The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1865-02-04
Principles of Taxation.

One of the most important duties of Congress,
is the providing of a just and sufficient Revenue
system. Taxes heretofore have borne SO lightly
on the people, that few have given the subject
much practical attention. We copy the follow
ing leading principles Of taxation from the N.
York Tribune, and commend them to the atten-
ton of our readers
/. Taxes should be so leUied rs not to. discOur-
age, much less paraiyze, productive hdustry.-
This rule has been pretty generally regarded in
framing our past Internal Revenue bills but the
imposition of three TO five per cent on nearly ev-
cry kind of domestic manufacture is hardly con-
sisent with it. AS War-tax, this may for q
time be endured but it is Objectionable as Il
part of a permanent system.
II. The diffusion Of knoacledge, especially Of an
elementary character, should, under popular Coz
ernnsent be leftfree and encouraged 10 he greates
possible ertent Our five per cent excise on Books,
particularly school-books is a clear infraction OF
this rule 1t should be one Of the first taxes taken
off or essentially modified
III. articles Of luxury, especially those of a
perAicious or peritous character, should be taxed
heaOily All Intoxicating Beverages, especially
Distilled Liquors, come under the purview ofthis
rule. So do Tobacco and other narcotics; so do
all manner Of implements of gaming, &C., &C.
Our laws as they now stand conform in the main
TO this rule, though less consistently and efficient
ly than We could WISH
w. zaIes should be so leuaed as TO diminish
the number Of those achO lice and thrice by rOca-
TONS schich contribute nothing TO the peaAh or scell-
being Of the country or cfMe human tamily. We
apprehend that this rule is not generally under
stood, yet it is important and salutary. Let US
suppose it conceded that the use of Alcoholic
Beverages is wholesome, proper, or at all events
inevitably it is nevertheless true, that TO employ
and subsist One Million of our people mainly by
the Liquor Traffic when it might be adequately
prosecuted and sufficiently dffused though the
number employed in or snbsistcd by it were re-
duced to One Hundred Thousand: here is an
enormous misdrection of our National energies,
a ruinous subtraction from the aggregate product
of our National industry. If but half our peo-
pie now employed in and subsisted by the sale
and dispensation OF noxious stmulents were won
thence 10 Productive Labor, the wealth of our
country would be largely and rapidly augment
ed. So with regard to the traffic in narcotics
and, in fact, to traffic generally. We have far
too many traders, too many spectators, too ma
ny parasites on the body polite, living by arts
that contribute nothing to the sum Of human
well~being-by ministering TO appeties that need
to be chastened and regulated rather than incl
ted and infamed. Taxation should take note of
this, and adapt itself to the end OF winning so
many as may be won from needless, if not hurt
full into productive and benefcent vocations.
These hints might be largely extended
Who can deny that license of at least 500 per
annum required of each practicing lawyer would
give us better law and more justice, while large
ly counteracting the tendency 10 gut in the
lawyer market? And five might thus win thous-
ands of capable, efficient persons from an una
vailing quest of suits, into vocatons wherein they
are needed and could not fail to be Immediately
and signally useful, why not?