The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1858-04-17


Requiescat in pace!
Let every man therefore, who has pro-
perty to be taxed, or who hopes to acquire
any, cast his vote to-day against the Loan.
The Present and the Future, for st. Paul
Taxpayers.
From the Daily Mnnesotian of Feb. 16.
1t is not necessary to tell the people of st.
Paul, that they Ne already pretty well tax
ed community. They know that to their
sorrow. The rate of City taxes noO borne
by them is elecen mills on the dollar, or over
one per cent on every hundred of valuation,
upon their property.
Over taco per cent. more per annum has been
paid by them for grading streets, building
culverts and so on, as per assessments of the
Street Commissioners.
In all, therefore, the past year, the CRY
taaes alone, reach ouer three per- cent. on the
valuation of property in St. Paul, and this,
it must be recollected, is for the support of
the CRY Government and for City improve
ment exclusively.
Three per cent !! In England this is the
interest which the Government pays on many
millions of the National Debt. Yet here, in
St. Paul, it is an income the wrong way, and
goes out of our pockets instead of into them,
to supporta horde of tag-eatsrs, many of whom
are burden and not few a disgrace to an
orderly community.
But this three per cent. per annum is only
the CITY tax and if it was all the tax paid
by this community, might possibly be en-
dured. There is beside, however, tax col
lected by the authority of the COUNTY, t, the
amount of fifteen mills more, or one and a A.lj
per cent. per annum, which must be added
to the Cay tax.
People of st. Paul, look at these figures
Consider and ponder on the fact, that near
ly fue per cent. per amnum, which is often a
fair income for money loaned in the East
ern States, has been the tax borne by your
property, during the past year, and will be
continued to be borne by you the ensuing
| JNoi, 'uouSn Poooioy IucIc mdy ue d Tc-
ducti"n in the Street Commissioners tax, to
the amount of one or one and half per
cent. if the people look sharp at the next
spring election, as to whom they select TO
control their city finances.
But put it down to the lowest possible
notch, and your City and County taxes the
ensuing year can scarcely 60 below three and
one half per cent.
Is not this terrible to be borne? Can you
bear it =? Whether you can or not, you must;
there is no remedy it is your fate
But is this all =? Not by great deal !!
This year, it must be recoIlected. taxes will
be levied to support our mew Stute Gouers-
ment.
From the expenditure for its support al
ready, and the amount it is estimated it will
require to sustain it to the end of the pres
ent year, the sum of $3.50, 900 must be raised
by taxation from the people of the State at
large.
A fair valuation of the taxable property of
the a0hole State is about 25,OOO,O0O of dol
lars, and the State tax, therefore, will be one
per cent. per annum.
Add this State tax of one per cent. to our
City and County tax of three and half per
cent. and we have the startling fact before
our eyes, that we are bound to pay four and
q half per cent Of taxation upon the valuation
of our property
This is inevitable This much is certain
There is no getting over it! 1t is startling
yet .fred fact
By wise economy in our city government,
by more careful economy ON the part of our
State Legislature than it has yet evinced,
this gross, terrible and crushing tax might have
been and might yet in some measure be re-
duced but as we expect neither, Judging
from the past, it is safe to assure that our
State, County and City ta1es for the present
year will stand at the enormous figures of
FOUR AND ONE HALF DOLLARS ON EVERY HUN
DRIED DOLLARS OF ASSESSED vALuE!!
But even this is not the entire burden
the backs Of the people will have to bear the
present year, if the plan now before the Le-
gislature is adopted to advance to the Rail
road Companies, Jfve millions Of dollars in
seven per CENT. interest 7oads of the State, in or
der to furnish them the CAPITA wherewth to
build twenty-f mile pieces Of Rail- Dads, af
ter we rave granted them the lands bestowed
upon us by the generosity of Congress, and
which they eptitiously obtained On the
strength of Supposed capital they possessed
sufficient with the aid Of the lands to build
the roads
Let the people of St. Paul consider for
moment the mountain load of taxation under
which they will be buried, if the Railroad
Companies succeed in deludIng the People
into passing this bill.
The interest on five millions of dollars, ct
seven per cent. is three hundred and fay
thousand dollars, which is an additional one
and q half per cent. added to the previous
four and q half per cent. Of taxation, which
even without it, they must bear.
This will make five and-a-half per cent. of
taxation and ersn this is not all
According to tho State Constitution,
whenever public debt is contracted for gen.
eral or specific purposes, the Legislature is
compelled to levy lin the words of the Con-
stitution,) also tax sufficient to paw the
principal of such debt within ten years from
the final passage of such law, and shall es
"pecially appropriate the proceeds of such
taxes to Aas payment of such principal and
Interest and such appropriation and taxes
"shall not be repealed, postponed or ainiu.
shed until the principal and interest Of