The Bellville Countryman (Bellville, Tex.), Vol. 4, No. 43, Ed. 1 Tuesday, July 19, 1864 Page: 1 of 2
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CmrNTRYMAN.
Év0L. 4. No. 4.'!, >.
J.P. 08TKBHOUT, Editor.
BiltrUlt. Amtln County, To*a*.
" JULY
19. 1864.
*j6i dates are almost as mtiner-
i as voter . It is . nmi expected
that nil will vote for on .- man. Let
each have his portion iu din- season.
• er We learn a misunder-
standing took piuco between a couple
of citizens of gravis, one day hist
week, and tjiat by tho nod^ntal
discharge of pistols, both parti*-
were soyercly, but not fninlly .yround-
«84.
" h ^ -v— —— - %r.
jy No mail lia boon received at
1¿iis plnco since Thursday, tl,e 14th
inst. The mail boy went uji on the
11th apd wan taken sick jit Travis
whero be st.il! remain . We hope
tho contractor on thin r<$ute will run
the machine regularly sopn. or throw
up the contract and let somebody
•1m try. This "make-believe" policy
has been submitted tó lon" enough.
•.IsJF* Tub Tickets.—-We
about twice as mnnylSloation ticket
for Austin county an will probably
be needed. In order that nil may
lee the form in which they are got
up, wé present a specimen. Those
who have failed to have their names
<>11, must blame th«mst lv 'i; we gave
notice in ample time. A sufficient
number of tickets havo been sent.to
«ach election precinct in the enmity.
FlRE.—On the morning.ofthe 1.3th
•fnit. fhé largo block known as the
ion buildings,, flt Hempstead,
3 o'clock iu the morning, was
hwiM*! to tbeground with (ill their
¿cnnUtat*. Piifll's -"Hotel.
•Thompson and Metcalfe's Drug
Store and some other rooms were
with valuable furniture, drugs
I other vnltytblc stores and were
nearly all a total lo.-s We have
pot heard particulars nor tk.- pjob.i
We value of the losses.
Nwys— The follí.winj items we
frortl the Telegraph of Friday. Wt
don't believe mor- than hwlf of the
batfch, and dont know which half to
to balieve at that:
. Tho greatest battle of modern
.tittes was going on, on the 1th inst.
kar Petersburg, and Lee had driven
Grant'a whole line three miles.
Slaughter dreadful... on both side .
A new Orleans paper quoted gold in
"New Y«rk at 30.5.
The Alabama, has been sunk in
an engagemiot with tho enemy. Capt.
Serame* and a large part of his offi-
cers and créw were taken by the
French and English with aH the
valuables. Semmcs had gqno to
^Paria The Feds are as mad as fary
at them for taking Setnmos out of
their grasp.
Grant had demanded the surrender
«rjNlersburg. Oen. Early's col-
i was moving into Maryland and
vívanla. Lincoln had called
mllitl^ of New York and
to resist him. Great
by the people of those
All valuables had been
Thr County M^Srisv.—If an
individual want 'to Jci-op hi credit
good, how does bo do it ? Accord-
ing to the philosophy aqd reasoning
of som •, it would seem, that ' he
should do all in'his power to make
it appear that he is unable to pay hi
debts. tSuch, however, i not tho
general opinion, nor the correct one
upon the subject, lie must endeav-
or *0 pay his debt , dollar for doll**,
as he has cohU'Acted to pay them.
If he chooses to pay before Iiíh debt
are actually ¿fríe, so much the more
he enhaiiee hi moan of getting
credit.
As with an individual, so with an
association of individuals, a county,
or a state. It is their duty, no less
than their interest to make their
money to pass currently at par; and
that community which is blessed
with a circulating medium which
passes'current equally with gold and
silver, other things bfiing equals w;ll
be tho most prosperous. A State
or a county, if it ljns tjie tibility, is
under 110 less obligation to red,eem
its paper promises than an individu-
al. • And tho' it may have .issued
its promises to pay i contravention
of law, it should not be permitted to
take advantage of its gwn wrong by
avoiding payment, or by casting
suspicion npon its ability or obliga-
tion to pay. The State' endeavors
to make its paper good. It has not
sought to depreciate its* pro¿nises to
pay. Why then should a county ?
