28 APPENDIX. 1884.] 



Worcester County Horticultural Society. 



Hall of Flora, Worcester, Mass., 3Iarch 6, A. D., 1884. 



Hon. Francis B. Hayes, JPrest.: 

 Dear Sir. — 



I have not yet been able to see Judge Dewey,* but Vice-President 

 Parker, of our Committee, and others of our Trustees, unite with 

 myself in concurrence with your opinion. It would be emphatically a 

 matter of construction, — in every case by Assessors whose chief aim is, 

 to tax all that they can reach. The Statutes now require that " por- 

 tions of such " (religious) " houses appropriated for purposes other 

 than religious worship, shall be taxed at the value thereof to the owners 

 of the houses." 



Not one cent has ever been taxed, in Worcester, under that explicit 

 enactment. But then we should not have the "benefit of Clergy "! 



Our Stores are inseparable from our Hall. Take them away and 

 the building falls. The income from them supplies the means where- 

 with to prosecute the high purposes for which we were chartered. 

 For such purposes, solely, is it used. 



Would the Committee enact that " the land of Agricultural Societies 

 shall be taxed to such Societies, for such portions of the year as it is 

 not appropriated for Agricultural purposes exclusively f'f 



Our Society ask- for equality before the law and to be relieved from 

 invidious discrimination. The insertion of the words — " and Horticul- 

 tural " — after " Agricultural," in the existing Statute, would satisfy 

 their wishes. 



Very truly and sincerely your friend, 



EDWARD WINSLOW LINCOLN, 



Secretary. 



* Absent, in Cuba. 



t It has alwaj^s been a mystery to us, why any property which has to have 

 fire, police, and general municipal protection, should be exempt from taxa- 

 tion, except, of course, such as belongs to the municipal corporation. Vol- 

 untary charity is A'ery commendable ; but to force others to help you in your 

 voluntary work is an absurdity unworthy of an intelligent people. The 

 People who advocate the public support of devotional and charitable institu- 

 tions, by relief from taxation, make nothing by it. The taxation of Phila- 

 delphia, and New York, would be perhaps one-fourth lower, only for the 

 enormous amount of exempt property. Therefore, even those who want to 

 give, and to force those who do not want to give, pay one-fourth moi'e taxes 

 than they would do only for this exemption idea. — Gardener's Monthly (Phila.), 

 May iVb., pp. 156—. 



