Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-10-15
THO COUNTY sE.s1sg


County Treasurer Dickey Says rmphati-
cniiy There Shall be hut One.
In regard to the resolution passed bv
levy Court at its meeting Tuesday week.
ordering an additional duplicate seal for
the county tax receiver and treasurer.
Mr. Dickey said emphatically Thursday
morning that it is no use ordering it, for
he wont use ii. There is one seal fixed
by law and that is the only one that
will be recognized by him.
why" added Treasurer Dickey, oif
they order another seal what is there to
prevent their ordering half dozen
more. What kind of official business
would that be! There would be no pro-
lection for me at all. This is meddline
with my individual charge of the county
tlnances. ! shall not, as county tax re-
ceiver and treasurer, recognize receipts or
anything else stamped with this second
seal they speak Of"
Ten special seals will be needed for
the collectors Of delinquent taxes on
January 1st, 1892. These seals will be of
a different design from the county col
lector's seal and will be selected by the
Levy Court.
A SERIOUS QUESTION.
There is some question, should
another duplicate seal for the county
treasurer's office be established by the
Levy Court, whether such action would
not neutrali2e, in law, the integrity of
the bond given by the present incum-
bent OF the county treasurer's office.
Mr.. Bradford, attorney for the Levy
Court, was seen on Thursday by a rep
resentative of The GAZETTE, and
question was asked as to the legality or
propriety of the courts resolution of
having two county seals. He was un-
able to speak as he had not seen the
resolution and he had not received any
communication from the Levy Court in
regard to 1t.
The resolution ordering Il second
duplicate seal was introduced by Levy
Courtman Clarke of st. Georges. 1t was
claimed that people in the city cannot
get receipts for taxes stamped while
Treasurer Dickey is out in the hundreds
collecting taxes there. Wherever he
collects Mr. Dlckey of course carries his
seal with him.
County Treasurer Dickey explains
that in doing this he is acting in exact
conformity with the law, (the recent
Five Commissioners BILLY The section
referred to says:
1t shall be his duty to attend either in
person or by deputy, at his office in Will
mington, every day, except Sundays and
legal holidays, and except the days he may
be attending in other hundreds in New
Castle county, for the receipt OF taxes, &c.
His Office hours in Wilmington
shall be from till 8 and from Z till i u.
M, and in the hundreds, exclusive of VIII
mington, he shall attend at least five hours
on every day so appointed.
The law in regard to the outside hun
dreds is that Mr.. Dickey must attend
them in the months of August, Septem-
Der and October.
lie has been sitting in Wilmington
during July from . to and from to s
p. m., and will at the close of the time
for holding the hundreds collections sit
here again during November and De-
cember during the hours above men
toned.
But the trouble is that numbers of
citizens called at the treasurer's Office
with their taxes while Mr.. Dickey has
been out with his seal collecting taxes
in the hundreds.
In order TO accommodate them Mr..
Dickey instructed his deputy 10 make out
the receipts for the taxpayers and that
on his return to Wilmington he would
stamp them with the seal. This was
done for numbers of people and entirely
for their accommodation. The other
day however one Of them went around
town asserting that County Treasuer
Dickcy was doing something illegal in
issuing property tax receipts without
the county seal affixed.
This was the immediate cause OF all
the huDbub. Now, inasmuch as Mr..
Dickcy had done this only 10 accomo.
date this person and Others, he feels very
much chagrned over the way his acts
have been misconstrued. He now saws
he will give out no more temporary re-
ccipts, and everyone for the future must
wait until the legal time comes for the
receiver to sit again in Wilmington.
Quite n number of citizens, heavy
property tax payers, were thoroughly
well satisfied with the accommodating
plan offered by Mr. Dickcy. They had
left their accounts at the office, the re-
bate had been credited and they got
thcir tax receipts sealed and returned to
them when Mr.. Dickey got back.
THE HUNDREDS RECEIPTS.
Although the same seal is used for all
county taxes paid, the receipt form forthe
various hundreds is clearly distinguished
by different serial numbers us in bank
notes. Also each hundred but Will
mington has the name of it in large
clear red ink letters, for instance,
"Whte Clay Greek Hundred stamped
clear across the end of the receipt There
is, therefore, little danger of mixing up
the receipts, or of the holders of Black
bird, ST. Georges or other hundred tax
receipts using them for voting in VII
mington, or vice versa.
THE NEGRO RECEIPTS.
All negro receipts arc of blue paper.
The others are white. The distinction
is made solely because the separate ac-
count for negro tax has to be collected,
and if the receipts were all the same color
this might be overlooked.