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10
of" the leg-isktlon from 1715 to 1777, wiih the exception of fhe SlatiU^
of LiraitaMott, t'liG Refristry Acts, and a lojv others, might with propriety
be rxpuns^ed from our Code, as siirphisao-e. Many snbseqnent Acts, and
some of tiiem connected with the criminal law, should share a similar
fate, it is a capital lelouy, for instance, to counterfeit the notes of the
j3ank of North America, which have no circulation within this State
—
Various laws encumber the pages of the revisal, providing- for the punish-ment
of counterfeiting- our revolutionary bills of credit, the necessity for
which ceased years since with the existence of the bills themselves. An
antiquary would at present be much more disposed to trace out theii'^
dmilitude than a counterfeiter.
Is it not strange, that our Kevisal should exhibit to the citizen, various
e'nactments to punish offences which cannot be committed, and conceal
from his view inanmerable penalties attaclied to actions, Vv^hich ho does
not know to be wrong? It is submitted to your wisdom to determiue
whether a legal system so perplexed, intricate and uncertain, is suited to^
the g:enius ofour institutions, and the character of our citizens.
The Public Treasurer in his last annual Report, called the attention of
the Legislature to the fact, that for several years past the disbursements
at the Treasury, had exceeded the revenue, and suggested that a revision
0»f the laws regulating the assessmeut of lands, would probably have the
cfiect of supplying the deficieiicy. (By the law as it now stands, the tax
paid upon real estate, depends quite as imich upon the integrity of
the citizen as the value ot his property, the greatest burthen is of coutse
imposed upon the most meritorious portion of the community, and the
State is deprived of one third ot the revemie which should accrue from
(his source>\ It seems to me that the whole series of legislation upon the
subject oftevenue, requires revision and amendment. There is perhaps
no tax which can be devised less equal in its operation, than a poll tax,
and none more so than an income tax. By our system more than a
third of our entn-e revemie is derived horn the former, while no supplies
are drawn from the latter source. Real estate contributes to the support
of the Government, an amount nearly equal to the poll tax, while a com-paratively
smalt sum is levied upoii cvei-y other species of property and
none upon monied capital. •
.IfVf'c examine another branch of the system^ the inequality is still
more glaring. Three fourths of the taxes paid by the people of this
State, are imposetl by the County Courts, and so far as my intormatiou .
extends, the burthen is sustained exclusively by the polls and bv real es-tate
Why should this radical difference exist between the system of
State and county taxation? Under the former the capitation levy is the-same
in amount with that paid by the three hundred dollars value in
land, under the latter a different rule exists in practice in almost every
; county. The result is that nothing hke equality or uniformity can be
said to prevail in the arrangement of our tiscal concerns.
1^ It IS ar fuudamejita! principle of the Government "that the people ought
, not to be taxed without the consent of themselves or their representatives
1 in General Asssembl'/ freely given." A proper i^egard fortius Article of
the Declaration ol Rights may prompt the enquiry, whether the virtual-
Surrender by the Legislatarcj to the Justices of the Countj Courts at
Object Description
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| Title | Page 214 |
| Full Text | 10 of" the leg-isktlon from 1715 to 1777, wiih the exception of fhe SlatiU^ of LiraitaMott, t'liG Refristry Acts, and a lojv others, might with propriety be rxpuns^ed from our Code, as siirphisao-e. Many snbseqnent Acts, and some of tiiem connected with the criminal law, should share a similar fate, it is a capital lelouy, for instance, to counterfeit the notes of the j3ank of North America, which have no circulation within this State — Various laws encumber the pages of the revisal, providing- for the punish-ment of counterfeiting- our revolutionary bills of credit, the necessity for which ceased years since with the existence of the bills themselves. An antiquary would at present be much more disposed to trace out theii'^ dmilitude than a counterfeiter. Is it not strange, that our Kevisal should exhibit to the citizen, various e'nactments to punish offences which cannot be committed, and conceal from his view inanmerable penalties attaclied to actions, Vv^hich ho does not know to be wrong? It is submitted to your wisdom to determiue whether a legal system so perplexed, intricate and uncertain, is suited to^ the g:enius ofour institutions, and the character of our citizens. The Public Treasurer in his last annual Report, called the attention of the Legislature to the fact, that for several years past the disbursements at the Treasury, had exceeded the revenue, and suggested that a revision 0»f the laws regulating the assessmeut of lands, would probably have the cfiect of supplying the deficieiicy. (By the law as it now stands, the tax paid upon real estate, depends quite as imich upon the integrity of the citizen as the value ot his property, the greatest burthen is of coutse imposed upon the most meritorious portion of the community, and the State is deprived of one third ot the revemie which should accrue from (his source>\ It seems to me that the whole series of legislation upon the subject oftevenue, requires revision and amendment. There is perhaps no tax which can be devised less equal in its operation, than a poll tax, and none more so than an income tax. By our system more than a third of our entn-e revemie is derived horn the former, while no supplies are drawn from the latter source. Real estate contributes to the support of the Government, an amount nearly equal to the poll tax, while a com-paratively smalt sum is levied upoii cvei-y other species of property and none upon monied capital. • .IfVf'c examine another branch of the system^ the inequality is still more glaring. Three fourths of the taxes paid by the people of this State, are imposetl by the County Courts, and so far as my intormatiou . extends, the burthen is sustained exclusively by the polls and bv real es-tate Why should this radical difference exist between the system of State and county taxation? Under the former the capitation levy is the-same in amount with that paid by the three hundred dollars value in land, under the latter a different rule exists in practice in almost every ; county. The result is that nothing hke equality or uniformity can be said to prevail in the arrangement of our tiscal concerns. 1^ It IS ar fuudamejita! principle of the Government "that the people ought , not to be taxed without the consent of themselves or their representatives 1 in General Asssembl'/ freely given." A proper i^egard fortius Article of the Declaration ol Rights may prompt the enquiry, whether the virtual- Surrender by the Legislatarcj to the Justices of the Countj Courts at |
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