Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1876-02-10
EAs Levy osusps Dassss,

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The Levy Osaxvs Dasiss.
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C0un1-z!1 ooSn9 AAY s9AfK1 NAlfns or znu
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TIA fuaaowiAs h ~ eginiou, in full, q Il.
Gay, Fseasssd 10 IN our dispatch iron New O.
". yssasEdag = VI
Tns following 9assAion hAs been psopsssd 10
- p ths Levy Oour y se
"N the name OF any one VA rseusnsd u,
The collector Of my hundred, In March, ISM
and was andsF the statuta stsisksa from The
he ~ Of ~ aasessoe os any hund6sd and n
tQrnsd 70 he Lazy Ceas1 has - IsNy
Court any power 70 pfsvsnt such Illegal asssss-
By N aet passsd April .. 1878. Ne legislature
the dsties q aassssors, a.d . psosass Is =
ssssment hsA from impfupsf intsffsssnoe. Ths
10Y ss00saose by desllstnU v AnlAwfpl Tor,
any assaascs, either In w eess1A asssssaasnt
o. In my ennaal eeeee9Aent, - poeee ths nAns
merely. Of whom The assessor y no4 satisfied
from personal knovlsAgs that - b bonA hds
resident OF the hundred Of assessment Aietyict,
except - hereinafter provided. This altar
provision y, that the Assessor shall saasnd ct
oA4o P1~0O VI AOAAl41R tU8 049O14O8 VI e00
hundred, On certain days q vhioh he shall
give notics. for the purpose OF assssalnG any
pseson who nay have bean onatted, and Of cor
roofing his essaesmsut end that any psrson
who may have been omitted and who
and prove hs rishs 70 b. sssssssd ~ Is ~, ada.
VT Of soma respectable freebooter shall BE-
placed In this assessment BY tbs asssssor. Aud
that any assessor rsfusing 70 placs on the A.
ssssmsnt the name Of any psrs0n Appearing and
proving his right thereto, shall b guilty of .
Section OF the act then declares that II
shall mot be lawful for the Levy Court
or any menber thereof 10 take from the Asssas-
msnt returned to the sasd Lazy Court BY any
asssssor the name Of any psrson Appearing
therein ; or 10 add TO any assessment returned
~ Aforesaid the name Of any psrson unless upon
the personal application Of such person. and
upon proof Of bis right TO be assessed a re-
CURED % DO furnished 70 N asssasor BY section
section 8 Of the same act provides that It
shall mot be lawful for any ASSESSOR or any Lazy
Court upon the personal application Of any ons,
or otherwise. 70 place upon the assessment List
Of any hundred tho name Of any pefson who,
having failed % pay the county tax assesssd
returned and allowed - delinquent until sftsz
the expiration Of tho twelve months from tho
time such allowance ~ delinquent was made by
the Levy Court. f0.
30 much for the sot Of April ., 1878 On
April 10, 1873, the Legislature passed ian act
iu relation to the collection Of taxes In this
State, In which II 10 provided that, II collector
| shall make IN Affidavit that he attended u the
| times aud places prescribed BY said act for the
collection Of taxes. and In all things conformed
Levy Court to allow said collector ~ dslinqusn-
cies the taxes unsolicited BY him, and the names
OF such delinqusnts shall be dropped
from the assessment list BY the. Lazy
Court aud shall not be placed thereon
:9.in 70, I. period Of Twelve months
ancs, provided that the provisions Of thi. .ee-
ton shall apply to persons assessed and liable
Tho object Of al this Legislation rs apparent:
II 10 to prevent the fraudulent assessment Of
persons who should not be assesssd, and to In
sure the assessment Of those who should right
fully be sssessed. And 40 one means
Of accomplishing this object it strikes
from the list for the space Of twelve
| months the names Of ali delinqusnts returned
ton. - We must suppose, that the names are 40
titious, or that tho pervons arc not residents In
the State. Tho two acts being tho fart nsateria
must be taken together. and il there 10 any in
consistency or oontrariety in their provisions,
| they must be construed 10 ~ to give - far -
possible effect to the will Of the Legislature.
This ia = we'll settled canon Of statutory con.
| struction.
Keeping this in view, then how are we to In.
terpret the language Of the sixth section of the
act Of April 9th, 1873, 20 a. not render nugatorv
| the prohibition Of the ninth section Of the Same
ast, and the positive requirement Of the subse-
quent statute Of April 10?
l am, after careful reflection, OF the opinion
that the universally Of the language in section
8,of the Act OF April declaring that It ahall not
| be lawful for the Levy Court to remove from
the assessment the name Of any person appear-
ing thereon, must be qualified by the prohibi-
ton Of Section ., Of the same Act, and more es-
peoi.lly By the mandatory Language Of the sub
from the assessment list the names Of certain
delinquents II this we're not 90, the will Of the
Legislature ~ last expressed would be defeated
BY prior enactment. In this later Act the
Levy Court are required to drop and Keep
dropped for the space Of IL months, the names
Of certain delinquents. It cannot be thit this
/ mandate has no binding effect on those to whom
it ID directed. II the two provisions were In ali
respects opposed, We would still be bound by the
rule that the latest expression Of the Legislature
will repeal all previous inconsistent legislation.
But We are not compelled to 10 consider them,
but merely to consider that Section u 10 quail
y not 70 es safs Yts IL d xc
II We arc bound by the universally Of the
terms used In Section 6, then ali the pro.
visions of Section ] of the later Act would
DO defeated--for the Levy Court could not then
drop from the assessment the name of any de.
I
have the anomaly Of All Act Of the Legislature
repealed by prior act. II. however. tho Levy
court may ~ no one doubts 1t may, drop the
names of delinquents returned by collectors I'M
| der the provisions Of the Act OF April TO- not.
withstanding Section Of the Act Of April 8, may
not drop. aud is 1t not equally it's duty to drop
such names, whenever and however they appear
on the assessment list within the period in which
the law says they shall not be placed thereon I
am clearly Of opinion that such is its duty.
! do not think the Levy Court has any discretion
IN the matter, a. any placing Of such names upon
the assessment list III positively forbidden, and
the command to drop them from the List must
| apply to any assessment list on which they ap-
pear. II ia not necessary to inquire, but we
may we'll doubt whether an assessment positive-
| ly forbidden by law 10 be made Ia IN assessment
at ALL whether it 10 not void and Of no effect, 20
| that the prohibition In that case would execute
itself.
have not adverted to the fact that the terms
OF the question contemplate . fraudulent eva
sion OF the law, and Of the sworn duty Of the as
| SCISSORS, although tho views I have presented
are strengthened by the reflection that courts
Will Always favor that construction Of law
which will most conduce to the accomplishment
Of it, ends, and will frown upon that which
opens wide the door to an evasion Of the duties
| it imposes.
| 1t only remains for me to say that the Low
Court III dropping the names Of delinquents sp-
pearing on the assessment within twelve months
| OF tile time Of their allowance, III acting under
the responsibilities which these laws impose
upon them, and must be satisfied ~ to all the
facts upon which their action Ia based.
| GHo. GRAY, Atty. Of Levy Court.
| Osal PEoAucsisn In Maryland.
According to recently published figures the
I ~r<}u1~ Al. - =