Taken and acknowledged the day and year above written, before me,

THE COLLECTOR OF TAXES.

EXIGENCY OF THE OFFICE.

THE office of collector of taxes is of great antiquity, and there is reason to believe, is coeval with the organization of civil societies. For we can have no idea that any civilized community ever existed for any length of time, without receiving occasional aid from public taxes, however beneficent might have been its laws, well regulated its police, or prosperous its people. As ear ly as the days of the Evangelist Luke, we are told, that "there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be taxed, and every one went into his own city for that purpose." It was from a sense of their wants and weakness, that mankind have exchanged the forlorn and helpless condition connected with a state of nature for the numerous advantages and conveniencies, incident to a state of sociality and civilization. And in this improved situation there is perhaps no occurrence more sensibly and universally experienced, than that in proportion as the community to which a citizen belongs, declines or prospers, so will his circumstances be depressed or ameliorated. Hence it is not only the duty, but the interest of every citizen, to afford all' possible assistance to the constituted authorities of his country on every emergency. And it must always be remembered, that as taxes become essential in time of war to sustain an army for the general safety, so in peace they are indispensable for the purposes of alleviating individual necessities, or advancing public improvements and common benefits. If these taxes form such material ingredients in the policies of all human governments, it will readily be perceived, that certain persons must in all ages have been, and yet continue to be, selected in every administration, as collectors of the public taxes. We shall only add, that whatever powerful engines tax-laws may be under the control of despotic power to paralyze the efforts of the industri ous subject, by causing a wanton seizure of his substance and

His Payments. It is the duty of the collector out of the first monies he shall collect, to pay to the overseers of the poor suchi money as shall be raised for the maintenance of the poor of such town, and the residue of the inoney by him collected, to pay to the treasurer of the county, on or before the first day of February next thereafter; and if he shall not pay to the supervisor and overseers of the poor of his town the monies directed to be paid to him by his collection warrant, within the time therein mentioned, and produce to the county treasurer receipts for the same, from one or more of the said overseers and supervisor, or satisfactory evidence of such payments, within one week after the expiration of the time mentioned in such warrant, the same shall be deemed to be unpaid. and thereupon it be

with the other monies that may be due from such collector, ac cording to law. See title Co Treasurer, and Law N. Y. "County Charges," April 2, 1813.

If there shall be no commissioners of common schools in his town at the time of his collections, it shall be the duty of the collector to pay the common school monies by him collected in to the hands of the county treasurer, to be by him added to and distributed with the monies next thereafter to be received and distributed by him according to law.

1

Taxes not Collectable. "Every collector shall, within one week after the expiration of the time mentioned in his warrant for paying the amount of the tax to the county treasurer, settle his account of the same tax with the county treasurer; and in case any of the taxes mentioned in the assessment roll annexed to his warrant, or any part of them, shall remain unpaid, and he shall not have been able to levy the same, he shall deliver to the county treasurer an account of the taxes so remaining due; and if such collector shalt make oath before the county treasurer, or in case of his absence, before a justice of the peace of such county, that the sums mentioned in such account remain unpaid, and that he has not been able upon diligent enquiry to discover any goods or chattels belonging to or in possession of either of the persons charged with or liable to pay the respective sums whereon he could levy the same, and that such account is a true transcript from the original assessment roll, then and in every such case the county treasurer shall credit the account of such collector, with the amount thereof; and if the said collector shall at any time receive the tax on part of any lot, piece or par cel of land. charged with taxes in his assessment roll, he shall require of the person paying such tax, a particular specification of such part, and shall enter in his return of arrears to the county treasurer such specification, in order that the part on which the taxes remain unpaid may be clearly known." See title. Assessor, & Law N. Y Ass'n't & collection of Taxes, April, 1813.

His Warrant. The warrant directs and requires the collector to collect from the several persons named in the assessment roll, the several sums mentioned in the last column thereof, or in the last column of each page thereof, if any shall consist of more than one page, opposite their respective names; and authorises him in case any of them shall neglect or refuse to pay such sum or sums, to levy the same by distress and sale of his or her goods and chattels, together with the costs and charges of such distress and sale, and directs him to pay such part of the

money so collected as shall have been directed to be raised for

Distress and Sale. Although it is evident from our tax-laws, that the collector is authorized to proceed in a summary manner to collect by distress and sale (according to the tenor of his warrant) of the goods and chattels of any person neglecting or refusing to pay his tax, the amount of such tax, together with the costs of distress. yet those laws are altogether silent, so far as they have come under our observation, in respect to the mode in which the collector is authorized to conduct such distress and sale. So that he may perhaps be led to conceive himself to be authorized after one hour or less notice, and even partial notice, of such distress and sale, to sell for a very inferior price the most valuable chattels of some honest and industrious citizen, who though willing to pay his tax has hitherto been unable to procure the money, while at the same time he may have no objection that the amount should be raised out of his property at a fair valuation. It therefore, in our opinion, would comport with the liberal spirit of our legislature, that they should: make competent provision for cases of this description. We find that on the sale of real property for taxes, the owner is allowed two years for the redemption of it. And is it consistent with that beniga policy, that some rigid tax-gatherer should have power to seize the personal property of any citizen and dispose of the same, beyond all possibility of legal redemption, after perhaps only a few minutes notice? Certainly not.

COLLECTOR OF TAXES.

Taxes mean a contribution in money, not labor or personal: service. 6 Johns. Rep. 92.

In a suit, brought by a collector of taxes, to recover the tax of the defendant, the production of the assessment roll in which the defendant was rated, and the warrant to the plaintiff, as collector, are not sufficient evidence to support the action. Johns. Rep. 404.

10

The plaintiff ought to shew. at least a previous demand of the