The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1907-05-09
A SOLEMN OBLIGATION.

commissioners VIII SCI tIlc value VI
real estate and the Individual tax
payer will set the value on his own
personal property. Each one will be
under oath to fix th4 value of all
property honestly, to the best of his
knowledge and belief.
The obligation which accompanies
the listing and valuing of property
is a solemn one. 1t is a solemn OBJ
legation from two standpoints.
First, it is solemn because it is to be
discharged under oath. And then
it is a solemn OBLIGATION because it
involves an honest attitude towards
the State and ones neighbor. Their
is a certain amount of money neces-
5ary to meet the expenses of State
and county government, and it Is
designed that, inasmuch as every
man in the State is equally protected
under the laws, every mans proper
tv shall bear it's own share in con-
tributing through proper taxation
to this expense. Now, that being
true, it devolves upon the assessors
of real estate to be careful in every
instance to give every mans proper
ty full taxable value and to give no
ones property more than such value.
In a word, it is their bounden duty,
under oath before God and men, tC
treat all citizens equally and fairly
in the valuation Of their property.
If they fail to do this they show
partially and so do a great wrong
to their fellows. If the accessors
are careful to see that one mans
property is given its full value and
are not so careful in the other case
they do a wrong both to persons and
to the State. They make the first
man pay more taxes in proportion
to the value Of his property than the
second man, and also cut the State
out of part Of what it should re
ceive from the value of the property
of the second man.
These observations hold good fol
the Individual citizen in the value 0.
his personal property as they do fol
the assessors in the valuation of rea
estate. In a sense, the Individual i
in more responsible position thar
the assessors of real estate, for il
some cases the assessors may no
be perfectly familiar with the wortl
of certain real estate whose valu
they must determine, while the in
dividual citizen has no reason fo
not knowing the value of the hors
which he drives or plows every day
or the COW from which he receive
milk and butter every day.
We would not be understood, how
ever, in this remark to mean tina
the assessors should not be diligen
in every case to see that they fix tn
proper value on all real estate. The
should invariably be careful in ever
case, and should see that their obi
cations are discharged whether tn
individual citizen puts the prope
value On his personal property or no
We have given expression to tn
foregoing in order to emphasize til
fact that county as full and ric
in resources as Halifax need not /
in debt. This paper has repeated
said, and now reiterates it, tn;
there is no just cause under hig
heaven why Halifax county shou
be in debt. With all property, re
and personal, properly listed al
properly valued and the taxes pro
erly and carefully collected, the
should be plenty of money in tt
county treasury to meet all legit
mate expenses.
We take it that the men who ha'
been appointed as tax assessors f
the county are willing to do JUST
to the State and to every man in Il
county, and we trust that they W
be careful to do so. True PATRIOTS
and a sense of right ought to imp
every individual citizen to do t
same.
We again remind them all that
the listing of taxes a most solen
obligation rests on assessors appoir
ed for the State and also on the