Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1860-03-17
RICHMOND WHIG.
Rqmon.,rancc of aIehmond Merchants.

this civ, at their meetiS last thursday, OF which
mention was made in oar Local column Yesterday
As thee stated, this atle and convincing paper is
from TIN peu of Peachy r. Grattan, ESQ. We ear.
nestly Commend its perysal to the members of tn a
Legslatun
40 MeSenate of I'irgiaia Your petitioners, mer-
chants in tie city of Richmond beg leave respectfully
but most ugenty TO call the attention of your honor-
BILE body ocertain provisions OF the bill lately passed
by the Hoe OF Delegates OF Virginia, in relation 10 H.
censes and he tax merchants Your petitioners de-
clare their Iost earnest conviction that the provisions
of this bill re passed into law they must not only be
runous to pur petitioners but must produce the most
disastrous elects upon the whole mercantile business CT
the State; ad must put an end utterly to all hopes or
effort to buii up commerce IN Virginia
Your petitioners respectfully represent that the egis-
lation of theStae OF which its system Of taxation con-
ttutes an Huentia part has driven from it, at the low.
est cstimateen millions OF Virginia money, which has
sought mOriroiable investment beyond our legislative
control lnhis city il Is shown by the books of the
City Assesso that the personal property money and
credits not mployed in business upon which class
tax was aidAmouned in 1856, to 81 39q 44j: in 1857
to 80 359SO in 1885, 10 81 293 COS and in 1859 to
81 4SO q26. Thus showing dimnuton, in four years
of nearly tw-thrds or Si9lS,is9. And the books OF
the AsseSsor the city substantated by the report of
the First Auor of the State, which shows that the ag
gregate valuof all personal property, exempt from
taxation needing moneys solvent bonds etc i'm the
city, was diruished in the year 1889 the OF 1857
g97 1t is uuer the operation Of policy utterly ruin
TO the buiess OF the city, that It is proposed to im
pose still heayie burthens upon the commercial interests
of the State.
Your pettoneE would further represent that the cap
ital employed in be business carried on in the city OF
Richmond, for wh;h license is required, does ex
ceed 81 200 OOp The assessed value OF the real estate
in the city in lS59,was according to the Auditors re
port SIS 2lS.12 And under the tax law of 1886 the
owners of this 500 OO paid into the Treasury ofthe
State SS2 100 AZ 'hS the real estate OF the city,
-essed high aud ipaing as heavy tax real estate
in the country, pal but S72 So5 % thus shOwng that
under that unequaAnd oppressive law, property OF the
citizens employed business, to the amount OF 81 900
OJO paid into the treasury $4,000 more than the real
estate amounting upwards OF SIS 900 OOO or about
live dollars for Que And this under constitution
which declares thataSalion shall DO eg,li aud uniform
throughout the StP.
our petitioners oncur fully in the opinion that the
iaw OF 1856 lears nth oppressive severity upon the
small dealers Thee are IN this city four hundred and
ihirty-seven of thes small dealers whose capital under
$500 and of hesche at least two hundred whose
capital does not exceed 5000 and they are required
bv that law pay tax Of 500 There another class
numbering two huilred and thrty-SN, whose capital
does not exceed S1O0 aud who have paid a tax up
on their sales melting the for selling liquors. from
SIP to $50. Ofourse such amount OF sales upon
such a capital cOul only be made in city where there
wholesale hOuT and these small dealers were thus
enabled replenii their stock weekly, even from
day 10 day, if it W. necessary.
