Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1868-04-23
:, The Prop Oseil Constitution.
.om the Address of the Conservative Mem.
03I aaJbers of the Convention
TAXATloN..

4 -The o0ly part in, the administration Of the
. ssovern,ment which has been almost exclusively
81 assigned to the whites is the payment OF the
. . ioyes.. d The Convention repeatedly avowed
that It was their. purpose to lay the burden of
taYation on property. In conformity with this
idea naturally pleasing to the negroes, the
constitution prohibits the Legislature from i'm
4 nosiiog q DOLL tax exceeding one dollar on each
head and prohibits ANY county poll tax ex-
,oeeding fifty cents; and requires that the whole
. oethe State poll tax shall be applied to the
support of the common schools to be, estab-
lshed. ). g..r.'I, 49,, se-"l ,..a -a.
~ The Conservative mombers made a strenu
GUS effort to make the amount OF the poll tax
always dependent on the amount OF the prop
: erty tax, go that they should rise and fall to-
gether.. . A proposition was offered that the
poll tax should be equal to the tax on five hun
dred dollars Of property; it was voted down.
A proposition was tfen offered that the poll
tax should be equal to the tax ON three hun.
dred dollars OF property; it was also. voted
down. A proposition was then offered to make
the Doll tax equal to the tax on two hundred
dollars of property this was also rejected
u Nineteen-twentietb of the taxes raised will
be derived! from the property tax, Which, Of
course, will fall almost exclusively on the
whites and BY returns in the Auditor 8 Office
it:appears that last year only one negro in four
paid the poll tax required Of him, which was
. sixty cents. So that the poll tax will also fall
chiefly on the whites The entire poll tax,
State and county, paid by the negroes will be
about $40, 900. 4 a proposition was offered in
the Convention that the poll tax paid by the
whites should be sap appropriated to the educa-
tion Of the white children, and that paid by
blacks appropriated for the benefit Of their
children 1t was rejected by strict party
VOTE -lsjiE>& 80 al 80 li"t" :
=. The novelty of investing the non tax. pay
ers with the power to impose all the taxes as
sumes startling Importance in view of the
expensive character OF the new government =
Our Federal, State and county taxes are very
ton under the proposed constitution will be
probably quadrupled: The common schools
alone, to be supported by the State and county
taxation, will require two or three times the
amount now levied for all State and county
purposes. Apart from the salaries for teach
@s, the construction of school. houses will con-
stitute very serious item. In West Virginia
school. house is, required to be erected for
every twenty. five children, and in the county
of Pendleton they ars let out to contract ut
from $3.50 to $3.50 each. s.-':
The negroes will also make ample provision
for houses Of refuge and other charitable in
stitutions, which they can enjoy without any
of the anxieties which will trouble those who
have to pay for them. GO. ..u5 ".
Besides this, the swarm OF officers in the
townships and counties will necessitatc heavy
annual taxation to maintain them and, it is
safe to conjecture, that under the strange sys-
tenn which is proposed, the collectors and trea-
surers will not always account faithful lily for the
public moneys. % sr"@ -.. ...+ 30
FREE SCHOOLS.
For the support of the free schools provided
forby this constitution the Legislature (under
negro control) is authorized to lay tax sas
high as one halt of one per centum on all real
and personal property, and the county or
school district may raise the same amount In
addition. The State capitation tax is also to
be applied to thessupport Of the public schools
The present literary fund of the State, the
proceeds of all publio lands donated by Con-
grss forIpublic school purposes, of all esehea-
ted property. Of all waste and unappropriated
lands of forteitures to the State and all fines
for offences against the State, and such other
sums asIthe General Assembly may appropri-
ate,. are TO. constitute a permanent literary
fund, and the interest thereon to be also deVo-
tedto the support of the school system: How
large will be the sum realized from these vari-
rem of the property owners who will support
these schools can never enjoy the benefits of
them, because it is clear that under the pro-
posed government they would be forced to
associatein the schools with the children of
the negroes. ,!ast Is 81 ~
Anefort was made in the committee on cd
ucahon, and afterwards On two several occa
slons 10 the Convention, to procure a declara-
tlon that separate public schools should be
provided for the white and black children. 1t
vas voted down in every case. The blacks
desired mixed schools, and their white associ
ates feared to offend them. Il. .i... st. TIT
The question was; subsequently brought up
10 IL, another form by proposition offered by
Ihos Bayne: (negro,} requiring mixed schools,
and substitute {to.thc same effect offered by
Mr. Porter, OF Chesterfield Ialed to amost
angry discussion between the Radical members.
the blacks manifesting the most determined
purpose to insist on mixed schools, and threat
eqlng TO- vote against the Constitution unless it
provided for them The day was consumed in
debate, and, as usual, a Radical caucus took
tne matter in hand in the evening. The next
aay the original proposition and the substitute,
w the aid of the Conservative vote, were rejec-
.eo, all OF the colored members, with SIX or
egnt exceptions, voting for them. The result
VI these various votes was that the whole sub
!sct or separate or mixed schools is remitted to
.ne legislature. They feared to provide for
Mi3ed II schools in the Constitution, because
.aey calculated that it might lead to the rejeo-
Ton Of. it BY the people. They have left the
atg legislature to deal With the matter. We have
S SHOWN that in this body the blacks will have a
%bsonty3 of4tWenty one, )ank it was clearly
a;s olgRn IN she Convention, by their fierce and
VIM STent speeches, and by their votes that they
VIII Insist upon this point. ;s.a... ~. aa