TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1893.

Prayer by Rev. Dr. J. B. Newton, of the Monumental Episcopal church.

On motion of Mr. WILLARD, the reading of the Journal was dispensed with.

Leave of absence was granted Mr. GREGORY for two days.

A communication was received from the governor by his secretary informing the House that his Honor Lyman Chalkley, judge of the county court of Alleghany, had tendered his resignation and the same accepted

Which was referred to the Committee for Courts of Justice.
And he also presented a message from the governor, as follows:

To the General Assembly:

GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, RICHMOND, VA., December 12, 1893.

The Constitution of Virginia requires that all the property within the State shall be taxed according to its value. It is conceded that some is taxed above its value, some below it, and much is not taxed at all. I have read the legislation of a number of the States, and the reports of various committees and the opinions of writers of experience and ability on this subject, and after much consideration submit this message to your honorable body.

TAXATION.

There is no subject of legislation more difficult to adjust than taxation. There is no debt due by the citizen which he pays with such reluctance, and there is no duty which he will endeavor to avoid like the payment of taxes to the government. He seems to forget that life would be at the mercy of the murderer, and property would be but a prize to him who would take it, but for the protection which the government affords. Without it life would be so uncertain, and property so insecure, that they would be burdens, not blessings. It is strange that when demand is made for taxes necessary to support the government, which protects both life and property, the citizen will so often place obstructions in the way of their collection, and pay the assessments against him with a protest.

Nothing which a legislative body does is examined so closely and occasions so much criticism as a tax bill. To take what is necessary for the general good, that which belongs to the indi

agreeable feeling that he has been robbed of what belongs to himself, for the benefit of others. This has been a prolific cause of disputes between the people and the government in most of their controversies, and often causes the downfall of parties. It is prudent, therefore, not to lose sight of these facts, but require that the laws which relate to the assessment and collection of taxes should be often reviewed, so that all injustice may be promptly corrected, and no real cause of complaint be allowed to remain uninvestigated.

Our Constitution declares that "all property, both real and personal," shall be taxed in proportion to its value. "No one species of property shall be taxed more than any other species of equal value, and the value shall be ascertained as prescribed by law." (See Constitution of Virginia, article X., section 1.)

HOW IS THE AMOUNT AND VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY TO BE ASCERTAINED?

To ascertain the amount is easy enough; the county records will show the amount of the real estate subject to taxation. To ascertain the value is difficult. The Constitution declares that the value is to be ascertained as prescribed by law. The statute (Code of Virginia, section 44, page 87) declares that the assessor shall "examine, ascertain and assess the cash value thereof." How do you ascertain the cash value? There is no rule laid down for his guidance in this delicate and difficult duty. Each assessor exercises his own judgment as to the proper manner of ascertaining the values in the various counties and cities in the Commonwealth. It must necessarily be filled with errors, with the usual differences of opinion which attend all questions submitted to so many different officials, all at liberty to select their own grounds for the basis of their judgment, and it is, therefore, impossible that the assessment could be uniform and just. One will say that the cash value should be determined by what the property will bring on the market for cash. How could that be an unerring test, when, perhaps, the property has not been sold for many years, and various changes may have taken place, seriously affecting its value? Another may say that a better way would be to ascertain the value according to the income derived. from it. This also would often be inaccurate, because it would necessarily depend on the industry, intelligence and business habits of the owner. The same property under the management of one person might return a handsome remuneration, while in the hands of another bring its owner into debt. It is difficult to prescribe a rule which will always be correct. At the last assessment, in 1890, there was considerable change in the value of real

estate in various. nont

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HOW TO ARREST THIS ALLEGED INACCURACY IN ASSESSMENTS.

There are various suggestions. One is to have a board of equalization to take the values from various parts of the State and change them in such a way as to more fully carry out the provisions of the Constitution, which declares that real estate shall not be assessed at more or less than its fair value. This suggestion carries with it the censure of the county officials, whose duty it is to make the assessments, and implies that assessors from other parts of the State could be better relied on for a true valuation than those immediately interested. This has been tried in New York and several other States. To avoid into give over to the

the State take all other subjects of taxation for the support of the government. Then each county may assess such a value on its real estate as it desires, and thus the State will avoid this difficult and delicate question of equalization.

Another suggestion is for the legislature to assess counties according to population and the value of their property, and let each county raise the money by a tax imposed on that property which can best bear it, and which will be less burdensome to its people. These suggestions show the difficulty which surrounds this entire question. The legislature should consider it deliberately, and adopt a remedy.

TO ASCERTAIN THE AMOUNT OF PERSONAL PROPERTY.

This is also difficult, because it is so easily concealed. It is less difficult, however, to ascertain its value when discovered, than real estate, because it so frequently changes hands by sale or exchange, and this can be used as a fair criterion for the ascertainment of its value.

TO ASCERTAIN THE VALUE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY.

This also puzzles legislators. Different plans have been tried in various States and countries. It would make this message too long for me to discuss all the devices used. It is estimated by those best informed on the subject that on a fair assessment of all the personal property it would be about equal in value to real property. This proposition has been discussed, and the fact admitted by a number of the governors of the State, in their messages, and by many of the best writers upon this subject. One of them says: "It is reasonable to believe, if our present tax laws were reformed and placed on some true and consistent theory, the assessment of personal property will nearly equal the assessment of the realty, and thereby the present unjust burdens on real estate would be greatly reduced."

The assessors in New York recently reported to the legislature that personal property is assessed at an average of less than 10 per cent. of its nominal value, and that the value of personal property in the State of New York equals, if it does not exceed, the value of the real estate.

If the tax valuation of personal property of the whole country were to be consulted for the purpose of ascertaining its financial condition, it would be found to be rapidly rushing towards bankruptcy. From 1870 to 1880 the census returns show that the assessed valuation of the personal property of the United States decreased one million and a quarter, and from 1880 to 1890 the

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