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Who can imagine the feelings of his relations and friends during his absence, particularly of his bosom companion, and aged mother> Ten thousand deaths
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DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT ON TOWN LOTS.
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would have been more tolerable, than the agonizing state of uncertainty which involved his fate. Tongue cannot describe the feelings which were excited in our own borough, where none were bound to him by the en- dearing ties of conjugal affection or maternal love. -- Lycoming Gazette.
LEWISTOWN, Feb. 9.
Owing to the weather moderating and heavy rains, last week, the Juniata-rose two feet higher than it had previously been this winter. On Saturday the ice mo- ved off without doing any serious injury to the public works. This is the second ice flood we have had this winter, and from the little damage done to the canal, we infer that its banks are becoming too firm to suffer much injury from common causes .- Eagle.
KITTANNING, Jan. 25.
THE ICE FLOOD .-- We are sorry to learn that the Bridge across Redbank creek, on the Olean road, and the Bridge across the mouth of Crooked creek, at Judge Ross's mill, were entirely swept away last week, hy the sudden rising of the creeks and the breaking up of the immense body of ice on them .- We also learn, that much damage has been done by the flood, in carrying away mill dams, fences, &c. in different sections of the county.
DECISION OF THE SUPREME COURT. TAX ON TOWN LOTS, Given by Justice Kennedy.
Hugh M'Clelland, pl'tff. in error. vS.
Alex'r. M'Calmont, def. in error.
OPINION. Writ of error to the court of common pleas of Venango ¿county.
This was an action of ejectment in which the plaintiff in error claimed to recover the possession of a lot of ground situate in the town of Franklin, in Venango county, which had been vacant or unseated, and during that time had been assessed with taxes, and they not having been paid, was sold as unseated lands are direct- ed to be under the laws of the state. The defendant, at the sale became the purchaser of the lot in question, paid the purchase money, and obtained a deed of con- veyance for it from the treasurer of the county.
A case was agreed on and stated by the parties, for the opinion of the court below, subject to a writ of er- ror to be sued out by either. From the case stated, it appeared that the plaintiff was the owner of the lot be- fore and at the time of the sale; that prior to that time it had never been enclosed or improved, or settled on in any way-that it had been duly assessed with taxes which remained unpaid, and that it was sold as unseated lands are directed to be sold by the laws of the state, for taxes due and in arrear upon them, and that the de- fendant became the purchaser as is stated above.
The only question made and urged, was, whether an unimproved and unseated town lot of ground could be lawfully assessed with taxes and sold as unseated lands are directed to be sold for the non-payment of taxes as- sessed upon them.
The court below, decided that it could, and gave judgment for the defendant.
Unless such property be taxable, it follows as a mat- ter of course, that no sale could be lawfully made of it for taxes: It therefore becomes necessary to enquire first, whether it be the subject of taxation by law or not.
