It was also provided in the Constitution of 1876 that the legislature might constitute any city or town a separate and independent school district, but the tax limit was not fixed.3 The statute relating to the subject of independent school districts was ambiguous until 1881.4

Throughout the period of 1874-1880 the rate of the property tax for the state purposes, including the common schools, was 50 cents, and one-fourth of the proceeds went to the available school fund.5 County rates in 1876 varied from 25 cents in Starr County to $1.20 in Anderson. 'The principal burden lay in the city taxes, however, and the total of state, county and city taxes amounted in some instances in 1880 to $3.00 on the $100 valuation.6 There were no taxes levied in 1880 for schools by the counties or by school districts. Other minor civil divisions re-ported only $1,994 of school taxes.1 Total state, county and local taxation amounted to $4,568,716, distributed at follows: state, $2,188,540; county, $1,685,907; local, $694,269.2 A rate of $3.00 on the $100 valuation is a high direct tax; for, assuming 10 per cent income from property, such a rate is equivalent to a tax on income of thirty-three and one-third per cent. It is to be remembered, however, that evasion and undervaluation reduced this by two-thirds or more, and any opinion of the heaviness of taxation during this and the preceding period as well should be formed in the light of facts known to exist regarding undervaluation and evasion. For those, however, who could not or who would not evade or undervalue the rates were burdensome. Between 1874 and 1880 expenditures increased 47.6 per cent; assessed values, 27.3 per cent. The high mark of assessed values was reached in 1877 when they were $319,373,000 as compared with $244,510,000 in 1874 and $311,470,000 in 1880; but partly because of a relapse of financial depression and partly because non-residents of organized counties secured lower assessments through their appointed agents, assessed values fell off over $16,000,000 in 1878.3 Taxation was not sufficient to prevent annual deficits in the general revenue account, and there were bond sales for the benefit of this account in 1875, 1876, 1877, and 1879. More efficient methods of administration of the property tax would have rendered unnecessary bond sales to meet the current ordinary expenditures. A special interest tax of 15 cents was urged by the house finance committee in 1876, but it was opposed by the governor.4 A state tax rate of 65 cents is high, but in view of undervaluation this would have been only the nominal rate. It is probable that if the additional tax had been levied, the credit of the state would have been better.5

1 Art. 11, secs. 4 and 5. 2Art. 11, sec. 7. 3Art. 11, sec. 10.

4 Laws of 1876, p. 209. Laws of 1881, p. 64. 5Laws of 1875, p. 243. Laws of 1879, p. 145. 1876.

The county statistics for 1876 are taken from the comptroller's report for 1876; those for 1880 are taken from the Tenth United States Census.

1 Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. Vol. Valuation, Taxation and Public Indebtedness, p. 25. 2Ibid.

3 Comptroller's Report, 1879-80.

4 Letter of Governor Coke to A. C. Gray, November 27, 1876. 5Galveston News, July 12 and December 7, 1876.