The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1873-10-02
The Redemption Of Lands Forfeited to
the State for Non-Paymen Of Taxes.
TFrom the Aiken Tribune.


lished letter from Comptroller General
Hoge to Hon. S. j. Lee, in reference to the
redemption of lands sold for the payment OF
taxes, and forfeited to the State for the
want of bidders, and remarked at the time
that it was the intention of Mr.. Lee to test
the soundness Of the Comptroller's attitude
on this subject in the Courts. Our own
views of the matter conceded with those Of
Mr.. I.ee but as the subject was somewhat
obscured by the amount of legislation which
has been had on the tax question for the past
four years. we determined to postpone any
expression of opinion until We could embrace
the opportunity of critically examining the
question. This We have done, and the en-
quiry has satisfied US that the, Comptroller
is wrong. In the first place, he seems to
labor under misapprehension of the law
when he broadly asserts that such lands can
not be redeemed, and refers to section 1oS
of the law of 1868, alleged to have been
amended by act of March II, 1872, and
coufrmato ry of his opinion. Now this sec
tion does not refer to forfeited lands, and
was never legally amended by the act re-
ferred to; and it is strange that MIR. Hoge
should so believe when he had before him
the Revised Statutes, in which this very
section, as web as others, of the tax act of
1868 were adopted and made the Law of the
State by act of February, 1872, and of Gorce
by the provisions of the Constitution Art. B,
Sec %, Tit Ex. Dep.
At the time of the passage of the act Of
March II, 1872, no portion of the tax act
of 1868 was of force, as of that year, and
therefore, when the Legislature by Sec. |,
of the former, sought to amend Sec los
and other sections Of the latter, it attempted
to amend a statute that was no longer the
law. OF tn e State, having become nullifed by.
the re-enactment and adoption of its pro-
visions in the Code Of Statute law, made
the1aw of the Stately the act. and in the
manner before stated. SThe Revised Statutes
embody all tie State laws of the State OF
force at the me of the final report of the
Commissioners, by virtue Of A. A. March 3,
1869, passed in pursuance OF Art. D, Sec. 3
of the State Constitution. The next report
was made November 2S, 1871. so that this
Code contains all the law Of a Statutory cha
racter in force up to that date, and made so
by A. A. February. 1872; and in legal con-
temptation these Ststutcs arc TO bv-cOrei.''-
ed as having been passed al the sap'e time
I'm Constituting revised Code of laws, they
are to be considered as contemporaneous acts
parts of one entire system of law."-Black-
we'll on Tax Titles, G15. From and after
the re-enactment and adoption of the Re-
vised Statutes. the tax act passed September
Is, 1868, ceased to exist as the law Of the
State, but its provisions were made law by
act of February, 1872. Pamphlet acts, 1872,
PIP. 81. 1t will be clearly perceived, there
fore, that the Legislature, in Sec. Of the
Act of March 12, 1872, ignorantly amended
an act that was not of force, and that the
only law in relation to the assessment and
collection. of taxes and redemption of lands
now of force, is by virtue Of the Act Of Feb
ruary, 1872.
Mr.. Hoge refers to the Joint Resolutions
of 1872-'73 as explanatory of the intention
of the Legislature, and as a correct criterion
of construction, but as it is the province of
the Courts, and not the Legislature. to in
terpret laws, there is nothing in this view of
the question.
The point seems, however, to be settled
by the following citations from the Revised
Statutes and legal decisions of the Courts :
"The County Auditor, or his Deputy, shall
attend all sales Of delinquent real estate,
made by the Treasurer of his county. etc.
and if any parcelwas offered for sale, and
not sold for want of bidders, or shall have
been bid in on behalf Of the State, he shall
enter it on record, d." Sec. 20, Revised
Statutes, PIP. 79.
"All real estate which has been, or may
hereafter be, sold for taxes, assessments and
penalties at delinquent sales, under the laws
of this State, may be redeemed at any time
within two years from, and after, such
sale, &c" Section 26., i'd, PIP. 80.
each tract, or lot ofland, O. part thereof,
which shall be offered for sale by the County
Treasurer at any delinquent land sale, as
pro vided for in this chapter OBJ and not
sold Tor want of bidders, shall thereby be-
come forfeited to the State of South Carolina,
and thenceforth all the right, title and inter
eat of the former owner therein shall be vest
ed in the State of South Carolina, and shall
be designated by the County Auditor on the
list of delinquent lands as forfeited, and
transferred to the State of South Carolina,
and charged with taxes and penalties as if
the same was purchased by private individ'
nal and returned by the Treasurer as delln'
que mt, until sold as forfeited real estate, see
"a id 81.
"The County Auditor shall enter in sub
st.ntial book. &C., denominated the Forfeited
Land Record, list ofal real estate forfeited
TO- or purchased in behalf of the State ac'
cording to the provisions OF this chapter
U3), sec. 35, id S3.
I'm the case of all lands purchased on be,
half of the State under the provisions OF Sec