The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1860-01-18
Nett profit,

Two and half per cent. on the above nett income
of the employer, gives S62 5O-just 81 80 less
than the tax he has paid. The tables COM
pletely turned by this computation Tie overseer
pays one per cent on his nett income, while the
employer pays more than two-and-a-haf per cent.
on his Where, then, is the justice of this cutlery
against the Shareholder in behalf of the overseer?
We doubt not readers would excuse
from going farther to expose the talacies of this
Address,; but as we have said it evinces but little
knowledge Of the science of political economy, We
feel bound to make good the assertion by proof.
We PROPOSE too, to show that slave property in
North Carolina pays directly and indirectly at least
four-ffths of all the public taxes, county and
State. And if this be true, then the very basis
upon which the Address rests crumbles under it
its purpose being to show that slave property does
not pay its due proportion of the taxes.
In speaking of the merchants tax the Address
says This S37 ,S81 is paid, not by the merchants
themselves, but, as every one knows by the con-
sumers." True, every word of it; and shall
hold the authors Of the Address to this admission,
and turn their own battery upon them.
In the first place we would ask, who these
consumers that pay the merchants tax of s37 ,SS1
Who buys more than the shareholders, their wives
and their sons and daughters? Ask the merchant,
and he will tell you that shareholders purchase at
least fourffths in value Of all the goods he Sells
and consequently pays tour-ftths otthe merchants
tax. Should any one doubt this we challenge
him to go to any merchant in any town in North
Carolina, and he W II find our allegation to be true
Let him make the experiment at all events.
Again, in speaking of certain taxes paid under
the tax law of 1861 the Address says:
$1,000 in goods purchased paid s 8 SO
1000 in clothing, 10 90
1000 in liquors, So 90
1000 worth of carriages paid 10 90
1000 worth of pianos, 7 so
Now who, we ask, paid these taxes ?-ss the con-
sumers," "every one knows" says the Address,
True again: and who are the consumers of these
articles! Who buys carriages, pianos liquors.
goods, &c? We venture to assert that there are
not 20 pleasure carriages in the State but what
are owned by slaveholders-that there are not 100
pianos owned by other than Shareholders OF
these articles they are virtually the exclusive buy
ers and consumers, and of course the exclusive
payers Of taxes upon their sale-for the consumer
pays the tax, says the Address, 1t is true bevond
question, that but for the custom of shareholders,
nlne-tenths of the merchants in the State would
be compelled to shut up shop. Thus it is that the
shareholders pay directly and indirectly at least
four6fths of all the public taxes And here is the
secret in political economy which the authors
OF this Address not to have discovered: Labor
is the great basis Of all other interests, and in
North Carolina slave labor is almost the only pro-
ductlye labor We have-that is, labor that actually
creates wealth from the products Of the SOIL
Let US look little more infinitely into this SUBJ
ject Edgecombe county, with slave labor, pro-
duces 10000 bags of cotton annually, worth, at
the estimated price put upon cotton by the Ad-
dress, million of dollars. Now if Edgecombe
yields one million from slave labor We think it
will be considered moderate estimate to say that
all the other counties in the State yield twenty