PREFACE This study found its inception in the seminar of Dean David Kinley, of the University of Illinois, during the winter of 1908-1909. The seminar that year devoted its attention to the subject of taxation in the state in anticipation of the movement for the revision of the tax system which culminated in the appointment of the special tax commission of 1910. Considerable material, gathered by the members of the seminar, dealing particularly with the present day situation, has been made available for this undertaking; and acknowledgment is made in this special manner to Dr. A. E. Swanson, Dr. E. J. Brown, Mr. T. E. Latimer and Mr. J. R. Moore for the assistance afforded by their seminar studies. Moreover, material on various phases of the subject gathered by Professor M. B. Hammond, of the Ohio State University, and by Professor Nathan A. Weston, of the University of Illinois, was also very kindly contributed by them and was of no slight aid in the work. For this generous coöperation I desire to render my thanks. While the library of the University of Illinois was found to be rich in material, considerable use was made of other libraries. The collection of early state documents in the State Historical Library at Springfield, Illinois, was particularly valuable. Material was gathered also in the New York Public Library, the Indiana State Library, the Library of Congress, the Illinois State Library and the Columbia University Library. Thanks are due to the officers of these institutions for many courtesies extended. I am particularly indebted to the custodian of the public documents in the office of the secretary of state at Springfield, for access to the manuscripts of the unpublished territorial laws, and to the auditor of public accounts, for access to the original account books of the state for the early years of its history. For criticism of the manuscript and for suggestions as to the use of material, I desire to thank Professor E. R. A. Seligman, Dean David Kinley, Professor C. W. Alvord, Professor J. A. Fairlie, Professor E. L. Bogart, Professor G. W. Dowrie and Professor H. B. Gardner. Acknowledgment is made of financial assistance rendered by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Finally I wish to record my deep gratitude to my wife, whose aid has been invaluable. ROBERT M. HAIG. A. PRE-TERRITORIAL ORIGINS Taxable Capacity of the People............. The Agreement with the United States Government. A. PRE-TERRITORIAL ORIGINS CHAPTER I. ORIGINS OF THE GENERAL PROPERTY TAX IN ILLINOIS. The organization of Illinois as a territory in 1809 involved no radical change in the character of the existing institutions. No new code of law was substituted for the one in force in the territory when the change in the form of government was made. On the contrary, the old code was carried over in its entirety and used as the basis for the new, subject to such modifications and changes as were deemed appropriate by the territorial legislature.1 The system of raising public revenues by levying a tax upon property according to its value was one of the inheritances received by the new government from the old. Consequently one must look to the pre-territorial legislation for the primary sources of the general property tax system in the state. The pre-territorial history of Illinois is the history of a small group of French settlements, established about 1700, which led an unprogressive life for nearly a hundred years before they were submerged by the flood of settlers from the seaboard states after the close of the Revolution. The political control over this group of settlements was subject to frequent change during the century, passing successively from France to England, from England to the State of Virginia, and from Virginia to the United States. The French Period, 1699-1763. The period of French domination began with the establishment of the mission stations of Kaskaskia and Cahokia as outposts of the great French empire in the 1Laws of the Territory of Illinois, 1809-1811, p. 1; Laws of Illinois Territory, 1812, p. 5. |