The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1871-04-15
Corn, Meat and Cotton to be Taxed
under the Existing Law.

We are amazed to learn that by
instruction of the Auditor Of Pub
lie Accounts, the assessors are re-
quired to enter for taxation the ar
ticles Of corn, meat and cotton in the
hands Of owners on the LIST Of Janu-
ary last. Heretofore these articles
have been considered exempt from
taxation, except when especially onrr
merated. By act Of the Legislature
enacted In 1865, when cotton was
almost the only thing on which rev.
enue could be realized, a temporary
tax was levied upon that article, but
never in the,history of the State, have
corn, the staff of life, and meat, its
auxiliary, been regarded as proper
subjects of taxation. We doubt if
they are so considered by any State
in the Union, even where they con-
stitute the chief staples Of the produ-
eng classes. II has been reserved
for Radical ingenuity and greed Of
plumber, to discover that these arti-
cles Of home production should be
taxed, and they have declared that
such is the meaning Of the law, wheth-
er so designed or not.
The Assessorof Lee county, writes
to the Auditor that "a great many
"tax-paycrs Of that county decline
''to give in the corn, Il cat and cot
"ton they possessed on the first OF
January and asks for instructions.
The Auditor significantly replies
that the only property exempt "from
"taXation is enumerated IN section
I"20 of the Revenue law, and the As-
"sessor's duty, IN eases where PARTIES
"taa to gice in correct list, IS oery
"clearly defined IN section 3d Of same"
BY referring to section 20 it will be
found that "corn, meat and cotton"
arc not among the enumerated arti-
cles, and by reference to section Sd,
it will be seen that q severe penalty
is imposed on the refractory tax
payer who fails to render a full state
ment Of what the Assessor by direc-
ton Of his superior may assume to
be taxable property. This is the rod
which the carpet-bag Auditor shakes
so ominously over the heads of the
unfortunate producers of"con, meat
and cotton"
1t is not for us to say what was
the intent Of the authors Of the pres.
ent oppressive tax law. If the wise
man had looked through the vista Of
the future into these degenerate
times, he might have added, "the
way Of the carpet dagger in search Of
other peoples earnings,' to thefour
things which to him were wonder
ful. But we will venture to say that
amongall the Taxpayers in the State
not onesof them supposed that it ev-
er entered into the heads of the au-
.thors Of the revenue law to collect a
tax on "corn, meat aud cotton" by
force Of its provisions.
Sec. 3, Art. Ii, Revised Code, de-
clares that certain property Sand no.
other shall be exempt from taxation."
These staple articles Of production
are hot mentioned in the list, and
yet they we're not held to be prop
erty" in the sense Of taxable objects,
and therefore were exempt. Sec.
Xxx, article 351, declares that "the
term personal droperty, VIXEN used
in this Code, shall be construed to
include sgoods, chattels, effects, eyi-
dences Of rights Of ac6on,"' etc..
And yet no one ever dreamed Of clas-
sifying "corn, meat and cotton
amongst the goods, cbattcls and ef-
fects," on which taxes we're rcqui-.
red to be levied. Under eais-
ting law, as in the Revised Code,
they are neither enumerated nor
specially exempted, nevertheless the
Auditor instructs his subordinatcs
THAT they must bc marked for taxa
ton, and if taxpayers do not come
squarely up to the line Of duty pre-
scribcd, they viii be dealt with as
section Sd directs in tl'~ casN Of re-