Year: 1876

| There are some SIX Weeks yet to intervene
| before the meeting Of the General Assembly
| and there are many questions Of public inter
est demanding remedial legislation for this
city which ought to be considered, and upor
| which there should be some preparatory con
certed action. We suppose that the twenty
eight Senators and Representatives, from this
county are all willing to unite upon any
| measure which shall be devised and agreed
| upon to relieve the City Government Of its
financial embarrassments. The great embar-
rass.nent Of the city, financially, is the fail


ure Of revenue to meet the current expeudi-


tures, which By law always precede the


collection Of the tax levied to defray them.


The appropriations were lawfully made for


lawful purposes; the tax WAS levied in accord


ance with existing laws; but body Of citi-


zens fled objections, not to the lawfulness


of the tux, nor to the purposes for which


the tax was levied, but to the manner and


form in which it Was undertaken to collect


the tar. Under this objection, taxes amount


ing to nearly $4,000, 600 failed to be COL


lected


Under the pecu1iarity of the Revenue act


of the State there is no provision Of law


under which this tax can now be collected.


The law does not assume the possibility Of d


failure to collect the city revenue, but tue


fact remains nevertheless that the city law


fully anticipated the collection of all this


revenue by making its expenditures, and yet


is unable, for want of legal authority, to en-


force its payment.


The city is under a most remarkable legal


duress. 1t is, BY the State Constitution and


Laws, compelled to levy annually a tax to
meet the interest on the city debt and to


meet all its current expenses. It is limited


by law in its tax-1evy to the sum of the an
nual appropriations already made. Of
necessity it must appropriate and must ex-
pend, before it can levy or colle,cs the ta1
necessary to cover the appropriations After
it has thus appropriated and expended the
amount of its appropriations, as required by
law. the Courts Of the State have interposed.
and arrested the collection Of the revenue =:
this arrest is not made because Of any ile-
gality in the amount or object of the tax,
nor upon any allegation Of fraud, corruption,
or unfairness, nor because the tax was not
honestly and equitably due by the property
On which it was levied, but because there
was defect, not going to the merits of the
tax, in the legal form Of the proceedings to
collect. The effect Of this judicial interposi-
ton has been to leave the city with over two
millions OF dollars expended under the COM
pulsory requirements Of Inv, aud without
that much revenue with which to pay this
two millions Of dollars, and without any
legal power to proceed in any way to collect
that sum Of taxes remaining due and unpaid. |
Nor does the embarrassment stop there. The
eity is restrained by law from borrowing the ]
money to covert the deficit. The deficit itself !
IS in one sense pronounced Illegal, and its !
payment is absolutely prohibited except out
If The proceeds Of this very tax which the
Courts say cannot be compnlsorily collected,
md which, in the absence of any law, can |
'nly be collected By the voluntary action Of
he delinquent taxpayers.


For this extraordinary condition of affairs
here is no remedy save through an amend
nent to the General Revenue law supplying
he omission and giving the means for en-
Of taxes, the collection Of which
y any present legal means has been de-
eated- Various forms Of legislation neces-
ary to meet this end have been suggested. !
nd the ablest and most experienced revenue
awyers OF the State hare carefully eonsid-