Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1860-05-09
Ihs. STANDARD.
ia For the Standard
DISCUSSION AT HEREFORD.


Nh HoLpENs--The candidates for the Governors
Office addressed the people of Perquimans county at
Hertford en- the 9th of April suppose one nun
drea and hfy Il the most intelligent citizens OF the
county were prcscnt
Mt Pool opeaed the discussion by some general
remarks upon &s ca,oren taxation ana cotnplalned
of the very small crossroad politicians oelonehs
TO the Democracy, disappearing the 9u.s.,on "
'adrS6soren taxation and the nature OF ltS lhtenuei
eff.cts upen the people when put INTO operation oy
himsa,f s7rs his friends He spoke as usual with
manE saeers at the Democrats, especially those VINO
will; itsk apon public measures with their neIghoors
HesHid they went into the bushes sneaked roupd
the corners and scratched up leaves under trees,
&c Sc in the same strain in order to mlSrepresent
md inIure him the avorite cock in the Opposition
,ps;a. He then complained that Gov. Ellis made
s,eech in the convention of March 9Th behind his
fpoors) back when he was two hundred miles away,
and when none of his friends could reply; and he
complained that the Governor not only made such
sspeech, but that he also, "in fath," printed it;
md he denied that the Governor in his convention
speech had stated his record truly either on Gd ca,
loren taxation or upon railroads. Mr.. Pool denied
that he voted against ad ra0re taxation IN the tdst
LIE is lture; and he claimed for himself large
share of public zeal for railroads; said so tar from
his being opposed to railroads that he voted Tor eleV
en- during the time he was in the Legislature, ami
voted appropriations towards building them the sum
of-not one cent Mr.. Pool took good care not vol
UNFAIRLY to name the amount Of money he voted
for railroads even before eastern audience until
the unwelcome confession was torn from MN oy
Gov. Ellis. Mr. Pool, | think, is willing to begin
name as friend to internal improvements in these
DAYS, and 1 doubt not he will want that name to
resound louder and louder, and grow more and more
famous as he travels west. In 1856, when he was
elected to the Senate over Mr.. Jordan his chief
charge against Jordan was that he voted for some
appropriations to railroads. Again in 1853, when
he ran against Mr.. Albertson for the Senate, his
whole argument against the Democratic party con-
sisted in charges of extravaganza as witnessed by
the public debt and of appeals to an eastern con-
stituency to vote against the Democra because they
had built railroads in the west The strongest OBJ
jectiOn urged against his opponent in 1858 was
that he was known to lie decided friend TO in
ternal improvements, and defended the aPpropria-
ton already made for public works. Mr.: Pool then
deplored the public debt, and censured the objects
upon which the expenditure was made That course
was successful in 1862 his views were the views of
the majority of the voters before whom he appeared
But Mr. Pool las changed his notions of 1858 on
this subject and now declares himself good aye,
better railroad man than Gov. Ellis He says he
has voted for more railroads than Ellis That's for
the west you know; but he has never voted one
cent of appropriation, nor moved an appropriation,
nor spoke for an appropriation to railroad. That's
for the east you know. Every one ought TO be
satisfied with his position on this important ques
ton for he has record to suit every section
Mr. Pools argument in favor of ad rdlorem Taxa
tion understood him correctly is this: 1st Every
man ought to pay in proportion to the amount of
protection he receives from the government. Whe-
Their he meant the amount to be proportoned to pro-
lection TO life. to liberty, to freedom of conscience
and all the civil hits claim frcemen or whe
ther he intended to confne the protection he named
to property alone or whether he intended to repre-
sent taxation by y or some other algebraic symbol
of an unknown quantity, and make it equal to the
compound result Of protection, asccrtained by po-
iticomathematical elimination, | don't know; he
did not explain But he used the words state, and
repeated them as summing up his idea of correct
taxation and he called this proposition adj rdlOrem
taxation.
In applying this principle to taxation, he said
that all property should be taxed in proportion to
its value all property of every description. But
upon being questioned by Gov. Ellis, whether he
was in favor of levying tax upon every kind of
property Mr.. Pool said he did-not intend or desire
to tax ali property-he would exempt some species
of property. Being asked what property he would
exempt, lie did not tell, he unwilling to name
any particular kinds of property. Ellis asked him
if he would save from taxation bank-Stock horses
cattle, negroes or land, any all of them. Mr..
Pool could not really tell he would leave that to the
Convention which hts party wishes to CALL Ellis
asked him still farther whether he would have these
articles exempt from taxation named in his new
Constitution, or whether he would leave the kinds
and the quantity exempt to the discretion of the
Legislature. Mr. Pool would have constitutional
guarantee, he said, but he would not of course,
name each article to be exempt in the Constitution
itself how then, asked Ellis is it to be protected
by the Constitution? Mr. Pool finally fixed upon
sum certain in value, and said that property, to
that amount, should be protected by his new Con-
stitution from taxation, but how it was to be ascer
tanned, and by whom; whether by an officer appon-
ted by Law, and If So what officer or whether by the
owner himself Mr.. Pool did not state
Gov Ellis then wished to know what amount Mr..
Pool would exempt Mr. Pool could not say that
nc was in favor of any particular amount. lie said
he would exempt at least one hundred and fifty dol
lars worth; how much more he was not prepared to
say. Gov. Ellis suggested to him that this amount
to be freed from taxation q very material part
of the plan, and that the size of this pile would put
different aspect upon the whole argument accord
ing as 1t was large or small and he requested Mr.
Pool, over and again, to fix upon some particular
amount He told Mr.. Pool that if he exempted one
thousand dollars worth of property from taxation
ne would, IN many places, relieve an entire comnu-
nifty from taxation and thus turn his boastcd equal
lty into monstrOus I'M Justice. Still Mr. Pool de-
clined to name any amount and proposed to leave
that duty to his Convention
In this nd cdtorem scheme Mr. Pool saw a vast
amount of protection to the slave owner Suppose
there are 100000 taxable negroes in the State. and
only ioOOO taxable whites, and of this number So
OQO slaye-owners. And suppose this 10 600 white
people should take it into their heads to raise all the
revenue OF tie State from polls alone in that event.
says be- there is nothing to the negro from ex-
termination so far as taxation is concerned. What
IS to hinder Legislature representing this 70 600
white men from levying tax of ten or even twenty
dollars upon the poll and taking away the burden
from all other property. Such is the condition Of
the siaveowner, and all there is to accomplish this
direi1l result is that the white people shall some
nne morning wake up and discover that the Lepis.
lature has the power to raise the poltax. Mr. Pool
seemed tremolngly alive to this great danger, and
him Governor and adopt constitutional safe o,or
by putting in tie principle of ad valorem taxation
against the evil ne foresees and this before the neo
pie shall find out the dangerous secret of their
e, notwithstanding he is telling them of il eyery
day In other words, his argument is, the peoni,