The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-10-22

dicions expenditure for public purposes Of q
tar percentage OF the general wealth, raised
by IN equitable system OF taxation. Tie
fruits OF such expenditure nre general ctluca.
t'on, and general loa!th, improved roads, ,li-
mlnlshed expenses Of transportation, md &C.
c,lrlty Tor liit. and property"
Iaxntion is not therefore mn ,innlixcd evil,
which every ono sl,,Mll mako it his duty to
avoid. The tax gathcrcr is moi, nv some assert
the natural enemy oil the tax payer.
In the eloquent language of Deems:
40 not look upon taxa,icn ns az, mimxcd
evil; the cluis that gather above liz in the
heavens, dark as they may seem, dense III
tiiey may br, have yet their golden edge and
silver lining. These clouds nre tho taxes
OF t'Ie earth To support tho grent economy Of
nature They suck up the exllnlntions from
myriad fields and l,illSi'lrs; thoy absorb the
msts OF morning ani the dews OF eve but
they do nut rob tho earth, they ,lespoi not
Tho meadows which they assess for through
Tie wonderful chemistry IF tho skies they re-
t"rn III icrtilzinR showers, they are dispensed
IN rivuin's and rivers, To IIAkc tho wilderness
1lossoh hs the rose, aud the harvest fields
laugh Will, latness'
Even s". under wise economy of public
administration, the revenues nf government
applied faithfully, legitinIatcly and honestly
may return seven Ioli, and produce new fruits
VI general prosperity
but says some lax payer, 4. I ndmit tho
necessity for taxatinn; l admit that it i, II dc.
slrablc form Of expenditure But our reprc.
schthtiveS coming, az II majority OF them do
from tho non'pr"pcrty holding class of our
cit'Hoiis. have teeu inc,,nsduratc and cnroless
IN The levy of an excessive nnd burdensotne
rate Oh taxation. Taxation has Increased at
all enormous rntc since the pnlmy dnys
a"'e "eff"n'. Hhd 10 far grcnter extent than is
necessary 10 mcc, the public requirements"
Let us cnnuirc how far this tax poyer's
assertions arc correct
Under the anomalous system of taxation
" in vogue during the paltny days ante BEL
fum. real estate bore but an incousitlcrnhle
portion of the public expense. That species
OF property which paid the largest annual
premium upon the capital invested, could best
Afford to bear the burden of taxation, and
hence the revenues ri the Stnte came chiefly
from tho tax OH slaves and IN arbitrary tnx
upon Tree persons Of color
For instance, SGoO invested in healthy
male slavc would realize yeurly ut least
Sl70 upon tho investment The owner could
therefore well afford TO pay the tax imposed
"a in 1850, o1 81 2i upon his negro slave
In 1860, according to The census Of that
date. there were III South Carolina 402. .4OG
slaves, yielding to the State n tax of Sl.ot;
~ 'o'", VI T"o' ,o.'l.oo anu J,Jt4 lreG
persons of color paying n lax Of e.. 90 per
head, or S29,7 making II total revenue
from taxes upon slaves mud FREQ persons of
color of $53G.77i.56 or nearly nneto
OF the entire amount necessary to CARRY on
the government.
Tho practical working Of this system was the
fostering and building up Of large and pow.
erf,il landed ariStocrnry a mans title to rank
and social position depended upon his princcly
acrcs. The greatest bnast Of the South Caro-.
lima gentleman was his Inheritance Of vast
landed possessions, the hunting grounds Of his
lntl,crs, the pride Of his children
The comptrollrr-gcncra in his report to tho
General Assembly for 1850. stated that "the
tax On all tho land of the State. amounting to
l7,53S,t0l acres, produced only SS2,5I5.5l.
which Is less tlian an average of live cents
per acre! !"
Valuable cotton lands wl,icl, the owners
would not have sold fol hundreds of dollars
mn acre, were valued for the purposes of taxa.
ton ut five cents per acre.
Now human slavery is abolished. Millions
OF captni invested in human chattcls lnve
been swept ont Of existence with n single
stroke "i the pen Some other species of
property must Lear the expenses of tho gov
ernmcnL in its stead. Which is it? Tho ex.
pcrienco of the civilized world answers that
tho true basis of taxation is real AMI j,eySoaui
estate, AMI the new regime IN conformity 10
that experience has adopted tl,nL system for
tho now order Of things.
The practical operation Of this now and
equitable system in South Carolina is tho Same
as that experienced in tho North half century