Some counties issued their scrip
üxpresMng on tbe face of it, that it
was issued ¡11 lieu of an equal amount
of Confederate Treasury notes de-
posited with tin! treasurer, and that
it would be rodceipod in the same
currency whenever presented. Not
so Austin County. She sought to
make «her money good by placing tilt'
day of payment at sych a time,
(1SG9,) that shO would then be in
funds to meet her obligations Had
this design been left without .med-
dling with it,, Austin county scrip,
as it is termed, Would have been on
a par at least with tho money of
tho State^ w hich now soils at a. pre-
mium compared 'witjr Confederate
notes.
The Confederacy taxed its -mojiey
heavily, but it promised for, tho re-
mainder a better currency, than the
ono it taxed, so that the holder of
nfederate money may fifrrhaps
0 two thirds winch lie gnts of
w currency to greater advan-
tage than bu could tho whole of the
old. Anstih coijnty, however, pro-
mised nothing bet tier than the old
scrip. But asttye Confederacy had
taxed its money thirty throe and
ono third dollar on every hundred,
so the County Court must imitate
Congress by taxing the county
money at the snipe rato. Who gave
them authority to tax the people, in
addition to all their other taxes,
thirty three and one third dollars OA
every Jiundrod dollar? of tho county
money a tax-payer happened to pos-
sess} This was at the April Term,
we believe. So on the 1st day of
this month and thefwfter, one third
of the face Vali)« of tbe county money
was the same as thft mjich taxes
collected and placed tn tho County
TwM0 or destroyed. So if there
,000 of county money in
PPPIPt wasby this taxing or
depreciating system reduced to $18,
SO,00.0 was the
if it waa in the tremor;
w«a held on
« UI5 It I
c&afa<i
ttfen.'\
Pi
hewn favj#-
taxes and county dues until the l«t
day of next July. "Who authorized
tbein to make depreciated money
be received at its face value ? Who
authorized them to take, (on the
above supposition,) $G,000 from the
County Treasury (in effect and sub*
stauce) and appropriate it to tbe
various holders of county scrip 1
But w^iat i to be done with the
county scrip after the 1st day of
July A. 1). 18G5.- According to the
decree of April term of tbe court,
which liaH not been revoked tbe
scrip is not to be received for/ynnity
tn,xep or dues at nil after tjjsf time.
All this might have been avoided by
letting our county money alone. If
those yj authority had let the cur-
rency alone, and trie/1 to keep it
good and at par, to make it as was
intended, n convenient circulating
medium, in place qf silver aud gold,
of which tlieer was a great want in
tlie country, Austin coujity money
would now have bmj as good as
any mor.ey in the State. The credit
of the county would have remained
untarnished, Now, 110 one kno\\;s
what to depend upon; once deprecia-
ted. if controlled by the same ^ejvauts
of the people, in three months it may
be depreciated again. Mujrh better
that it should be placed upon a
foundation of stability. Bolter tliat
all the orders of the County Court
upon the subject should bo revoked,
annulled, obliterated. If the County
Court may depreciate, or repudiate,
one third, have they not an -equal
right to repudiate one, half! If on<
half, why not tlie w^ole J A change
however may soon take phice, which
will settle tl^e status of Hje county
money. It is time that Austin
county ceased to be a stock -jobber
ill the money market, to depreciate its
own circulating medium, in oidePTo
collect it ironi the hefd earnings ol
the people.
ELÉCHMOÑ"* TICKET
Comptrviier
Shite T/cavtrrr
At'!/ General
Chief Justire Supreme Court
Amo. Justice
John Say les
Dint. Judge
G. W. Smith
* II. 13. Waller
JJtsf Atty
Edward Bailey
Ch ief Jmtipc
.1. H. Catliu
B. JU Cheek
J. P. Osterbout
County Clerk ¡Tí ¿
T. J. Kerr
Sam H. Nichols
AI. > Pilley k /
Z. W.' Matthew
Attf. apd Cqlfrector
S. Brewer . :
sheriff
W- L. Shelbum
Newit Cloyd
Lewis .W. Swesringen
Cpunty Treasurer ..
