The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-02-19

conflicting views Or its Individual members.
who, knowing the impossibility Of each mans
Ideas being adopted. aud the difficulty OF
uniting the minds 81 any nine men on one
plan OF adjusting any complex differences.
have each yielded something IN order 70
agree upon a revenue bill winch. the COM
mittee thinks. ought to receive the approVai
OF the General Assembly. Or tn" Governor, Or
the courts, of the press, aud Of the pfnpla. 1T
IL manifest that no human power can ueV'sa
q revenue bill which Will receive ~" approVhi
Of all men Or or ali Legislators. Any syst"m
whatever would ln liable to plausibIorrlticism
and some serula doubts, II not objections.
The problem ia not ~ draft y perfect h,ll. hut
is 10 present ono which VIII u" l,%ss imperfect
than another plan II Is easy to lind fault
with what IA done. ~ IA difficult 10 90 some
thing better When II IL remembered that
article ~ Of the constitution n quit es that nn
"bjlL shall become ~ law unless ON It's final
uassa u Il majority vi the members elected to
each house bo recorded ~ voting In its
favor" and that the House. now con
Hists OF Dinctysix memt,"rs, elected aud
actually seated, besides two uuoc.nptnd
seats, the necessity becomea most apparent
for concessions Oh thu part ot nearly AL OF
us, In Greer to secure the forty-nin" or fifty
votes required to pass any revenue htll
through the lInusn. Almost All Legislation is
the result III compromises, not on Vital prin-
clplea, but on sy.tems, plans or details ne
facility with which amendments can ho de-
ylped and proposed has frequently orraHioneu
No many alterations IN uriainnl BILLS that tho
entire aystcm upon which they were con
atructeh has been ntlitetatsf'. and they II w
been rendered dit jtinted. luc"ngruous ana
more or Iess imperative. II has very often
occurred that the movers of amendments
which were defeated have Not'nl against tho
whole bill on its final passage because of their
defeat. Such u Conrs" " action On any
lengthy or complicated bill would now euiss
its rejection un thn iinal vt;e. Inc ncc,@sity
Of some revenue bill being adopted
Rt tho present scAsiun vi III" Gen.
eral Assembly la 81 Imperative ana
overwhelming. that any legislator m'unt
safely resolve that on iinal passnGe q" VIII
vote for any tin wh,ril pAsaa "a tt- ,hlrd
reading wit II or without the amendments ho
proposes Or fayora. In oI'icr to srnnr"hp'ciaI
Investigations and accurate preparation Oh
bills, committees hicpiov'deh IN pNll'amrlla
congresses and legislatures, which, while
neither lnfnlihls noi particularly tkil'nl. arc
the advisers OF tho whole assembly upon the
special ut.jec,a referred to them. This COM
niittee has exhausted whatever skill and care
Il Uosptasru upon thia auhstituta hut VIII not
oppose the inprovenr ut ot the bin by Judi
cluus amendments. " has been well said.
however, that Innovation ia not necessarily
reform, and change Ia not necessarily I'M
prOvement. The committee has kept st al
lily III view first. that u revenue mlat he
raised; eecond, that tho constitution COM
pes tho taxation Of all Nh Xnuptrd
property: third. hat the credit OF tho
State must be Ancr.dly preserved. ita schools
its public institutions and charities and tts
levees must u" ,l'hi't."ine". AZ" W. executive,
Legislative and judicial departments must ho
supported; ami fourth. that those citizens
VINO pay theiT taS"e Wl'h"u' "u,p"'s'.'n s,lH' :
no longer nt ioIeen W Dear w 'h' nhIua''s y.
taxauon. Hut thaI 'noss w'o WI. nN's pas
without conpuieioli s'h,1 l'i'h'"i ~ Nu'h-
PEELED To pay their taxes. The constitution
eAys. article 2N2: Taxation shall bo equal
and uniform" u Is not equal. or uniform.
or just, 10 LAX thn W''lhk anu o'n'h' wv
1ens anu a,"w ,no, - !, u, ;,n - inv.
and severe: hut the worst that can happen
to any man is to pay his taxes. and that no
ought to do or ought to be made I" 90. Ihe
citizen who wlthh'lda from his government
his just share OF the contributions levied
equally upon NIL for its SUPPORT IL not en-
titled to its indulgence. Your committee
distinctly announces that the present hct -
intended to secure the actual collection Of tho
taxes, voluntarily from the willing and ~
compulsion from the unwilling; and no bill
having a different intention could receive the
approval of is members. Objections are also
made to this bill that II comprls the payment
Of the taxes ON movable property early IN
that the constitution. article I'll. requires
that ''the tax on movable property shall pc
. collected In the year III which the assessment
Ia made and second. that the assessment
made In 1879 Ia superseded entirely 10y tho as
easement to be made under this act, ~ The
year 1880, and that the taSes assessed In 1879,
fell due February |. 1850 several months
earlier than the taxes will tall due under thls
act. Enormous losses ST taxes assessed on
movable property have resulted IRON delay
Ing their collection until the next Year, when
the property had Disappeared. The constl-
tutional requirement and this act ~" intend
ed to avoid such lusscs hereafter. Your COM
mittee soieits the indulgence Of the House 70
their statements or some OF the reasons
which have induced the adoption OF some 81
the details OF this act.
THE TITLE .a@54 .Moa@
has been criticised as hol covering az TIE pro
visions OF the bill, or rather u mas Deem saln'
that the bill contains more lhhh one o"lec''
and therefore violates the constitution,
which reads: Article 40. Every law etiacteu
by the General Assembly snail embrace hut
one object, and that shall betNpresSeu ~ ils
tile. y
II is erroneous TO hold M, each clause. e.
vision or enactment IN hi,i IN sepa'al'
"ohJect. These are ohlN w u'thls h.W s,
to accomplish inc "oh1ec' ol tne "Ali. rue
word Object aS uS'u III the couSttll