Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1860-03-19

We snhnffcd oar rieNe upon s"ss ssyoSs ys~
...s.x and I closer examination OF the features
- ,hs hfIl nor pending in the Legislature. but
onrm. ~ IN NE orisiea that l. 10 beth impolitio
and uaisss. Inpottic. because il will lend to re-
nrsss and keep down the spirit Of commercial en-
terpr;se which we are nov seeking to arouse IN
the S,ate. q we'll a. in the whob Southland
uniu.s because h imposes unequal burtaens. ana
viii be ,ssaliarly opprsssise to one elass OF mer-
chants. -.
In ,he boa phass,or The affair. IT seems to US to
b tax upoa Importers and joebers Ter the Sene-
Ct If eosnsry merchants whilst We cannot per-
ce;vs that these last mentioned will be benefited,
though the former mnst inevitably be injured
To DO more spcciRe. The tax Of one per cent.
On ssles 10 nos 10 Be incurred . sccondtime. Upon
all eoods purchased in Virginia cities the import
er or iobber pays the tax whilst tho country mer-
chant is relieved Of any'tax on their sales OF the
said goods. And nov, lot ms see how 1t will
work. The eosntry merchant 10 aware that the
Virginia importer pays heavy bonus to the State;
which. to that extent is q Discrimination in favor
Of the Northern importer He viii naturally CON-
ciude therefore; that the Virginia merchant must.
in order to put himseif upon H equality with the
importer at the North, increase the profit upon
his saies This apprehension, together with the
press inducements offered in the larger markets
North, will, In nine cases out Of ten, prompt our
country merchants to continee their purchases in
those markets, TO tho neglect aud derimcnt of our
own markets. They will reason, very conclusive
" too, that ismakes no difference to them whcth-
er they pay the o1s per cent directly their own
IA in ha far If hfs In thn tirUi.
mia importer, on whose sales it is reckoned.
The bare fact as before stated. that importn-
tons to Virginia are thus taxed at the scaboard
cities; together with the greater inducements offer.
ed, or Supposed 10 be offered by tho North will
drive The trade past our own border, and thereby,
materially damage the Virginia importers. To
mind. this proposition Is clearly dcmonstra-
Bile and selfevident. But admit, for the sake of
argument, that the foregoing premises are false,
and the conclusions to which we arrive ground
less. Assume that the present tax bill will not
have the effect we spprehend, and that it will
tend to increase rather than diminish the sales Of
our importing merchants, and then we have this
anomalous condition Of affairs, to-wit: that one
class Of merchants; constituting not tenth. per-
haps, OF the whole, pay the tax for ALL Upon all
the goods that are sold in the State. --assumng
that they will be purchased Of our Wholesale
chauts-ths class Of persons pay the taxes, whilst
the retailers are entirely exempt More than
hundred thousand dollars. it is estimated. -assu-
ming that the same quantity of goods will be sold
this year as lass-will be thus added 10 the taxes
of this class Of merchants, constituting oae tenth
Of the whole. Another feature of this matter ia
thus forciby presented by the Richmond Dis
patch:
"The burihens imposed upon these few men
will be very heavy. They indeed become tax
CATERERS Of the State. and guarrantors for all
from whom they collect They pay the cash down,
and none Of The contingencies OF business
which subject them to losses reach tho
State for whom they undertake this heavy task
This principle to some extent prevails. we know,
ordinarily. Every nan mast make his taxes. az
we'll a. his support, in HE vocation but the mag
nitude Of this burthen gives the relation n broad
or and more responsible nature. I. at the same
time becomes repulsive and oppressive to tho
mind, even in anticipation. and is likely to be ex
aggerated, burthensome as ii is. We think there.
fore. there 10 good reason to aRpnehend that we
may sustain loss Of capital, energy and tact in
business under the operation of this new princ-
pie Of taxation"