The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-07-26

Will discover dL OuCt IIlo uupOoolDllI-
ty of keeping a sufficient militia
ry force about your pastures to pro-
tect your property, except when
it is known that foray is on foot.
Hence the necessity of prompt and
vigorous action on the part of the
people and officers to ascertain who
the thieves and murderers are. Troops
are in demand from many parts OF the
state, and l can only use the force
placed at my command.
/ am, gentlemen,
Very respectfully,
JOHN IRELAND,
Governor.
Secretary Kendall, of Gov. Ireland's
office, has prepared for shipping, and
will send to London, a horned frog of
Texas, as a curiosity to the people of
England.
CONTROLLERS DEPARTMENT.
Only about $1,000 were ordered paid
Tuesday into the state treasury.
Thirty pension warrants were or
dered paid Monday and seven Tues
day, all for $112.50 each.
The following collectors settled
balances due on their collections: NJ.
II. Corker. of Burnet; w. H. Smith,
of Sabine; w. Ii. Lennon, of Tay-
lor, and T. S. McWade, Of Waller
county.
The comptroller went to Hender-
son, in Rusk county, to attend court
Tuesday.
The assessment of Kinney county,
the first of the new assessment, came
on Tuesday. The values are almost
double.
LAND DEBT.
The surveyor of Ell Paso county
has applied to Commissioner Walsh
for instructions as to filing on lOca-
lions where minerals may be discov-
cred, whether he can make the sur
veys for the parties. etc. The titles
have to be made through the land
office, but the school land board have
charge of the disposition and lease OF
the minerals.
The commissioner has number of
applications for field notes certificates
from Greer county.
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
Secretary Baker, of the board of ed
ucatiOn, informs us that the eXamina-
tions of the Sam Houston normal in
stitute will take place Wednesday
25th; and on Thursday the examina-
ton of applicants from Texas for the
Nashville Normal school will take
place at the graded school building in
Austin.
The school fund apportionment for
the state will be made on the first of
August.
RAILROAD TAXATION.
Having given the opinion of Attor-
ney General Templeton on this SUBJ
ject, we take the following from pre-
vious correspondence in the comp
troller's office touching the same
question: The extract is from a letter
dated October 4, 1880, addressed to
Mr.. j. @. Parkerson, agent of the
Louisiana Western Extension rail-
road company, by Col. parden, who
was then comptroller, after consulta-
ton with the then attorney general,
Geo. Mccormick:
Sir-The assessment of the bridge
over the Sabine river, valued at
$500, should be stricken out. Bridges,
tunnels, ETC., cannot he assessed and
valued at their cost of construction
when held and opel ated as part of
the main line by a RAILROAD company.
The superstructure is all that can be
assessed, and this, it appears, was as
sessed in the item of $50 miles main
track.
The rule as to assessment of rolling
stock OF railroads that extend into
this state from another state is, that
the whole number of miles
of the entire road in and
out of the state should be
considered, and the rolling stock in
the state should be valued in pro-
portion to the number of miles of
FoadbeG in this state.
The material on the ground to be
used in the construction Of the road
should not be assessed for taxation.
1t is only when the ties, rails. etc., are
down as the track, and form the
sNperstructure, that they become
taxable,
By reference to section of an act
of March 22, 1879, defining the duties
of commissioners courts when acting
as board of equalization. page A OF
the general laws of the sixteenth
legislature, you will find said court
can correct the assessment at any
time before the payment of the tax
You should make application to that
body, and the relief will no doubt be
granted The comptroller cannot
change the assessment, but gives adj
vice and opinions as to the construc-
ton of the laws relating to taxation. /
On the 22d of May last, a letter was
addressed to Tax Collector Norwood,
of Mcclellan county, instructing him
as follows: "The roadbed of a rail-
road should be assessed as land and i
valued as other lands adjacent there
to, and should not be valued at the
cost of construction. There
is nothing in the tax laws which To-
'quires a railroad company to render
culverts, bridges, trestle-work, en-
bankments, etc, and it would not, in
the opinion of this department. be
just to require railroad corporation
to render the roadbed for taxation at
the cost of construction, as the
amount paid for large entertainments,
tunnels, cuts, ETC., do not actually en-
nance the value of the land, but on
the contrary, really renders that por-
tlon of the road so worked on, less
profitable than other portions of the
road which do not require such out
lay of money for grading, ETC."
This information is important for
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