White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1858-07-22
Taxea.

airy, 1857. The Assessor called upon us
for our tax; when we found that We were
set down for 81 poll tax. tax on 500
worth of improvements, 81 for dunning,
and so forth! Now, we did not leave
! Ohio until after the middle Of March.
1857 yet we are charged with poll tar
for February, and for 500 worth of i'm
provements, when we had not scrap,
rag or crumb in the Territory and,
above all, we are charged 81 for the trOu-
bic of dunning us for this tax, the exist
ence of which we were only aware Of,
one day last week. The Assessor tells us
that he finds plenty Of men who are taxed
in the same way, whom he knows to have
arrived in the Territory long after Feb
ruary.
These taxes were not charged by Mr..
Stewart, the present Free State Assessor,
but by Captain Heed, the Assessor for
last year. We state this, that persons
may not censure Mr.. Stewart for attemp-
ting to collect taxes which he finds on
the books, placed there BY his predecessor.
The fact is, the Captain fooled his time
away, or got behind hand in some way
or other, until the time approached when,
according TO law, he had to make his re-
turns. He then guessed at and Jumped
things, taking care not to assess any one
too low, because he had per centage
coming out of the taxes, and "the more
the merrier." We presume that he made
oath that the returns were correct, when
at the same time they were not. How he
got us stuck, we are unable to say, but
suppose he heard of US, somehow or other,
and dotted us down. Our name does not
appear on the poll-books previous to last
October, as we were not entitled to vote,
and did not vote, previous to that date.
But we should like to know what were
the nature of the improvements upon
which we were taxed. Was it an i'm
provement in our character, manners or
looks? If so, we ought to be glad for a
chance to pay taxes upon such improve
ments @
Seriously, we would like to understand
this matter and We presume others, in
the same situation, would not object to
little enlightenment on the subject. If
the taxes were to be levied as the Asses
sor has stated to us, then Captain Heed
has attempted to wrong many persons
out of their money, by taxing them un-
lawfully. This is no pleasant joke. If
these taxes are legal, let them be paid |
but if they are not, then let Capt. Heed
be brought to account for the manner in
which he has abused his Office. /
We have been told that the Captains
excuse is, that he was placed in a difficult
situation, as it was at that time dangerous
for Pro- Slavery man to go cut upon
such business, and he was obliged to shift
in the best way he could. This excuse
won't win. There never was time, when
a Pro-Slavery man was not perfectly safe
in going anywhere in Doniphan County,
except for short period in the town Of
Doniphan, during the troubles several
months since. But particularly is he out
Of it, in regard to the time he should
have made his assessments. In the Win
ter of 1861, the Pro-Slavery men did
pretty much as. they pleased, throughout
The Territory. Parties of Pro-Slavery
were wintering in all direc-
lions, and frequently sallying out to rob
The Free State settlers. Especially did
hey rule rampant in Doniphsn County.
and in this Township. Here, on the very
spot where White Cloud now stands.
several murderers of Free State men, and
\ whole gang of robbers, were harbored,
and shielded from detection. From Iowa
Point, the mandate had gone forth, that
ali who would not subscribe to certain
Pro-Slavery Resolutions, should receive
no mercy; and lifelong Democrats, from
Slave States, were notified to leave the
Territory, because they would not go in
full length with the Rufians. At Doni-
phan, on Wolf River, and throughout
The County, darkness reigued almost su-
preme. When we arrived here, the lat
ter part of March, majority Of the Free
State men seemed almost afraid to own
that they were such, lest it might create a
We had not touched shore,
before several Rufians on the bank re.
marked that they were going to keep an
eye on us, and if we even threw out a
hint against the Pro-Slavery party, our
office would go into the river.
So that the excuse of Captain Heed,
that he dared not attend to the duties of
his Office, for fear of violence from the
Free State people, is all CANNON. We
suspect that, as the weather was inclem-
emily cold, he felt like sitting by the fire,