The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1875-01-07
PETITION AND APPEAL
OF TIE
TAX Payers to che Legi~la'ure

The Committee on Address and Reso-
ln,ions made the following report 70 the
Taxpayers State Convention, january
4th, 1875, and it was unanimously
adopted:
To the Mississippi Legislature
The Taxpayers of Mississippi, assem-
bled by delegates in Convection, respect
fully show,
That BY reason of the general poverty OF
the people, and the greatly depressed
values Of all property, and especially OF
our great staple, the present rate Of taxa
ton is an intolerable burden and much
beyond their ability to pay
To say nothing OF the yery large ex-
penditures for common schools, the present
rates of public expenditure greatly exceed
the amounts deemed sufficient IN former
DAYS OF ASCENDING wealth.
To-day, the masses OF our people are
very poor, and they naturally feel, as
they may well demand, that all public
Expenditures should be greatly reduced,
and limited by the strictest rules OF econ
omy to the plain republican system made
necessary by their impoverished condi-
ton.
It was hoped by many d.. period q
great prosperity would fol.e* h rtof-
ganizaiion OF the Site, ami psovi ION WIS
accordingly made for costly government;
but that hope has given place 10 despair
Every day the people have grown
poorer; lands have diminished in value !;
wages have grown less, and all industries
have become more and more parallzed.
II is daily harder and harder for the
people even to live and many hearts are
saddaned to-day, burthened with dread
least the little home, only shelter for
wife and children, shall be sold away By
the tax gatherer.
These terrible truths show that the
present rate of exorbitant expenditures
must cease, or the means of the people 10
pay will soon be utterly exhausted, ah6
their Government will be disorgan'zed.
A wise statesman will be careful To con
slider the wants OF the people, and siudl-
Gus to devise, and prompt 10 Apply neediuI
remedies. and this is what we respectfully
ask from the representatives of the people.
We are satisfied that public expenditures
car be very largely reduced without i'm
pailiug the efficiency of the public service
1t should not be forgotten that the
Southern people in their poverty, have
now to bear many burthens, unknown
here in former times. The public debt
of the United States is enormous, and We
all contribute, indirectly it may be, to
pay the increased federal expenditures.
We may never zee the tax gatherer, but
we pay the taxes-they MAKE part Of the
price of the goods we buy. In addition
to this, we have the large expense OF our
comm IN school system. These large items
may doubtless be greatly diminished by
wise economy, and the people may bear
them, thus limited, as necessary burdens;
but the fact that with strict economy,
such burdens may continue to be great,
is a strong reason for rigid economy OF
administration wherever it Is possible.
1t must be remembered that the people
of Mississippi suffer not only from the
enormous burdens Of needless State eX-
penditure, but also from gross waste and
extravaganza of Boards Of Supervisors;
added to these are the heavy local burdens
that fall upon the inhabitants OF cities and
towns and the unhappy people OF the
Levee Districts.
In September last, Senator Sherman
said to the people of OHIO:
THE first requisite of party to adj
minister the government now Is economy.
/ he most difficult to practise, especially
after a period of geeat expenditure. W hat
we most need is a very large reduction III
local taxes, and still more, a very great
limitation Of the power OF local taxation.
Now innumerable local authorities, coun-
ties, towns, cities, ETC., have authority
10 levy taxes until this amounts, III many
cases, to confscation
Upon this question of local taxation, we
ought to have no party, or soon incomes
will be absorbed by taxes"
Apt words these, and wise, even when
addressed to the people OF rich and pros
D erous Ohio! With what added force do
they apply to us who suffer under greater
local burdens, with the additional
weight of enorr. Gus State expenditures
To show The extraordinary and rapid
increase of taxation imposed on this i'm
poverished people, we will cite these par
ticulars, viz:
In 1869, the State levy was 10 cents on
lands.
For the year 1871 it was four times
as great. For 1872 it was eight and hat
times as great. For the year 1873 1t 1Uas
t,celce and half times as great. For the
year 1874 it was fourteen times as great as
it was in 1869. The tax levy of 1874 was
the largest State tax ever levied IN Mssis-
sippi, and to-day the people are poorer
than ever before.
1t is true, that now, because of dimin
ished property and depressed values, the
percentage OF taxation must be increased |
to the amount OF revenue levied in former
times but what we complain of i that |
the aggregate amount Of taxes levied on
US, IN our poverty, greatly exceeds the |
levied in prosperous days. The |
enormity of this great increase in the |
percentage, will become more plain, if |
we consider the fact that, our present as
very greatly exceed the market |
values of the property assessed.
Thus as the people become poorer are
their tax burthens increased!
In many cases the increase in the county |
levies, in the same period, has been |
still greater.
But this is not ALL A careful estimate |
shows that during those years of increas |
ing and most extravagant tax levies, the /
public debt was increased on an average |
annually over 1864, zoo, sum OF itself |
to defray the entire expenses OF
the government economically administer
ed. That is, the State spent On an aver /
lge this large sum each year, over and /
above the amount collected on those mon
strous tax levies WHIST may he the ex-
cess for the year 1874 is not revealed. I
All that We know Is. that MANY of the
very large appropriations ior the yeaf
we're sometime since exhausted.
The ike extraordinary results have