above during
the past year, were apportioned equitably
There are many however, who think 9th
erwise, and the subject is we'll worthy
the serious consideration of all, and es-
pecislly of p0scns interested in real es-