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T, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBERliving on the plantation; and liquor is furnished In I urge qnaadtiGB tr, laborers living elsewnero, doing work on sod for the plantation by ooo-tract. That hosed* goods to none for money, and to no one else but hia laborers. That he only keeps hia establishment npen a abort timo at noon, and again in the evening, and that it is cloned on Huudnys. That the famishing of those supplies In this manner ia conducive to the good order and discipline of the plantation. That in consequence of those and other allegations, hia manner of disposing of thoae goods, and hia occupation aa a sugai-planter, paying yearly hia annual ad valorem tax on hia real and personal property subject to taxation, he ia not included among those persona pursuing any taxed trade, profession or occupation. That If there ia such a law, it ia unconstitutional, and la in violation of his natnral liberty and various fnndamenta! rights, and is in opposition to the in rarest of the parish aud btatr. * * * * *This is a controversy between a BUte and a citizen of another Htaie.Mr. Luling being a oilizen of another Ntate, and having no other than a property qualification, according to (he spirit of article 121 or the constitution of this Htate, we do not think it is competent for the court to accopt him as an adviser as to what ia for the interest of the parish and Ktate. Aa to Mr. Lining's occupation as a planter and taxpayer, and his relation to those with whom ho barters or exchanges his merchandise by retail for labor, hiB claim for exemption from the payment of 11 cod bps ia refuted bv aot No. 8tf of this Htate, approved September 17,18(18.The changes of their relations to society of those who, in I860, were then termed freed men, rendered the repeal of the a«t approved Maroh 21, I860, a necessary sequence, and unices thoae who were then simply freedmen, with no status In sooiely, aud who are now free and independent citizens, are again remanded back to a slate simply exempt trotn Bale, as involuntary laborers, by the legislative power, it swims them ia no necessity for any ouilidcation of the law approved March 21, 1868. That Mr. Luliug. disposes of hia goods In small quantities, or by retail only, anu at stated hours, is a matter of con-iiiieuno for himself, and he is bound by no law the matter so long aa ho pays bis lioeusos; nor .n ho evade any law by establishing a custom of any sort iu the matter, lie can keep open an hour a day, or tlio whole time authorized ny municipal regulations, as best suits himself; nor is he iu any manner bound to sell to any one else except hie laborers, and then only to the amount of their wages, so long as his regulations are in compliance with law, which makes no distinction or discrimination on account of raoo or color. Article 18, constitution of tbo Htate,Mr. Luliug iu no sense boars tbo relation to hia laborers as a father or buabaud does to bis family, no more than a codon planter, brick-maker, etc. As a general thing, all customers of retail stores are consumers, and whenever Mr. Luling passes an article over his couuter to his laborer, at a Uxed price, wliiob has iu advauoe boon paid for in labor, ho stands then In thn same relation to his laborer, only perhaps better because he has his pay in advanoo, than any retail dealer In goods does to any of hia customers. Aa to his Rolling at coat prices and advancing the welfaro of the laborers, it ia only nocoasary to romaik that the law, the constitution and the great, and grand principles upon which they are rounded expect every person to take care of hia own interest first in preference to that of others. Pope aaya: Self-love, the spring of motion, acta the soul, Reason'*, comparing balance, rules the whole— That st*** immediate good by present souse; Reason, the future and the oonaeqiience.Wed who Hoir to tlprovMayIlt.frIiaiplot-Adaha viFlat far t dom flxeito ftlargo voie nero buu iu wm nuuSherman and Hayos a broad hint that they had better not goFOOLING ABOUND THE NAVAL OFFICE,elae something might happen. The appoal, or petition, will bo mailed to-day with the names attached of all of the prominent negro Republicans in the city, including the politicians, of course. _AX INTEHRMTIXB CANE,Planters Must Pay IJcenaes For Stores Opened on Tlielr Places.Judge Harper, of *he Parish Court of St. Charles, recently had before him a case, of much interest to our planters as well aa to the general reading public. Mr. F. A. Luling, a planter in that parish, kept upon his plantation a store from which hia bands made their purchases. He was sued by Mr. B. 8. Labranche, State and parish tax collector, for license for this store, and ho resisted it by injunction. The case came up and was ably argued on both sides, after which Judge Harper rendered hia 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 dia-trict attorney pro tem., f.T defendant.While living