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s-p-a-RS.trio, oolloot r the Ous-'der of thn roc© at the irn side on ; skepticalliving on thn plantation; and liquor is furnished in largo quantities tr, laborers living elsewhere, doiug work on and for the plantation byooa-tract. That ho se'da goods to none for money, and to no one else but his laborers. That he only keeps his establishment open a short time at noon, and again in the evening, and that, it is closed on Huudays. That the furnishing of those supplies In this manner is conducive to the good order and discipline of the plantation. That iu consequence of these and other allegid lone, his manner of disposing of those goods, and his occupation as a sugar-planter, paying yearly his annual ad valorem tax on his real and personal property subject to taxation, he is not includedmorning, i dozen or / (with full r nine wholowover, ation. Just •ae be kept Armed, as . bo to give ouimendeu .oauoy wasWednesdayInger, who mostheeffect, and iut without And such lg Hoard—onr after-sought for i who told , they woro lieh means pay. Just mid hardly i friends luI, when in ig by tele-issiou from 1 not then all right, 9 of things■ it kno .. auded with th the rest,Ival of the» main hall iblyl block-in front ol e was also red to tbe . was fairlyf Kepubli-n the Statei notreally the the .State-i was HossCampbell fash, Hlan-liose front ;on others, 'ashington.in” having us respects liug Board point a fewif fcho Hnr-nd atualga-uty, butJ.fact, and 3 presenceo get rid ofme parti conversation, nmmunica-ikard, Gov-attend, in Burgoyne’a ild go. Ho dngton be-ion of Oon-, Badger ifUdger had foro, as far io inquiries idition. iring drafts o carry out Bherman's r the Oue-) think thate all of theaat cannot le trouble idv dtfficul-□8, and will ible. mored that lioan' party he prolimi-OmmiBBion. manager of n, it would 8 and Keu--ds, it would r. Bhermau nded action red that he iana Bepub-pite. The: icnlewis anlt; ep them iir twosentation i they have id give both lat they hadTalk iproperty snojeoi h inxanon, os is not inciuiu oamong those persons pursuing any taxed trade, profession or occupation. That if ihero is such a law, It is unconstitutional, and is in violation of his natnral liberty and various fnndamsDtal rights, and in in opposition to the interest of the parish and Htatr. * * * * *This is a controversy between a State and a Citizen of another Htaie.Mr. Luliug being a oiUzen of another State, and having no other than a proporty qualification, according to the spirit of article 121 or the constitution of this State, we do not think it is competent for the court to accept him as au adviser as to what is for ths interost of the parish and State. As to Mr. Luiing’s occupation as a planter and taxpayer, and his relation to those with whom ho barters or exchanges his merchandise by retail for labor, his claim for exemption from the payment of licenses is refuted by aot No. 60 of this State, approved September 17,1606.The ohaugos of their relations to society of those who, in 1866, were then termed freed men, rendered the repeal of the ast approved Msroh 21,1660, a necessary sequence, and unless those who were then simply freedmen, with no status In soolety, and who are now free and independent citizens, are again remanded back to a state simply exempt troin sale, as involuntary laborers, by the legislative power, it swims there is no necessity for any nullification of the law approved March 21, 1866. That Mr. Luliug disposes of his goods iu small quantities, or by retail only, and at stated hours, is a matter of oon-:iiieuco for himself, and be is bound by no law tbe matter so long as ho pays bla Hocuses; nor .n he evade any law by establishing a custom of any sort iu the matter. He can keep open an hour a day, or the whole time authorized by municipal regulations, as best suits himself; nor isIJK'I|1*1 rVglliBIIUIlB, Wf mWVBHIW*he iu any manner bound to sell to any......except his laborers, and then only to the amount of their wages, so long as his regulations are in eompliauee with law, which makes no distinction or discrimination on account of race or color. Article 18, constitution of tho Btato,Mr. Luliug lu no sense boars the relation to his laborers as a father or husband does to his family, no more than a cotton planter, brick-maker, etc. As a general thing, all customers of retail stores are consumers, and whenever Mr. Luliug passes an article over his counter to his laborer, at a fixed price, whioh has in advance boon paid for in labor, ho stands then iu thn same relation to his laborer, only perhaps hotter because he lias his pay in advance, than any retail dealer lu goods does to any of his customers. As to his selling at cost prices and advancing the welfare of the laborers, it is only necessary to romaik tbat the law, the constitution and the great and grand principles upon which they are fouuded expect every person to take care of his own interest first in preference to that of others. Pope says: Self-love, the spriDg of motion, acts the soul, Besson'*, comparing balance, rules the whole— That Bt**» immediate good by present souse; Beasoii, the future and the oonsequence.While living and after death a grateful and generous people will over cherish his memory for acts of kindness, but this court is not authorized to exempt linn from the payment or bis licenses, for liin benevolent intentions and professions towards his laborers.As to tho tax collector’s prying into Mr. Ln-liog'e business to'soo whether ho keeps a store, and if so to compel him to pay bis licenses, is no moro meddling with his buoiuess thau the inquiry of the assessor in regard to tho amount and value of his real and personal proporty subject to taxation, so as to obtain equal and uniform taxation. As a good citizen, when interrogated m tho matter, Mr. Luliug is bound to auswer correctly, or he is derelict in the du y he owes to tho government. It is more boneficial to property holders and persons pursuing taxed occupations to furnish this information, than it is to tho Nlate, for this is nect-ssary to secure uniform taxation. If this is .termed interference, it is warranted by law, and whenever a warrant is issued upon probable oanae, either iu criminal or civil matters, the conrso is deemed noither oppressive nor unjust, nor is it in violation of auy legal, constitutionnal or natural right; nor is the payment of licenses by Mr. Luliug in opposition to any fundamental principle of our government. Taxation, without