Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1865-12-12

people are mcst'deeply interested. The
whole messages would consume more than a
page of our PAPER, and many of the matters
treated upon are'of"littie interest to the gem
eral reader:-
PETMENT~oFTHE STATE DEBT AND TAXA
TON.
The holders of Virgihia State bonds. ere
pressing for the payment of the interest due,
On the first day of January next. the inter-
est due on these bonds will amount to above
six millions of dollars. Various plans have
been suggested for funding this interest, and
the issue of bonds for the same. bearing diff
ferent rates Of interest those Who hold 10
bonds, for the most part, propose that the
bonds issued to pay this Interest, shall not
themselves bear interest, whilst others, in
Guiding the bond holders, insist on different
amounts of interest, from one t0siz per cent.
The English bond holders propose that the
State shall fund the interest due them. issue
bonds for the same, and commence the pay
ment of interest on the whole debt Oh the
first day of J~anuary, 1867.
This whole subject addresses itself to your
most careful consideration. The debt, with
its interest, must be paid at the same time,
We must look to the ability Of the people to
pay. At present, we must rely mainly upon
the tax on licenses. and upon land, for raising
the means to supply the wants of the Treas
ury. The war has consumed>a- large amount
of the live stock in the State. We can cx-
pect little from a tax orSidcomcs o large por-
ton Of our public debt is ke1d by our own
citizens, ard no tan can be raised from this
source until the holder receive the interest
due on it. The banks, with their dividends,
arc gone, and some eight millions of their
circulation, having at present only a nominal
value, is, for the mcst part, in the hands of
our own people a large portion Of the in
come yielding wealth Of the State was invest
ed in Confederate bonds, or other issues, all
of which are valuelcss. Slavery being abol-
ished, no tax can be derived from that source.
Suppose West Virginia shall pay her full
share according to the taxation Of !S60, the
residue is to be paid by Virginia. This
leaves the assessment on each tax payer the
same in proportion to the whole. The tax
then was 40 cents Upon the one hundred
dollars of assessed value. A large amount
of improvements on real estate was DESTROYED
during the war this will reduce the value
of real estate, in the aggregate, from its
present assessment, so that it will require a
tax on real estate Of at least 60 cent; on the
one hundred dollars value, in'addition to all
the revenue that can be raised from other
sources.
There has been much discussion in regard
to the right of a State to tax the income de-
rived from tie dividends of National Banks,
established under the act CT Congress-
Doubtless the State has no authority to tax'
the bonds of the United States, which are
exempted from taxation by act Of Congress,
whilst in the hands of an individual WHO
holds them simply as an investment. The
charters Of the National Banks are granted
by the Government Of tho United States ;
they are located in the several States. based
upon United States bonds. When these
bonds are used for banking purposes, a new
value is given to them, aud an income is de-
rived from their use, in addition to the yield
of interest: The profits of banking, then,
become a legitimate subject Of taxation.
whether invested in real estate or paid to the
shareholders in money, aud the tax on the
income should be required to be paid directly
to the State. The tax should be OIL. the in
come, and not on the dividend.
The taxation of the privilege of taking
oysters in the waters of Virginia has Tor
some years prior to the rebellion been a subs
ject Of much. discussion. The opponents of
such a tax lave urged the difficulty of exc
cutting any law for this purpose, and, have
thus far succeeded in preventing the i!nposi-
ton of the tax by the Legislature. Those
who enjoy a great monopoly are naturally
prone TO raise objections to the a~bridgcmcnt
of their special privileges. These objections
arc familiar with the subject. The privilege
of taking oysters is a legitimate subject of
taxation, and the collection Of the tax will
be easily executed if the Legislature shall
take hold Of the subject in earnest.
There has been great prejudice IL Virginia
against taking oysters with the drcdge, scoop
or drag. From the most reliable information
l can obtain on this subject, l am satisfied
that this prejudice is unioundcd. Where
oysters remain on the rock, undisturbcd for
years, they become crowded, do not obtain a
large size, become poor, and soon die, when
others are deposited which do not become
more valuable. Dredging, whilst it takes
many, disturbs and s~catters the residue, which
are improved in size and quality. by this
mode greater depths will be obtained from
which the oysters are taken, and the field
thereby enlarged. l would recommend that
thg tdking. of oysters BY tire dredge, scoop
or drag; shevld be authorized by law in ali
the waters of Virginia where the water is
not less than fifteen feet at low tide. But
no steamboat, or vessel using machinery
worked by steam, should be allowed to take
oysters in this way. All vessels eugaged in
taking or carrying oysters, or employed in
the oyster trade, should be required by law
to obtain a license for the same from sonic
person authorized to issue such license.
The license should be required to be num-
bered, and the number, with the name Of the
State, placed in some conspicuous place on
both sides of the vessel, and the license fra
med and kept on the quarter deck in some
place OF easy access for inspection by any duly
authorized officer of the State. For the
first year'thc charge for the license should
be low-ssy four dollars portion on the ton
mage ofeach vessel. All persons who take
oysters with tonGs in shallow water, should