The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1872-12-12
STANTON VIRGINIA, THURSDAY DECEMBER II, 1872.

What we need is wise comprehensive, just
and permanent policy upon these suoJeees'
and without it confusion, distress and d'shon-
~ will he the inevitable result. trust that
rou will approach the consideration OF these
important subjects with calm, dlspassiona.e
but determined purpose to SO far as possible,
equitably aud properly adjust our system OF
taxation. restore the furnished credit CT the
State. and place it once more upon sound
and healthy basis.
The reports ofthc Treasurer, the First and
Second Auditors, and the Commissioners OF
the Sinking Fund, exhibit in detail the ope-
rations Of their several departments during
the last fiscal year, and the condition of the
treasury and the public debt at its close on
the 3Oth day Of September last.
desire. in passing, to call the attention of
the General Assembly to one or two items
in the very lucid report Of the Second Audi
tor, for the purpose Of dispelling some mlsap-
prehension which seems to have prevailed as
to the total amount Of the public debt. First
orr hubble debt has not been increased one
dollar since 1861, EXCEPT from the accretions
Of INTEREST. which we have not been able to
nav. Second. the total old debt (authorizsd
to be funded under the act of March ~.
1917 on the LIST of July. 1871, after deduct
inc payments by railroads then or since made,
was s4571e,112. 90. two thirds Of which is
$50 8741.49, on which amount you au
thorized the payment Of interest during your
last session. thus forever sileneing the CUES
ton Of our liability for two thirds oe the orig
inal debt with accumulated interest LII my
'ast annual Message, expressed the opinion
that after the assets Of the State available for
that purpose. consisting principally OF rail-
road Indebtedness and stocks were applied
to the reduction Of the principal OF the debt,
tbs amount upon which we should have to
paw interest under the Funding Act would
not exceed S26 600, 900, the annual interest
upon which would be s1.56):00o. These as
sesssconsist principally eta 6rst mortgags up.
on the Richmond and DanvllIe Railroad of
about $3.50 662 a second mortgage upon the
Atlantic. Mississippi and Ohio kailroad for
81 600 900; stocks in the Richmond. Fred
ericksbnrg and Potomac Railroad Company.
amounting to $275 200 and in The Chesa-
peake and Ohio Railroad Company 81 Obs
987 so, amounting in all to $6 769 S49 81.
Some Of these assets are worth more, aud
some not quite as much as State bonds, but
it is entirely safe to say that within twelve
months they will bring their full sum total in
State bonds. Now deduct this sum from the
total debt. as givea by the Auditor and it
leaves balance Of only $38 94S 262.74, two
thirds Of which is s25, 965, 508 48, the annu-
al interest upon which would be but $751;
$1,000. But the General Assembly 10 Feb
ruary last repealed the law authorizing the
sale Of those assets, although that law prohib-
tied their sale for less than their market val
ne, or for les. than their par value in State
bonds Now, from none Of these assets does
the State derive any Income whatever, except
from the small amount Of the mortgage OF the
Richmond and Danvile Company, nor do
these interests give the State any control iu
the management of these companies and yet
the amount they represent in State bonds is
certainly accommodating interest against the
State. and can seq no good reason why that
amount of interest should not b. stopped, and
the State relieved from that amount Of bur
then. 1t appears to me that it would be wise
to provide for thei- conversion by the State
into State bonds as speedily as poss Bile.
BY the 18th section Of the act in force
March Is, 1872, the valuation of lands, as
ascertained in pursuance of the act approved
July 9, 1870, and the acts in force January
"a aud February 1st 1872 was declared to
be permanent, and on that basis the taxes Of
1872 r. levied Now the act in force Jan
uary "a 1872. was expressly repealed by an
act in force February 2lst, 1872, and hence
all taxes levied upon assessments as revised
and changed on appeals to. the county courts
by authority of this latter act are unauthor-
lied aud void. It is probable chat nearly all
the appeals to the county courts were heard
and determined by virtue OF the act in force
February 21st. 1872 aud hence it will bd
necessary for the Legislature to promptly val
idate the assessment of taxes made upon the
valuations thus Determined In this connect
ion. desire to renew the recommendation 10
my last annual Message upon the subject of
the
EQUALIZATION or TAXES.
When you assembled one year ago nunae-
rous complaints were made as to the great in
equality Of taxation in different sections of
the State, and in most instances the COM
plants were JnBt Nc Qeuetdl Assembly
undertook to remedy the evil complained Of
in two ways-frst. by extending the time
within which appeals might be taken to the
county courts by those feeling themselves az
grieved by the action of the assessors. aud ),
second. by providing for an entire re assess
ment Of tie lands in any county upon certain
prescribed proceedings being had. Probably
one third of the counties Of the State have
taken action under one or the other of these
acts. aud the result has been very conslde-
rable reduction in assessed valuations but
the remedy has rather increased than disin-
ished the evil. Complaints. and we'll founded
too, still exist aud you will again be called
upon, 7 have no doubt FOR further relief from
| unequal assessments. and you and your sue
cessors may 60 on ad Hbitum with these meas
ures Of temporary and partial relief without
ever satisfying the people or correcting the
evils existing. The real evil does not lie in
the fact that assessments are too high or too
low, but rather in the fact that they are un-
equal. Abstractly it matters not that prop.
erty is assessed at one-half or it's full value,
provided always the assessment is equal-that
| is, that dollars worth of property in one
section is assessed at the same amount as ev-
| cry dollars worth in the State Absolute
| equality is unattainable, but it can be approx
mated One of the duties now imposed by
/ Il.