and after death a grateful and generous people will ovor cherish his memory for acts of kindness, but this oourt is not authorized to exempt him from the payment or his licensee, for his bene vole ut intentions aud professions to-wardn hia laborers.As to tho tax collector's prying into Mr. Lu-llug’s business to'eoe whether ho keeps a store,' so to compel him to pay bla licensee, ia no moddliug with his imaiuesa than the inquiry or tho a*8f«B0r ia regard to tho amount .nd valuo ol hie real and personal propnrty subject to taxation, so as to obtain equal and uniform taxation. As a good citizen, when interrogated in tho matter, Mr. Luling is bound to auswer correctly, or he is derelict tu the du y ho owes to tbo government. It ia mure bouefioial to property holders and persona pursuing taxed occupations to furnish this information, than it is to tho Htate, for this is necessary to secure uniform taxation. If this Is .termed Interference, it ie warranted by law, and whenever a warrant ia issued upon probable oanee, either in or:mins) or civil mailers, the conrno is deemed neither oppressive nor unjust, nor is it in violation of any legal, conatitutionnal or natural right; nor is the payment of licenses by Mr. Luling in opposition to any fundamental principle of our gov-eminent. Taxation, without representation by the people, not the property holders alone or rulera, was the battle-cry in the thirteenth century aginet King John, which secured the “magna oharta,” and again repeated by the colonics in 1776.The objeot of this mode i lt;to make every citizen bear equally the burden of taxation. If there were no taxes to be collected, all could boy goods cheaper. Tne General 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. Ail tax income shall be pro rata on the amount of in-...ne or business done. * * * Art.118, constitution.The effects of InRtruments are governed by the usages of tho places whore (hero are executed. (0. 0.16.) The words or a law aro generally to be understood in the most usual signification, without attending so much to the niceties of grammar rules aa to be guueral aud popular in use of words. Occupation may moan that which engageuthotimo and attention of a parson, without any reference to the time being continuous. Ilence the power of the General Assembly may. by the use or 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, i. p.. every tiling bought aud sold.When the law is express no man or Bet of men can create a custom for their own bonoiit and convenience and give to that custom a force paramount to law. Other systems ofjurisprudence than our own may bo referred to nr light, when the great and leading principles of oquity are in question, in which our own is silent. But when our own code has furnished rule It is imperative, even though it he shown to be defective. It is the occupation of distributing in various ways tho neceesiiies and luxuries required by the people of the State that the legislative power of the State, authorized by the constitution of this Htate and the United States, that is taxed for the support of the State and parochial governments, ex-copt those raised or manufactured, and which Mr. Lnling is resisting on the plea of (recite the allegations of the petition.)None of which roaeons authorizes the tax collector or this oourt to exempt him from paying bis license tax, but on the contrary the court believes that the law baa been expressly framed aud carefully worded, so aa 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 mercbaudiBe which he may bny, and sell exclusively to the freedmen or other employes, No. 123, approved March 21,18G6, that the selliog or baiter of liquor and merchaudise to laborers, ie 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 this court a violation of plain law under the plea of necessity. 1 An., 115,Because Mr. Luling chooses to limit this taxed occupation 80 aB 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 tho notion that, if he fiuds it to be hia interest to dispose of groceries and merchandise to only class of people, and that it be in hie interest to refuse to dispose of goods to another class, he ia not liable to pay a license ; then taxation 'Or him is neither equal nor nniform, and the United States nor the laws of this Staio infer such exception only so far as relates to race or color. There must be manifest violation of the constitution, and without any doubt before it will be so declared. Must not upon slight implication a vague conjecture be, etc.From the allegation and evidence it would appear that Mr. Luling advocates a seigniorial eyatem in his avocuion as a sugar planter, so as to secure segregation. Bat the cjart does noi io the least propose to interfere with Mr. Lnling’s
Newspaper Details
The New Orleans Daily Democrat
New Orleans, Louisiana, US
Thu, Sep 06, 1877
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Jeffrey A.
USA 24 Jan 2024
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