Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-02-15

PROTEST ON TIE QUESTION OF MERCHANTS
TAX.
The following is the protest read by
Mr.. Heiskell in the Convention on Sat
urday:
The undersigned having voted against
the proposition to except merchants from
the protection of the Constitution, and
from the rule of equal taxation guaran-
teed to other classes of the community,
ask leave to enter protest against what
they regard as declaration that the mer-
chant is not entitled to the rights of a
citizen.
We think that the principles of cOnsti-
tutional government require that every
class of men shall be entitled to the same
protection against oppression and against
unequal Durthens, which are guaran-
tied to other classes. The provisions in
serted by the Convention, borrowed from
the Constitution of 1884, declare that all
men shall be taxed equally except merch-
ants and pcddlers. Why they should be
singled out and subjected to a rule of tax
alton absolutely prohibited as to any other
citizen, the subscribers cannot well per
ceive. They can see no good reason why
merchants should not, on the same prin-
ciple, be excluded from the protection of
the Constitution as to trial by jury, or
habcas corpus, or the clauses which give
every man for an injury done him in ''his
lands, goods, person or reputation" a
remedy by due course of law.
1t seems to us that such a proposition
is no worse than this power expressly
conferred on the Legislature to impose
upon a small class of citizens all the bur
dens of the State. If, for a period which
has elapsed since 1884, this power had
remained without exercise, or if the pow
er had been exercised with any regard to
principles of justice, we might be less re-
luctant TO submit to the violation of the
principles of free and just government,
contained in this Objectionable clause Of
the organic law. But we know, not only
that the existing power is contrary to just
principles, but that it has been continu-
ally exercised to discriminate griev-
ously against q portion of our citi-
Zcns-tO Onerate them with burdens from
which others are protected by taxation,
amounting from ten times TO one hundred
times the amount imposed on other Citi-
Eens on the use of the same amount of
property or capital. We have on this
floor one member who as a merchant, op-
Grating on a small capital, actually paid
tax of % cents on every dollar of his
capital for the privilege of using it one
year as merchant One-fOurth of the
whole of his capital taken in one year
for taxes, while every other citizen not of
his class paid at the same time % cents
on the 300 of his capital, tax actually
one hundred times as much on this indi-
vidual as upon his neighbOr.
A departure from principles so odiOus,
with known consequences so abhorent to
our sense of justice and so calculated to
depress the interests of trade and com
MERGE, we cannot allow to pass without
putting on record our solemn protest
against it.
We respectfully submit this protest, and
ask that it may be spread on the journal.
VIM. II. STEPHENS, J. c. THOMPSON,
]. B. HEIsKEIL, H. B. BATE,
E. II. SHELTON, NEIL s. Brown,
GEO. Z. PORTER, A. II. CAMPBEI,
T. NJ. BURKBTT, S. G.. SHEPARD,
W. BYRNB, w. NJ. WRIGHT,
G. G. DIBRBLL.