J. W. Manning
J. G. pell
The follo^iring correspondence Was
referred to In otir leading editorial en
Monday, but was accidentally omitt-
ed. The reader 6f thjit paper will
readily make tbe connection:—Tel.
[kxtract.J •
Jlmi^TON, June 21st, 1864.
Geo. J. JJi iuiam, Esq., Austin.
DkabSiri—Allow me to present
to your consideration two matters
claimed by ^omo of tbe Assessors as
subject to taxation, for which I find
no 'authority in any of the net#* Of
C.ongreps for tbe assessment and col-
lection o£ Taxes.
1st. That farmers or producers, in
addition to'tlie payment of one-tenth
of tho products of tlie soil, hall pay
an income tax on the proceeds 6t
salo of the remaining nine-tenths.
2d. That «armors'shall pay a tax
011 Sales and inepme 011 the amount
paid by the (ioycrpment, for mules
and horses, engaged in the cultiva-
tion of the soil, taken by impress-
ment, at less than th'eir market value.
• - • ■ ft •
Verv respectfully,
JAMES SORLEY.
[EXTRACT.]
Austin, June 24th, 18G4.
J amr.s Son ley, Esa;, Houston.
Sjfl Yours of 21st is received,
li aiiy Assessor of ihp .Confederate
tax has inclnded in the income tax
tho sale of any titbealjje product of
last year, when mndo by the pro-
ducer. on the proper representation
being made to this olfue, I will cause
the same to be refunded.
Wjflt regard, to tho sale of mules
l>y the planter I cAnc^jr with yon, so
far at forced sules are concerned, in
w liieit case it would h,e bnpi-oper to
include the .proceeds' lucQuie, as
their pelóos would nec^ssa'iiljy have
to lie supplied liy others. •
# • 'ft •
Vvxy respectfully.
G'EOIKtE J, PUUIIAM.
Commissioner
of Taxes. &,c.
Ixrom Maj. (íillock, just returnv^l
from Ringohl Barracks, we leant tl;(.it
Col. torcí had moved, with tlie eii-
fire torce• under linn, agfiinst lirowns-
ville. < >111- forces were supposed to
nninlw't' i«e|-baps ^ft^on hundred'.or
. Chambers
Holland
Collin
1 £, Knolle ..
W . Schneider
iT«
JÜvFrita Pettis
éf peace
>-• . mjíár'
moró uicp,' and thoved ;n tljree divi-
sions. 'Lhey, no don I it, reacjied
Hrowuhville 11 week ngo, without nut
expected liiiidrntiee. < > .i'r infoniinn-
furtlier stated, that, as lienrly as
could be wolf' asceitnijied, |'"ort
Brown contained aboirt tw¿> thóuífniid
Federal troops. ,We bad betoiv un-
derstood the number-to be greater,
Our troops ;vo*e in title condition,
well provided for and eager for the
fray. It was tho intention of CoK
Ford to ta^e Fort Brown, if possible
aud tjjl seemed confident of a suc-
cessful result. W« feel sornewliat
disappointed at noi getting news
from 'ha.t quarter of a later daie, but
it cannot be put off many day lon-
ger, when wo expect to hear of stir-
riug events and brilliant success to
our arms, unless the Yankees, from
fuudontial motives, evacuate, and
«ave the country. "Old Rip" is
after thom in earnest this time, and
full of canfidence in his ability to
take the place.—S. A. Newt Jvlifa
We have frequently h#ard amonf
otlHir complaint on (be« ubjeet of
the taxes claimed by some of the
A'seasors of the C. S. War tax, that
.the nine-tenths of cotton and other
produce sold by the producer, was
taxed as income, when one-tenth had
already been pnid in kind, and had
intended retering to it, so as to get
the opinion of the Commissioner of
Taxes; and are glad to notice from
extracts published in another column
that that matter, ally the tax de-
manded on Bales of jvork mules and
hoi'Res impressed by tlmGovernment,
has been colled t,o hip attention by
Mr. Sorely, and that his reply disa'p-,
proves of tlie collection of either of
the taxes referred 'to. Parties who
have íilrolíidy ]i,ijd these taxes should
obtain from th collectors specific
evidence of the pitSt and the amount
faid, and report to Mr. Durham that
e may order it refunded. ^
fn relation to voluntary sale of
agricultural ttmle§ ye pf^sume dis-
tiuctipn will be made if possible be-
tween those wlio mnles to
work on their plantation# for the
purpose of fitting them for sale, who
should clearly piny tax on snch sales,
and tboge men whio to nvo'd the
odium of inpressment will yolantari-
ly sell every mule tli/jy have. The
latter 8tand in the same position
towards tlie Covoi-nijient j\s those,
whose liiples are impressed. .
