The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1867-06-29
COnfScatiOn ]!

Confiscation
We hear much about confscation. But
the only confiscation we have had thus far
has been at the hands Of tile rebel authorities
During the Confederacy" a most stringent
and cruel confscation law was passed and
put in operation, by which the property of
citizens loyal to the United States was sold,
and the proceeds put in the Confederate
treasury. Debts due to Northern citizens
were forced from the debtors by this process
of coniscation, for if the party that owed
the debt concealed the fact he was liable to
heavy fine and Imprisonment. Hundreds of
thousands of dollars of honest debts were
thus plundered from loyal citizens, and
though twoyears have elapsed since the close
of the rebellion, decision by the Chief
Justice himself was necessary to brand this
robbery as it deserved, and to settle the
principle that the debtor has not thereby
been discharged. In every case the money
will have to be paid again, and as there is
no Confederacy" to make good the loss to
the debtor, he must look for justice to the
estates of the officers of the so-called gov
eminent that committed this great wrong
We know there were cases of debts due
North that were successfully concealed and
have since been paid The writer of this,
for example, owed small debt North,
concealed the fact, and has paid it since the
close Of the rebellion. He ran no small risk
in this, but he was determined to pay moth
ing, except on compulsion, into the Golfers of
the Davis despotism.
Who passed these confiscation laws9 The
rebel leaders. Who are now raising the
greatest cry against confscation9 The rebel
leaders. 1t was all right when Mey did it,
but the bare idea that tile government may do
thesame thing to any extent on principles of
justice, throws them into spasms.
But we go further than this We tell the
Congress of the United States, soon to be in
session. that cOnfscation is still going on here at
tile hands Of tile rebel authorities Our peo-
pie are very poor. They can not bear high
taxes. While they would pay taxes cheerful
ly to any reasonable extent to support schools
and for internal Improvements, and would
stint themselves to advance such noble OBJ
.jects, yet they think it very hard that they are
taxed to the verge of confiscation. and in
many cases into confscation, to raise money
to support and pamper men who are enemies
to the national government, and who, if they
had supreme and permanent control, would
deprive them even of the rights of citizen
ship. The rebel State government now over
us is raising five hundred thousand dollars
the present year, when two hundred thousand
would have been ample for all purposes
What is to be done with this large amount
we know not. Many of the Counties, under
the control of Magistrates of the Worth
stripe, are taxing the people to pay in gold
the debts contracted by those Counties in
aid of the rebellion. The town governments
are generally in rebel hands, and the heaviest
taxes are imposed, collected and handled by
enemies to the United States. The people of
the City of Raleigh, for example, are required
to pay taoenty-seuen thousand dollars for State
purposes, and sixteen thousand dollars for
City purposes. The tax on real estate in Ra-
the assessed value has been more than doubled.
This applies alike to the rich and the poor
who own real estate. The poor man or the
poor widow, who may really need rations
from the government, naturally clings to the
" old place." but these high taxes will most
probably confscate the "old place" 1t will
pass into other hands, and we'll TODD officials
of the rebel persuasion will live on the taxes
wrung from it. Forty cents on the hundred
dollars of the new assessment would have
been ample for all proper City purposes. The
people of this City would like to have some
explanation as to these high taxes. In for
mer times there was always some member of
the Board to raise his voice against extrava-
gance and profigacy in the administration of
our City affairs, but, so far as the people
know, the entire Board is committed to this
injustice and oppression.
Thus it is that by high taxes, and by the
exclusion of the State from the Union by
these same rebel leaders, the little property
left to our people is wearing away by pro-
cess of confiscation as certain as that under
I" the Contederacy." If the Congress does
not itself intend to confscate the property of
the rebel leaders, we pray that body not to
let those leaders remain longer in power to
confscate the property of our people by op-
pressive taxation. Let us have military