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- ~ Ist member for Frederiksted Town (Coulter) remarked: Mr. Chairman, The Honorable Member has made a proposal to strike out these three lines, but what has he proposed to take the place of that? Every tax law has at_the end a provision for coljécting the tax. The Horse, Boat and Carriage Tax has a pro- vision. The Honorable 2nd Member for Frederiksted Country Disrrict has said there is nothing in the Code for collect- ing taxes. ltseems to me that this or- dinance must have such a provision. 92104 Member for. Christiansted Town (Canegaty) would like to hear the last sgeaker read the provision he speaks of in the Horse, Boat and Carriagze tax law. : Ist Member for Frederiksted Town (Coulter): I am speaking from memory. I am not objectinz to vour amendment. The propnsal you are objecting to is very deastie, bit something should be pro- pcsed to take the place of it. vynd Member for Frederiksted Country Distriet (Curry) remarkad: Mr. Chair- man. The Hoaorable 2nd Member for Cristiansted Town is eorrect. The Code provides that anybody can sue or be sued for a debt. The Government is a legal entity and can sue. I know that the Boat, Horse and Carriage Tax has a provision. There should be a means for collecting the tax. 9nd Member for Christiansted Town (Canegata) remarked: Mr. Chairman. The Honorable Member is a Lawyer and is supposed to know better, therefqre 1 bow to his knowledge. 1 will now intre- duce this amendment., The Member read his amendment which is follows: AMENDMENT [“‘ln default of the tax not being paid it shall be collected in the same manner as' provided in the Horse, Carriage and Boat Tax Ordinance). D. C. CANEGATA, ond Member for Christiansted Town, Goverpment Secretary (Gaffney) re- marked: * Mr. Chairman, The Horse, Boat and Carriage Tax is fifteen months behind time; if you wish to have your road repaired you should provide means for raisine taxes and not depend on this tax. lt must be borne i1 mind that we are looking for the man who is not will- ing to pay his tax. ond Member tor Christiansted Town (Cansgata) remarked: Mr. Chairman. As Chairman of the Municipal Commit- tee I had forwarded to me recently a statement of the revenues of the Munici- pality: the Horse, Boat and Carriage Tax is not down on that stalement. This is one of the taxes due the Municipality up to June 30. LT g 3rd Member for Christiansted Town (Alexander) remarked: Mr. Chairman. man. As I understand it the Road Tax is paid in advance. If a man is not using his car because he feels he is unable to pay his tax I fail to see how Government ST. CROIX-AYVYILS can compel him to pay or take-and sell his -car, henceI do not see t'ie need of the paragraph which the Honorable 2nd Member for Christiansted Town" desires | to have stricken. I think that’s the solu- tion of the question. te S Ist Member for Frederiksted Country District (Andersen) remarked: Mr.- Chairman. Any éne who ‘ean afford to burX a car can afford to pay S2O tax. I'he Chairman read the amendment preposed by 2rd Member for Christian- sted Town (Canegata) and put same to the wvote.' .. 5 e 3 Members voted for; none against. To be continued. EDITORIAL. With reference to the vaiued con- tribution by R. H. Amphlett Leader which appeared in .yesterday’s issue, a subscriber ‘has!sent s a -spicy . editorial ncte from the Pathfinder of Octoker 21, 1922, on the subject of truth value to which Mr. Leader attaches broad impcrrance in the human eguation of life. Between the two opinions our readers wili find good marerial for thought and resolutions for the coming year. The Pathfinder article follows: - “‘Pennsylvania university is setfing an. examn ple by starting a course in truth-. telling.and it is expected that th2 ideéa’ will be adopted in all the schools. Truth | is mighty, but it is teo precious to be cast before swine. Think what a terri- ble world this would be if people were compzlled to teil ‘‘the trath, the whole. truth and nothing but the truth.” In the first place in order to tell ‘‘the-whole: truth”’, everybody would have to keep talking all at once 24 hours a day. Think | what a revolt there would be if women were forced to proc’aim their age to all the world on a tag attached to their person like an auto license; or if they were forbidden to camouflage their true com- plexion by the use of paint and powder or if a man who claimed to have '‘the best wife in the world’’‘had to be taken into court and made to prove it; or if all the children had to be told that there was no such thing as Santa Claus; or if all the fiction had 10 be taken from our libraries and burned, and the publication of any more prohibited; or if your neigh- bour hal to tell you how rotten you look, instead of cheering you up with a com- pliment; or if we were forbidden to state how far it is to the moon in round num- bers, because we don’t know the pre- cise distance; or if we had to stop cali- ing October by that name, because it is really the 10th month, and not the eighth as the pname implizs—or finally if the politicians had to be checked up each nigat on all the statements 't-'\hey had made during the day. "No, it wouldn’t work at all; civilization couldn’t go that way. Os course in essential matters we should tell the truth, but we should also remember that great harm can be done by telling the truth when it iz not called for. Human nature is imperfect and it . lives largely on illusions. Silence often is golden, when *‘free speech’’ would be but dross indeed.”’ Our next issue wiil be January 2, 1923. We take the opportunity here of wishing all our readers and subseribers, our ad- - vertisers and all others who have contri- buted toward our existence in the closing year, A BRIGHT AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR which it is our hope will be a successful one for the island’s in- terests, generally and individually, in- dustrially and commercially. F.OCAL. We have been informed that the In- dustrial Brass Band will play on the wharf tomorrow evenihg., ~The. Raporel s. s. Bolivar arrived at thi- port this morning and after discha Q- ing her eargo will proceed to the sout - erp islands by noon. Mails eclose 10 8.1, - Correspondence Christiansted St. Croix, V. I. ' December 29, 1922, Tostbe Edzitor of the St. Croix Awvis. i, Piease allow me space in your col- umns to wish a Happy New Year to the Members of the Colonial Council, Gov- ernment Officials, the voters of this Town and Suburbs who re-elected me to the Council in 1921 "with 149 votes, the - highest number of votes ever obtained bya Council Member in St. Croix, to you and to your staff and to my many friends abroad. W. S. ABRAMSON. TELEGRA MS. ST. CROIX STATION Halifax, N. S., Dec. 27th.—H. M. C. S. “‘Patriot’”which is to spend the winter in the South, left here at midmight for Bermuda. She will not return to Halifax until some time in the Spring. Wellington, N. Z., Dec. 27th.—The earthquake of Christmas afternoon was confined to the upper and middle por- tiors of the South Island. ' The shock was especially severe in Neorth Canter- bm'y. London, Dec. 27th.—A Reuter despatch from t.ausanne says: There is a serious danger of the Near East conference be- coming abortive if the Turks persist in their present methods. =~ London, Dec. 26*h.—Physicians report that Prince George is making good pro- - gress after his operation “ior appen- dicitis. e