Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1858-12-03

Bills Introduced.
In the Senate on the 18th instant Mr.. Bledsoe, of
Wake, introduced the following bill, with the preamble
which precedes it
Il Bill to alter the Constitution.
Whereas All the property and citizens of this State
equally protected by the Constitution, and justice
demands that all should contribute to the support of the
Government, in proportion for The protection enjoyed
and whereas under the present Constitution the General
Assembly has no power to equalize taxation, in the
collection of revenue to support the governments and
whereas clause 2, section l. article of the amended
Constitution provides that the General Assembly may
alter the same in the manner therein prescribed there
fore,
Be 1t enacted by the General assembly Of the State of
North Carolina, and 1t as hereby enacted By authority Of
the same That the third section of the fourth article Of
the amended Constitution be altered to read follows
l. All free white males the age of twenty-one
years and under the age of foryve years. shall be sub
ject to such tax.
2. All the colored inhabitants of this State shall be
subject to such captation other tax the General
Assembly may impose: PgoUlded that nothing herein
contained shall prevent exemptions of taxable polls
heretofore prescribed by law in of bodily nrmity
We take it for granted that this bill cannot pass both
houses either house. by the constitutional majority
and that therefore, the movement that it is intended to
naugurate must prove abortive far at least as its
tensble object is concerned 1t may give an impetus
to sectional agitation and promote jealouses between
different portions of the State and different interests in
the portions For these reasons we regret to see
that it has been made-we regret that it has come from
the metropolitan county We regret that it has appear
ed under the sanction of so respectable gentleman as
Mr.. Bledsoe.
Unless very much mistaken indeed, serious ap-
prehensons entertained by the representatives of
the savehoding counties of the East in the Convention
of 1885, that the time ght when that peculiar
class of property might be made to bear undue burdens,
to sustain the weight Of taxation in undue proportion
and by way of safeguard it was agreed that these peo
pie should be taxed as persons and that poll tax should be
uniform. This protection deemed sufficient and the
existing provisions of the Constitution have been found
to work well in that regard The savehoding counties
pay larger amounts of money into the State Treas
ury in proportion to aggregate population, than any
other Counties, since the value of the negro labor is
reflected upon the lands increasing their assessment and
consequently the revenues derived from them. 1t is
also worthy of note that kind of tax-certainy no
capitation tax is productive that upon black polls
since there thousands of white the State who
pay tax pretend to list themselves for
taxation. We presume every Sheriff in the State will
bear out in this assertion while it is known that
negro polls must be listed and the tax must be paid
And further it should be borne in mind that although
capitation tax is uniform upon those who are the sub
ects of it, that yet in effect it is than three times
heavy upon slaves upon free persons from the SIM
pie fact that while only free males taxable and they
for twenty years. all Slaves male and female are
taxable for tirtyeght years. We cannot therefore
that there is any ground for complaining that slave
property is exempt from taxation but there is reas0na
BILE ground for apprehension in the future, in the
compromise of 1885 should be violated.
If it ever was the policy of the State to discourage
the growth of slave population, cannot think that
such is the case that the present position of the
country is such to commend the movement now in
PRODUCED TO the confidence of Southern men, We would
like to see the interest in slave property generally
diffused. We would rather hold out inducements 10
persons of moderate to invest their limited savings
in that way, rather than throw any doubt their
safety in so doing. For these and other good and su-
cent reasons we cannot but deprecate the movement
and disapprove of the bill introduced by the Senator
from Wake.
Many men devoted to the interests of the State and
the South are anxious to strengthen the institution of
slavery by eXempting one negro poll belonging to a
family from execution for debt. We like the object but
cannot fully approve of the means. We cannot but
think that all man has ought to be liable for his just
and sells it to B. who has thousand dollars worth of
negro, would it be right for A to say: To be sure
have had from you the value Of the negroyour produce
have used-had the benefit of-but you can't touch
my negro. That is not right.