Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1868-01-09

bFdn officer OF the ihiso@e oeeses,
nor could a State tax the bank of the
limited States, sn institution estab-
llished as a branch Of the United
States treasury, nor could State lay
q tax on the bonds issued by the
United States, SIS means of raising
/ money to carry on its legitimate
powers. The reason of all these de-
cisions is, that if this could be done,
the States might, by taxation, defeat
the action OF the General Govern
ment. To levy tax on the salary
paid by the United States Was TO tax
/ the United States, because the Uni
ted States must pay just so much
more salary to it's officers as the, off,
GERS had to pay to the State as q tax
out of il; indeed the State might raise
its tax so high as to prevent any one
from holding Office under the United
States. For State to tax the bank
Of the United States was 70 enable a
State by taxation to drive the bank
out Of the State, and thus prevent
the General Government from CAR
Trying on that essential branch OF. its
/ powers. To allow State to tax the
bonds or debts Of the United States,
1 was to enable the States to tax the
General Government Indirectly, for
this power 1of taxation exercised
would COMPEL the General Govern
ment to pay an additional interest on
its debt equal to the State tax. There
is, however, a deeper principle even
than this, underlying these decisions;
lit is this. If the State could SO tax,
they might by their taxation. stop the
whele machinery of the General
Government; hence it was a. law of
self preservation that. the General
iGovernment should be supreme with
in its constitutional limits, and IN
dependant from all State interfer-
ence. 7h1 - 'iltSoH
The same is true Of the States.
They too in the exercise of their
powers are equally independant of
the action of Congress and of the
General Government Congress can
mo more tax State bonds as such,
than the State can tax the debt or the
General Government. Nor can Con-
gress levy a tax on the salary of
State officers, any more than the
States can levy one on that Of Q Uni
ted States officer N" 4
And if State were to establish
bank as aid for It's fiscal agent, the
General Government could no more
tax it than the State could tax the
Bank of the United States. TWAS
on the same principle that our best
lawyers always held that the stamp
tax levied on Judicial proceedings
was unconstitutional, as tax on one
of the instrdmentalities employed by
the State governments to carry, out its
powers, in this case the power in
herent of necessity in every govern /
ment, the power to cause right and
justice to be done between man and
man, and between the citizen and the
State. -h 'His hS@3f ,a
1t will thus be seen that the States
have quite as much interest in the
maintenance of this great fundamen-
tai principle in the government of
this country as has the government
of the United States. II the Gen
eral Government can tax the agen-
cies employed to carry on the State
governments, then the State govern
ments are not supreme within their
legitimate spheres, but are at the
mercy of the General Government,
and under this power of taxation, the
General Government could render
State governments an impossibiiity.
II could tax its public buildings, it's
libraries, its colleges its schools, its
treasury to that extent that no State
government could be maintained;
and in that way, the General Gov
ernment on this construction of the
constitution might constitutionally
destroy all the State organizations
and erect itself into mighty, all
absorbing centralized government,
which would then soon become the
most oppressive and grinding OF
despotisms.
We are, therefore, sorry to see
Mr.. Sherman lending color to this
doctrine Of the right of
the one government to tax the other.
He proposes to issue what he miscalls
a six per cent bond. paying five per
cent to the bond holder and one per
cent into the treasury, to be applied
one half of the one per cent to create
a sinking fund, and the enc half to
be paid over, to the. States. This
whole thing is an unconstitutional
thing done under a false pretence.
These bonds are simply five per
cent bond; the holder gets that and
no more, and the United States pays
that and no more. Hence the tax
assessed to pay this one per cent is a
tax assessed under false naure. 1t |
IS simply tax to create a. sinking
fund on the one bond, and on the other s
% Levy a ta1 equal to one half of one per |
cent on the national debt for the benefit of !
The several States. We ask, most en-
what power has the Gen.
eral Government to levy taxes to
carry on the State governments?
Each is Independent of the other,
and each is empowered by taxation
to raise the necessary funds to meet
the expenses incident to the support
Of each. Where is there any power 5
in either to raise by taxation funds {
TO carry on the other? If this could !
be done, then the State governments
might become pensioners on the
bounty of the General Government a
The democrats are great sticklers for 2
State rights, and yet are advocating = =
. principle, which carried inso exc
,utisu, would do away with all State 2
governments and consolidate the {
'ast political powers vested in the E
State governments in the hands of S
he General Government, and thus G
.0nVart that into vast 0Vprsh0W. / U