The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-10-14
Collection Of Taxes In St. Landry.

L ia SAS
the verge of ruin and desperation.
They have to meet not only the eN-
orbitant rates levied by the corrupt
Legislature foisted upon the State
by reconstruction, but judgments for
back taxes are being pressed with
remopseless rigor, especially in the
country parishes. On Saturday last.
the tax collector of st. Landry was
to sell one hundred tracts and town
lots seized for taxes, and another
heavy sale is advertised to take place
on the 18th inst. Now is the harvest
time of tax collectors and sheritfS.
and they are improving the opportu-
nifty to the top of their bent Pic
ayune, 9th inst.
The tax collector of this parish,
desires us to state that all the tax
sales this year are Of the property of
delinquent taxpayers of last year;
that in about II half Of the cases
the property was never assessed and
taxed before last year; and that as
this property never bore any of the
burdens of taxation, and as the law
requires it, it is simple justice to ac-
tual taxpayers, when the owners
thereof neglect or refuse to pay the
first taxes thereon, that it should be
sold to those who will pay them. He
further states that about tWO-tlilrds
of the other half of the eases are
non-residents, whose lands are I'M
improved and yield them no revenue,
and who will not pay taxes thereon.
Nearly all the lands advertised for
sale are unimproved and most OF
the improved tracts were advertised
as the request of the parties priIci-
pally interested, who preferred this
at the cheapest and quickest way of
obtaining a good title to their pro
perty. For example, one person sells
land to another on credit, who, after
cultivating it a year or two, leaves
the States, without paying for the
land and the taxes thereon. Notice
is given that this land will be seized
and sold for taxes. The original
owner tells the tax collector to sell,
and he will buy it in, as the property
rightfully belongs to him, but he is
not able and does not care to 60
through with the tedious and expen,
sive process Of law to obtain title.
There were thousands of acres OF
land in this parish, which were never
assessed until 1869 and last year
And when they were assessed, the
owners, in most instances would not
pay the taxes. These lands were
purchased by spectators and others
before the war, since which time,
there has been a great reduction in
their value. Hence the refusal to pay
taxes. Previous to 1869 only 1906
acres of land in this parish were as
sessedin the name of John Slidell. II
that year enough more land was dis.
covered to make his assessment 5000
acres. There are tens Of thousands
of acres Of land yet in this parish,
not assessed, belonging principally
tonon-residents. Our parish contains
about one million three hundred and
fifty thousand acres of land and
there is so much of it unimproved,
belonging tonon-residents, and titles
have become so confused in the last
ten years, that it is impossible that
all this land should be assessed, and
properly assessed, without great
trouble and care and several years
time. There would be little land sold
for taxes, if the assessor was salts
fed with copying the old assessment
roll and would not trouble himsel.
to assess land that had never beer
assessed. The difficulty in this par
ish has been, that actual settlers
who cultivated their land and bull
up the parish, had to pay all the
taxes; while others, mostly non
residents, owned thousands of acre!
of unimproyed lands in the parish
for the purpose of speculation, ant
paid no taxes. The majority of on
citizens, the Industrious and workin;
; class, willeladly see the lands o
the latter sold for taxes to those VIII
will share with them the burden O
taxation.
=, THE CHINESE DIFFICULTY. -
Since giving the particulars of tn
difficulty at Chacahoula, we hav
met the Chinese foreman on MI
: John Williams plantation and h
requested that we give the Chimes
version of the recent trouble at MI
VIM. Skaters on Bayou Chacahoula
. The whites claim that the first blOy
, was struck by the Chinaman whom
young Babin was endeavoring t.
persuade to go to work !; but all tn
: Cinnamon agree that the contrar,
T was the case. They say that MI