1897. Comptroller and AttorneyGeneral to assess, Comptroller to notify County Assessors. nances, and should any railroad company or its officers, fail to make the returns required by this act on or before the first Monday in March, or should the Comptroller have reason to believe that any return so made does not give complete and correct value of such railroad and property, the Comptroller, with the assistance and advice of the Attorney-General and Treasurer of the State, shall have power to assess the same from the best information they can obtain, specifying the value thereof in each county. And the value of the locomotives, engines, passenger, freight, platform, construction and other cars and appurtenances, shall be apportioned by the Comptroller, pro rata, to each mile of main track, branch, switch, spur track and side track, and the Comptroller shall notify the Assessor of each county through which such railroad runs, of the number of miles of track, and the value thereof, and the proportionate value of personal property taxable in their respective counties, and he shall notify each incorporated city and town into which said railroad runs, of the mileage apportionment of rolling stock, and other property of said railroad within such city or town, and the value thereof shall be assessed by such city or town as provided by law, and upon the value thus ascertained and apportioned taxes shall be assessed the same as upon the property of individ、 uals. That every telegraph line in this State, and its properto be returned ties, rights, franchises, of every kind in this State, shall be returned and assessed in the same manner as is provided by this act for the assessment of railroads and in case of failure to pay the taxes assessed, the entire line of telegraphs in this State and all of its properties, rights and franchises, or any property belonging to the same company, person or persons, may be sold in the same manner as is provided for the sale of the railroads or any of its properties upon which any tax shall be due and not paid. Comptroller to notify incorpo rate cities and towns. Telegraph lines and assessed in same manner as railroads. Sleeping and parlor cars. All sleeping and parlor car companies operating their cars in this State shall, on or before the first day of January, 1898, and annually thereafter, report under oath of the secretary or other officer of such company, the total amounts of their gross receipts derived from business done between points in this State, and at the same time shall pay into the State Treasury the sum of one dollar and fifty cents upon each one hundred dollars of such gross receipts, and if any such company shall fail to make such report and to pay the tax thereon as herein provided, the Comptroller shall estimate the amount of such gross receipts from such information as he may be able to obtain, and shall add ten per cent. to the amount of such taxes as a penalty for the failure of such company to make report, and shall proceed to collect such tax together with all costs and penalties thereon the same as other delinquent taxes are collected. Any persons engaged in selling at auction of mules or horses in droves or otherwise shall pay a license tax of sixty dollars. SEC. 9. That Section 48, of Chapter 4322, Laws of Florida, be amended so as to read as follows: If the taxes on any railroad or any part thereof in this State shall not be paid on or before the first Monday in April in any year, the Tax Collector of any county where any such taxes may be due shall send a certificate of the amount thereof to the Comptroller, including in said certificate the amount of State and county taxes, and school sub-district and road subdistrict taxes. 1897. Tax Collector cate of amount to send certifi of unpaid taxes to Comptroller. issue warrant The Comptroller shall have the power, upon the receipt of the certificate or certificates from the Collectors as aforesaid, to issue a warrant directed to the Sheriff of any county where such defaulting railroad or any part thereof may be located, Comptroller to commanding him to collect by levy and sale in the same to Sherift. manner as is now provided by law for the sale of property under execution from the Circuit Court, of the shop, fixtures, rolling stock or any part thereof, or of the entire road, or such part thereof as may be located in this State, the full amount of taxes due thereon, including the cost and expenses of sale; and the proceeds of such sale, after deducting the fees and costs as provided by law, shall be forwarded by such Sheriff to the Comptroller, to be divided by him among the counties and school sub-districts and road sub-districts where such taxes may be due according to the assesment, and the surplus after such division, if any, shall be paid over to the authorities of such defaulting railroad. Sheriff's fees. The fees of the Sheriff in the execution of the warrant provided for in this section shall be the same as provided by law in the case of executions from the Circuit Court, which fees, together with the cost, shall be included with the taxes in the amount to be collected from the defaulting railroad; Provided further, That whenever any person or persons shall Proviso. become the purchaser of any car, engine or other rolling stock of any such company or corporation at any such sale, such purchasers shall have the right to require of any such company or corporation the transportation of any such car, engine or other rolling stock to any point along its line of road at a cost not to exceed eight cents per mile, and that the Sheriff shall take corporal possession of the property levied on under this section, and on selling the same or any part thereof shall deliver it into the actual possession of the purchaser upon his paying the amount bid therefor at such sale; and in case no 1897. Application provisions of this section. Advertising Proviso. person shall bid the amount of taxes due, including the cost and expenses of sale, the property shall be bid off for the Comptroller of the State, and shall be delivered to the Comptroller, and the Governor and Comptroller shall dispose of, sell and convey the same in such manner as in their judgment may be to the interest of the State. The provisions of this