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

dicios expenditure for public purposes Of O
lair percentage of the general wealth, raised
by un equitable system Of taxation Tie
fruits OF such expenditure nre general cduca-
t'on, aud general loa!tli, improved roads ,ii-
n''nlsfed expenses of transportation, and sc-
curity for lilr and properly"
Taxntioh is not therefore nm unmixcd evil.
which every ono sl,uikl mako it his duty to
avoid The tax galhcrcr il mol, as some assert,
the natural enemy Of the tax payer
In the eloquent language ui Deems:
Il do not look upon taxa,icn ns M ul,miScd
evil; the clouds that gather abovc us in the
l,oav"ns, dark M they nay seem. dense ns
they may bc, have yet their gulden edge and
silver lining. These clouds nre tho taxes
OF the earth To support the grcnt ccouomy Of
nnture. They suck up the exl,nla,ions from
myriad lici,s niu i,illsi'ics; thoy absorb the
in,sts OF morning aud Tie d.ws Of eve: but
lhey DO n"t rob Tho earth, they despoil not
tho uc:l,ltwS which they lsscSs: for through
tie wonderful chemistry of tho skies thoy re-
turn i'll lcrtilizng showers, they urc dispensed
III rivulois aud rivers, To make tho wilderness
blossom rs the rose. and the harvest fields
laugh with aliess"
Even III. under n wise economy Of public
administration, the revenues of government
applied faithfully, legilinatcly and honestly
may return seven fold, aud produce new fruits
oi general prosperity
But says some lax pnyer, 8 I ndmit the
necessity for taxation admit that it is II de-
Alrablc form Of expenditure. But our repre-
scntntlvcs coming, ns II majority OF them do,
from tho non property holding class Of our
cit'zons. lave hcen inc,,nsiduratc and curcless
in the levy Of nn excessive aud b,,r,lensotne
rate oFtaxation. Taxation has Increased at
All enormous rate simco the pnmy days
ante hcffnm anu 10 a fnr grcnter extent than is
necessary 10 meet the public requirements"
Lot us enquire how far this tax pnyer's
assertions arc correct
Under the anomalous system of taxation
''in vogue during the pa,ny days ante BEL
tum' real estate hnre but MI incotsiderahle
portion of the public expense Tint 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 nf the Stutc came chiefly
from tho tax Oh slaves and an arbitrary Tux
upon Tree persons Of color
For instance. 5000 invested in healthy
male slayc would realize yearly at least
Si7o upon tho investment The owner could
therefore well afford to pay the tax imposed
as in 1860 81 ST. 2G upon his negro slave.
In 1860, according to the rcns,s Of that
date there were III South Carolina IOo. 400
slaves, yielding to the Stale a tax of Sl.26
per hoad, or S507, ,03l So, and 9,9l4 free
persons Of color. paying lax Of 81, 90 per
head, or S2?, 742, making II total revenue
from taxes upon slaves aud FREQ persons of
color OF 1886 17356 or nearly nine. tenlhs
ol the entire amount necessary to carry on
tho government.
Tho practical working Of ,lliSs system was the
fostering and building up Of large and pow.
crful landed nriStocrury; a mans title to rank
and social position depended upon his prncciy
acres. The greatest tnast Of the South Caro-
lima gentleman was his Inheritance of vast
landed possessions, tho hunting grounds Of his
fathers, the pride Of his children,
The conptrocr-gencral, in his report 10 tho
General Assembly tor 1850. stated that "tle
tax Oh all the land Of the State. amounting to
l7,55s,tol acres produced only $S25l55I,
which is less than an average Of live cents
per acrc!'
Valuable cotton lands whicl, the owners
would not have sold fOi hundreds Of dollars
an acre, were valued for the purposes Of taxa.
ton aL tive cciits per acre.
Now, human slavery iS abolished Millions
Of capital invested in human clattcs have
been swept out Of existence with n single
stroke OF the pen. Some other species of
property must Lear tho expenses or the gov
l'cricncc "f the civilized world answers that
tho true basis OF taxation is real and personal
| estate, ant, the new regime in conformity to
that experience has adopted that 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