By the 8th section of the act of Assembly of the 11th of April 1799, entitled, "an act to raise and collect county rates and levies," all lands held by patent, war- rant, location or improvement; houses and lots of ground, and ground rents; all grist-mills, saw-mills, fulling-mills,
slitting-mills, rolling-mills, hemp-mills, oil-mills, snuff- mills, paper-mills and powder-mills: all furnaces for- ges, bloomeries, distilleries, sugar-houses, malt-houses, breweries, tan yards, and ferries, &c." are made taxa- ble, and for that purpose the assessors are required to make out an account of the same: after which they are to call to their aid the assistant assessors, and with them to value all these things according to the best of their knowledge, for what they may think they would bong fide sell fur in ready money. The terms employed in this section of this act are sufficiently contprehensive and explicit to embrace unseated and unimproved town lots, or any other lotsof ground. The terms " all lands," are amply sufficient to designate and include whatever will in law come properly under the denomination of " land," which in law is a term of very comprehensive signification. And although the legislature have gone on further to enumerate specifically, "houses and lots of ground, ground rents, all grist-mills, &c." yet I do not think it was done with a view to exclude any thing that came in properly under the denomination of " lands," the term before used, but rather consider it done for the purpose of amplifying and enlarging the list of taxable articles, than of limiting and restricting it. The various articles of property made taxable by this act, are to be valued according to what they, in the es- timation of the assessors, would sell for bona fide in ready money, and not according to their annual value: which shows that the legislature intended that proper- ty which might be of no annual value, such for instance, as unimproved and unseated lands, whether consisting of whole surveys or tracts, or of lotsor town lots, should be valued and assessed as well as that which was pro- ductive of annual profit. For if this had not been their intention, would not the annual value or profit of real estate have been a more equitable and reasonable standard, by which to have ascertained the amount of the taxes to be paid by the owners? It would seem to have been the design of the legislature to assess and tax all property, from which money could be raised by a sale of it. Unseated town lots may be sold, and mo- ney sometimes raised in this way upon them more rea- dily than by a sale of improved lots, where some regard is to be had to the cost of them. Besides, as an article of property, they are often not only more saleable but more valuable than the most of the unseated tracts of land in the same county; which are admitted to be the legitimate subjects of taxation, and are expressly made so by the act of Assembly of the 3d of April 1804. The act of the 28th of March, 1814, which has been refer- red to and relied on by the counsel for the plaintiff in error, to show that vacant or unseated lots or pieces of ground cannot be sold for taxes, is framed and predi- cated upon the very basis of the lots therein referred to, having been regularly, that is, lawfully assessed, but the owners could not be found to pay them, or when found, denied their ownership. All this appears in the preamble of the act. It cannot be supposed that the legislature had any tender feeling of regard for, or dis- position to indulge the owners of vacant or unseated town lots beyond what they have expressed for the owners of unseated lands generally, in directing to be assessed with taxes, and if these are not paid within due time, then by directing a sale to be made of the lands themselves. The policy of the state has ever been to encourage the improvement and settlement of all the lands within its territory, lots, I would say, as well as tracts. For it is precisely the same thing to the state, whether a tract of land remained whole, and entire, and unsettled, or be cut up and divided into lots, con- taining each the one-eighth of an acre, and all remain unimproved and unseated. Nothing is added to her wealth or her strength, in the latter case more than in the former. Why should she forbear taxing town lots, as such an exception would rather encourage the non- settlement of them, and be contrary to her uniform po- licy? It would also be repugnant to the principles of
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oquality and justice. The state is bound to protect every one of its citizens in the enjoyment of those rights which he has to property within its territory, as well as of those that belong to his person. In return for this protection, he is bound again to contribute to the support of the state, which is to be done in part by paying the taxes that are assessed. Again, it is just and equal, that in proportion as the property is more or less valuable, in the right to the enjoy- ment of which he claims to be secured by the state, lie should in the same proportion pay to the support of the expenses of the state? If so, he ought to pay taxes as- sessed upon unimproved town lots as well as upon any other species of property-otherwise one man may hold property worth fifty thousand dollars in the state, con- sisting of unimproved and unseated town lots, and pay no taxes, while another, holding unimproved and un- seated lands consisting of what are commonly called tracts of land worth not more than twenty thousand dol- lars, has to pay annually one hundred, or from that sum to two hundred dollars, which would be most unjust and unequal. No reason why town lots should not be assessed, has been attempted to be given; and indeed, it is difficult to conceive any, while on the contrary, justice, as well as sound policy requires that they should.
