22 



ALABAMA. 



TENNESSEE) was different. A bill was filed in 

 the Federal court and the funds of the city 

 attached under it before the corporation of 

 Memphis was dissolved by act of the Legisla- 

 ture. The corporation of the Port of Mobile 

 was soon organized, and its administration of 

 affairs commenced. 



The following resolution relative to the elec- 

 tion of Presidential Electors was adopted in 

 the Senate : 



Whereas, The interference by officers of the United 

 States in popular elections is justly regarded by the 

 people of this State as an evil of great magnitude ; and 



W hereas, Such interference, in part at least, is to 

 influence and control the action of this State in the 

 selection of Electors for President and Vice-President 

 of the United States ; therefore, 



Jfesolved, That the Committee on Federal Relations 

 be instructed to inquire into the expediency of provid- 

 ing for a law for the selection of Electors for Presi- 

 dent and Vice-President by the General Assembly 

 until the acts of Congress authorizing interference by 

 Federal authority are repealed. 



The sum of $3,000 was appropriated to car- 

 ry into effect the health laws of the State. 



An act was passed which provided for the 

 settlement of delinquent taxes. Under its pro- 

 visions, where lands or real estate of any kind 

 have been sold for taxes and purchased by the 

 State, between the 1st of January, 1866, and 

 1st of January, 1878, the owner may now re- 

 deem the same by paying 50 per cent, of the 

 amount of taxes for which it was sold, together 

 with 50 per cent, of all taxes which have since 

 accrued. When no assessment of taxes has 

 been made of lands or real estate after the first 

 sale thereof for taxes, and purchase thereof by 

 the State, the Judge of Probate of the county 

 in which such land or real estate may be situ- 

 ated shall assess the same for each subsequent 

 year when proposed to be redeemed. 



Another act was passed to secure a better 

 payment of taxes in future. It requires the 

 collector to docket the cases of all delinquen- 

 cies in a book, and hand the book to the Pro- 

 bate Judge by the first day of March. The 

 Probate Judge is to hold court in April, and 

 thirty days thereafter, say about the 1st of 

 May, is to issue to the owner, or his agent or 

 representative, of each parcel of real estate 

 entered in said book, a notice setting forth the 

 parcels of property on which he is reported a 

 delinquent, and notifying him to appear on a 

 given day and show cause why a decree of sale 

 should not be made for the amount due to the 

 State and county. If no defense is made with- 

 in ten days thereafter, the Judge enters up 

 a decree ordering a sale of the land. At the 

 end of the term of the court the collector ad- 

 vertises the lands for sale, giving thirty days' 

 notice. The Probate Judge attends the sale 

 and makes a record of the result. An appeal 

 lies from the decree of the Probate Judge to 

 the Circuit Court upon giving bonds in twice 

 the amount of the decree. The land thus sold 

 may be redeemed by the owner, his agent or 

 representative, mortgagee or other person hav- 



ing a beneficial interest in such land, at any 

 time before the expiration of two years from 

 the date of sale, by depositing with the Pro- 

 bate Judge of the county in which such real 

 property was sold, the amount of purchase- 

 money, and a penalty of 10 per cent, thereon, 

 damages on the taxes and the costs, and inter- 

 est on the taxes and costs, at the rate of 8 per 

 cent, per annum from the date of sale, and the 

 costs of the certificates of purchase, all taxes 

 on such land which have accrued subsequently 

 to the sale, unless such taxes have been paid 

 to the collector, as may be shown by his re- 

 ceipt, and also paying the sum of one dollar to 

 the Judge. The tax-collector is compelled by 

 this law to seize any personal property he can 

 find for the collection of taxes ; but, before he 

 enters upon his docket any lands of delin- 

 quents, he must swear that he has searched 

 diligently for personal property upon which to 

 make the levy, and has not been able to find 

 any. 



The Legislature authorized a new loan for 

 the purpose of taking up a million of interest- 

 bearing notes outstanding. The notes \vere 

 issued at 8 per cent, interest, and were a bur- 

 den upon the revenue of the State to the 

 amount of $80,000. It was believed that 

 bonds might be sold at par bearing 6 per cent, 

 interest, the proceeds of which could be used 

 to retire the notes. An offer for the whole 

 loan was made to the Governor from Boston 

 at 6 per cent., with a premium of one half of 

 one per cent. This was declined, as another 

 offer had been received, principally from citi- 

 zens of Alabama, with a premium of 2 per 

 cent. This indication of the healthy condition 

 of the State credit induced the Governor to 

 determine to offer the loan at 5 per cent. 



The report of the Auditor in the last of 

 October showed that for the past fiscal year 

 the disbursements of the Treasury were the 

 lowest, all things considered, for any year 

 since the war. The receipts for taxes were 

 $564,722.17 ; total from licenses and all sources 

 $122,307.58 ; making a total of $687,029.75. 

 The total disbursements were $685,026.47. 

 The total collections, including school money, 

 amount to $942,998.61 ; disbursements, in- 

 cluding school money, $872,867.48. The re- 

 ceipts are less than last year, but this is mainly 

 due, as the Auditor maintains, to the reduction 

 of the rate of taxation from Yi to 7 mills. The 

 report shows remarkable diminutions in the 

 amount of assessments in nearly all the coun- 

 ties. Of the 62 counties tabulated in the re- 

 port, 50 show a decrease as compared with 

 last year's assessment. The Auditor puts it 

 down as the general opinion that, so far from 

 there being depreciation in the value of prop- 

 erty throughout the State, there has been just 

 the reverse. He, however, helps the situation 

 somewhat by adding, " Supplemental and col- 

 lectors' assessments may bring up these coun- 

 ties considerably," though he does not believe 

 the assessment will reach the "total of the 



