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Show j TOTAXMORTCACEj I The House Soloiis are Discus- ! sin? the Proposition. I THEY ARB LONG WINDED Provo'i School District Patition la Being Considered by the Committee on Educa-tion-To Protect tle Fish and Game Other Business In Both House. The proceedings in both houses ot the legislature yesterday were quiet. iix THE COUNCIL. A hill authorizing the registration of j and defining the qualification of elec tors and regulating the elective franchise, fran-chise, was introduced by Hart. A bill to amend chapter 76 of the laws of Utah, 18y2, providing for the lease of school land and making regulations reg-ulations governing the same, was introduced in-troduced by Hart. A bill providing for assessing and collecting taxes on transient stock, was introduced by Adams. A bill respecting the uniting of the university and agricultural college was introduced by Booth of Provo. It is substantially the same as the bill introduced in-troduced in the house by Xebeker. A bill by Towers, relating to the practice of attorneys before courts and the qualifications of judges and justices, justi-ces, and a house bill by Allen, to provide pro-vide for the establishment of free employment em-ployment offices, were read the first time. Eldredge moved to reconsider the vote on the report of the committee on the bill relating to the limiting of ihe legal rate of interest. Adams seconded the motion. Seaman asked the reason lor the reconsideration. Eldredge replied re-plied that an opportunity might be given those who wished to further discuss dis-cuss the matter. Taylor moved that the bill be filed until a motion be made to bring it up again and it was finally tabled urtil cday. Booth's bill in regard to the union of the university and agricultural college was read the second time and referred to the committee on the university and college. Six bills were referred to appropri ate committees. ! The committee on judiciary reported j a substitute lor the bill prohibiting at I torneys-at-law from becoming sureties in any civil or criminal action, suit or i proceeding. i Eldredge moved to amend by insert ing the words 'or any-other cizizen" atter the word "law." Seaman sec- onded the motion. ! The amendment was lost and Booth proposed an amendment providing that the bill would be operative only in ; the district in which the attorney re- ' sides. Carried. IK THE HOUSE. Allen presented the petition of the board of education of Trovo which asks that the school law may be so amended that the maximum rate of taxation may be increased in cities of the second class, so that bonds will not need to be issued, and so cities of the class may make Deeded improvements without going into debt, and that the law may be amended also so that the board of education of said cities may borrow all necessary moneys. Committee on education. Clark presented the cla-m of John ; V, Coon, sheriff of Sevier county, for 9si.ll fifl fnr trnintr to Denver to recover a car of cattle supposed to have been stolen from l'iute and Sevier counties. Warner presented the claim of Jhs. II. Lewis for $100 witness fees. The committee on memorials reported report-ed back the memorial asking for the survey of coal lands, recommending that it do pass. The committee also reported back the memorial relating to the opening of the Uintah and Uncompagbre Indian In-dian reservations, recommending that it pass as amended. Powers, by request, introduced a bill to reconstruct the laws in relation to fish and game. He stated that certain cer-tain residents of Utah county wish to be heard on it. Johnson, by request, introduced a bill to repeal thejmedical law. Council bills relating to fees of citv justices of the peace outside of the city business, relating to instruction of juries before argument, and relating to the service and form of summons, were read and referred to the committee on judiciary. A council bill to validate all issues of school bonds was referred to the com mittee on education. The bill to allow county courts to revoke plate of land was taken up an 1 discussed until a call was made for the orders of the day. A 3 p.-m. the house took up Variant Var-iant bill for the taxation of mortgages. Varian opened the argument on the bill by sayine that there is a great deal of obscurity regardine it, particularly particu-larly among the newspapers. The firet bill submitted proposed an entirely new system for the people of Utah. The bill before the house proposed to put all solvent debts, whether Becured or unsecured, on the same plan before the law. If it were designed to remove any taxes remove them from all debts. The bill should be considered from a standpoint of the state, not as it relates re-lates to A. or li. Revenue laws are necessary. They are inexorable. Every man, rich or poor, well or ill, must pay taxes according to the property he owns. There is harshness in these laws, for no man has ever conceived a bjstem that would not be harsh. In 1892 there was a law on the statute books of cur territory which taxed all property. The lawmakers had recognized, as all men have recognized, recog-nized, that not more than 40 per cent, of the wealth of the country is in taxable tax-able property. Sixty per cent, of the wealth is in notes or bonds. These things are property,- as much as the round yellow gold piece". Credits are property and are recognized as such. This was recognized by the legislature, when it passed the revenue law and also in the attachment laws which have been passed. Up to 1892 no distinction distinc-tion was made between debts secured and unsecured. He said that in 1S92 the legislature passed a law exempting from taxation mortgages and trust deeds and the debts secured thereby. II 3 wanted to know why an exemption had been made of a $10 000 noteeecured by mortgage mort-gage aud not one which was not thus eecured. He thought that the system is wrong. The legislature should deal with it not from the standpoint of the I money lender or of the borrower but j from the standpoint of a sovereign body. It should look up not down. He denied that the taxation of cred its is double taxation, saying that every court in the United States which has considered the subject, with one exception, ex-ception, has held that way. All courts have held that credits are property. Blackstone and every other writer have spoken in this way. lie wanted to know whether the legislature was prepared to continue a system that is wrong, a system which taxes the tangible and allows the in-taiiR in-taiiR ble to go free. He thought that would be wrong. He thought history would not bear out the opponents of the measure in their assertion that lenders will withdraw with-draw from this field in case this bill is passed. He thought that the law of supply and demand regulates the money markf t. The monev will not be taken away and the great burdeiiB of taxation should be placed on all property, real and personal. Tne territory is soon to tike up additional burdens and should see that all property helps to raise the revenue. Sears wanted to know if the judiciary judi-ciary committee has used due diligence to find out everything about the qes-tion. qes-tion. Vatian wanted it understood that anyone who wanted to come ba fore the committee could have come. Hubbard took up the discussion. He said that unlike the previous speaker he did care who pays the tax. If he thought that the biil would entail more burdens on the already oyer burdened pocr, he would consider that sufficient cause to vote against it. He read an extract from the report of the territorial board of equalization, in which the entire board puts forth the assertion that the tax on mortgages mort-gages is a double tax on the borrower, who is compelled to pay them. He read fr.)m the letter of W. J. Lynch, county assessor, claiming that the co3t of collecting taxes on mortgages amounts to more than the amount realized re-alized and that the taxes are paid by the borrower, lie knew that the bill provided that mortgages should contain con-tain no provision making it obligatory on the borrower to pay the taxes but realized that this provision will prove ineffective, as it will simply result in a raising of rates of interest. The exem-tion exem-tion of foreign capital under the law will make it necessary only for our capitalists cap-italists to have their money loaned from outside the territory and will work only hardship on the email lenders lend-ers if any hardship is worked. He proposes pro-poses to vote against the measure. The house adjourned at 4:50. Dr. Price's Cream Baking Powder World's Fair Highest Medal and Diploma. ' |