If then, they may be lawfully assessed, as I think they may, that is, I consider that the legislature has di- rected them to be assessed, as often as any other real estate in the same county is to be, so it certainly will be "thought strange, if the legislature have provided no ef- ficient mode for the collection of such taxes; yet if un- improved, vacant and unseated town lots cannot be sold for taxes due and in arrear upon them, most cer- tain it is that the legislature have omitted or failed to provide such a remedy. It was found impossible to collect the taxes due upon unseated tracts of land, by any other mode than a sale of them. Hence that was provided. If the owners of unseated truets of land, ne- glected paying the taxes upon them, and it therefore became necessary to authorize a sale of them, what reason can be imagined, why the same neglect would not happen in the case of unseated or unimproved town lots? Every one of any experience in this matter knows, that the difficulty of getting the taxes paid in those cases is the same, and that without an authority to sell in both cases, it is utterly impracticable to collect or obtain the taxes due upon such property. It cannot be presumed for a moment, that this was not as well known to the legislature, as any other part of the com- munity. Neither can it be believed that they intended taxes to be assessed upon these town lots, without any design that they should be collected. If there can be no other mode by which they can be collected, it will be a strong reason for believing that the legis- lature intended and designed it, if there be any thing to be found in their acts in this behalf, that will bear such a construction.
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section, provides and authorises a sale of them, calling them again "unseated lunds," and not referring to them by the term "tract or trac's." Indeed I cannot discov- er where, in any otheract on this subject the term "tract or fraets," has been used seemingly for the purpose of distinguishing them or that species of unseated lands from unimproved and unseated town lots or any other unseated lots of ground; and certainly in no part of any of the acts is it used for the purpose of showing that town lots unseated were not to be sold for taxes as un- seated lands. I think it very clear that the legislature has not made any distinction between a lot of ground and a tract of land, whether seated or unseated; all are to be taxed, and if the taxes are not paid upon the un- seated, they are to be sold. A distinction between an unseated tract and town lot does not appear to me to be attempted or aimed at in any place.
The great argument of the counsel for the plaintiff in error is, that the term "town lot" is not used in desig nating the real estate that shall be sold for the non-pay- ment of taxes. But the terms "all unseated lands" necessarily embrace lots, town lots and tracts, without distinction; and directs that all shall be sold for taxcs unpaid; so that the counsel for the plaintiff in error ought to have gone further and have shown that town lots were expressly exempted after the use of terms which most explicitly embraced them. The act of the 28th March 1814 is said to be a legislative declaration of what the law is on this subject, and that they must have tbought that there was no act authorising the sale of unimproved and unscated town-lots or they would not have passed that act, which had no other object in view than to authorize the sale of such lots in the coun- ty and city of Philadelphia. been passed upon a special application as clearly ap- This act seems to have pears from its preamble; and most likely was passed to satisfy the doubts or notions of the applicants. It is not probable that it was passed after any particular in- vestigation of the subject by the legislature. For I cannot but think that if they had examined the matter carefully, they would have been satisfied that the then existing laws authorized a sale of such property for taxes due upon it; or if not, they would have immedi- ately passed a general act upon the subject, authorizing it throughout the state. Acts of the legislature have been passed sometimes, merely declarative of what the law was before. This is done sometimes upon the sug- gestion of those who may doubt about what the law is on the subject; or may be mistaken altogether in rc- spect to it. I know that vacant and unscated town lots in some counties of the state have long since been as- sessed for taxes and sold as unseated lands; and I can perceive no reason why it should not be so, since they are obviously embraced in the general terms of the act of 1804 on this subject which directs that all unseated lands shall be taxed, and if these taxes are not paid in due time, that they shall be sold.
The judgment of the court below is right, and must be affirmed. - l'enango Democrat.
