Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1860-02-01
For the Standard.
AD VALOREM TAXATION.
No. G.

Mr. HOLDEN: The article in the Salisbury "Ban-
ner, after showing that in his opinion, the over
seer paying Sc to the State out of salary of $500
had no right to complain, because his employer paid
$67 on gross income Of s., 600, and on proper
ty worth at least 37,000, very complacently at
tempts to prove that four-iiths of the taxes paid
into the Treasury, are paid by shareholders and
that if it not for slaveh holders mime tcnths of
the merchants would lie compelled to shut up shop.
If this were so, and deny it, it does not prove
anything against an ad ratorcm system of taxation.
The advocates of present system have fallen into
the great error that al the slaveowners oppos
ed to taxing property according to its value. The
most violent opponents of the ad valoren system,
that We have as yet found, are non-slaveholders !;
and many men We know who are in favor of it, own
large slave properties, and are foolish enough to
think that they have no right to ask discrimina-
tion in their own favor-and that contendng that
such discrimination is right, is poor way to
popnlariZe the institution ITSELF
We deny that four-fifths of the taxes are paid by
slave-owners, and submit the following figures from
the last census, and ask your readers to make up
their own opinion:
In 1885, there were in North Carolina %, 3O3
slave-owners, owning 2SS,54S slaves. The total
white population 553, 02S: consequently there
were 524 725 people in the State not slave owners.
However, say the families Of the latter should be
deducted, and take from the number 100, 900 men-
this would leave 424, 725 non-slavchodcrs Now |
ask any one, who has even superficial knowledge
of society in State, and of the status of our
population in regard to property, if they believe that
the 424, 723 white people only pay ifths of the
taxes and that their custom Is worthless to nine ont
Of ten Of our merchants? Under our ad ralorem
system they would pay infinitely more than that
Again: in 1850, there were 1889 farmers in the
State, besides whites engaged in the mechanic arts
and various other branches of productive industry
Deduct save-owners as being all farmers, and they
arc not, would leave 81, $50 farmers. They employ
on an average one laborer beside themselves there
could not be less than 125, 900 grown laborers-
Working-Nen. Yet in the face Of these facts, the
"Banner" argues thus:
LET us look little more minutely into this SUBJ
ject. Edgccombe county, with slave labor pro-
duces 10000 bags of cotton annually worth, at the
estimated price put upon cotton by the Address, one
million of dollars. Now, if Edgecombe yields one
million from slave labor, We think it will be con-
sdered moderate estimate to say that all the other
counties in the State yield twenty-nine millions
more-thrty in all Now, will any one pretend that
free labor exclusively in North Carolina sends into
market as much two millions of dollars worth Of
produce? 1t certainly falls short Of this amount"
This conclusion We repel; and ask your readers
they believe that the 424 725 free laborers, as the
" "Banner" calls them, only produce for market one
fifteenth part of the articles sent there and that the
2SS,54S slave laborers produce the remaining four
teen-hhecnths? Is not bare statement of the
proposition enough prove the entire allacy Of the
Banners" conclusions :?
That paper having, by such arguments as we have
noticed satisfied itself that the 3O3 slavc-owners
paid four-tfths of the taxes very naturally in its
contempt for the 424, ,725 white citizens who paid
only the other fifth, triumphantly adds:
.., I'VE ask again. what grievance oppresses the
"tork'ng Men Of the Wake Association? How
much taxes do each and oil Of them nav The ex-
tent Of the grievance can only be measured by the
amount Of taxes paid We challenge these gentle.
men to produce list of their members with the
'a'''n' u taxes paid BY each Let tho public sss