Richland beacon., 1874-08-15
CHARLES CLINTON.
STATE OF LOUISIANA,


Office of Assistant t,,oruey General, )
New Orgears, La., August ,, 1874 }
Hon. Charles Clinton, Auditor of Public Ac-
counts
SIR-l have at hand your Enclosures, ron
tanning letter and proceedings OF meeting "i
tax PAYERS in M ,chiioches. The statement
Of fact, that ga her from them Is imperfect
in some of lis de tails, bui il appears the tax
payers in that parish paid IN 1913 an aggre
lie of six an, seven-cIghihs per cent, and
re expected 90 pay IN 1874 seN'Hfy-ninc
mills or scven and nine -tenilis pei ,"'t on
the valuation oi property. Inc CO.. NJ
assessment. it appears is partially made ~
10y forty mills special Judgment tax. How
! the full amount of sovcnty-nne mills l. made
up does not appear, for the State tax fourteen
I and h;.,f mills, parish tax OF rs much,
and this special judgment tax would amount
to but sixty nine mills. However. this Is I'M
imuor ant to the consideration of the general
question
Such a rate of taxation for purposes or civil
gov eminent is ont at all reasonable bounds,
Impossible, and certainly in this case voId.
The law imposing a augment tax (=t2j,
2629 and $500 R-:lsed slatu,eS) : s"rlousv
defective. it does not provide - ell. evyin"
or laying oil the tax by G'y Competent
authority This is slrctlya'e .qtive power
1t can no; be performed - re judiciary. No
functions not of a ludicia character can be
performed under our constitution by district
D or parish court. levy or laying o. taxes
+: can only be made by the General Assembly,
q or for local purposes by an elective or ap-
pointed authority representing the people of
the locality, and invested distinctly and I'M
= mistakably by delegation of the legislative
6 authority with the lie, wing power The peo-
: pie do not and can NOT 'aX themselves through
their cOuT,>,and there is no other law provide
for in the sections o. tire law comforting the
Judgment tax. No as essor or assessors are
Competent to make il. Now the taxing pow
, er for the parish OF M 'hitoches (without Ii,
I sanction of an election d. the peopIel is hmitd
- fourteen and half mills, and that power
. is vested III the police Jury, which may be re-
CURED. on demand of the school authorities 10
+ levy two and half mills thereof for local
: school pa p ses and the act limiting parish
tax to fourteen and half mills Is OF later date
than the statute Ia re@'rb 70 judgments.
Certainly the people Of Na,chitoches can
: not be taxed i'll tue year i'7I in a greater
and half r ,snaan iwenty-nine mills, half State
, themselves. If pohc- jury c AYE e. the TAX
'io oss'eedte fourteen al half mills IL can
only make debts to thar amount and -an>oniy
s'ahd III Judgment 10 that amount. There
must be some fraud IN the claims or proceed.
, Hiss 'idi would lead to or obtain Judgments
. requiring ioI'y mills special tax beyond the
power OF Tue parish 10 impose or assume
deot' ard the Judgments may be opened or
nuiiihed whenever the fraud is discovered or
: the courts find they have been imposed mon
II IS, IN my opinion. in conclusion, thai tax
collectors can enforce or collect no parish lax
not levied by the police jury, nor levied by !,
IT exceeding fourteen and a half mills. uniess
sanctioned by an election For uncollec,ed
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 servan.
HENRY {. DIBBLE,
Assistant Attornev