Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1880-03-30
NOTE.
The Assessment an 4 GratuilOus
Advf a..

fall, and tboss who fail TO have thei
names placed upon the assessment II
morrow will be virtually disfranchise
30 far as voting is concerned for eightee
months at least. After all that ha
been done at great individual labor AM
expense there are no doubt six hun
dred persons entitled in the Count
who are not yet assessed, and som
feur hundred more who have been re
turned as delinquents to the presen
term Of Court, and who, according
10 our peculiar law, could no
be assessed at the present term o
Court. This makes about one thous ,nt
male citizens Of vetable age in New
Castle County who will have no par
nor lot in this years elections excep
10 far as their personal influence is ex
srted to prevail upon others to exercise
the rights they cannot exercise them
solves. We do not pretend to say thai
this thousand of unassessed voters il
made up Of Republicans exclusively
Tor Notwithstanding the great care ex
ercised by such assessors as Messrs.
Ward and Hughes, Of this city, to as.
sess all the Democrats even including
ali on the error lists, there are proba-
bly, some three hundred or four hun
dred left of the lists, but the balance
are Republicans.
Many Of these Democrats SO lett of
will as usual no doubt be furnished
with genuine tax receipts and will vote
any how whether they are entitled or
mot, unless very strict watch is kept
over them.
1t may ba said that there is a fuller
assessment of voters this year than at
any time since1876, and we are not sure
that there is not even fuller and
more correct assessment of voters OF, the
Republican side than there was in
that year. We wish we could say that
the assessment of Democrats was as
honest as the Republicans. The as
sessment is full on that side but even
they themselves will not say that it is
honest or correct. They cannot say SO
as long as these four hundred or five
hundred names OF Democrats are allow
ed to remain upon the books that were
returned by the collectors as delin-
quent in 1879. The law was ruthless
~ violated by the assessors in placing
these names upon the assessment and
1t was outraged by the Levy Court in
allowing them to remain upon the as.
sessment without making some fee BILE
effort at least to purge the lists Of a
self-evident glazing fraud. However,
the names ara there and there they
will remain. We only complain of
them being there through plain VIC
lation Of law and on account of the
Partially Of assessors in refusing to
assess Republicans who were plainly
entitled.
Now that a tolerably full assessment
has been secured under adverse circum-
stances with the whole assessment ma
chinery against the Republicans, what
is to be the next move9 The next will
be the payment Of taxes as soon as the
1880 duplicates are issued to the COL
lectors which will be about the last of
May or the first of June. All the trou
BILE in getting assessed will 60 for moth.
ing unless the taxes are paid and re-
oeipt taken for the same. The latter is
the passport to the ballo: box-the DO.
litical shiboleth that enables voter TO
exercise the rights and privileges of full
American citizenship. The tax this
year will hardly be higher than last
year when it was about eighty I've cents
on a poll Of 5000 with the addition of |
small amount on colored people for
the support of schools for the education
OF oolored people in the State. As soon
rs the tax duplicates are issued, there
should be general movement to hunt
up the collectors and pay the taxes. 1t
will be bad plan to leave it off until
the heat and excitement Of tn. cam.
paign are upon us when the time of the
collectors vii be more EMPLOYED and
when perhaps they may not Just feel in
the huuoT Of accommod tiog Republi-
can tax payers as readily as at the first,
OF ocur:e er are some poo ,eople
who are not able to pay taxes and some
body will be cal ed upon to assist them.
but where man is hearty and ha.
regular employment at any thing like
fair wages he II ould pay his own
taxes. This thing of political parties
pyipg II take by hundreds for
their po' al ali erents simply to 20
their voss is growing in o che of tn
greatest evils of h times, and is an
expensive luxur which n party can
honestly bear. The princi le ends to
corruption, and Ie,tr Us the independ-
cnoe OF the voter. By this system men
become mere NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. to
hmm az tba ,,,u ~ n i: .