The daily gazette., 1882-10-18
DELAWARE'S TAX LAWS
HOW THEY HAVE BEEN MIS-
REPRESENTED.
STATEMENT OF THEIR OBJECTS
Made Necessary by Republican Unfair
ness, aud Passed to Prevent This and TO
Insure the Payment of Taxes.
[Daily Gazette, May 1, 1882. ]

paign this fall will he the constantly re-
peated aud intemperate denunciation of the
assessment and collection of taxes. The re-
cent attitude of the Republican press indi-
Gates that they will be made the subject of
large cart Of Republican campaign thunder
So reckless and untru thful have been the
persistent charges against the laws within
the past few months, that full statement Of
their provisions will not be out of place and
will tend to correct wildly erroneous impress
sions which have been formed through these
Misrepresentation.
THE ORIGIN OF THE LAWS.
In the first place a few words as to the
origination of the laws. They were passed
In April, 1878, were directed by necessity
and founded upon inherent justice. Readers
will remember how, under the United States
election laws, the Levy Court commissioners
were indicted and Archibald Given, the col
lector for the Northern district of Whining
ton hundred, was convicted upon the claim
that the right of colored citizens to vote had
been obstructed on account of race, hos
tility and color prejudice, through a neglect
to assess and collect taxes. This brought
on a conflict between the United States
and the State officers who have authority
and discretionary action. The old law for
the collection of taxes, ETC., did not define
the duties OF the Levy Court and the tax col
lectors nor the offense charged as stated
above. 1t left 1t broad and general and
vague and uncertain as TO what would be
violation of their duty. Formed long before
the Congressional laws 1t was intended TO
collect revenue and did not contemplate a
registration law or one under which men
could perform prerequisites to voting. 1t is
principal of law that a man cannot be
charged with an offense unless it is clearly
defined. Unless u man knows his exact
duty he does not know what he is to do.
The law merely said the collector was ap-
pointed to collect taxes and did not say
when or how II provided that the collector
could return as delinquents to the Levy
Court those who did not pay their taxes and
the Levy Court, being satisfied, could allow
him for this and discharge him from
liability for the amount he could not collect,
but names could not be dropped from the
assessment lists unless the owners could not
be found and were presumed TO be dead or
no longer in the State. SO the law as it
stood and the collectors duty be it under
stood were in great degree dis
cretionary and required merely that
the collector should use reasonable
diligence. What reasonable diligence"
was become an open question. When politi-
cal zeal or malice caused member OF the
Levy Court or collector to be indicted and
tried by Republican partisan District At
torney by grand and petit jury selected by
a partisan United States Marshal, the Re
publican politicians had the absolute and
dangerous power to convict at will when
ever they chose to say in their biased
opinion that such officers had not fairly and
with reasonable diligence, according to
| their measure of such fairness or diligence
executed the laws of the State of Delaware
| in regard to the assessment and collection OF
taxes No matter how innocent the accused
might be, no matter how faithfully he had
| sought to execute the old law Republican
was able to secure his conviction. For in
stance, the old law did not state when or
how often collector should call upon
| taxable for his taxes. 1t became question
| whether he should call once or hundred
times In order to discharge his duty In the
eve of the United States election law aud so
save himself from liability to indictment or
| punishment. This gross injustice and great
wrong to the members OF the Levy Court
| and the tax collectors, who were liable to
punishment for violation of duty when they
could not know what the duty was nor when
| they had performed It, needed remedy. To
allow such state of circumstances to con-
| tinue was a monstrous wrong. 1t was to
put an end to this state Of affairs, made pos
/ sible by the partisan election laws of q Re-
publican Congress, that the Delaware Legis-
iature passed the present laws for the as
sessment and collection of taxes In 1873.
THE OBJECT AND PROVISIONS.
Their object was to define with precision
| the exact duties of the assessors, collectors
and Levy Court Commissioners, and to say
what act should be full performance OF
their duties They were passed because
necessity demanded them and justice to the
citizens demanded them. They were passed
TO prevent the citizens of the State from
evadng the payment OF their taxes because
IL had become notorious that the Republican
noliticians would pay the taxes of their
negroes and other delinquent taxables for
the wear of the election, when they were
wanted to vote, but not for the "off year. "
So that two of the prominent reasons which
neeesitated and Justified the passage of
these acts were to save officers embarrass-
ment and injustice, and to secure collection
of State and county revenues.
1t never has been and cannot be success
fully maintained that these acts are not wise
and that their provisions and entire scope are
not as lust, fair and reasonable as would be
possible to be formed to attain the ends NEIL
toned. BY an examination of the law ior
the assessment of taxes 1t will be seen that
it provides for fair assessment of all per
sons who have right to be assessed IL VIII
be seen that fixed and ample time is pro
yIded for the sittings of the assessors, and
LnaL Jllc dIC " give Niue W VIZ
time and place. Further, 1t fixes severe
penalties for any violation of the law, sucf
as refusing to assess any person legally en-
titled to be assessed for assessing any per
son not 30 entitled, etc. Any citizen can Sc
: cure the enforcement Of the law in case o
! | a violation. So it is with the collection law
: II REQUIRES the collector to give public notice
5 stating the precise time and places at which
|, he will set for the purpose of receiving
s taxes, The time is sufiicient-1. consecu-
Il tive months-and the places convenient
4 Thus, therefore, full opportunity is given K
i every taxable to pay his tax and SO qualii,
/; himself as voter, and in this full justice Il
n giyen him. 1t also demands justice from
e him by requiring that he shall be disquali
a fed for 12 months if he fail to pay th'
n taxes. OF this no reasonable man can JUST!
e complain, as 1t is but just to the public, an'
necessary In view of the former plan OF tn
Republican politicians in not paying taAe
If for the "of'' year. The act pro
ID yides that the collectors attandanc
Il at the stated places shall be
full discharge of their duty without furthe
demand. Thus their duty is plainly pre-
scribed, and they are guarded against ma
= licious trouble in the United States Cour'
NJ which is not the case under the old law
W Provisions are also made for the law
.; a. honest enforcement, such as penalties io
Of violation, etc.