The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1877-03-02
sherifT's E2aspOnse 90 Gharg es
Preferred.
lCoSCLUDEp-

Of county levy Now Mr.. Edi tor, | as
, sert there is no such statute now IN force
The General Statutes page 272. section II
4 gives the only law now in force on tina
= subject. The language is, at shall b,
the duty of the sheriff or the collector o
the county levy at the county court il
January in the same manner that the
sheriff is required TO do, in relation Il
the return of his delinquent list of tn,
public revenue. to return to the County
Court all delinquents in payment Of the
coUty levy aud he shall for all such
as are allowed by the county court be
credited in his settlement with said
court" Now can anything be palmer
than this. Now If any one will examine
Order Book No. 4, page 80, they will find
thtt on the Sth day of January, 1877. al
an adjourned meeting of the Court OF
Chims and the regular term of the Fulton
, Cuuty Court, did then and there pre-
seat my delinquent list of County levee
witch was examined, corrected and APP
ppYed by the Court Nor is this all.
dGy these learned and Hon. Gentle
mn to show by the Order book (without
witch no act of the County Court or the
Cart Of Claims has any binding, force or
LEGAL effect, where any indulgence or
decay was granted to me to have until
JahUa-y following TO make out my county
States, page pa section 3. prescr;bas !:
'Tbt the County Court may give further
tius to sheriff and county collectors
to return delinquent lists of countyt
{ lie les; but they shall do so but once in re
l.peet TO any such lists or settlement"
Z Wv If this time which is claimed by these
bon Gentlemen, was granted unto me, 70
return my delinquent list of county levy
FOR the year 1876 why | ask, does not the
minutes of the October Court of Claims
show the fact. tell you citizens, on my
honor, no such indulgence was asked for
or granted, because the Statute fixes the
county court in January as that time and
makes it imperative GA him TO present
his Deliinquent county levy list at that
Time unless the county court shall indul ge
a. further. But again these Hon Gen
tiemen say the county levy commissioner
called upon Mr.. Walker in September to
make settlement Of the levy of 1876 and
he was not ready. The commissioner
called again and again
MIR. Walker protested that he could not
get his list ready by the meeting of the
Court of Claims in October. and the Com
missioner went forward and made the
settlement without delinquent list being
returned. Now | do not deny that 1 was
called upon by the Commissioner, as
stated above, bat failed to espond from
the fact that | knew he had no legal right
10 demand of me a full and complete set
uement for the County levy of 1876 be
cause TO do 50, II would have been neces
sary for ME to have produced to him =
delinquent list for that year-the law
prescribing the January term of the
county Court as the time 10 produce said
hst, or for the purposes of final settle
ment with the Commissioner in the mouth
.Nf 80
"a, Section > Now, | admit that the
Commissioner had right to demand OF
me partial settlement of the county
levy fer the year 1876, and this ! was
willing TO make, and told him in my OF
ice that the only settlement that could be
made was to charge ne 10y the entire
County levy aud credit me by the County
claims already allowed aud charged on
the order book, on the County levy for
1876. This he did, as the order book
shows. 50 ali of this twaIdle about my
refusal to settle with the County Com
missioner amounts to nothing at last, and
when the law and the facts are brought;
TO bear against IL, it vanisnes into thin
air. But again, these Hon. Gentlemen
make mi nty to do about tile number
returned by me on the Delinquent List,
Tor 1910 and 1876, aud commenting ex-
tensiyely upon what | may have said and
promised IN relation thereto. Citizens. |
am free TO admit that having little or no
experience as 10 the true condition OF the
parties whose names appeared on the tax
'.s.ssiA :, no mad not paid their taxes |
penIttted myself 10 be persuaded that hev
wee al, OF nearly all, bonaiIde citizens
u ne county, aud that "a large prOpor-
tlol OF the taxes returned delinquent.
mllht yet be collected, and being so
Ia4ressed, l may have made such asser-
iiosS Us are charged by thcse Hon
Gatlemen. Bat, / say Of u truth, that [
hae made an earnest aud diligent effort
to.0lect ali the taxes due the county.
easiderIng my opportunities. Ali re
mlnoer the tangled condition in which
u business OF the office was left by my
Immediate predecessor, aaU that il took
te best part of my time 10 strai ,hten
Oat his unfinished business. Then again,
I.is well known that the Assessor thinks
this duty 10 assess every man Il years
Of age he fiuds ia the eunty who have
10 settled home, this, a. a matter OF
esarse, causes large number of names
10 be placed on the tax books, composed
Of TINS boating aud drifting class OF peo-
PIE, who are never heard OF afterwards
1ad their names appearing As delinquent
sgells IL enormously.
Now ia TIE last Presidential election,
ths entire number OF votes polled ia the
comfy Was l,3US. The number OF per-
soas chargaOle with poll taxes for the
year 1915, was lD6l. Now this argues
That there we're 49, male persons in the
county u yours ami over VINO had emil
gmtsd thereto and been there less Shau
Il months, whose only disqualification as
ydters, being want of sufficient time to
qaaliiy them. Now the average OF the
'atlug population. Is one in Z, that Is to
sag the male population of a country,
"hO nave reached their Majority, Is about
one in seven. Then ad1 10 the number
Who actually voted loo who had the right
10 vote, out dad not; making Ia ali ,3Us;
then suUsJracU this number from the
liOoI, the number of tythes assessed in
1916, aud you nave 3J9-th n multiply
this nunOer by seven, and you have 5l3
Inhabitants In the county who have re-
moved there IN less IMAM twelve months
uPto November the 9TH, lS76-tAe day OF
election. Now we know that the idea is
absurd The conclusion then is irresista
Die that some body else Is responsible for
The large number Of delinquents that an
Huaiiy appears on the list But suppose
that number should be double what it has
been, and the Court should become salts
he'd that those reported were ins0lvent.
aud the tax could 81 be collected by la "
would II be right 10 make the sheriff
81 tue taxes because the list was so large
surely no Just court would be guilty OF
such gross injustice 10 one of its officers
J Now let me say right here. that [ had
I charged 10 me on the county levy of 1875
Z 10 tythes, or polls, making the snug lit
I Tie sum OF 500, leaving the militia tax
/ out entirely, which makes il 3 5O0at least,
I out OF which | have never realiz d a
/ copper, aud 500 of which now regard "a
utterly worthless. My commissions for
that year amounted to less than $500
therefore got nothing for collecting the
county levy and paying it out after de-
Quoting my losses. Nor is this all
was cOmpclled TO take what | could get
out of tne delinquent list, SSS, and wait
for the balance, with the understanding
that whatever was behind, | should have
out OF the revenue of 1876. But when
settling time came around again the
financial sneep was shOrne so close before
my time came round, there was little OF
no wool for me and was forced again IL
wait until the revenue of 1877 Comes in
But to be brief; have received in the
waOO my commissions, SiO2 81 AMI out
of pocket fully $500; besides this tn,
county owes me 1922 past due. Yet | am
Represented by these Hon. Gentlemen fol
nos doing my duty. They were certainly
ignorant OF tue means | have been using
10 get IN the taxes or they would have re
Trained from making this unprovoke at.
ltla Ihav 4 l. Z l.