The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-04-21
THE PRIVILEGED CLASS.

We drew attention some weeks ago to the
fact that new Slavery issue has sprung up in
North Carolina, upon the question whether
property in slaves shall be taxed equally with
land and other property, real and personal. We
will again restate the facts upon which the
issue has been raised. The Constitution of the
State provides that capitation tax may be
levied upon all slaves over the age of twelve
years, and under the age of fifty years." and ex-
empts by express words all others. The effect
of this constitutional provision is to throw the
burden Of taxation upon real estate, and other
personal PROPERTY than slaves. Until within
the last few years. the taxes in North Carolina
were lighter than, perhaps, in almost any com,
munity in the world; and the inequality in the
mode of collecting the revenue was matter of
little consequence; but within the last ten years
the State has entered upon an extensive system
OF Internal Improvements, which, while it has
materially enhanced the value Of property, and
added to the public prosperity, it has at the same
time rendered higher taxes necessary, in order
to meet the interest of the public debt 1t
hence becomes necessary to turn in every d.
recton in search of objects upon which to levy
taxes. In this exigency of affairs, Mr.. Bledsoe,
State Senator from the county of Wake, in
which Raleigh is situated, has had the courage
to propose an alteration of the Constitution, in
order that slaves may be subjected to taxation
in equal degree with other property.
| 1t is singular that the present odious dis
elimination in behalf of slave property was en-
grated upon the Constitution in 1885, period
coincident with the origin of the great Anti
| Slavery discussions which have since shaken
the continent to its centre. Prior to that date,
slaves could be taxed in equal degree with
other property and the owners of that species
of property stood before the law on an equality
with their fellow-citizens. The change may be
set down as one of the first victories of the
slaveholding class over the nonslaveholders-
the fruit of that grand political combination,
which mutual interest and common apprehen-
sions of safety produced among the slave
olgarchy
We entered into some estimates, upon in
sufficient data, in our former article, of the
amount of slave property entirely exempt from
of the shareholders. We have recently obtain
ed copy of Mr.. Bledsoe's speech, made in the
State Senate January 18th, 1859, from which
we learn that our estimates were much below
the mark. He estimates the number of negroes
as far greater than we had done; and the num-
Der exempt from taxation must, if his assump-
tons be correct, amount to some forty millions
of dollars in value, instead of about thirty mil
lions, as We concluded upon the basis of the
old census.
| But this is not all. 1t seems that while the
tax paid upon a thousand dollars worth of
land, for State purposes, is one dollar and fly
cents, that paid upon slave worth one thou
sand dollars is only fifty cents. Thus it will
be seen, that while at least forty millions worth
of slave property is totally exempt from taxes,
the remainder only pays, at least so far as the
more valuable are concerned, only onethird of
what land pays. This unjust discrimination is
also unjust to the slaveholding class; because
the tax is levied per capita upon all slaves be-
tween the ages of twelve and fifty, without
reference to their value; and the consequence
is, that a carpenter or blacksmith worth two
thousand dollars pays no more tax than an
in6rm slave worth two hundred. The county
taxes are imposed on the same unjust principle
| of discrimination.
Mr.. Bledsoe takes vigorous grasp of the
subject. He shows by citations from the Bill
of Rights, the Mecklenburg Declaration of In
dependence, and from the Preamble to the
Constitution, that the Government of North
Carolina was instituted for the benefit of the
whole free population, without distinction of
class and that shareholders are entitled to no
exclusive privileges. This would seem to be
bold language for North Carolina and the
speaker follows it up with the most formidable
array of facts in support of his proposition. He
says: s-
" But the slave-owners of the State have not
only been more benefited by our internal i'm
provements, as the largest producers and con-
sumers, bat the scorks of internal impropement
haze been mainly constructed by slaoe labor. and
consequently very large sum of the public
money has gone directly into the hands Of the
slaveowners.n ea-s
He might have addod tho+ Al Il