New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-03-24
AUDITOR OFFICE,
State Of Louisiana
New Orleans, March y. 1871.
State Superintendent of Public Educati

''''
Education:
DEAR SIR-ln answer to your communlca-
! ton of the eighteenth instant. asking me
| to explain why warrants termed "deductlon
| to tax collectors are issued by me to tax
collectors. and what the nature OF these
warrants is. have the honor to give the
following exclamation:
The revenue law requires that copy of
the assessment roll OF each parish or dis
trict shall be delivered to the tax collector
thereof upon the order of the Auditor of
Public Accounts. The same law says that
the amount Of such roll shall be charged
against said collector, which he shall be pre-
sumed to have collected at the period when
required by law to make his final settle
Inent with the Auditor of Public Accounts
Ii then the amount of the roll charged
against him is 1000. and at the period
when he is required by law to make his final
settlement he has collected but 5000. he
owes Il balance of $1,000. But another sec
lion OF the same law provides that every
collector shall rcndcr IL list OF all lands
or lots i'll hi parish or district
on which all taxes have not been
paid hv the owners thereof. The amount
of his list should therefore be 5000, for
which he should be credited. Bnt how!
BY issuing to him an order to pay the 5000.
ana a deduction warrant with which 10 pay
that amount These .'Dctiuctions to Tax
Collectors are therefore allowed but 10
cnablr the tax collector to account tof the
tul amount of the roll which has been
charged against lin, when he makes hi
final settlement with the Auditor. They
do not change til" amount of money that
may exist i'll the state treasury To the credit
OF the current school fund. or To any other
fund. since an equal amount i, paid III the
treasury.
Respectfully. vc,lr chcdirnt servant.
JANE, GRAHAM. Auditor.
We suppose there is no help for it but
TO understand the whole question now.
At any rate, We may pretend We 10 50.
Though how 4 debt OF SO. 900 can be
cancelled by issuing to tax collector
IAN order 70 pay the 5000 and a deGuc-
ton warrant with which to pay that
amount, exceeds all the arithmetic we
are acquainted with. A receiving warrant
Of 5000 and a deduction warrant Of
SD, 600 would square the thing, and leave
5000 cash in the treasury, and acquit the
tax collector of responsibility.
Yet we must insist, if the books Of the
Treasurer'o Office are properly kept, he
can tell in a moment how much of the
school fund has been paid in cash, and
how much in "ieduction warrants.
And further, We regard slGJ, 933 10 as a
pretty Arge residue out of the very lin
tied sum assessed upon the people OF this
State for school purposes And we sub
mt that no suspended amount should be
entered as cash on the treasurer, looks.
We have from time to time the sworn
statement Of the Treasurer, published ac-
corting to law, of the exact amount OF
money existing III the State Treasury.
On the twenty-eichth of February there
was, according to the statement,
Si52 Us 80 in money in tie treasury 20
the credit of the current school fund.
Since then not a dollar has been drawn
from tLi, fund, and yet it appears to have
Deen quite used up by deductions to tax
collectors When it is remembered that
these deductions are merely credits for
amounts on the assessment rolls, which
have been charged to the collectors, but
which they have not been able to col
lect, it will be difficult to understand how
tLey can affect ''money actually existing
III the treasury"