XX REPORT OF THE

The taxes for the support of Government, which each and every
person residing in the State, or holding property therein is to con-
tribute, are to be in proportion to his actual worth in real or personal
property. The object and intent of the provision must be, that ali
persons similarly situated, should bear the burdens of Government
alike in accordance with the prescribed standard, and that no favorit-
ism, preference or exemption from this rule, should be extended to
any. If the rule was not to be invariable, would not some power
to make exceptions to it have been expressly conferred on the Legis-
lature? If a discretion had been left to the Legislature for any
reasons of real or fancied policy, to create such an exception or in-
equality, what safety could there be, that the power would not be
used expressly, to establish a privileged aristocracy in the State?
If the Legislature can exempt any species of property from becom-
ing a component part of the standard, by which the obligation of
persons in the State, or holding that species of property in it, to
pay taxes for the support of Government is to be measured, may
they not by the same stretch of power or for the same reasons of
policy, extend the exemption to the persons themselves ? In other
words, If the Legislature can vary the standard established by the
Declaration of Rights, by excluding from, it a particular species of
property, may they not, with equal reason, vary the operation of
the provision, by excluding specified individuals from the liability
altogether? The injustice to the masses of the people is the same,
whether particular property is exempted from the operation of the
rule established by the Declaration of Rights, or particular persons
are relieved from the obligations established by it. Although the
injustice in the one case may not he so glaringly striking to the
minds of the masses as in the other, yet the effect is precisely the
same. If, for instance for reasons which the General Assembly
might regard as preeminently meritorious, they should absolve the
residents of a particular town, city, county or district, from the ob-
ligation to contribute to the support of Government, the injustice to
the rest of ths State, would induce an amount of indignation which
would be irresistible, and yet, in fact, an exactly equal injustice has
been allowed to exist for a series of years, without attracting any-
thing like a corresponding amount of attention. While this
is well known to be true, it is equally well known that
the exemption of the inhabitants of the largest county iu the
State, from State taxation, would he a small matter, when compared
with the exemption of the large amount of capital and property