New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-08-06

Auditor.
STATE OF LOUISIANA,
Office of Assistant Attorney GENERA sa..
New Orleans, La, August d 1919.
Hon. Charles Clinton, Auditor OF PUBIC A'ooun
s,e-I have at hand your Enclosures, con 'aininS
letter and proceedings of meeting OF 'aApa ois -
Natcbitoches. The statement OF facts 1na' :.
80 +hor, 10 imnerfet in some Of its details ou1 IL
,,,.ors the taxpayers IN that parish paid IN io'
~ ,roreo.te of six and seven.eighths per cent
and are expected to pay in 1874 seventy II Inc HILLS
or seven and nine tenths per cent on Inc Valua'i'
of prorerty, The current assessment L. IL appears
ia part1ally made up bya forty mills spec Ia JUG
ment tax Row the full amount VI so'o MY
mills is made up does not appear. ior inc o'a'o
forrteen and half mills, parish tax OF as much'
and this special Judgment tax "ou'o A"oun' ',
hut s,xtv.nine mills. However. this is unim por
an+ 70 the consideration of the general que stlon
such rate of taxation for purposes OF civil gov
eminent is out of all reasonable Douno'' ILL p0o
sible. and certainly in this case void.
The law imposing Judgment tax t2625, 2629 ana
a63o Revised Statutes) is seriously detective. IL
does not provide for the levying or laying OF 'he
tax by any competent authority. This IS strlc.iy
a LEGISLATIVE power 1t can not be perform Gu ny
the judiciary No functions not OF a judicial CHAR
acter can be performed under our CONSTITUTE ION ny
a district or parish court levy OF laying "a
taxes can only be made by the General Asse" DiS :,
or for local purposes by an elective OF apo
authority representing the people or the ioca h'1
and invested distinctly and unIrlsta kapiy oy
DELEGATION of the legislative authority with the
levying power. The people do an can
not tax themselves through thedr courts
and there is no other law PROVIDED lor
in the sections of the law comforting inc
Judgment tax. No assessor or assessors are compe.
tent to make it. Now the taxing power for the
parish of Natchitoches without the sanction OF an
election of the people) is limited to fourteen and
half mills and that power is vested N the ponce
Jury. which may be required on demand OF the
school authorities, to levy two and half mills
thereof for local school purposes and the act limit
ing parish tax to fourteen and half mills OF later
date than the statute in gard to judgments.
Certainly the people of Natchitoches can
not be taxed in the year 1874 IN greater
aggregate than Twenty-Five mills, half State and
half parish, unless they vote the tax themselves.
If a police Jury can only tax in the aggregate
fourteen and half mills it can only make depts
to that amount aud can Oaly stand IN JudSm en' 10
that amount. There must be some fraud IN the
claims or proceedings that would lead to or obtain
judgments requiring forty mills special tax beyond
the power OF the parish to impose OF assum debt
and the judgments may Do opened of nuiuneo
whenever the fraud is discovered or the courts
find they have been imposed upon.
1t is, in my opinion, in conclusion, that tax COL
lectors can enforce collect no parish tax lot
levied by the police jury, nor levied by it If ex
ceedng 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 &. DIBBLE,
au4 st 2p Assistant Attorney General