Daily Republican., 1878-11-12
The Tax Csiiscsisn Question.

~ y Nv use ioA eS W Ao'ao" s'aS '"s''''
In its arguments in reference to the
payment OF taxes by the colored people,
ifsuch an article as appears in its col
umns yesterday, can be called au argu-
ment. To say the least it is but a
tissue OF misrepresentation. Instead
OF urging the Republicans To pay no
taxes as the Gazette says We did, We
did just the Opposite. We urged all
Repn blicans whose names were upon the
tax duplicate, TO so up and pay their
taxes, and TO do it before the March
meeting OF the Levy Court. Our neigh
against the Legislature altering th"
election laws to enable the Republican
party leaders to pay the taxes Of the
negroes by the Wholesale, and by car.
rying of the receipts, reproducing them
on election day, and voting the negroes
as they please as so many sheep" Our
neighbor unwittingly prove. more than
he has undertaken. and by protesting
as a Democrat, he has shown plainly
that the law for the collection OF taxes
is but mere political machine.
What has Democracy or Republican
ism to do with IT. The Gazette objects
Is Democrat te allowing the colored
men to pay their taxes or for anybody
70 pay it Tor theul,. and why' Be.
cause their votes might possibly out
number the Democrats and the latter
would not get the Offices. There is the
whole thing in a nutshell. The RE-
PUBLICAN has always contended that
taxes should be collected to maintain
the Cow rDlnent, not to keep certain
political party in power. But then
there are those terrible unrepealed Ell
forcement laws. Repeal them says the
Gdzette, and then the Levy Court OF
the county might be induced to favor
some change i'll the State election laws.
Now there is another admission of't!.e
injustice of the law. Our neighbor de.
serves credit for candor. Because it
required an enforcement law to compel
collectors to treat all alike in the col
lection of taxes, this unjust and iniqui-
tous partizan law had to be passed to
favor partizan collectors. We were not
anxious to refer to the case Of Mr.. Civ
en-, G nviction, but as that gentleman's
own party paper has taken up the cud
gels lor him, We may certainly be par
doned IOr alIudlns " it. Mr.. Given,
We know, vas res t.iarly con, icted be
fore the United states District Court
for Intimidation OF c0lored voters and OF
not giving tlieui the same chances to
pay their taxes as we're given to the
white taxpayers. He had Hon. I. +.
Bayard as his counsel, who ably ar
gued his case, but the jury upon which
there were several Democrats, adjudged
him guilty, and a heavy fine with costs
and otner expenses follow ed. Mr.. Given
mAue an appeal TO two succeeding Leg
islatures 10 max an appropriation to
pay for the losses he had sustained,
but each Legislature, unanimously
Democratic too, deemins the punish.
ment Just and deserved, pigeon -holed
the bill. We have no Objection to col.
ored people paying taxes, indeed We
think they should, and the Gaset,
seems to think that negroes should not
b. exempt from paying their share.
Well now that is just what we want,
and We have always been finding fault
with the collectors for not making them
pay their taxes.
The collectors won't have to 90
through many swaunps and back alleys
to find the colored voters. While they
are huntin. up their white Democratic
voters in the same kind of places, they
might just as well ask colored people to
pay At the same ii ne. 1t is no unusual
thing f3r our collectors to hunt up a
real estate owner h. make him pay his
taxes, while he at the same time passe,
4 dozen or two of cOIored or white Ra
publicaps whom he knows have not
paid their taxes, and would pay as soon
a. asked to do so. This, however,
would be- defeating the objects for
which this partisan law was passed and
the collectors have to exercise very
great care in calling upon some poll
tax payer to pay his tax for fear he
might b" Republican. Another thing
We might a. well refer to now is the ia
ciIiti~s afforded to pay Democratic taxes,
an the ony Y reference will be in the
shapp Of tn" following question VIII
Mr.. Given deny that he has not taken
a note from some Of the party leaders
for the payment of a number Of tax re-
ceipts beforehand, aud has not this
been frequently don'' We might also
ask if Mr.. Given has not had a little
trouble sometimes in collecting the
amount on said notes when they became
due We do not say that Mr.. Given