The Nevada journal., 1857-12-25
LETTER FROM AN OLD MINER. His

on the subject of taxing mining claims,
has walked up one miner and ought to
wake up the rest to a careful examina-
tlon and to express their opinions, polit-
icaliy not PARTLY, upon equal taxation.
! shall make known my own opinions at
all proper times whenever opportunity
offers.
To the theory advanced by some that
all property should be taxed without dis
! tinction, l incline, provided it is taxed
according to its kaown ralue. But does
y miner know any farther than he goes
whether his claims are valuable or not
Can he see the one-fourth part of an
inch ahead Of the last strike he made
with his pick in a drift, OF the last blast
he made in quartz lead No. Con-
sequently claims that pay well to-day
may not, and in hundreds of instances,
do not pay for working afterw ards.
Under such circumstances should min
ing CLAIMS be taxed, even should the
owner believe them good, and believing
so have paid high price for them, per-
haps the last doIlarl Often it happens
that miner invests thousands Of dollars
and receives afterwards uever a cent
from his outlay, but is obliged to seek
employment by the day to obtain his
bread. To assess his claims as soon a
purchased and collect the taxes upon
them some time after, when proven to
be worthless will he found jobs of not
equal difficulty The tax collector NAV
levy and sell but he viii get his trouble
for his pains. No one viii purchase a
claim of no value and he to after ex-
pense in holding it in accordance with
the mining laws of the district. He
can obtain poor mining ground without
the first expense.
Leaving mining claims ont of the
question, apart from the poll tax which
every man Of mature age and under ff-
y ' ''''o ''6 NJ ~ pay VI hot N"tc dt dh
election, there is a very large amount of
property connected with the mining in
terest of known value. Di,ches are as
sessed, adding much to the treasury by
taxation, which is generally, cheerfully
and promptly paid. bitches have a
known value and of right ought to be
taxed They are dependent it is true
TO some extent upon the value of the
digging to which they run for their own
value. but as water in this State is limit
ed in quantity, if one set of claims do
not pay there are always enough to
take the water that will, thus giving a
steady sale to the water. The ditch
owner can therefore count with almost
entire certainty on finding a market for
water. His ditch has then known val
ne TO be arrived at from its proceeds
which are as certain as crops in agricul-
tural districts.
In a great measure the same is the
case with quartz mills. Leads may fail
to be remunerative but in almost every
quartz district new ones are being struck,
keeping a sufficient number open to en-
ploy the mills and causing the money
invested in them to be productive and
proper to be taxed.
Not so exactly with machinery in
shaft or drift diggings. You cannot
bring the diggings to the shaft or ma
chinery-the machinery must be remov-
ed in case of failure in the diggings
elsewhere, and though it may have cost
thousands it is only worth what it will
bring to take down and remove to an
other place-in many instances but a
few hundrt d dollars
While the cry is raging-"tax-tax (
the miners" why will not little atten-
tion be paid to curtailing the expendit-
ures of every department of State and
county governments that no unjust
taxation may be needed 1t is proba-
bly, owirg to the fact that the legal pro
fession is so largely represented in our
legislatures. 1t is not to their interest
20 see economy practised anywhere.
The more loosely business is done, the
more chSnces for suits, bankruptcies,
troubles of all kinds, ont IF which the
legal profession thrive and grow fat.
They may talk of economy on the
stump. but il is only to tickle the ears of
hearers. a lawyer to be successful
must change colors like chameleon to
suit his fancy.
To obviate :he necessity which some
say exists of taxing mining claims there
is a remedy. When freemen will vote