The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-01-15

scented for payment, or to be funded.
Hence, it is evident to my mind, that the
twenty duplicate numbers-4472 to 4491 -
were issued to the East Tennessee and
Virginia Railroad Company, as part of its
one hundred and twenty bonds, and should
have been numbered from 1872 to 4391,
inclusive. | am, there fore, Of the opinion
that the General Assembly should, by Ieso-
luton, recognize the validity of the dupli-
Gates, and authorize the registration or
funding of them.
Not one of the "New Series of Funding
Bonds" with coupon payable in Nashville,
has ever been called for. All that have
been issued have the coupons payable in
New York, whether owned in Tennessee |
or elsewhere.
In addition to the foregoing, respect |
fully submit the following remarks and re-
commentators for your consideration, and |
that of the General Assembly:
THE VALUATION OF PROPERTY.
Section IS of Article ii. of the Constitu |
ton of the State declares that
HAli property, real personal or Mixed shall !
be taxed; but the Legislature may except such |
may be held by the State, by counties, cities |
or towns, and used exclusively for public or |
corporation purposes, and such as may be held |
and used for purposes purely religious, chartt- |
able, scientific, literary or educational; and |
shall except one thousand dollars worth of per-
sOnal property i'll the hands of each taxpayer,
and the direct products OF the soil in the hands
of the producer and his immediate Yendee. All |
property shall be taxed according to its value, |
that value to be ascertaned in such manner as |
the Legislature shall direct, so tDat the taxes
shall be equal and uniform throughout the
State. No one species of property from which |
a tax may be collected shall be taxed higher |
than any other species OF property OF the same
value"
Leading difficulties which are encoun-
tered in the management of the financial
affairs of the State are:
l. In having a reasonably practical COM
pliance with SO much of the foreg0 ping sec
ton of the Constitution as requires that
''All property shall be taxed according to
its value" and that "No one species Of
property from which a tax may be collect
ed shall be taxed higher than any other
species of property of the same value"
2. In having prompt collection OF the
taxes levied.
3. In having prompt payment Of them
into the Treasury after they are collected.
1t is well established, by long and I'M
varying experience, that large proportion
oftax-payers postpone the payment oftaxes
to the last moment that the laws delay
and its subterfuges will permit. The sup
port, by taxation, of the State Government
in It's three departments, Executive, Judi
cial and Legislative, seems, unfortunately,
to be regarded by many, not as duty to
be willingly performed by the citizen, but
as burden to be avoided by any possible
shifts. Too many, apparently, forget that
government cannot be maintained without
taxation: that without government we can
not have law and its enforcement; that
without law and its rigid enforcement,
peace, order and rights of property, life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness, can
not be secured nor maintained. The I'M
yy-illjDunpSc tO nay and the npulppt in tlp
payment of taxes, are not confined to those
who are least able to pay their just dues.
On the contrary, those who are hardest to
meet these necessary demands are, as
general rule, found among those who have
most property dependent upon government
al protection,
Recurring to the section of the COnstitu-
ton which have quoted, | see no reason
why property held by counties, cities or
towns should not bear its just proportion OF
the burdens of State government. If each
county, city and town had the same amount
of property in value with every other coun-
ty, city and town in the State, there would
be an equality i'll the exemption which
would make it more reasonable. Nor do
think that the exceptions in favor of prop
erty used for religious, charitable, scientific,
literary or educational purposes, should be
50 great as under the present law. Those
institutions which help to pay to support
good government, which, i'll the language Of
scripture, render unto Cesar the things
that are CAESARS, will more readily appreci-
ate its blessings and thoroughly teach its
necessity. Again, under a misCOnceptiOn
of the Constitution, large amount of prop
eTty in the State is not assessed that belongs
to religious. charitable, scientific, literary
or educational institutions, but which is
not "held and used" "purely'' for either of
those purposes.
All property is not taxed according to its
value. Indeed, it would be difficult to
find any property that is so taxed. FIRE.
quently one species of property is taxed
higher than another species OF property of
the same value. This is notably so with
regard to stocks and bonds in Comparison
with realty, or with other personally.
From a pamphlet prepared and published
by Hon. N. L. Williamson, of Shelby,
member Of the last General Assembly, on
Assessment and Taxation iii Tennessee,
extract the following relative to the as
sessed and true value Of property in the
several States of the Union in 1870:
The a sessed values in Texas are 1915 of the
estimated true values. Virginia and South Car
DINA, 9-l0; Rhode Island and Mississippi, e.;
Nevada. West Virginia and Louisiana, So Ala
bama, Nebraska, Florida and Massachusetts,, ga;
kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware,
80; Arkansas, Georgia New Hampshire, ore
gon Connecticut and Maine a.; Indiana, Kan
sas, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Wis
coDsiD, 1-2 Missouri 49, Vermont and Iowa,
5-l2; Michigan, rs, Fennsylyania, Is; New
York, 4-I3, and Illinois, - Since 1870, how
ever, some of the States have greatly increased
in assessed values 4 X X Illinois, in
stead OF assessing at less than II the value, now
stands A.. Indiana and Ohio have risen from
half values to about hree-rourths, leaving three
States in the list with Tennessee half valua-
ton, and five at less than half. y
no As n g.
ton, in farm lands, 10 in farm lands improved
with the favorable showing that has been made
to production, etc, etc., and in State in
debtedness, i'll assessed values the ought to he
seventh instead Of seventeenth, as she now isl
From the same pamphlet l make these
further extracts:
according TO the Census Reports, only two
counties in Tennessee for 1870 assess at full val
ues, two at $40 OF true value, one at ca, four at
sc, three al 10, and ten counties at 81; five
counties show 2-3 valuation, seven a 3-5, four
a SO, three a 7-l2. Thus we that only forty
one counties in the State assess at more than
half values, seventeen assess at half values, five
at 5-12 six at 25 three at SIS nine at I-3 two at
Ia, and one at 10 OF the true value Can these
things be, and no effort made to control them?
..Tu the wear 1868. the State lost over $50. GOo
or was deprived of that amount of revenue from
one district of Shelby county, because the as
SCISSORS for that district reduced the values from
Sli0jO, 600 to fraction over S. 100000. The as
SCISSORS gave as their reason for this great reduc-
ton. that Shelby county was paying more than
its share OF State revenue. The next year, other
assessors put the values for that district up to
S14 900 900. Two years sfterward the assessor
for the fifth district of Shelby county reduced
values about fifteen per cent from Si4 900 coo
to $4,000, 600. The County Court OF Shelby
county reduces assessments very reCklessly.
One of our largest taxpayers for 1871 saved
over $ coo tax by reductions granted by the
court. OF this amount. about 81, 200 was State
tax. For 1871 the total reductions values
granted by the court amounted to nearly |
81 100000, or about One-forteth part of the as
sessment. For 1872 the reductions we've over
81 coo 600. few years ago, one tract of land of
DIR. b. l.. Thomas, near Memphis, was return
ed by the assessor at S5,5fO. The property was
worth $4,000. Another tract, belonging to the |
same person, was assessed at S2,l0O; worth |
100000"
What is here said of the County Court |
of Shelby, as it was constituted few years |
ago, is now true of the County Courts of |
many counties of the State. Assessments |
are so uncertain and irregu ar that it is i'm |
possible to estimate the amount of revenue
that will be derived from a given rate Of |
taxation. II is not unusual for lands lying |
in one civil district to be assessed at 2 half |
or third more than adjoining lands in |
another district.
repeat the question Of Gen. William
son, ''Can such things be, and no effort |
made to control them?'