Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-05-26
coNNEss AND THE MINING TAX.

John COnneSS mas auuIebSe0 lettek "
Secretary Chase upon the subject of the
Mining Tax Law, now pending before
Congress, giving cogent reasons why such
system of taxation of the mines should
not be adopted. From that letter we make
the following extracts:
In my opinion II is neither wise nor practical to
tax the right 20 search for mine, the right to
work il after Il has been found. There are many
objections to both Of these forms of taxation. /
will state few Of them
First-The right to search for a mine should
not be restricted because the poor are always en-
gagged in the enterprise, it is always attended
with great expense Of means or effort, and often
with great privation A tax on the right to
search for a mine would be a tax on effort, a re-
striciion on enterprise, and would be odious,
easily evaded, and Improbable. A tax on the
right TO work mine would present the most diff
fcult problem that was ever undertaken by any
legislative body. The mines so different
in their nature aud productiveness, that you
would be met at the outset with insurmountable
difficulties You could easily find the quartz
mine, and could adopt q means Of ascertaining
the product and collecting the tax but tina, class
of mining Is only part of the business. and no
system applicable to the collection of the tax i'm
posed upon it would at all apply 10 other modes
Of mining carried on in mining countries. To
think of ascertaining the product of every claim
in the placer mines BY means of assessors or col
lee'ors, is perfectly idle, and would be found
completely abortive.
ii do not advocate the taxing of the mines, for
while there are some reasons why 1t should be
done there are many reasons why it shonld not
be done. The very freedom Of the mines that
now exists has led to enterprise and the accumu-
lation of other kinds of property subject TO tax
alton, that otherwise would never have had any
existence II has largely contributed to the basis
of the immense circulation Of paper money that
has obtained since the discovery of those rich
mines within the last fifteen ysars-and which
became necessary to the increased trade and COM
merce Of the country. No proposition is, per
haps more flllacious than the one so often heard
here, that the rich mines Of gold and silver have
contributed nothing to the support of the Gov.
eminent. So far from this being true, the fact II
ofeasy demonstration that q new era and one of
unparalleled prosperity has existed since the dis
Government has both directly and indirectly
been benefited thereby"
After combating the Objectionable features
of the proposed law, Mr.. Conness gives the
following as his views as to the proper me-
thOd to be pursued by the Government, in
order to obtain revenue from the precious
metals derived from the public domain.
propose tnen, tnaI no TAX De lulpOseu upon
the right TO search for or discover or work mines
Let the mine be free to all loyal men as they
are now to the loyal and disloyal Let whosoevsr
will, seek for and work the mines of the coun-
try and for the purposes of taxation, let the ex.
pOrtaflon or transportation Of the precious me-
tails BY sea or land be prohibited unless the stamp
of the United States be affixed thereto. Before
afi1ing the stamp, let the tax (whatever shall be
imposed by layy) be deducted at the mints and
assay Offices. And let all transactions in bullion
except that which is stamped, be prohibited. If
there be any difficulty on the subject of private
aSsayers, let the Government take the business
upon itself and furnish the savans for its full ac
exact statistical information Of the product Of
our mines which is very much needed. We have
now nothing but conjecture al to the amount of
the precious metals produced"
1.-THE plan suggested BY Mr.. Conness be
feasible and practicable, the Government
would derive a revenue from the mines,
which would not fall so directly upon the
miner and explorer. There is provision of
the Constitution of the United States, which
says: "No tax or duty shall be laid on ar
ticles exported from any State" Cart. IL,
sec. 81 Whether or not the export stamp
duty would be in conflict with that provision
Of the Constitution, may, perhaps, be ques-
ton to be decided among the lawmakers and
the judges. We hope that the efforts of Mr..
CONFESS may result in reasonable modihca-
ton of the proposed law, but from the late
telegraphic accounts of the shape in which
the bill stood in the Senate, we are forced to
the apprehension that it will become law.