It has been contended by the counsel for the plaintiff in error, that no part of any of the acts of Assembly authorizing the sale of unseated lands for taxcs, are the words " lot" or "piece of ground" or "town lot" PROCEEDINGS OF COUNCILS. used or expressly mentioned. That as often as the le- Thursday, Feb. 2, 1832. gislature have undertaken to describe what kind of un- scated lands they intended should be sold for taxes, COMMON COUNCIL .- Mr. RYAN presented a pe- tition from Thomas Lancaster & Son, praying for a re- newal of the lease for Spruce street wharf, which was referred to the committee on the Drawbridge lot. they have uniformly spoken of them as 'tracts,' which do not give us the idea or include a town lot. To all this it may be answered that they have almost invariably throughout all the acts in directing the sale of unseated Mr. PATTERSON presented the following remonstrance against the erection of a market house in High street, which was referred to the Special committee appointed on that subject. lands for taxes, used the terms "unseated lands." The second section of the act of the 3d of April, 1804, ex- pressly directs, that "all unseated lands within this com- monwealth, held by individuals, companies or hodics To the Select and Common Councils of the City of Phi- ladelphia. corporate either hy improvement, warrant, patent or otherwise, shall for the purpose of raising country rates and levies be valued and assessed in the same manner as Your memorialists, inhabitants and owners of pro- other property," and in a subsequent part of the same ( perty in the Western section of Philadelphia, respect-
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fully represent. That they have seen with regret a pe- tition presented by sundry individuals, praying for the establishment of a Market House in High street, be- tween Thirteenth and Juniper streets. They would re- spectfully suggest to Councils, that a large and increas- ing country business is transacted within the aforesaid limits, which would be totally destroyed by such an ar- rangement, as it would then be impossible to load and discharge the large wagons that are used as a means of conveyance for bulky goods. That this trade must be lost to the city by the attraction presented by the North- ern districts for the facilities of trade, or at least divert- ed to some other section, which would be unjust to many of your memorialists. That a market house erected as prayed for, would be a serious impediment to the trans- portation of goods to and from the lower part of the ci- ty, thereby producing great detention and embarrass- ment to all who transact business in Market street. It is known to most of our citizens, that the great superior- ty of our markets is attributable to their concentration; that markets, like capital, when too much disseminated, do not fulfil to the utmost, the objects for which they were established :- and, as an illustration of this fact, your memorialists would call to the remembrance of Councils, that a market house was established some ten years ago, in the immediate vicinity of this site that is now prayed for by your petitioners-that it was scarce- ly ever occupied or attended, and that about three years since, by the order of your honourable bodies, it was re- moved as not benefiting the community for which it was intended. In conclusion, your memorialists beg leave to question the necessity of creating any additional mar- ket house at this time, as the side walks as far west as Centre Square are occupied as market places by those who supply the markets, who furnish our citizens with every marketable article excepting fish, that can be purchased any where else within the city.
Should Councils, however, in their wisdom, deter- mine to establish additional buildings for markets, your memorialists would be doing themselves and their fel- low citizens great injustice not to urge upon Councils, the propriety of continuing the line of markets from Eighth street west as they may be required, instead of leaving a large space of 4 squares unoccupied-which would be the case were the prayer of your petitioners granted; or if that is not deemed expedient, to locate a market on one of the corners of Penn Square. And your memorialists will ever pray.
Mr. SEXTON presented the annexed letter from Mr. Jacob S. Waln, which was referred to the Paving Com- mittee.
Te the Select and Common Councils of the City of Phi- ladelphia.
Gentlemen: I beg leave to draw your attention to the situation of Locust street, near the river Schuylkill. Locust 'st. at this place was originally considerably be- low the City regulation, and in consequence the earth taken out of other streets was thrown there, no doubt with a view of raising the street to its proper level-but being loose earth and nothing to hold it in its proper place, it washed almost immediately into the river, fill- ing up the dock and injuring the property of the sub- scriber-this state of things continued until Mr. Cooper, the present City Commissioner first came into office, who, seeing the injury it was doing, plac- ed a wall as a guard on the river side, to catch the washing's of the sand, and mud-but this filling up al- most as soon as built, the earth and water for these two years past has every rain poured over it, deposing the sediment into the river, the docks on which it has filled up at least three feet and greatly injuring the river itself.
As a fresh quantity of loose earth has lately been thrown into this street near Front street, (not by the Commissioners) which the winter rains will carry the same course,-I have thought proper to give you this
information, and to request your honorable bodies may take such order thereon as you in your wisdom may deem best.
Very respectfully, yours, &c.
J. S. WALN.
MR. WETHERILL presented the following petition, which was referred to the Committee on markets.
Tothe Honorable the Select and Common Councils of the City of Philadelphia, sitting.
