Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1856-01-17
WHOLE NUMBER, 1854.

the same, together With a faithful application
OF the peoples. money 70 the hugal purposes
Of democratic government.
Intimately connected With The tax laws Is the
custody Of the public money between i,s eOllss.
lion and disbursement. The money collected
upon the grand duplicate in one year is not dis.
bursed until The year following, so that much
Of our public revenue remains one year Gnd
more in The State and County Treasures. z.
wills have arisen from this which require early
attention. Our revenue officers have thus bssu
tempted to use the public funds foTpurposes Of
private emolument. The pernieiousiaananess
that must necessarily AOw from such malEeaS-
ance, to say nothing of the danger to which the
public treasure is exposed, are too obvious for
comment.
Nor would it change the matter By Deposit
ing The public funds With banks. The best trsa,
suries Of free and intelligent people are thsi.
own pockets, and no Government has any right
to deprive its members Of their means one mo-
mant sooner or longer, than is unavoidable ne.
csssary for the public services. From these
considerations, | would respectively suggest
that our assessments, valuations, and every
thing connected with the making up Of the
grand duplica,e and the subsequent collection
Of the revenues. be so arranged as TO bring the
collection and Disbursement OF our taxes within
the same year. After careful deliheration I
can see no unsurmounLable obstacle to such an
arrangement. The aeeeeration OF the assess
msnt is. as already suggested, dictated by
other reasons. Every thing relating to the
prepar,ion of the grand duplicates being paddy
the day and the amount OF work, it is easily
seen tha. the expenses Of accelerated action
would not be greater than at present. II, ia
addition 10 this. the taxes could be collected
I sem-annuaIly, instead Of annually,as they nov
are, they would be far less severely felt by the
people. Their present collections occurring at
the very period when money is most needed
for the produce and provision business of the
country, aygrwAtes their exactions AtAIl e.
vents, the most stringent laws should at once
be passed against the private use Of the reye-
nues cf the state which no Sell organized Gov
ernment will permI for moment.
Several OF the appea! cases 10 reference to
The question fbank taxation are still pending
before the Supreme Court Of the United States.
| have no official information as to the time
when final decision may be expected.
I Two cases, the Piqua Branch Bank, vs the
Treasurer of Miam county. and the Ohio Life
Insurance and Trust Company, vs. the Treas
urer of Hamilton county, involving the right
of the State 10 tax banks, we're tried in the Su.
preme Court Of the United States, at The May
term, 1854 -George E. Pugh and R. P. spai.
- Z =
State. The decision was against the Sta te in
the first case, and Tor it in the second. The
Court was not unanimous in either decision.
The cases are both reported at length in The
10Th volume Of Howard's Reports.
I cannot disguise the humiliation feel at
seeing the sovereign States of Ohio arraigned
and placed on trial before that tribunal by eer-
tain corporations within her own boundaries,
because, in an hour of misplaced confidence.
she bestowed upon them undue privileges aud
exemptions She has violated no contract With
these corporations, while they have scarcely
made an effort to accomplish the purposes for
which they we're created Instead of furnish
ing a currency equal to, ,aud redeemable in spe-
Gle, they have too frequently flooded the eoGn.
! try with deprecated bills.
The taxes on the people Of the State have
been nearly trebled since these institutions
were established. They have borne the ex-
penses of an extensive and costly system OF in :
ternal Improvement: Avenues of commerce,
of industry aud trade, have been opened in ev.
ery part OF the State, and while these banking
corporations are the greatest benefcisries from
those several enterprises. they refuse 10 share
with the people the heavy burdens which have
been thereby eccasioned. -
They defy alike the forces OF public opinion,
the determination of the Constitutional ConEen-
tion, the laws of the State, and the decision Of
our highest judicial tribunal and persist in
claiming that, it taxed at all, it must be by a
different rule from that ofndvdua's-on their
profits only, and not on the value of their prop
erIy, Ten millions of property dictates to
duplicate of eight hundred and fifty IN illionsl
Under these circumstances cannot do other
} wise than recommend an unyielding adherence
to the inst and honest principles Of equal tax
alton.
, Banking privileges still more extensive. am
: told, are TO be asked at your hands during the
/ present sessiol. Itis source of some gTati6-
} cation. however, to know that the present Con .
) stitution opposes an insuperable barrier to the
tax exemptions that were formerly sh unwissly
/ and nconsderately granted.
The report of the special agent appointed 10
1854 by the Auditor and Secretary OF State. to
examine into the condition CT the Free and 10"
dependent Banks of the State, will be laid upon
your tables. 1t abounds in information. and
! contains many useful and practical suggeIions
/ in relation to the evils of the system at present
pursued, and the supposed appropriate rene
0 dies, The subject of banking has occupied Q
e large share of public attention for years. as
these institutions 10 entering the halls Of legis'
lation and taking privileges denied TO the in
/ dividual members of community. have succes'
o ded, whether Intentionally or otherwise, in Civ.
. ing to it a political bearing.
a So great is the power which the authority "a
$ issue and circulate notes as money confers over
= the commercial and other business relations oi