Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1871-06-15

.. tOfNrY !AxATIo.. AS taere IS very
general complaint in our community in re-
ga.d to the high rate Of taxation which
prcyails in our county, VIC have taken the
.roubic to examine she record In the Com
nissioners' Office and have discovered the
following facts, bearing on this subject.
Since tie last Levy, there has been
stricken from the Tax Record about S35, :
900 worth Of assesstblc property, thus di-
minish;ng the basis Of taxation and consc-
Gucntly increasing the rate in proportion,
This is owing in great measure to the
fact thatsevery body who disposcs of pro
pcrty is interested in getting i; struck from
the Tax Book and but few, save the Com
nissioncrs and their agents, the County
Eollcctors. whose duty it is 20 assess FROM
year to year, seem to interest themselves
in putting any ,hing on. This is cspeci-
ally the ease in large sales ofpcrsonal PRO-
pcr;y. it being the duty of no one to in
fern the Tax Court Of the name Of the
purchasers, amount, etc A large amount
is thus lost to taxation.
The list Of Jury Allowances is steadily
on the advance, owing TO the increase Of
criminal business n the county and the
consequent: protractel terms of our Circuit
Court.
Pensions are yearly increasing. owing
& the extreme poverty Of the people at
this particular juncture Of circumstances.
brought about principally by signal fail
ure in the crops.
inqusitions are much more numerous
than usual. owing, We cpine, TO the fact
Of the insecurity Of human.lifo consequent
upon SO many persons being now engag-
cd in the oyster trade and sailing. 1t is
certain, at least. that n much larger num-
Der of deaths occur now from drowning in
our waters than was ever known before in
the same period oftime. The bodies ofthese
parties are thrown upon our shores. and
the law, fit does no! expressly direct,
clearly sanctions The holding Of an inquest,
consisting Of post n'ortens examiners. corn
onOs's and jury expenses, and deeency and
Christianity dictate that provision be made
for their burial. Under the head of in
QUESTIONS. may be ranged. also, the un-
fortunate class Of people called Luuatics,
Of which there is now an unprecedented
number, involving a trial by jury under
the writ of De LHnettco Inqarcndo, and
when declared lunatics and found to be-
without property, their support has to be
provided for By the county.
The Poor House account is about $1,000
larger than usual, some accounts having
been omitted By the Trustees, which pro-
perly belonged to prior lcvies.
Although Magistrates and Constables
accounts have been trimmed BY the Boards
Attorney. Mr.. Wilson. 20 The fullest cx-
tent tina. the law would allow, nevcrthc-
less the Levy list shows an increase of
over $500, owing to the multiplication of
crime in the county ..,... 4.
These are some of the causes which have
struck us as good and substantial reasons
Why our taxes are so high. The .ax-pay-
er should remember, also. that the coun-
~ is now paying. annually. about S5. 900
County School Tax. in addition to 10
cents on the Sl00 to the State School Tax
This was not the case tgo years ago
There are other causes for our high rate
of.axa.ion, legal fees. printing, etc, which
we shall refer TO hereafter.