Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1900-03-02
TO TAX PATENTED MINES
Opinion Of County Attorney
Scales to Assessor
White.

Grangeville, Ida, Feb. 26, 1900. '
FRED WHITE ESQ.
Assessor Of Idaho county: :
SIR-In reply to your request for !
my written opinion, as to whether
patented mining ground, is subject :
to taxation, l beg leave to say: ,
That the statutes of Idaho, !
found in the 1899 session laws at ,
page 900, say, "the following
property is exempt from taxation.
i = Eleventh, mining claims;
4 y and upon the construction
of the words "mining claims"
depends the answer to your
question.
There are different kinds OF
"claims" to public lands such as
Ginning claims, ''possessory
claims etc. in Bauman VS.. Torr,
3 Iowa, 257, the Supreme court
says, "When used in connection
with public lands, "claims" has a
known Specification. 1t refers to
the settlers right or improvement
on tract of land, the fee Of which
is in the governments"
In Copp's United States mineral
lands GLOSSARY ''claim" is defined
to be; on the Pacific coast, "the
portion of mining ground held
under the federal and local laws
by one claimant or association, by
virtue of one location and record;
In Morrison on Mining Law"
"claim" is defined to be GLOSSARY
ga location. The amount of
ground which may be located by
single person or associations" In
Forbes VS. Gracey, Z. S. Supreme
Court Reports "a this language is
used. "The use of the words
"mines or mining claims" is
J evidently intended to distinguish
between the cases in which the
miner is the owner Of the soil, and
therefore has perfect title to the
mine, and those in which the miner
, does not have title to the soil, but
: works the mine under what is well
known in the mining districts, and
what is, as we have said recog-
nized by the act of congress, as a
mining claim. In the first case,
} the statute makes the tax a lien
on the mine, because the title to
the mine is in the person who
: owes and should pay the tax. In
: the other, the tax is lien only on
. the claim of a miner; that is on
his possessory right to explore and
D work the mine under the existing
laws and regulations on the
+ subject"
In Waller VS.. Hughes, treasurer,
e etc. 11th. Pacific page l22, ''min-
g ing claim" in the Arizona statute
is defined to be unpatented mining
q ground, and i'll the connection in
which the term is used in our
+. statute, numerous decisions OF
" California seem to treat it as
applying only to unpatented
q ground; see Cal. &C, page 1eS'
n Cooley, Taxation JAG says "tht
intention to exempt must in all
s cases be expressed in clear anc
n unambiguous terms. Taxation is
d the rule, exemption is the exception
All exemptions are to be strictl. .
I construed"
:, In Railroad Co. VS.. Dennis III
, Z. S. 665, in speaking of taxation
a. and the surrender thereof, th'
"a court says, cit has been said tha
8 neither the right Of taxation, no.
r any other power of sovereignty, vii
IN be held by this court to have beer
o. surrendered, unless such surrende
es is expressed in terms too plain t
re be mistaken; that exemption iron
taxation should never be assume
unless the language used is to
o, clear to admit of doubt; tina
of nothing can be taken against tn
state by presumption or inference
The surrender when claimed, mu!
10. be shown by clear unambiguou
OF language which will admit OF II
reasonable construction consisteI
Of with the reservation of the powe
M If a doubt arise as to the intent
20 the legislature, that doubt must
s solved in favor of the state, etc,
To the same effect are many decl
ions of California and other state
ID, In the connection in which t
ev. term "mining claim is used
Id our statute, it seems clear that t
er, legislature intended it to app
simply to unpatented mini
, oe ground; and with respect to
ao " eminent authority, the Attorn
,nL General of the State, who l
, nas informed holds the contrary vie
~ l am forced to the conclusion a
SO advise you, that paten
her mining ground, should be asses
No. for taxation, and that it is "
enc duty SO to do.
'nry Respectfully submitted
W. n. SCALES
County Attorn