Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-10-27
FOR THE LEGISLATURE.
A word ON County TaxatiOn-The
ComptrOlIer.s Recommendations.

/ see by the recent report of the Comp
tfplIer. that he presses upon the Legislature
the passage of an act requiring each county
to levy tax TO pay for State or Criminal
prosecutions. am s4ef fha -t
: VIII YOU permit your correspondent to
show the short sightedness of this policy.
In the first place these offences are crimes
against the State and not against the CO1ll-
IT, Counties now pay the costs OF Misde-
meanors where the costs are not paid by the
defendant. As some indemnity for this,
the fines and forfeitures in Misdemeanors
90 TO the County. Under the measure
proposed (for see bill has already been
introduced in the Senate to this eftect) no
such indemnity can accrue to County.
There would be some fairness in it, if
some of the revenues arising in Counties
could be appropriated to this purpose, as in
MisdemeanOrs., sr H4.
! might mention several counties that
paw large revenues TO the State. These
counties convict the most criminals. The
State gets the benefit of these large reve-
nues and of their convict labor, and should,
as it hastime immemorial.anda as every other
State in the Union has done, pay the costs
of her own criminal prosecutions.
Let me mention some of the counties
that paw the largest revenue to the State.
From privileges alone last year Davidson
paid S56,9l4: Haywood, S5,503; Knox, SILL
80; Gibson, So, 446; Fayette, 81, l45; Harde-
man, $1,000. These figures are from the
Comptroller's report. cannot learn from
| that report what amount of revenue from
other sources these counties have
paid into the State Treasury.
| But the report shows the value
of the taxable property of these counties.
| That of Shelby is $37,8S1, 70l; Davidson
S26. 1875. 225; Knox S7,243,595: Gibson
Sc. 1913, 81: Haywood $1,000, 4S1; Fayette
$3.50, 425; Hardeman S5,744,761. Ishaye
| only instaneed these counties as examples.
Is it fair then that they and many others in
proportion paying into the treasury OF the
| State these large amounts Of taxes, should
be required to still further pay the costs OF
their own prosecutions?
But let me take any county in the State.
Is that county not liable at any time to have
criminal prosecutions? Do not heavy muir
der cases often arise in the most sparsely
populated and least tax paying coun
ties as well as any other? Take one
of these, then. Let a big murder cast
come on. The case is continued court al
ter court. All this time defendant lies IL
iail, Jailo~'s fees to pay. After while
however. they 90 to trial. Nearly every
man in the county has to be summoned be
fore a iury can be had. The Sheriff scour
the county. Vast numbers of witnesse.
are summoned. A heavy bill of costs is tn
consequence, amounting to hundreds, and
NAV be. thousands of dollars. The count.
is tared to pay for it. don't know, blu
rather think the Legislator who fastene'
that law upon the people of that count,
would have happy time settling the ''llttl
unpleasantness" it would create betWeel
him and his constituents after the Ia.
|, | Collector had been along. Very often tn
venue is changed; which county is to pay /
= that case? In towns and cities situate
on great thoroughfares, as many OF them l
Tennessee are, nine out OF ten oil ID
/. scoundrels who are caught and punlshe
don't belong to the county at all, perhap
were never in it before their arson, rape
: robbery, theft, or whatever Offense they ha
committed was perpetrated. Is it right T.
: tax the counties for these?
: Let us look at this thing IN another hgh
1t is the desire of all good citizens thu
rascals should be arrested and speedil
: punished. That the laws against Grim
should be rigidly enforced. Might not tn
passage of this law beget a sort OF conlil
between the tax payers pocket and his dis
position to punish crime, knowing he ha
; to be Immediately and directly taxed for it
4 Might it not paralyze to great extent thu
powerful incentive to bring criminals
, justice?
d II. as the Comptroller intimates, these pr
u secutions were all frivolous, and worked
I for gain the Legislature should be invoke
! by all means to remedy the evil. But tn
. such is not the case let the Over-crOwd'
walls Of your State prison attest.
The cause of the crowded calendars
: crime comes not from frivolous prosecution
! II originates from the fact that the tV
Il hundred and seventy-fiye thousand negro
in Tennessee, who are now citizens al
have TO be tried and punished as other ci
. zens, in their former state and condition q
II not come into the courthouse with their Ii
cenies aud other felonies, but little who
" some eastigaton did the busine
oe Now grand iuries and petit iuries, a
o Judges, and sheritiS, and clerks, a
u iailOrs and the keeper Of the Penitentla
. have to deal with them, and the Comptrol
. complains. 1t might not be amiss to ps
q some law prescribing different punshme
"a than the Penitentiary for these minor graz
of felony. A wOrlkhOuSe or something
lle that sort; but not sweeping law, maxi
Et counties pay their own prosecutions. Th
~ is not a State in America that does
vi Why should Tennessee?
have thus hastily thrown together so
W of the reasons why think this law as
r. commended would be wrong in princi
:. and unjust in practice. COUNTY
BIZ THE GRECIAN BEND.