Short v. State
| Decision Date | 27 February 1895 |
| Citation | 31 A. 322,80 Md. 392 |
| Parties | SHORT v. STATE. |
| Court | Maryland Court of Appeals |
Appeal from circuit court, Dorchester county.
Action by the state of Maryland against John H. Short. From judgment for the state, defendant appeals. Affirmed.
The defendant was notified by one of the supervisors of the public roads for its "Fork District" of Dorchester county to appear at a certain point on the public road under his charge, and "to labor" for one day on the road with "proper implements," by virtue of the authority conferred on the supervisors of the several road districts of Dorchester county by sections 268-270, art. 10 of Pub. Loc. Laws, tit. "Dorchester County," subtit. "Roads." Refusing to comply, he was arrested, and, being convicted, was sentenced to pay a fine of 75 cents and costs, and to stand committed until they were paid.
Argued before ROBINSON, C.J., and McSHERRY, FOWLER, BRISCOE, and ROBERTS, JJ.
Geo. M Russum and S. T. Milbourne, for appellant.
Atty Gen. Poe and P. L. Goldsborough, for the State.
By the Public Local Laws for Dorchester county, all able-bodied male residents of the county, above 20 and under 50 years of age are compelled to labor two days at least in every year in repairing the roads of said county, with the privilege however, of furnishing a substitute, or of paying to the road supervisor 75 cents for each day such person may be summoned to labor, the money thus paid to be expended in repairing the roads. And it further provides that any one neglecting or refusing to perform such labor, or to provide a substitute, or to pay 75 cents per day for each and every day he may be summoned to work, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon trial and conviction before a justice of the peace, shall be fined 75 cents for each day's delinquency and costs, and shall stand committed until the fine and costs are paid. Pub. Loc. Laws, art. 10, §§ 268-270, tit. "Dorchester County." And the act further provides that any one aggrieved by the judgment of the justice of the peace may appeal to the circuit court. The main question, and the only one it seems to us about which there can be any real contention, is whether this local law is in conflict with the constitution, which declares "that the levying of taxes by the poll is grievous and oppressive and ought to be prohibited." Const. 1867, Declaration of Rights, art. 15. And, in construing the meaning of this article, we must bear in mind that the same declaration is to be found in the constitution of 1776, and in every constitution adopted in this state down to the constitution of 1867. So the question comes to this: Is compulsory labor imposed upon persons residing in the several election districts of a county, for the purpose of keeping the roads in repair, with the privilege of providing a substitute or the payment of a stipulated sum in lieu of such personal service, a "levying of taxes by the poll," within the meaning of the constitution? Such compulsory labor is, beyond question, a burden on the persons upon whom it is imposed, and, though it assumes the form of labor, it may be fairly considered, we agree, in the nature of tax. At the same time, when this article in the bill of rights is construed in the light of the legislation in regard to levying taxes by the poll in force when the constitution of 1776 was adopted, and in the light of the legislation in regard to compulsory labor on the public roads, also in force at that time, and which has continued in force down to the present, it is clear, we think, that compulsory labor for the purpose of keeping the roads in repair has never been considered as a poll tax prohibited by the constitution. A brief reference to the legislation in force when the constitution of 1776 was adopted will clearly show, we think, the nature and character of poll taxes the levying of which was declared to be grievous and oppressive and ought to be abolished. If we turn to Act 1715, c. 15, we find that all persons, males and females, free and slave, above the age of 16 years, are declared to be "taxables," and upon each person thus declared to be a taxable the commissioners of the several county courts were directed to levy a specified sum, to be paid in money or tobacco, for the support of the government; and this act providing for the levying of taxes by the poll continued in force down to the Revolution. And, in addition to the poll taxes thus levied for public purposes, Act 1702, c. 1, declaring the church of England to be the established church of the colony, also provided that a tax of 40 pounds of tobacco per poll should be levied each and every year for the support of the clergy, and this act continued in force down to the Revolution; and, strange as it may seem nowadays, the poll taxes to which we have referred were the...
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