The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 18, July 1914 - April, 1915 Page: 397
438 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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397
The Constitution of Texas, 1845.
speculation, was revealed by the debate. The proposed section was
defeated, but there was added to the article a new section which
reenforced the security of land titles as already settled under the
old Constitution, and the finality of confiscations as therein de-
clared.
Taxation was a subject upon which Democrats were likely to
have specific convictions in 1845. In the next year their new
Walker tariff was based upon the ad valorem principle, and in
the debates of the period there was much discussion of the rival
methods of ad valorem and specific duties. The twenty-eighth sec-
tion as presented by the Committee in Texas required equal, uni-
form, and ad valorem taxes upon all property that was taxed, and
permitted, in addition, income and occupation taxes. The recom-
mendation fell midway between two sets of extremists, who wanted
all property to be taxed, or who wanted to leave the legislature un-
restricted. The former cited the evils of special privilege, and de-
manded taxation based upon the amount of protection. The latter
denounced inquisitorial methods, which they alleged to be in-
separable from proportional taxation, and urged the handicap
under which the state would labor if deprived of the right to favor
new industries by exempting the capital invested in them from tax-
ation. The Convention easily agreed to excuse farmers and me-
chanics from any occupation tax, and Rusk, speaking for com-
promise as usual, declared that "Both systems have their objections.
Taxation is odious in any shape or form in which it may come."84
As finally amended the section permitted the legislature to exempt
from taxation only by a two-thirds vote in each house, and insisted
that other taxation should be on the ad valorem basis.
In the matter of corporations, Texas in 1845, as most states be-
tween the panics of 1837 and 1857, revealed the hostilities that
hard times had engendered. The chartering of banks was sweep-
ingly forbidden, in spite of appeals for moderation and for the
future. More than this, the original section on banking and cor-
porations was expanded, forbidding any issuance of notes or paper
money, and restricting private corporations to such as could secure
their charters by two-thirds vote in the legislature. The Com-
mittee recommendation for a general incorporation law, although
pointing toward the future, was ahead of its time and was de-
"Debates, 445.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 18, July 1914 - April, 1915, periodical, 1915; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101064/m1/403/: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.