Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-03-13
THE WAY THE MONEY GOEs-LET
TAXATInN RE RFGTSpFn

TAXATION BE RESISTED.
Among the devices of the Radical
party to run the State in debt, to tax the
people and give fat Offices to members Of
that party, is the "loyal Indemnity bill" "
which has become law Itprovides for
the appointment of a Commissioner for
the State at salary Of $4,000 per year,
and three Commissioners for each county
These latter are to bear testimony and
adjudicate the claims of loyal citizens"
against the United States for losses suss
tanned during the war from the depredas
tons Of both the Rebel and Federal
armies. After this tedious process has
been gone through, and it has been as
certained how much the "loyal citizens"
lost by being in the track of the armies,
Congress is to be asked to make an
appropriation to make these loyal citi-
zens' whole in their purses viii that
be the end Of the matter2 for it
is hardly probable we shall ever
find a Congress that will appro-
pirate 100000 to $2O,OOO,OOO for the
benefit Of those who make profession of
loyalty in this State. If Congress does
not pay these claims will not the loyal "
Legislature be importuned to do SO at
some subsequent session, after the testi-
mony shall have been taken, and perhaps
before the claim shall be rejected by
Congress But what will it cost the
State if we shall stop with hearing the
testimony and adjudicating the claims
that will be trumped up and put in p
There are eighty-fve counties in the
State, and the law provides for three
Commissioners in each of these counties,
thus giving employment to two hundred
and ffty-fve hungry cormorants who have
been waiting, and waiting to fat
ten upon the carcass Of the
State, but whose pickings have
heretofore been rather meagre and not
very savory. These men get three dollars
per day, and will probably devote three
or four hours of each working day to the
hearing of the testimony in support of
the claims that may be presented Their
salaries will amount to $765 per day, al
most as much as the present Legislature
costs the State. 1t will take at least
year to adjudicate the claims of all who
will now discover that they lost heavily
during the war, and that their loyalty
during that period was very like the vir-
tue which Cesar insisted his wife should
possess We thus see that, including
Commissioners salaries and the Incl
dental expenses attending their in
vestigations, the taxpayers of the
State will have to foot a bill of
about a quarter Of million of
dollars, for simply ascertaining how much
the "loyal people of Tennessee" lost in
consequence of 1.-The late unpleasant-
ness" And the great body of the tax
payers are men who were never expected
by the members of the Legislature to de-
rive one cent from this act of theirs, even
should Congress appropriate money suf-
icient to pay every dollar of claims that
the Commissioners may allow This is
simply one Of the many contrivances
through which Radical Legislature has
sought to impose grieyous burdens upon
a people who have no utilization in COM
mon with them. 1t is a question with
the taxpayers of this State whether
they should submit to these out
rageous impOsitions. Deprived of ali
lot or part in the management of the af-
fairs of the State, they should resist by
every legal means they can command the
payment Of these onerous exactions Let
the Taxpayers Of Tennessee but once de-
termine by a concerted understanding,
that they will pay no more taxes, except
at the end of the law, to support a gov
eminent in which they have no voice,
and we shall soon see these usurpers
change their tack, and learn that they
have men to deal with "who know their
rights, and "dare maintain them"
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