representation by the people, not tho property holders alone or rulers, was the battle-cry in the thirteenth ceu-tury against King John, which secured the “magna oharta,” and again repeated by the oolonlcs in 177C.The objeot of this mode i i to make every citizen bear equally the harden of taxatiou- If there were uo taxes to be collected, all could boy goods cheaper. Tne Geueral Assembly may levy income tax upon all persons pursuing any oc pation, trade or calling; ana all such persons shall obtain a license as provided by law. All tax income shall be pro rota on the amount of income or business done. * ' * Art.118, eonetitutioQ.The effects of Instruments arc governed by the usages of the places where there are executed. (0. C. 16.) The words of a law aro gonerally to be understood in the most usual signification, without attending so much to the nicetieB of grammar rules m to be geueral and popular in use of words. Occupation may mean that whioh engages the time and attention of a person, without any reference to the time being continuous. Ileiice the power of the Gtneral Assembly may, by the use of this word, bo said to bo unlimited, and it is limited only in a directory manner, by the use of the words trade or calling following the word occupation. Trade may, among other things, mean exchange of commodities,Col. Wedes who hi Home, to the provisi Mayor Iifefngt lia mo Ca pi report Asylnr bnndnall tha a partfrom t log l*N Manni:HftnaUt the thi with L gronncin the robbr tho gnWheat milled tion olwith t Metros him, a FishorAdmin have tl Fisherfor the' ’ i • ■,fixed ato Mr.haveWheatMr. Fiknowkhim tFisherMr.any ofbeside liny no the hr.Adrr the aping tlyearsis clcity f amourbnildi tbe lo: larger tNot'bnildi;structThenings, moan exchange y in ing bought and sold.When the law is express uo man or set of men oan create a custom for their own bonoflt and convenience and give to that custom a force paramount to law. Other systems of'jurisprudence thau our own may be referred to ftr Hgnt, when the great and leading principles of equity are in question, in which our own is silent. Hut when onr own code has furnished a role it is imperative, even though it be shown to be defective. It is the occupation of distributing in various ways tho necessities and luxuries required by the people of the State that the legislative power of the State, authorized by the constitution of this State and the United States, that is taxed for the support of the State and parochial governments.AX INTERRMTDSQ CASE.Planter* Must Pay Licenses For Stores Opened on Tlielr Places.Judge Harper, of Aho Farish Court of St. Charles, recently had before him a case, of much interest to our planters ae well aa to the general reading public. Mr. F. A. Luling, a planter in that parish, kept upon his plantation a store from which his bands made their purchases. He was sued by Mr. B. 8. Labranchc, State and parish tax collector, for license for this store, and ho re-. siated it by injunction. The case came up and . was abiy argued on both sides, after which Judge , Harper rendered his decision, the memorandum of which judgment we give below. J. D. Augustin, Esq., represented plaintiff, and Juiien Michel, Eiq., and N. St. Martin, pariah and district attorney pro tem., f.T defendant.F. A. Luling, a citizen of Alabama, brings 'suit ! to enjoin the tax collector, forbidding him to enforce the collection of State and pariah licenses, on tbe grouud that he only furnishes his laborers with such provisions, clothing and med cine aa they need or call for, up to the amount of wages 1 earned—it being optional with his laborers to , take either money or supplies; including honors, from a dime’s worth up to a bottiefu , to laborerscopt those raised or manufactured, and which Mr. Luling is resisting on the plea of (recite the allegations of the petition.)None of which reasons authorizes the tax collector or this court to exempt him from paying bis license tax, but on the contrary the court believes that the law has been expressly framed auu carefully worded, so as to compel him and all others, whatever other occupation, trade or profession they may pursue, to pay thtir licenses as retail merchants. Articles of clothing or other merchandise which he may buy, and sell exclusively to tho freedmen or other employes, No. 123, approved March 21,1866, that tho selling or baiter of liquor and merchandise to laborers, is not a part of the occupation of a sugar planter, ie too apparent to be entitled to serious argument. The terms grocery, coffee-house, bar-room, grog shop, beer saloons, gardens, cabarets, merchants, store keepers, stores, commissary supplies, this suit seems to be asking of thiH court violation of plaiu law under the plea of necessity. 1 An., 115,Because Mr. LuliDg chooses to limit this taxed occupation so aa to dispose of goods ouly to his laborers for their labor and limited to the amount of their labor, Mr. Luling seems to have conceived the notion that, if he finds it to be bis interest to dispose of groceries and merchandise to only a class of people, and tbat it be in hie interest to refuse to dispose of goods to another class, he is not liable to pay a license ; then taxation for him is neither equal nor uniform, and tho United States nor the laws of this 8taio infer such exception only ao far as relaxes to race or color. There must be manifest violation of the constitution, and without any doubt before it will be bo declared. Must not upon slight implication a vague conjecture be, etc.is stil Police irator accori houseThehousethe oday fblack charit manu Tbat ing tlfor tl abov.-favorting tundoi charti viator lie Bt Ref that i Caffri8nd 1From the allegation and ovidenoe it would appear that Mr. Luling advocates a seigniorial system in his avocation as a sugar planter, ao as to encore segregation. Bat the court does not iu the least propose to interfere with Mr. Luting's belief, ao long as he does not make the Stale and panrh pay for his doctrine* by relieving him lrorn naymg his legal contribution into the pnb-lic coffers, uuuer tho plea of benefiting his labor -It ib therefore ordfred, adjudged and decreed that th»-re be judgment in favor of defendant, dissolving the injunction issued by plaintiff, withole b of Mi lv fo
Newspaper Details
The New Orleans Daily Democrat
New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Thu, Sep 06, 1877
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Jeffrey A.
USA 03 Jan 2024
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