The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-12-20
EQUALIzED TA1ATI0N.

MT. d. S. TEw, member from Berkeley Dis
trict, in the early part Of the present session of
the South Carolina Legislature, offered the
! following resolution:
| Resolued, That the Committee on Ways and
Means be Instructed to pi epare and report q
scheme or plan for the just and impartial assess
sn' i Td BY the Sth sec
In support Of this resolution, Mr. TEw re-
viewed the entire history Of The present sys-
tenn Of land taxation in this State The section
OF the Constitution referred to in the resolution
says ':All taxes;upon property, real and per
sonal, shall be laid upon the actual value, as
the same shall be ascertained by an assessment
made for the purpose oflaying such tax Mr..
TEw contends that the clear meaning of this
clause is that the assessment and valuation
precede the laying of the tax, in order to ad-
nit Of an equitable apportionment. :f s5
| BY the report Of the Comptroller, it appears
| that the funded debt of the State amounts, in
round numbers, to Eve millions six hundred
thousand dollars, excluding the war debt the
bonds Of various railroad companies which the
State has endorsed and guaranteed, and which
she may have to pay at maturity, is about four
| and half millions Of dollars Leaving this
| latter amount out Of consideration, the annual
| interest Of the debt proper Of the State will BE
about three hundred and fifty thousand dollars
Now, Mr. TEw asks, what are the resources
Of the State to pay the interest on the debt
provide fund for its redemption, and st the
same time pay its current expenses OIL
course, there can be none outside of taxation
Either taxation or repudiation, and, he is con
o,1,.c
to make any sacrifice rather than stain the IN
tarnished escutcheon of the State with that
foul alternative
The future wants Of the State, therefore, can
only be met by system Of taxation demandirg g
prudence, sagacity, and the most rigid sense of
Justice, so as to make the burden bear equally
! upon all classes, interests and sections of the
State The abolition Of slavery has deprived
us Of the source Of one-half of our revenue
trcm taxation. The lands Of the State, there
! fore will hereafter constitute the chief source
of revenue
By the returns of the Tax Collectors for 1860.
there were in the State 1858, 400 acres Of
land, the value of which for taxation under the
classification system was $40, ,199, ,446-abo
So cents per acre Of this sum $5, ,43957 was
assessed on 1854, 634 acres in the lower divis-
ion-about ST. acre; while IL, 1es, ,767 acres
in the upper division were valued ct only
$4, 74O, ,2O9-less than 40 cents an acre but if
we deduct from the returns Of the lower divis-
ion the number Of acres contained in Horry.
Marion and Williamsburg Districts, it viii
leave for that portion Of the State known
as the Parishes, 3,595,786 acres valued at
S6, ,O13, 3,814-about $1.4O an acre; and adding
Horny, ETC., to the upper division, there are
| 13, 962, SIS acres, valued at $5,185, ,632-about
81 cents an acre. It thus appears that on one
fifth OF the land in the State, one-half Of the
tax was levied.
The same inequality is apparent in the
valuation of lots in towns and villages those on
the seacoast being assessed at much hi Cher rate
than those in the interior; and those disparities
have been in existence FOR eighty years Gov
P1cKEAs, in his message to the Legislature in
1860, brought this matter very forcibly before
that body He said:
Some Of the most valuable and productive cotton
lands Of the State are returned as valued At 20
cents an acre, when in many Instances $40 would
worth $40 900 pay into the Treasury 3 less amonnt
OF taxation than is paid for superannuated ne
gro. H5 "-1r ~-.f-
In Darlington Dis rict, one Of the most prodnc-
tive districts in the state, there were returned
48o9Ss acres, Of which number 460, $50 acres were
valued st 70 cents an acre, thousands Of acres Of
which can be sold at $40 an acre.
! The land tax of The whole State in the wear 1919
was less than the general tax paid by the Parishes
Of st. Philips and st. Mchaeps for the same YEAR
Under this system, 5000 acres Of land. Convent
emily located near railroad, which might be val
ued at $500 900 would if returned according to the
the Treasury but $8.1O. ---~' 80, 80 'D1 IN ' =
Mr. TEw then goes on to say that all this was
according to the old Constitution, but that these
abuses were only partially abolished under the
new, and thinks the reason Of this is that
Tax Collectors have been more governed IL
their assessments by the old principles than by
the requirements of the new Constitution.
| It is but 9 few days since one Of the most "a
spectacle citizens u the State Complained IN 13v
| presence that his lands, in one Of the midd1e
were assessed at ten dollars while those
or mis- neighbors on either side, Of like quality and
separated from his by q fence and narrow road
we're assessed respectively at six and four dollars
| enased before the war, and some since the adop-
ton OF the new Constitution, at fifty dollars an
acre, 1s assessed at only ten dollars an acre T
Know also tract Of land assessed at one dollar an
| acre, the crop from which will sell this year fnr
over one hundred dollars en- acre: and of another
| assessed at eight dollars an acre The owner ~
wmcn holds 1t at twenty Thousand dollars. which
rs over SnTty dollars an acre. And these are not
exceptional cases; many such are doubtiess within
the knowledge ofevery member. "1141i 80
me returns Of the several Tax Collectors