But in fact the equalty OF the tax between these
tail dealers and IL wholesale merchants is not as great
as the figures wod indicate the profits of the former
are much grcatenhau the profits Of the wholesale
chant IL Is rudhe Auditor the financial officer of the
State in bis repr says that it is part Of the duty OF
the State, in grating license TO inquire whether
merchant make larger per cent. profit than another
But when the tate discards capital the basis of taxa
ton your petitioners wholly at 4 loss conceive
any other basi which taxation be placed but the
ability to pay and surely the ability to pay depends not
upon the alof goods but upon the profit that is made
upon the SALE
The qucsDn is not, however whether tue small deal
ers have ben oppressively taxed by the act Of sjG-
We say the have and the advocates Of the bill OF which
we cQmDlan,say they have On that point all parties
are oi one Md. RV, ~ -.;. l. neither they Shon
be relieved irCu this oppressive taYauon by distributing
the burthcn cqay upn the people and property Of the
State or by phng itupon few, who are already OPP
pressed by most unequal aKatiOn-a taxation only less
oppressive than that Nhih all admit they bear. And
your petitioners cannot press the expression OF their
regret that gentlemen whOcOuld readily discover,
and were prompt to raedy the inequality between
the small and the large deahs utterly blind to the
still more erroneous and Arng inequality in the bur
thens OF taxation betweenthe the persons employing
their property in commercend the owners OF real estate
aud slaves
Under the law ofIs56, tn tax upon the largest whole
1
three times greater than upu the OF real estate
This difference still greer against the small whole
sale merchants And yet under the law OF 1886, 10
merchant in the city Of Richmond paid tax OF 5000
Under the bill which has paed the House OF Delegates
the tax of our largest whO!e merchants based upon
he sales Of the year endip the lst of February last
vill be so 600: and the cr upon the wholesale mcr
chants of the city will rang from this sum 10 ooO.-
II il only necessary givehe figures TO satisfy every
intelligent that, a sstem OF taxation the enor-
mty of the oppression nut deieat II. That any man or
firm will continue 10 do commercial business in Rich
| mord upon which he wllaYe TO pay tax Of $1,000
certainly no man WHO is apuaned with the business can
believe or expect On IT, sales which are TO be the ba
ss of this tax large prooronpr0baby One-hali the
proft-if there is any at Il, is merely nominal. They
are sold by the whoesa merchant, because his custo
mer the retail dealer muthave them and, unless they
can be had from him. his Ostomer will be compelled to
20 where they can be gotan. As an ustratIon-and it
is fair illustration of th,subect-the wholesale dealer
purchases calico prints olCOtton shirtngs in New ork
at nine cents per yard qm eight, months time, and he
brings them to Richmond and sells them at - cents
upon months time. Wien his note falls due he must
take il up in New York ,ayng the rate oil exchange,
which is seldom ess tham halt per cent or he is ruin
ed and when at the endOf six months, the note OF his
customer falls due it is unirequeny taken up by an
other note at four month Ii Is true, the financial OH
Ger of the State says it part Of the duty OF the
State in granting a ceSe, to inquire whether one mer-
chant makes larger prot than cthe but however wise
or lust that remark maye in regard to the State, the
merchant in deerminnl whether he can afford to pay
the tax must take into Il consideration the question OF
proft upon his sales; ui when more than the whole
gross profit on one ha of his sales Is absorbed by
the tax which the Stats imposes upon him. he will think
it part of his duty to mselt to inquire whether 1t Is
not for him to give up IL business remove il TO some
| place where legislation rnot so unlriendly to IT,
Your pettoners have ot overlooked the provision of
the bin exempting diret importation of goods from
abroad frcm taxation or at eyemptng goods purchased
| from licensed merchantn Virginia. Tut your petition
ers believe that though ttse provisions, especially the
first NAV he of advantse the wholesale merchant vet
neither nor both togetlr can compensate for or mate
rally lessen the Oppression of the proposed The
first provision has beenn operation ioc some years and
although il has operatenost bengny upon some branch
es of rade-especaly he coffee radeyet, il has had
scarcely percepible iuence on our trade With Eu-
rome The wholesale merchants If this city vhptber
dealing in dry goods orardSare-hopgh some of them
heve been eKerng theeves for years to import goods
from Europe and do port them az very considerable
sacrilce-have beer compelled TO import them mainly
through New York.
But the difficulty Of establishing direct trade with
Europe is not the only most operative why the
provisions Of the bill are considering cannot afford
very extensive relief TO be wholesale dry goods and hard
ware merchants OF RichrOnd uf the goods sold by
largest dry goods mer0ants in Richmond, upwards of
onshalf of them are mo- imported into this country 1T
all They are made at North and there are no Euro
pean goods that can be abstuted for them Tn are
the coarse woolIen and otton goods, which furnish the
houses and cohe the aOring classes of the country in
Guiding our slaves. Nodirect foreign trade however
prosperous or active, enable us to import goods
which can come into successful rivalry with them and
we must continue TO be supplied with them from the
North, whatever may behe discriminating or oppressive
taxes which may be Imposed upon them until manu-
fcture them for ourselrs and the may be said Of
our hardware 1t is ely the most expensive order Of
hardware that is mportd into the country. The great
proportion of that whc enters into the daily uses OF the
people is manufacturedlt the North and cannot be i'm