Birmingham state herald., 1897-05-25
EXAMINER REEVES.


 EXAMINER REEVES.
 The $2. 900 reported as quot-d by .Spe- ciaL" against me on inzovencies, and Is fully explained in MT Reeves report. which Special might have copied had he been as zealous to do me justice as to hold me up in his tri-fold publica ton fo the criticism Of the people of the state. All assessments are charged against the tax collector, insolvent as well as solvent. When the collector submits his eollec- tion5 he Is given until the following May to collect whas appears under the head of insolvent collections, and it was pend ing the collection of these fnsolvencies that Mir. Reeves made his report, and the same was as soon thereafter as could be made practicable coflec, ed and paid into the treasury (page 1472). I quote from MT. Reeves report, as follows: The explanation made to me of these errors is as follows: That the clerks, In the prep aration of the errors and insolvent hs;s for said years, gave credit to the collector for certain abatements made by the board of equaliza ton. which the assessor failed to mark after hem the letters B. E. In red ink, that is, board of equalization, which Is the usual custom, to distinguish them from any aba tements made during the collecting year by the board of reve- nue commissioners. The said aba, ement by the board of equalization, having been allowed, that Is, deducted before the book of assessments was turned over to the collector and the 5rror committed by the clerks in making said lis: was in allowing the collector credits the second time for ? said amounts"
 | MT. Reeves also reported that he found clerical errors in one instance in my fa- aggr gating in all the voluminous books in figures of the tax colleio. OTIS office an aggregate sum of less than $500.
 E MY BOND.
 T have never ttered "a word of csnsure of the governor nor any other state off, < tcer in con Ii ction with my bond, as tax collector of Mobile county. By law the auditer- fixes the amount of my bond and the probate judg7 approves it. Soon after my late. election, the auditor fixed my bond at s100,00 which I promptly filled, and .he jCdg= of probate approved it.. Tho grand jury, which sat in Novem- Der, 1S96 ard to whom, l am informed, but have Tlo personal knowledge, many anony moIS lstters were written on the subject, recommends d that I file an addf- ticenal security of S50,00o. Whether ehe ,gEaud jury meant for me to file an addi- tional bond of $50,000, and thus make my ? bond l$150 GOO Che amount of the bond be- ing fixed by the auditor and not the gHarld jury), or whether .fla grand jury Tne2Ht. for me to strengthen the original bond by $50,000 additional security, .neyer knew, but 1 werJs at once among my ,friensdg and filed the names of good bondsmen for S50,000 in addition to my original S16o000 bond. The additional bo1rfs ~wsre approved by fhe probate judge as the law requires, when I w,l.s subsequently. no tified that in the opinica of grthe attorney general they were not Valid bc1fGsso I am not lawyer and this | involve purely question of law. I re- ferred it 70 counsel, the ma tier was duly Submitted to the proba te judge, who in eftsct held that his act in approving my hotld was a Judicial act on his part and was alone the subject of review by an appellate cour., and that he was pOwer- less as a judge to obey the mandate of the attorney general, or any other state ofifcers and thus the matter stlnG-s
 have o.l,1 persecution" from, the hards of no one. I have always tried to obey the laws ,cf my country to the best of my ability ar1d accord to others a like purPc9a- have oerIe rtothing said noth- ing. to' jt11t1sy the thresfold attack made on my official reC1rd. It is a record in which I f,sl a just prida, ard, while do not question the motives of these who have SO ,needles'sly brought me in such pf7efirIfs9ce, T am ready to abide thesver- diot cf the people. E.B. LOTT. {s
 The following was received tc1 11te' to be incorporated in the body of the above article. It is from Hc-1e J. Nj. Carmichael Jtadsis,of the Third judicial circuit of Ala bama:
 asgg..s.ss7tst tsyvss7 Ozark, Ala, May 21, 1897.
 Dear Sir-I do not remember what I said a t the time the compromise with you was made. butt I may say row that !, GId not think then and do not think now thH you converted the states funds to your own use, but I thought your troubles due to over-indulgenca of the tax payers, and negligence in the discharge of your dutfsts Yours respectfully, A lSlgned9 J. M. CARMICHAEL.