Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1873-01-23

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Auditor at lo,2oo,011.42 due and Tin
paid on the lst of the present month
was 1921, G36.51 The interest on this
portion of the debt, after il has been re
duced as herein before suggested, will
not exceed the some of $342,276,19
which, added to the amount due the lst
instant, makes the sum of S1,G64,3I2,-
80 to be provided for on or before
January lst, 1874 Add this latter sum
/ 81, 064, 312.80 to the amunt due and to
become due on the funded bonds
-, 597, 0A0.04 and the expenses of the
State government 100000, and we
have the total sum of S4,161,353.s4 to
be provided for during the current year.
How is this to be accomplished? There
was in The treasury to the credit of the
! Commonwealth on the 1st instant,
$l,6S3,6l9.33 The first auditor es
Inmates that the net receipts from taxes
already levied, after deducting the
amount appropriated to school purposes
will amount to 1881, 354.7S to which
add the above amount in the treasury
on the lst instant. and we have the sum
Of S3, 064, 974.11 available to meet our
liabilities. Deduct this sum from the
total amount 81, 26l;35664 Of liability
above stated, and it leaves a balance OF
! $l,196,37953. If the present tax on
State Indebtedness be continued this
amount will probably be further re
duced by the sum, Of $4,000; which,
deducted from the foregoing amount,
leaves a balance of $1,049,379. By
a sale of the bonds Of the Washington
and Ohio and the Richmond and Dan
vile railroad companies, aud the stock
in the Richmond, fredericksburg and
Potomac railroad company held by the
State, at least 100000 should be re-
allied; which, applied to the payment
Of the above balance, leaves the sum OF
$446,379.53 to be provided for by taxa
ton or other means.
This brings us to the consideration
of the third proposition-viz, the as
sessment Of sll the property in the
State in accordance with the mandates
Of the constitution. The constitution
prescrbes that Taxation shall be equal
and uniform, and all property, both
real and personal, shall be taxed in pro-
portion to its value" "No one species
OF property FROM which tax may be
collected shall be taxed higher than
any other species of property of equal
value" "No land shall be assessed
above OF below its value Now, it is
well known that these plain and ex-
plicit declarations of the constitution
have not been complied with. he
basis Of all taxation upon property is its
assessed valuation, and according to our
constitution this valuation should be its
real valuation neither above nor below
it. But how much property in the
State is assessed according to this con-
stitutional standard! Probably not one
half In some counties and corporations
the assessments approximate much
more closely to 1t than mothers.
But there is neither equality nor un
iformity. Lands Of equal value are as
sessed in different counties at different
amounts, varying sometimes fully fifty
per cent, and in stances have occurred
where they were not assessed at all. In
some instances farms divided by coun-
ty lines have been assesse on one side of
the line at double the amount they are
on the other, and that, too, when the
lowest assessed lands were Of equal OF
greater value than the highest; and |
have known of sales of farm lands
during the past year at more than three
times their assessed valuation. | am
satisfied that as general rule the poorer
and cheaper lands are assessed at OF
near their value-sometimes above, but
ottenel below, while large amount Of
the more valuable lands are often as
sessed at not more than one fourth, one
third or one half Of their value In the
cities of Richmond and Norfolk the as
sessed valuation Of real estate fol
municipal purposes, and on which city
taxes are levied, together exceed the
State assessed valuation by more than
$500, 01n, and presume the same re-
latiye discrepancy against the State
obtains in the other cities and towns Of
the State And the defects of our land
assessments are not more glazing than
are those OF personal property. Owing
to our defective system in part, and il
part to the want Of thoroughness on the
part Of officers, millions Of personal pro-
perty escape taxation, and much of tina,
which is taxed is not assessed at half its
value. In Richmond city alone the as
sessed valuation by municipal authority
Of personal property exceed those of the
State by more than $3,G00,0OO.
Now, this is wrong, unjust, and un
constitutional Prompt and effective
measures should be adopted to secure as
nearly as possible the full, just and
equal assessment of all the property il
the state, according to the rules pre-
scribed by the Constitution Our avs
providing for the assessment of proper
ty must be made more stringent ano
searching, with severer penalties tol
their evasion of violence. Incompetent
and negligent officers must be removed
and their places filled by those who
knowing their duty will perform it. By
these means we shall be enabled to al
least approximate accuracy The PEG
pie recognize the fact that the govern
ment which protects them in their lives
liberty and property, must be sustained
by taxation; but while they fully real
ize and cheertully acquiesce in this self
evident proposition, they demand that
taxation be equal and uniform, and
that call property, both real and perso-
nal, shall be taxed in proportion to its
value. To ascertain this value assess
ments are made, and if these assess
| y,