Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1864-05-05
100000
3O,OOO,0OO
&l45.OOO.OOO

This may be too much but those who
live in those regions would be unwilling
to accept of lower figures. Enterprising
and venturous men are attracted to those
places in the quest of fortunes and indie
pendence. Is it not just that they should
con ribute something, as well as those
who toll on the prairies, or who ply
the trip-hammer, the jack plane, or the
weaver's beam, to the support of that
Government which gives them protec-
ton, from whose lands they take these
precious metals, and where they are all
the time merely priaa facie, trespassers
No tax hitherto has been required by
the Government, because the Treasury
has stood in no need of it, but now it is
otherwise.
q But it may be said that the duty can
not be collected / will not believe it,.
The application of the system of collect
ing duties on manufactures is very eff
ficient. There is manliness and lib
erality among miners that does not de-
serve this reproach. prefer to believe
and say that they would scorn to evade
or shirk any proper burden. and such as
they see is borne by all other citizens
of the United States. They are neither
sneass nor rebels.
That a system might be provided, per-
haps on the model of the Mexican sys-
tenn, giving the miners some sort OF title
to occupy their claims or lands and ex-
acting percentage on their products in
return, lave no doubt but such a
system would require much care and
circumspection, perhaps commission
to examine the various localities, the de-
lay of surveys, and the making up of
records, for which we are at this Con-
gress, by no means ready. At present it
is believed there will be less objection
to the plan proposed, for the purposes Of
obtaining present revenue, of treating
the precious metals as manufactures,
than to any other which can be sugges-
ted that will, at the same time prove
capable of practical enforcement. All
are aware that we have no accurate re-
cord Of the products of these widely
scattered mines, as they are sent away
by all the modes and chances incident
to SO new and vast field of operations.
We shall not, perhaps, obtain duty
upon the entire amount produced, but
three fourths of the business is in the
hands of men of capital and character,
using more or less costly machinery and
employing large numbers of men, and
from these there can be no difficulty in
obtaining correct returns or in making
collections E hk
BY our present laws we tax legacies
Of personal property, but do not tax the
transmission of real estate. 1t is now
proposed to tax the succession of any
estate, whether by deed, will, or laws of
descent, upon the death of any person.
when the successor shall be the lineal
issue or lineal ancestor, one per cent,
increasing the rate for the different de.
grees of relationship until you reach
your grandmother's sister" when it
is five per cent; and when you come to
. (" stranger in blood 1t is to be six per
cent. This will yield large revenue !;
and those who rake to find themselves
possessed of succession of 100000 are
rarely in mood to object to tax of
one thousand or five thousand dollars.
Those who Sleep never complain.
It has also been deemed advisable to
repeal the section of the law which post
pOned the direct tax for this year. The
revel - co 900 is not undo
Sirabie ID - . ...ofe desirable that
we keep the law alive as through it we
obtain power over the real estate of reb.
els. Gentlemen will do well to ponder
whether this lien is not more effective
and practical than any other we can
create.
The old provision by which the State.
could assume and pay the tax and there
by save fifteen per cent. of the amour
still remains
Under the existing laws it has beef
supposed that duties in some cases hav
been refunded upon articles exporte,
where no duties had been paid TIL
great bulk of our exports of manufac
tured articles is made up of spirits, to
bacco, and petroleum. The labor of col
Letting and then paying back again tn
duties upon these articles when exported
is no inconsidenble item. To avoid al
this we now propose that these articles