Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1873-09-12
COUNTY AND CITY TAXATION.
We call especial attention to the well

We call especial attention to the wei
written letter of our correspondent
"Tax-Payer," to be found in this is
sue. ''Tax- payer" puts his point
strongly.
We are glad to see that the interes
Of the people in the question of Taxa
ton shows no abatement. It Is no
only the right, but it is the imperative
duty of our citizens to examine int,
such questions. There can be no NOR.
dangerous theory for people to adop
than that which treats politics as {
| separate and distinct trade with which
the mass Of mankind has nothing to do
When slch theory is put into prac
tice in country, its liberties have Et
| longer an existence.
It is, we repeat, not only the right
| but it is the duty of every citizen to in
| form himself, SO far as his opportuni
| ties will permit, rs to the nature and
form of the government under which
he lives, the extent of the powers dele
| gated to it., and also the duties and
| powers of its various officers.
The power of taxation is one that es
pecially demands the closest scrutiny
in its exercise. Those who levy taxes
and those who collect taxes should re-
member that they do not belong to an
order superior to those who pay taxes,
and that they have no greater rights OF
privileges than other citizens !; that, in
a word, they arc the servants and
agents, and not the masters of the poo
pie. The people who pay the taxes
ought also always to remember these
things
If this were done, we would soon
hear less complaint about oppressive
and unfair and unequal taxation. We
fear that both those who pay taxes and
those who levy taxes have lost the hab
it of regarding publjo officers as SER
wants. The experience of the last few
years has done much to create'.the i'm
preston that public officers are the
masters of the people. It is time,
however, that all that should be changed.
Lot us return then, say We, to the old
paths. The movement in this county
in reference to the matter of taxation
is a movement decidedly in the right
direction. Let the whole matter be
thoroughly sifted and brought to the
test of the law.
But it is not only in the matter of
county taxation that an investigation
is demanded. Our city as we'll rs our
county authorities are under grave sus-
picion of having exceeded their powers
in lovying taxes The city tax for
this year is two dollars on every one
hundred dollars worth of personal and
roal property in the city. Sched-
ule B of the Revenue law,
Chap. 144. Laws of 1872 -'73, enacts as
follows:
"And no city, town, or other munic-
ipal corporation shall have power to
impose, levy or collect any greater sum
on real and personal property than one
ana one-half per centum on tho value
thereof. PrOridcd, That this act
shall not applyto cities or towns where
a rate of taxation is fixed in their char
ters"
In the charter of the City of Will
mington no rate of taxation is fixed,
and the highest rate of taxation, there
fore. in the power Of the city anthori-
ties to levy upon real and personal
property for city purposes would, to a
man of ordinary understanding, seem
to be only one dollar and half npon
each ono hundred dollars worth of
property.
How the city authorities get over
this plain prohibition of the law of the
State is matter worthy of the atten-
ton of the property owners and tax
payers of Wilmington. The law says
the city authorities shall not levy or
collect any tax greater than one dollar
and half on the hundred dollars
worth of property. and straightway the
city authorities proceed to levy ana
collect two dollars ON the one hundred
dollars worth OF property
Are the taxpayers satisfied that this
thing can be lawfully done ? if so, it
may be we'll enough to let the matter
drop. IF, however, they do not under
stand how such plain provision of a
law can be set at nought, it will be
we'll for them to take steps to have the
matter investigated. The Courts are
open, and it will be money we'll ex-
pended that shall be expended ill the
conduct of sllis that shall teach our
city authorities and others the necessi-
ty that lies upon them to keep within
the bounds of the law.