, 1864-04-22
THE WASHINGTON STATESMAN
Published Every Friday Evening.
Money Market.
New York Gold Quotations .......... .168Wl70%
San Francisco Legal Tender ates,. 6O@Gl.

money Market
New York Cola Quotations ~. 168@H055
San francisco Legal Tender Iates ........ 60GGl
N -r-z-t------r--zE-1- I.I Ltst
SPECIAL TAx.-At the next annual cleo
tion, to be held on the first Monday in June,
the voters in this county will be called upon
to decide whether the special tax of seven
mills shall be leviedo or not? 1t is a matter
of such great Importance to the interests of
the property holders that the subject should
be seriousl canFassed by them2 previous to
the election, that all erroneous impressions
may be removed aud d thorough understand
ing had Of the true condition OF the county
affairs The present Indebtedness Of the
county is about ST. 600, and was mainly
created in organizing and putting the coun-
ty government into successful operation,
While 1t is true that there was muchemis-
management in our county affairs in former
times, there is evidently great mistake in
the minds of the public generally in regard
to the debt having been created by the de-
fau!ts Of officers. The county has met some
losses Of that kind, but to no greatamount
The frst question Isl is the 7debt a bona
tide one! and, if so, the next one is, not
how to eyade paying it, but how can we, or
how VIII we pay it? If any portion Of the
debt was unlawlully created, the law pro-
yides remedies for the county. 1t must be
borne in mind that the countys revenue
since its organization has been very small,
and pEtil the past year, with but few excep-
tions, only the improvements upon lands
have been taxed, and the assessments. upon
those have been necessarily difficult and ir-
regular that with the interest upon the
present debt, and the double and thribble
cost Of defraying the county expenses, ow-
ing to the depreciation of and want of conf
denee in the county scrip, unless some relief
is given we will soon have such a debt as
will consume all our increased revenue in
the payment of the interest, and forbid the
idea that the county will be able in anywise
to assist in the development Of any matters
Of local Importance however vital they may
be- ueh l3G
There is universal complaint about the
present condition Of affairs but it is much
easier to crticlse than to suggest remedies
To be able to apply remedy, we must rub
out and commence with clean slate To
do this, money is requisite, and there is
no probable way Of getting it except by lev
ing this extra tax,
Some have suggested the idea of funding
the county debt, but in the existing state Of
affairs we incline to regard this as a subter
fu9e rather than an argument; for the debt
would have to be paid eventually, and the
funding process would only give to specula-
tors the benefit Of the depreciation Of the
e@unty scrip at the expense Of the tax payers;
for they Yenld be able to purchase itat the
market rates and pay it into the treasury at
its face. BY the special tax arrangement,
every tax payer can have the opportunity Of
purchasing the scrip at the current rates and
paying his taxes with it, which will make
the burden light. Scrip has been rating for
the past two years at from thirty to fifty
cents. Say, if taxpayers choose to pur-
chase it at the latter figure and pay their
taxes with it the actual expense to them viii
only be three and half, instead of seven
mills, and if they Should choose to pay it in
gneenbacks instead the expense would be
about the same.
FROM BoIsE.-From Hon Daniel Stew
art, who arrived this week from Boise, we
get few items of interest. Up to this time
about one thousand persons have gone from
the Basin to the Wood river mines The
mines are about 80 miles distant from Ida
ho city. But little is yet known in regard
to their extent or richness
The snow hadall disappeared in the yicin-
ity Of the Basin, except few small spots on
the north hill-sides and on the high peaks
There is not more than one-fourth the
amount Of snow there now that there was
twelve months ago, and unless heavy rains
should fall during the spring active mining
operations will have to be suspended in most
Of the camps much sooner than they were
last year. Some Of the miners were calcula-
ting that their supply Of water would fail by
the first of June.
The farmers in the valleys adjacent to the
mines have generally put in good crops,
which are looking we'll The supply of veg
etabes raised in the Boise and Payette val
leys will be nearly sufficient to supply the
mines. The season in those valleys seems
nearly as far advanced as tits here
Stock in the South Boise quartz lodes is
60 ng up as prospecting progresses
VINO WANTS TuEM?-At the June
IL Al. II