The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1908-07-21

Injecting Ol the City eAeCutiNc COhihit-
tee a few days ago, when several
members of Hattiesburg bar gave their
opinions as to whether a person not
assessed with poll tax was delin-
quent and therefore not a qualified
elector Inasmuch as this is ques-
ton of public interest, and the SUI
preme court of this state has not
passed upon this identical question,
ask permission to state as briefly as
possible my opinion upon this much
discussed question.
Section 243, Constitution of 1890,
provides that a uniform poll tax of
two dollars, is hereby imposed on
every male inhabitant of this state
between the ages of twenty-one and
sixty years." etc.
The words thereby imposed" evil
IDENTIFY mean that the tax is laid or
levied if you will, by the Constitution
itself, upon every male inhabitant of
this state between the ages of twenty
one and sixty years, and liability for
this tax or debt does not in any man.
ner depend upon being assessed by the
assessor.
!. 1t is laid or imposed upon all of
Certain class and the law specifies
the class and fixes the amount of the
tax, and the tax payer knows just as
well that he owes the tax before as
after the assessment.
1t is true that the legislature has
provided a scheme for assessing poll
taxes, and it is a convenient method
adopted for the collection of the poll
tax; but the same may be said of any
merchant who keeps a set of books
by which he preserves the names Of
those who have become indebted to
him.
III | purchase barrel of -four from
"a" on credit, for which | agree to
pay 50, the moment this transaction is
closed and the goods delivered to me
| owe the merchant IS; but in the hur-
ry and confusion the merchant or clerk
forgets to charge me on his books
(assess mel with the goods purchased,
and therefore according to some of
the opinions do not owe "a" anything
because he forgot to assess me on his
books with the amount of my pur-
| chase
There is nothing in section 241,
Constitution, which by any fair, or rea-
sonable construction, holds that it is
necessary to be legally assessed with
a poll tax before one can become de-
linquent and therefore disqualified as
an elector. 1t is true that by said
section, the party otherwise qualified
Who has paid on or before the first
day of February of the year in which
he shall offer to vote, all taxes which
may have been legally required of
him, and which he has had an oppor-
tunity of paying according to law, for
the two preceding years, and who
shall produce to the officers holding
the election. satisfactory evidence that
he has paid said taxes, is declared to
be a qualified elector.
Now the constitution by its terms,
has legally required the payment G..
this poll tax, and no amount of assess
ments and demands for payment by
the assessor and tax collector. can add
any additional force to the obligation
to pay the tax, and the citizen. who
owes the state the poll tax certainly
has IAN opportunity of paying the
same according to law" at any time
between the first day of October and
the first day of February, of the ifs
| cal year.
i l think that the tax payer has an
opportunity of paying his taxes Cor al
least his poll taxi according to, law
when the>assessment roll is placed il
the hands of the tax collector. All
the good citizen need to know is tina
| owe the state SO for poll tax. and tn,
tax collector is now collecting taxes, h,
can walk up to him and offer to pay hi
poll tax, and If Ibis name is not writ
ten there" the collector will yer,
quickly write it in the book in the wa,
: OF an additional assessment, received
the two dollars and give him a re
ceipt for same, his debt to the stat,
would then be discharged, and If other
wise qualified, ne would thereby be
come qualified elector.
In Cooley on Taxation. 1852 and 35s
it is held that no assessment is re
quired when the statute itself pre-
) scribes the amount to be paid, and thi
can be recovered by suit"
See also to the same effect. Unite
States VS.. Halloran, IA Batch. 1: Kin