New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-08-04

STATE OF LOUISIANA
Office Of Assistant Attorney General I
New Orleans, La, August 3, 1874. }
Hon. Charles Clinton, Auditor of Public Accounts;
SIR have at hand your Enclosures, con tanning
letter and proceedings of meeting of pay in
Natchitoches. The statement of facts that gather
from them is imperfect in Of it's details but it
appears the taxpayers IN that parish paid in 1873
an aggregate Of six and seven.eighths per cent.
and are expected to pay in 1874 seventy inc mills
or seven and nine tenths per cent the valuation
of property. The current assessment it app ears,
is partially made up by forty mills spec ial judg-
ment tax. How the full amount of seve nty mine
mills is made up does not appear. for the State tax,
fourteen and half mills, parish tax OF as much,
and this special judgment tax would am cunt to
but sixty-nine mills. However, this is unim por-
tant to the consideration of the general que stion.
Such rate of taxation for purposes of ivil gov
eminent is out of all reasonable bounds, i'm pos
sible and certainly in this case void.
The law imposing Judgment tax (2629, 2629 and
263O Revised Statutes) is seriously defect i've. 1t
does not provide for the levyng orlaying of the
tax by any competent authority. This is strictly
a legislative power. 1t can not be perform ed by
the judiciary. No functions not of judicial char
acter can be performed under our constitut ion by
a district or parish court. levy or laying of
taxes can only be made by the General Assem- bly,,
or for local purposes by elective or Apo inted
authority representing the people of the lOca hty
and invested distinctly and Enthusiastically by
delegation of the legislative authority W 18th the
levying power. The people do not an can
not tax themselves through their courts
and there is no other law provided for
in the sections of the law comforting the
Judgment tax. No assessor or assessors are compe
tent to make it. Now the taxing power for the
parish of Natchtoches without the sanction of an
election Of the peope) is limited to fourteen and
half mills, and that power is vested IN the police
jury which may be required, on demand of the
school authorities to levy two and half mills
therefor local school purposes and the act limit
ing parish tax to fourteen and half mills is Of later
date than the statute in regard to judgme nts.
Certainly the people Of Natchitoch les can
not be taxed in the year 1874 in a greater
aggregate than twenty-nine mills, half State and
half parish, unless they vote the tax them I've
If a police jury can only tax in the aggregate
fourteen and half mills it can only make debts
to that amount aud can only stand in judgm ent to
that amount. There must be some fraud in the
claims proceedings that would lead to or obtain
judgments requiring forty mills special tax beyond
the power of the parish to impose or assum debt,
and the judgments may be opened or nullifed
whenever the fraud is discovered or the courts
find they have been imposed upon.
1t u.s. in my opinion, in conclusion, that tax col.
lectors can enforce or collect no parish tax not
levied by the police jury nor levied by it if ex-
ceeding fourteen and half mills, unless sane
toned by an election. For uncollected parish
taxes of back years they can enforce SO much and
no more as the aggregate of State taxation for
those years amounted to.
Your obedient servant,
HENRY T.. DIBBLE,
mast 2p Assistant Attorney General.