Ther f i another yild practice of
some Assessors in the west, we infer
from the Victoria ^¿Ivocnte, It is
of assessing jiiojiori v for the ft per
cent, tax at the variation of i860 as
so much ^old, and thou reducing it
'to currency ' (thirty for «^ftie) and
c.l arging f5 per cent, ott that. In
other words, these ^ses ors ■ would
make the $ per ceiil lax' Toxa^
about tivó hundred piillion of doll-
ars or eight times ijn> mtiotint of
inoney iu the State!--So absurd a
pract ice we cannot belitre has beetl
adopted by any con^'deral le number
Of asses pi-s, aud We yeferto it oiily
because we see it haf boon notie^d
by the journal abovo^ferretl Io.-Tet.
Special to the Chicago Tiinos.
Yh|> íunv^í ef the late disaster tq
oijr arm nt (írtntojvíi, Mis ., 'haR.
thrown a glo/7"i over this omnniunity
' 'iwi
which not eyoii the hope$ and couti:
dcnce all entertaiimd in the abilities
and good luck of A. J. Smith, m1i«v
has been sent to retrirvo our falleij
fortunes, can (iisp«'|.
Stuigis' lift y was compo^/ d ol
some of the best troops o\ the 'Wrt.t,
vet era rip who liad fought n^l con-
qnred at Jackson, ltayrnond, Cham-
pion Hill, Big Black, and Vicksburg,
aiid who helped tp turn defeat into
victory nt Ploasafit Hill, anp defend-
ed Bank's army from aiiuihilntion
while on the retreat from Alexandria.
The universal testimoney ot offi-
6er« and men who etfcaj
fiel.d of Qtmto^vn and Ripley, is tliJt
our defeat i due to the iocoinpeten-
During a recoyt performance of
Romeo and J\ili<?t, ^ie fair Juliet's
question in, this soliloquy bpfoi#
taking the sleeping draught, "What
if this mixture do n9t work nt /till"
was answered by an prchiu in the
pit' "Then take a do?e ; of pills."
The effect upon the a^d lenice can be
imagined. 1
We Jeaiti fVom Mr. J. p.ijling-
worth, six day's from cm
the 1st Inst. Col. Ford had p. fight
with a Yankee forjo 29 pile? -above
Brownsville, in wnichhe complete!;
routed them, filling, wording ai"
capturing according to hiii di^pali
100 of the enefoiy, and scattering
the rest over Jt^e river.-^.Ttlegraph,
% «Tie «wjnf promotions and
atslgnmetit are announced' in a
special order Jrom tjie h^adquartew
of the aimy:
Qprpe.
rilyVV;
cy of Con. riturgis, wb
fgr week before be ttatri
expedition notoriously n
for the position of cot
Phii.adrlphiMjM
dent Lin^ln has
tinenta! Hotel. A _
Fadr this arternOo;
After, the Prp^eni
ducted thron^„ _r._
to the euppér-rpom. whéW
Webster g*ve in n bump
health of thé President
dent replied closin
task, i
cane
conduct
h' tht?
him
not beep in the
dictions,
noi^í
is this en
never 1
until
, 1
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Osterhout, John P. The Bellville Countryman (Bellville, Tex.), Vol. 4, No. 43, Ed. 1 Tuesday, July 19, 1864, newspaper, July 19, 1864; Bellville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth177147/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.