The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1890-03-03


er system was not extended to the
whole of Italy till the reign OF Do
cletian.
When the nations began to emerge
from the mists of the dark ages then
we see that taxation is vitality assocl-
ated with constitutional reform and
the liberty C the people. English
history furnishes al instructive Illus
tration of how the two went hand III
hand. The great charter OF hing
John in 1215 recognized the prln-
ciple that no tax could be levied
without law. 1t was re affirmed
many times in subsequent years ana
then for long time, indeed almost
down to the present, the right to
control taxation was used by the
people through the Parliament to
wrest from the monarch one right or
privilege after another till the Brit
ish constitution has at last acquired
its present form.
The right to tax is incident to SOW
ereignty. 1t is a sovereign power.
The assertion of this right with a
denial of the right of representation
caused the American revolution. In
constitutional monarchies the power
is generally reserved to the repre-
sentatives of the people. A fine rec
ognition of this right thus reserved
is illustrated in the Queens speech
on the opening of Parliament. 1t
reads: My Lords and gentlemen,
we have received the most cordial as
surances from other powers of an
earnest desire to maintain the peace
of the world, etc., discussing the
state of foreign relations and pro
ceeds: Gentlemen of the House OF
Commons, the estimates for services
for the year have been made with a
due regard to economy and will re-
quire your consideration, etc"
Then, on resuming internal affairs,
the address proceeds: "My Lords
and gentlemen, etc.
While most people have a fairly
clear perception of what may be a
tax, it is yet not an easy thing to de-
fine. One eminent authority says:
''Taxes are the legally determined
and legally collected contributions
of individuals for meeting the neces-
sary and general expenses Of the
state. No doubt this is what taxes
should be, but unfortunately it varies
widely from what taxes are frequent
~ applied to. Take our own expert
ence. The gross perversion of the
public revenues to the support of a
Board of Genealogy; for the protec-
ton of so-called tombs of chiefs, for
the Kaimiloa and many similar OBJ
jects in recent years illustrates the
exercise Of power undoubtedly pos
sessed by the Legislature to apply
public revenues to objects wholly I'M
necessary and useless, not even
national in character. The right to
use taxes for other than public pur-
poses is expressly recognized in the
constitutions of several of the States
of the American Union, and it is ex-
ercised in others where there is no
provision at all.
Sometimes taxes are imposed for
purely private purposes. When
Luther Martin of Maryland, we'll
known as the Federal Bull Dog. in
1920 was stricken with paralysis
much sympathy was aroused and a
law was passed imposing a tax of
five dollars per annum upon all law
yers in the State for his benefit, which
tax was actually collected for some
time.
Cooley says: "Taxes are the enforced
proportional contribution of persons
and property levied by the authority
of the State for the support of gov
eminent and for all public needs
Leroy Beaulieu las quoted by Ely
| calls taxes, ''the contributions reg
ularly demanded of citizens by the
constituted authorities of the land
for meeting the expenses of govern.
ment." But it is evident that none
of these definitions are sufficient
for the purposes of taxation are very
often not to pay expenses of govern
ment, but for the encouragement OF
trade or to suppress certain lines OF
business. The protective tariff OF
the United States, Germany and
other countries is not for revenue
but for the supposed encourage
ments OF home production the
revenue is merely incidental. In
the United States at least we
see how their statesmen are lab
oring to get rid of the revenue
while retaining the protection. An
illustration of taxation for the dis
couragement of a certain line OF
business is furnished by the tax OF
10 per cent placed upon the issue OF
State and private banks at the time
of the creation of national banks in
the United States which resulted in
wholly suppressing that class OF
banks. This is also illustrative OF
the we'll established doctrine that
the power to tax involves also the
power to destroy. Ely defines tax.
to be zone sided transfers of econo
mic goods for meeting ex
penses of government or for some
other purpose, with the intention
that a common burden shall be main
tanned by common contributions
Walker says: THE aggregate of al
sums collected by the government is
revenue; the system by which il
is collected is called taxation
The Hawaiian constitution says, Art
icle IA Each member of society has
q right to be protected in the enjoy
ment of life, liberty and property
according to law, and therefore be
shall be obliged to contribute hi:
proportional share to the expense OF
this protection" The theory about