Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-02-27

rate Of seventeen new bills day, and
disposing Of only one per week-which
is about the average thus far-we
dread nue. hasty and inconsiderate
legislation toward the close Of the sew
enty-fivo days session.
Concerning the above bills, it may be
remarked that tie tax payers for the
year 1874 are already beyond relief.
Nine-tenths of the people have already
paid the collectors, in dread of the pen
alties, notwithstanding the hard times.
The trouble is to get the money from
the collectors into the State Treasury.
Such has always been the trouble, as
any ComptrOller's report Of delinquents
amply shows. We do notperceive why
the hard times should be made a pre-
text for allowing collectors any further
delay In forwarding to the Treasury
money already in their hands. Why
should they be given whole year to
merely turn over the peoples money to
the State officials? Would not such
delay be a temptation for them to
speculate on the money, or at least put
it out at interest? And is not our
loose system Of settlements with such
officers the real secret Of the delin-
quencies that blot the books Of the
past? The tithe-gatherers are not slow
to levy on the people the utmost penal
ties allowed by the law; why not apply
the law as stringently to the receiver of
taxes as to the payer?
We regard our estimate that nine
tenths of the taxes for 1874zare now in
the hands of the Collectors as perfectly
safe. These nine-tenths include all the
poorer classes, who have been induced
to exert themselves In order to escape
the heavy penalties now imposed on In
dividual delinquents, and embraces
nearly every taxpayer IN the State
really deserving of relief. The other
one-tenth is mainly composed of
chronic and comparatively rich delin-
quents, who fight the State to the very
end of the laws delays. If, to-day,
the Legislature should remit all penal.
ties on taxes yet unpaid, it would ben
eft ten rich men for one poor man, and
it is the expectation Of some such en-
actment that induces the crafty to hold
back payment on 1874. If such law
should now pass, sheer justice demands
that one of its provisions require the
repayment Of all such penalties hereto
fore collected.
In his estimate of the States liabili-
ties and assets, for the current year,
Treasurer Morrow says that, if the lat
ter can be collected ''within the ensu-
ing twelve MONTHS" we can get on
with a forty cent. tax, requiring only
temporary loan of S23O,585 at the
end of the year. The assets to be col
lected are as follows:
Levy for 1873, on lowest basis of calcu-
latiOn, 81, 7S9, 900, minus Is per cent
for loss and commissions. ..-....... 81 SIS. 900
Taxes Of 1874, still due, S74l ,529, minus
Is per cent on entire levy for lSI4.... SOS ,329
Delinquent taxes Of previous years
S770OI7, from which $4,000 is de-
Quoted as lost beyond redemption. 27O,OT7
Total ..-.....-............-...... s., AZ, 400
The last item, on which the heavy
discount of 6; per cent. is made, is
not due from the people, but from tax
collectors, court clerks, etc, who re-
ceived the money from the people years
ago!
The S568, 1923 of taxes for 1874 has
been nearly all paid by the people al
ready, and is now in the hands of col
lectors, as the deduction of Is per cent.
made above covers a majority of the
chronic nOn-payers.
This leaves to be collected from the
masses Of the people moth ;ng but the
taxes of the year. To get this into
the treasury within the ensuing
twelve months" would require no un-
usual e1ertion. Every year the bulk
of the taxes are paid in by the people
before December 81, but they linger in
definitely, and sometimes forever, in
the hands of the collectors. What we
need, therefore, is a law to compel
more prompt and punctual returns to
the State Treasury. In order to &C.
eompish this, it is not the masses Of
the people who need pushing, so much
as those to whom they entrCst their
tax-mOneys.
While on the subject of prompt col
lections, we may note the statement of
Treasurer Morrow, that ''it viii be alb
solutely impossible, by any sort of tax
collections, to meet the July, 1875, in
terest and rid ourselves Of debts that
must be met before that time" This
is true, and shows the need for some
discretiOnary.powe on the part of the
State officers to negotiate temporary
loans. The amount Of interest then
due, including that on bonds not yet
funded, as well as on the school fund,
Will be SIG, 327. Toe S838, 4O6 of back
taxes ought certainly to come in before
that time-S568, 1929 of this sum being
taxes for 1874, duly discounted, while |
the other S27O,O77 represents S77O,O77
of old delinquencies. This frightful
reduction on this last item affords a
volume Of argument for more stringent |
provisions against the possibility of |
such delinquencies on the part of col
lectors and clerks. With such laws as
a suffering people expect from the
present Legislature, this entire sum of |
600 4nn o.,1I ,,IlooA,1 - I'll