The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1858-02-05

! OF Nef flSDtS.
Apart from the wants Of the Treasury, and
disconnected from all considerations IN refer
ence 10 the reduction of the public Grbt, there
exists, In my opinion, strong reason wnv an
the telnquents on the books OF tins department
! should be compelled to extingnlsh the amounts
due By them without further unnecessary de-
! lay Justice 10 those who have paid for ihelr
/ IandS imperatvey demands 1t. A great wrong
! is done to the holder ofa tract OF patented land,
4 whose money the Commonwealth has long en-
| ioyed the use Of when he is made 10 pay an
| equal amount of tax with his neighbor, whose
/ land is nnpatented, and from whom the public
treasury has never received dollar OF purchase
money or interest.
The monstrous injustice of taxing, at the same
rate, lands which have been paid tor and those
which have not, without compelling the Imme-
diate payment OF arrearages, can easily be
| illustrated. For example in 1926, Edward
Crawford, executor Of John S. Brown, paid into
| the State Treasury the sum OF S2I8. "a, oelng
! the purchase money and interest on 232 acres
and 30 perches of land in Franklin county.
/ The Commonwealth has had the use of this
money ever since. 1t is, therefore, proper TO
add interest TO the sum paid in 1926. This
would swell the amount received by the Coln-
monwealth from The Brown tract, up to this
date, TO $I5I4. IA. This sum is worth about
/ ninety dollars per annum to the Treasury, at
| SIX per centum interest.
| Scattered all over the State are thousands
of tracts as large and as valuable as this Brown
tract, in Franklin county, which never have
| paid anything into the Treasury Of the Com
monwealib, in the shape Of purchase money! or
/ MT nd Wi OLE h.,
| ing ninety dollars per annum from the use of
the purchase money and interest heretofore de-
/ rived from the Brown tract, the owner of that
tract is compelled to submit to the same rate of
taxation as he owner of a tract that is unpaid
/ for and unPatented. In other words, the Brown
tract contributes ninetv-one dollars more per
annum to the support ofthe State government
than any unpatented tract of The. same size and
value. And this unjust burden il will oontinue
to bear SO long as there is an unpatpnted tract of
equal value in the State.
Against such inequality as Ithis. every insl
man IN the Commonwealth ought to cry aloud
1t IS astonishing that those who have paid for
their lands have not cried out against it long ago,
and demanded The collection Of what is due
from others or the reiundIng Of wba, Ehas been
paid by themselves
DO what we may now, W. cannot do equal
justice 10 all who havrapurchased land from The
State. It is TOO late for that. But the Lagisa-
ture may partially restore the equality destroyed
by varying legislation in the past, by authorising
the computation ofinterrSt hereafter in the man
ner proposed in my annual report. That mode
OF charging interest is firmly believed by me- 10
be better calculated 10 do Justice all round, than
any other. 1t is, as it ought 10 bp, liberal to
those who honght their lands at high rates,
whilst it does no injustice whatever 10 those
who we're fortunate enough to purchase at the
lowest price.
Doubtless the number Of patents taken out
annually wouId be greatly increased ii the peo-
pie We're rightly informed Of the requirements
Of the law. Much of the neglect heretofore
displayed is probably attributable to want of
proper knowledge. Coupled, therefore, with
any legislative enactment on this subject, there
ought TO be- clause authorizing thr Surveyor
General TO publish The act, ar synopsis Of lis
provisions, IN nearly all thu newspapers of the
State. If ignorance ofthe Lave is to excuse no
man, then the law ought to be printed where all
men can SEE il.
Respectfully, Your obedipnt servant,
JOHN ROWE, Sur. Gen.
SUR. GEH'I.'s OFFrce,