section, in so far as they relate to the sale of railroad for unpaid taxes, shall apply to all taxes assessed heretofore, or that may be hereafter assessed. SEC. 10. That Section 50, of Chapter 4322, Laws of Florida, be amended so as to read as follows: If the taxes upon any real estate shail not be paid before the first day of April of any year, the Collector shall advertise and sell in the manner following: He shall make out a statement of all such real estate, specifying the amount due on each parcel, together with the cost of advertising and expense of sale, in the same order in which the land was assessed, and such list shall be published once each week in five consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in the county, if there be a newspaper, said newspaper to be selected by the Board of County Commissioners; and if there be no such newspaper published in the county, then by posting in three public places in the county, one of which shall be at the court house; and the newspaper publisher's charges for advertising shall be fifteen cents per line for the five insertions, per single column, and the Collector shall receive the same for posting at three public places, but in neither case shall there be any charge for the head notice; Provided, This act shall not apply to lands sold for non-payment of taxes for the year 1896. The Comptroller is authorized to audit said publisher's charges and draw his warrant for the same out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. The editor, publisher and owner shall have attached to his account an affidavit that he has not directly or indirectly paid or promised to pay any Collector or any other person, any consideration whatever, or any compensation of any description for having said tax notice published in his paper. A copy of the adver tisement shall be recorded in the County Clerk's office within ten days after said sale. When lands are advertised for taxes under the provisions of this act, the Collector shall be enCollector's fees. titled to fifteen cents for each certificate of sale, and shall be entitled to five per cent. commissions on the amount of each delinquent tax when actual sale is made. All such sales shall commence on the regular sale day prescribed by law, and may be continued from day to day. Such advertisement shall be in the following form, to wit: Affidavit of editor, etc. NOTICE. Notice is hereby given that the following described lands will be sold at public auction on the.. day of.... of. at. ..... in the county or so much thereof as will be necessary to pay the amount due for taxes herein set opposite to the same, together with cost of such sale and advertising. 1897. Tax Collector.... ... County. The publisher, proprietor or foreman of any newspaper publishing any such notice shall forward a copy of each number of his paper containing such notice to the Tax Collector and the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller by mail, and when the publication of the tax sale notice is completed as provided by law, the publisher shall make affidavit thereto in the form prescribed by the Comptroller and annexed to the Tax Collector's report of the tax sale or list of lands sold as provided by Section 55, Chapter 4322, Laws of Florida. SEC. 11. That Section 66, of Chapter 4322, Laws of Florida, be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows: SEC. 66. The Assessor of Taxes shall be entitled to receive the following commissions upon the amount of taxes, general or special, assessed, but not on each separately, the following missions. commissions upon the amount of taxes assessed, excluding errors, to-wit: On the first two thousand dollars, ten per cent.; on the next two thousand dollars, five per cent.; on the balance, two cent.; which shall be allowed him by the Comptroller, and paid to him by the Treasurer as other Comptroller's warrants are paid; and the Assessor shall receive the Assessor's com 1897. Tax Collector's commissions. Commissions to be audited and same rate of commissions for assessing the county tax, to be allowed by the County Commissioners and paid by the County Treasurer. When the tax book is received by the Comptroller from the Assessor, examined and found to be correct, then the Comptroller shall issue his warrant for four-fifths of the amount of commissions due the Assessor, reserving the payment of the remaining one-fifth until a report of errors and double assessments is approved by the County Commissioners, and a copy thereof filed with the Comptroller, and the County Commissioners in their settlement with the Assessor shall proceed in the same manner. SEC. 12. That Section 67, of Chapter 4322, Laws of Florida, be amended to read as follows: SEC. 67. The Tax Collector shall be entitled to commissions upon the aggregate amount of State taxes, general or special, including licenses collected by him and paid into the State Treasury, but not on each separately, as follows: On the first two thousand dollars, ten per cent.; ou the next two thousand dollars, five per cent.; on the balance, two per cent.; and he shall be allowed the same rate of commissions for collecting the county tax. The commissions for collecting the State taxes shall be audited and allowed by the Comptroller and paid by the Treasurer upon warrant therefor; and the commissions for collecting the county taxes shall be audited and allowed by the County Commissioners; and the commissions for collecting the tax for school sub-districts and Trustees of and road sub-districts shall be audited and allowed by the allowed by Comptroller and County Commissioners School and Road sub-districts. trustees of such school and road sub-districts, and shall be Tax levy, 1897. CHAPTER 4516-[No. 2.] AN ACT to Provide for the Levy of Taxes for the Years 1897 and 1898. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: SECTION 1. That for the purpose of securing an equal and uniform rate of taxation and to pay the appropriations for the current expenses of the State for the years 1897 and 1898 and for interest on the bonded debt for said years, there shall be levied upon the real and personal property of the different counties for the year 1897, a tax of three and one-half mills upon the dollar, and for the year 1898 a tax |