184
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
Ayt• in the manner that the people are in all other parts of the state for munnicipal purposes-the law [exempts] the colonists from Taxes in all cases except three one is the taxes that are laid generally by Government t~ repel a foreign invasion, another is the tax on mines that may be worked by colonists, and the third is the munici- pal tax that is levied by the Ayto for municipal purposes-so much then for the legality of the measure-are funds necessary1-the law has prescribed the duties of the Ayto they are numerous and highl} ·important and cannot be discharged without funds, and ·if they at·e neglected the members of the Ayto are each of them individually liable to a heavy fine-The Ayto of last year did not comply with the duties required by law in any one particular and each of the mem- bers were liable to a fine, and nothing but my own interference and representations and excuses for them, saved them from the fine- This state of things is now at an end, the chief of Department has officially notified the Ayt 0 of this year that he will execute the law upon them, if they neglect their duty any longer-It is made their duty by law to procure a competent Secretary, to provide the neces- sary public buildings, to provide funds to pay for their post office accounts, and to pay the necessary and legal expences of the Munici- pal authority and [the Chief] of Department has long ago called on them officially to present to him an estimate of the expences that are required and to propose a system of taxation to raise the means of paying those expences-Some persons have said that the Aytn have petitioned the legislature to lay a tax such persons a.re either grossly ignorant of the law, or are wilfully malicious- For the last 13 months the Govt have been repeating order upon order to the A.yto to do their duty, to raise municipal funds, and to execute the Jaws, the thing has been delayed under one pretext o:r another untill I have actually exhausted all the stock of reasonable excuses that I could devise and have drawn so largely upon shadows and frivo- lous apologies that I am ashamed to interfere any more, for I do not wish to say to the Govt that the Ayto are afraid to do their duty and to execute the law lest the people should resist, for this would in fact be saying that the jurisdiction of Austin was in a state of rebel- lion. Instead therefore of petitioning the legislature to lay a tax, the Ayt 0 have been driven by the Govt to inform them how a tax could be levied so as to be as nearly equal upon all as possible- The Ayt 0 were brought to the necessity of doing one of three things, either to propose a tax or to pay a heavy fine, or fly the country to save themselves from it- These are the facts as to the law and [officiaH] orders relative to a municipa_l tax- 1 _ 1 For the· proceedings of the Ayuntnmlento sec its 1\Ilnutes In Southwestern Historical Quarterly, xxi, 2~9-82t, 1 ao&-4~3. ReAd al~o A~BtlD to Bell, .Apr. 4 1 1821).
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