This petition humbly represents, that your petitioners free colored citizens of the city of Philadelphia have hitherto exercised their trade as porters and carriers, with benefit to the public and advantage to themselves; that under a provision of your honorable body, they have enjoyed as a stand, the east side of Sixth Street, below Market street, on the west side of the building occupied as the Schuylkill Bank. But that they did not approach the building nearer than the curb stone, their barrows standing in the street. That by reason of the great thoroughfare near which they were stationed, Mar- ket st. being a street of great business and activity, they have hitherto been able by strict attention and in- dustry in their calling to procure a comfortable subsist- ence, but that their successful exertions have recently been most seriously interrupted. The officers of the Schuylkill Bank having made an aplication to the City Commissioners, by whom your petitioners have been directed to remove from their former position to Minor street. Your petitioners in obedience to the order of the Commissioners have removed, but have also stated to them their objections as herein set forth, but have been by the Commissioners referred to your honorable bodies for relief.
To induce your favourable consideration, your peti- tioners beg leave to suggest to your honorable bodies, that Minor street is a small and rarely frequented street, in no wise to be compared to Sixth near Market, as a place for the successful prosecution of their calling, and demand for their labour; that their former stand having been on the side and not in front of the bank, and there being no entrance to the Bank, except at the front"in Market street, they could not in any way have interfered with the ingress and egress of persons hav- ing business at the banking house, and that the present season being as is known to your honors one of great severity and inclemency, and the price of fuel being so high as to make it though an indispensable yet an al- most intolerable charge upon your petitioners, by reason of which they are the more painfully rendered unable to contend with any diminution of their resources from their trade. And that they hope your honours by these considerations may be induced to grant them relief, by permitting them under your authority to return to their former station. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.
Mr. . FRITZ as Chairman of the committee on Fire Companies, made the following report and resolution, which after considerable debate were carried. The yeas and nays were called for: and the yeas were Messrs. Coryell, Fearon, Fritz, Hood, Lehman Moss, Okie, Oldenburgh, Page, Patterson, Ryan, Sexton, Sullivan, Wetherill-14-Nay Mr. Baker-1,
The Committee on Fire Companies to whom was re- ferred the petition of sundry citizens, praying for an appropriation of three hundred dollars for the purpose of erecting an alarm bell, in the north-western section of the city, beg leave to report, that they have examin- ed the prayers of the petitioners and consider it expedi- ent to grant the same, and offer the following resolution: Resolved, by the Select and Common Councils, That the Mayor be, and is hereby authorized to draw his war- rant in favour of the Fire Committee, for three hundred dollars to be expended under their direction, and charge the same to appropriation, No. 21.
February 9th, 1832.
The following communication was received from the
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1832.]
HARMONY SOCIETY AT ECONOMY.
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Committee appointed at a Town Meeting of the citizens, relative to the celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Birth of Washington.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Sir: The committee of arrangement appointed by the citizens of the city and county of Philadelphia, respect- fully request from the Select and Common Councils of the city an appropriation to aid in defraying the cx- penses of the celebration.
By order and on behalf of the Committec.
.
II. D. GILPLV, Chairman.
Feb. 7, 1832. James Page, Esq.
President of the Common Council.
Mr. OKIE offered the annexed resolution which was adopted, and Messrs. Hood, Fritz, Coryell and Sexton were appointed the Committee on behalf of the Common Council.
Resolved, That a joint committee of four members from each Council, be appointed, whose duty it shall be, in conjunction with the committee appointed by the citizens at a late town meeting, to make the necessary arrangements for thecelebration of the eentennary anni- versary of the birth of the illustrious Washington; and that the Mayor be authorized to draw his warrant on the city Treasurer in their favour, for any sum not exceed- ing 2000 dollars, which may be necessary to defray the expenses incurred by them, and, that the same be charg- ed to appropriation, No. 21.
Mr. LEHMAN offered the following preamble and reso- lution, which after some debate were laid on the table for the present.
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