The Placer herald., 1870-09-10
TAXING MORTGAGES.

Our Board Of Supervisors have actually
ordered the Assessor to assess all debts Sc
cured by mortgage, so that we have now
two laws on the subject-one enacted by
the Board of Sudervisors, and spread upon
its minutes, and the other passed by the Leg
islature, approved by the Governor and pub
lishcl in the Statutes of the State. For the
amusement and edifcation Of our readers we
have appended the two laws:
STATE LAW, approved April 1st, 1870
Statutes of California, page 5S4:
SECTION I. No mortgage or lien given end
held upon real estate, or the debts thereby
cured, or promissory notes secured by mortgage,
shall be assessed upon the books Of any Asses
sor, State, County, or otherwise.
SEC. 2. Al laws and parts Of laws inconsist-
ent with this Act are hereby repealed.
Sec. 8. This Act shall be in force immedi-
ately.
SUPERVISORS Law III is ordered that
the Assessors proceed to assess all debts,
promissory notes or other obligations secured
by mortgage, which are not on the regular
list"
These two Acts (the law and the order
are in the most deadly conflict with each
other and either the Legislature or our Su-
pervisors ought to be abolished. We have
supposed that the Supervisors were only a
small fractional part of the Executive power
of the State Government, but it seems they
imagine themselves sort of Legislature and
Supreme Court, both. Our State Govern
ment is divided, by the Constitution, into
three branches, the Legislative, the Exec
utive and the Judicial, but our Supervisors,
in this order, have assumed the pcrogatives
of all and superiority over all. Mortgaged
property pays the taxes on the money it owes,
hence the Legislature provided in its law only
against double taxation, which would be un-
just and unconstitutional. The Assessor has
sworn to obey and carry out the Statutes Of
the State so far as they apply to the duties
of his Office, and if he obeys this order of the
Supervisors he commits perjury, and in ad-
dition to this crime becomes liable to every
man damaged by the violation of the Statu
tory provisions. The Supervisors are also
sworn officers, and in addition to a violation
of this plain statute which they have sworn
to obey, they assume to order another and
independent officer to do the same thing.
The Supervisors have no more right to Or
der or dictate to an Assessor as to his duty
under the law, than has Simpson, the boot
black. The Assessor is elected by the peo-
pie Of the county, takes the oath, files his
bond, and is controlled and directed in his
actions by the laws he finds in the Statute
books Of the State, and not by what the Su-
pervisors may do or say. 1t is Legislative
prerogative to determine what is and what
is not property; and in the mortgage tax law
our Legislature, i'll pursuance of its legiti-
mate power, has determined that mortgages
are not property for purposes of taxation
"A. owns farm worth $1,000 and has paid
taxes on it for that amount for two years.
He then sells the farm to b. for 81 900, re-
ceives NO money but takes mortgage to Sc
cure the 81 900 debt The following year
the Assessor comes along and assesses the
farm to b for 81 900, and then turns to A
and assesses his mortgage for another $1,000
There is but one thousand dollars involved,
and yet the Assessor assesses $4,000. Is
this not double taxation? The State law
quoted above was passed to remedy this
double taxation. 1t is nothing to us whether
the mortgage or the lard is taxed, but where
they both do, in fact, represent the identical
same property, only one can be taxed under
the Constitution and laws of the State. But
the silly act of our Supervisors carries with
it an injustice that is really an outrage against
citizens Of their own country. In San Fran
cisco where the great bulk of the mortgages
in the State are held they are not assessed
or taxed; and our Supervisors would make
few men in Placer county pay money to
support the State Government on class of
paper that goes free of taxation in the great
commercial city Of the State The Consti-
tuition provides that taxation shall be uniform
throughout the whole State. but the Super
visors say the people of Placer shall be tax
ed on what is free in San Francisco. Is that
uniform taxation? Who dare say it is and
claim to be man of sense? The District
Court, but few days ago, rendered judg-
ment removing the Supervisors of San Diego
county, declaring their offices vacant, and
fining each $500 for violation of law, so
that it would seem that Supervisors are not
above the law, but are punishable for law
breaking. They are not authorized to enter
into the business Of law makers.
We think the party in possession of mort
gagged property should only be taxed for the