The south-western., 1869-09-01
The Income Tax.

The strong dislike eFinced in every quarter to thi
odious form Of taxation is both natural and just.
is the boast OF the AngloSaxon that his house is hi
castle Within the sacred precincts of his home hi
is lord and MASTER He gives account to none of til,
administration of his family and business affairs Th
knowledge of his losses gains he confines to his
BOSOM or of his own sole choice imparts to dea
friend The moral restraint imposed by well ordered
society upon its members generally saiees TO pTeyen
the abuse Of the power thus vested in the individual
The advantage OF making every king in his oHr
right IS shown In proud sense of personal independ
ence and selfrespeet. Its abieet Of thai
lacks this sentiment.
Nevertheless, here in free America an income tax
is exaeted from Us. meaninquisitoral inspection o
our affairs is instituted by the Government. Losses
which have already cost many pang, and would be
gladly consigned to oblivion, must again be dragged
INTO the light. 10 an unsympathetic, often coarse,
SCISSOR we must disclose our most private affairs Our
names are glarngly paraded in the columns of the
daily papers for the qualification OF the vulgar gossp
The dainty epithes of liar" and cheat are banded
about as this man or that is supposed to have furnished
false returns. To guard against fraud orders
ceved from Washington that assessors should become
more detatoral and inqustve. Official impertinence
and popular evasion of the law go hand in hand. A
degrading mpost borne with extreme reluctance
under forms OF government absolutely despote, is
dermning regard for truth and our sense of duty
to our country 1t is if spies set upon us and
1t is the nature of to hate spies. Spies may be
set upon criminals, but the men who pay the income
| tax not criminals
This tax is pronounced by the great majority of
thinking Unconstitutional. IL is direct taN and
must therefore be laid in accordance with the CEN
sus, etc. This has not been done but exactly the
reversal portion of the people only paying tax
We know that the judicial acumen of some Western
bench discerned that this tax is not direct one but
it is not the first time that want of practical common
sense has been shown by learned bench. In the
name Of WONDER what is it if not direct tax !? None
of those compelled to pay it will accuse it Of Indirect
ness
The secret of the maintenance of this tax is that it
provides the machinery whereby politicians advance
their private interests. The petty officials employed
to collect 1t comprise army mustered in to do the
work Of their superors If these can be kept in Office
then they will retain theirs Like other armies this
one eats out the vitas of the people This
not the professional politician whose only thought is
how much the people will patiently endure.
Well tell all such that the limit of endurance
hassbeen reached It costs much to collect this in
come tax as the receipts amount to. It is irritating,
improbable AID inexpedient And even were it other
wise, there is something unmanly and contemplate
in its intrusive impertnence that high spirited peo
Pile should submit to it,
A word then TO our congressman Ill among YOU
who shall hereafter advocate the continuance of this
burden, in furtherance of ridiculous desire make
this generation pay off the national debt, may expect
the determined hostility of that wholly unnfuen-
tia class upon whom this is levied 1t is Just pos
its repeal. philadelphia Commercial List
THE MAJOR PRATT CAsE-As so much interest is
felt in this section of country, publish the follow
ing from the New York correspondent of the Cincin-
natl Commercial, under date of the 18th
A reporter visited Fort Schuyler to-day and had
conversation with Pratt who said 81 absentfr from
Jefferson the 4th of October 1885, but returned in
the evening. was not present when G. w Smith
and the two negroes were killed. was in Jefferson
about six months after the parties implicated in that
affair, and now tral, arrested; was, during
that time, often in the sockade, where they
fned and went frequently to Gen. BueIls headquarters
and rendered him such assistance in the discharge of
his duties as lay in my power. When learned that
also implicated in the affair of the 4th of October
was astonished. Suffering from my wounds, all of
which received the battlefield, feeling con-
scious of my innocence and dreading the horrors of
confinement in the stockade prison, left Jefferson and
came to New York. l am willing to stand fair trial;
but if l am tried by military commission it will be
nightly against my will Since the war have ac
cepted Iie situation in good fit, and have often
nestly labored to prevent collisions between whites
and blacks and when such have occurred have al
ways exerted myself, to the bestof my ability, to stop
them have several times aided the Federal officers
stationed at Jefferson in promoting peace and harmony
between the white and colored population On the 4th
of July, 1868, when some were afraid that there was
imminent danger of general conflict between several
hundred armed negroes and the whites, exposed my
person to the people, appeased the excited population
and received the thanks and Communications of the
whole community. was second under the commands
of Generals Sterling Price and Msrmaduke, of Mis-
souri, and in General Prcesrai in 1864, through
Missouri and Kansas AT the battle Of Marie de Seine
Kansas, fought in October, 1864, dangerously
wounded, and now carry mimic ball in my body
ceived in that engagement
The conduct of Marshal Barlow in surrounding fm-
self with body guard of soldiers, to resist the process
of the Superior Court is insult to the authority of
the State which Gov. Hoffman ought resent
and put stop to. Either the Marshal is acting under
orders from his superior at Washington, or he is not
If he is then the President and his advisers are the
persons guilty of this outrage upon the dignity of the
State. Ifhe is not and has, as we believe be has,
an exceeded his instructions, then he
alone is to blame. But in either the State is
boldly defed; and if the Governor does insist upon
obedience and apology be deserves to be back
to private life at the end Of his term as unworthy Of
confidence. For him to ostentatiousy announce, as
he is doing that he is above and beyond responsibility
to the State Courts for explanation of his conduct
is assumption which the people of the State cannot
permit pass unheeded without rreparabe injury to
their honor.