The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1867-06-15
Governors Message.

The Message OF SOF OyNsoy, scht ~ Inv
legislature on Tuesday, would occupy three or
four columns in our paper, and would not
sufficiently interest our readers to pay for the
SPACE. 1t is almost wholly confined to the
subject of taxing the shares of the National
Banks in this State. After mentioning the
former legislation of this State taxing bank
stocks, and the decision of the Supreme
Court of the L. S., on appeal from the SUI
preme Court of this State, against the right Of
the State to tax the stock of National Banks,
the Governor details at length the points made
aud the decision of the Supreme Court of the
L. S. in the case of Evan Allen vs. The AS
SCISSORS taken up from New York; also of
the same Court in the case of Bradley vs.
The People taken up from this State and
showing by all these that the right of the
State to tax the shares of the National Banks
is unquestionable. And having settled this
point clearly and satisfactorily, the Governor
makes this extraordinary statement:
1.-THE Supreme Court of the u. S. held that
:here was no distinction between the case from
our State, arising under our law taxing the
capital stock of banks. and the Van Allen casc
f,om the State of New York, reversed the deci-
sion of the Supreme Court of this State and
entered Judgment affirming the decision of the
Board of Supervisors of Peoria county. The
special point, however, upon which. our Supreme
Court decision was reversed was not known to
the officers of the State until after the adjourn
ment of the regular session of the Legislature,
on the 2Sth day of February last, as the written
opinion in the case was not filed for some time
after it had been made by the Court"
"The officers of the State" must have been
singularly obvious of the news of the day if
they failed to see the announcement in the
daily telegraph dispatches, that the case
from our State" had been decided exactly as
the Van Allen case early in January last
They must also have been singularly stolid
sion, made u year and half ago, covered the
whole ground of the right of t.e State to tax
the shares of the National Banks; and also
not to have known that the National Banking
law itself, passed in 1868, expressly reserred to
tie States the right to tax the shares of the
National Banks.
The ignorance of the officers of the State
on this whole subject is so palpably fcigned
that we are astonished at their impudence in
pleading it. The truth is, it was not in the
books of the various "rings" at Springfield,
during the session of the legislature last
winter, Gin the profits of which rings the
"otiicers of the State" had full share,) that
the National Banks should be taxed and it
was only when the gross negligence of the
Legislature and the "Officers of the State" in
this matter became the subject of popular
animadversion and clamor thc injustice of
the exemption of the banks from taxation
being SO glaring and palpable) that the " Off
GERS Of the State" walked up to knowledge
OF their duty in tile premises and hastily sum
moncd an extra session of the legislature at a
heavy expense to the people, to avert in part
the consequences of their own delinquency
and official prostitution to corrupt rings"