dated January 7, 1913, protesting against the Assembly bill making Spanish the official language of the Philippine Islands. Ordered filed. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. [Committee Report No. 80.] MR. PRESIDENT: Your select committee of two, to which was referred on December 14, 1912, proposed resolution of the Commission granting and conveying to the United States Government right of way for wagon road and narrow-gauge railroad over public land between the military reservations known as "Camp Overton" and "Camp Keithley" in the Island of Mindanao, has examined the same and has the honor to report it back to the Commission with the following recommendation, viz: The title to a strip of land of about ten miles, on which the wagon road that is now being built and improved between the military reservations, in the Island of Mindanao, known as Camp Overton and Camp Keithley, is not yet vested in the Government of the United States. The accounting officers of the United States decided that, in order to legalize the expenditures already incurred and still to be made by the Quartermaster's Department of the United States Army, for the building and improvement of said road, a right of way over the strip of land above referred to must vest in the Government of the United States. By this resolution, the Commission grants and conveys to the Government of the United States a right of way over so much of the public domain as is necessary for the construction of the road in question. Your committee believes that the Commission, under the provisions of Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, has the authority to dispose of the public land in the way set forth in this resolution and therefore recommends that the same be adopted. Respectfully submitted. RAFAEL PALMA, Committee. To the Honorable, the PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION. The report was accepted, and the following resolution accompanying the same was taken up: Commission Resolution No. 7. Whereas it has been brought to the attention of the Government of the Philippine Islands that the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in money of the United States has been expended under authority of the Quartermaster's Department of the United States Army and a further sum of sixtyfive thousand dollars in money of the United States is to be expended under like authority for the purposes of improving a wagon road and of building a narrow-gauge railroad between the military reservations on the Island of Mindanao known as Camp Overton and Camp Keithley; and Whereas the title to the land upon which the wagon road and narrow-gauge railroad aforesaid have been and will be built and improved is for a distance of approximately ten miles not in the Government of the United States; and Whereas it is the purpose of the President of the United States after survey of the road to reserve the same for military purposes; and Whereas the accounting officers of the United States have decided that in order that the expenditures aforesaid may be lawful a right of way over the necessary land must vest in the Government of the United States: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That a right of way be and the same is hereby granted and conveyed to the Government of the United States on, over and across so much of the public land of the Philippine Islands as is necessary to enable the wagon road and narrow-gauge railroad aforesaid between the military reservations of Camp Overton and Camp Keithley on the Island of Mindanao to be laid out, improved, maintained and used; and be it Resolved further, That the right of way hereby granted and conveyed shall be and remain vested in the Government of the United States until the President of the United States after proper survey has reserved for military purposes the lands necessary for the construction, operation, improvement, maintenance and use of said wagon road and narrow-gauge railroad. The resolution was adopted. [Committee Report No. 81.] MR. PRESIDENT: The Committee on Taxation and Revenue, to which was referred on December 16, 1912, Assembly Bill No. 4, entitled "An Act declaring exempt from attachment and execution for delinquency in the payment of the land tax the clothing and the household furniture of the debtor," has examined the same and has the honor to report it back to the Commission with the following recommendation, viz: That the bill do pass with the following amendment: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: "SECTION 1. The following property shall be exempt from attachment and execution for delinquency in the payment of the land tax: "1. Tools and implements necessarily used by the debtor in his trade or employment; “2. One horse or cow, or carabao, or other beast of burden, such as the debtor may select, and necessarily used by him in his ordinary occupation; "3. His necessary clothing, and that of all his family; "4. Household furniture and utensils necessary for housekeeping, and used for that purpose by the debtor, such as the debtor may select, of a value not exceeding seventy-five pesos; "5. Provisions actually provided for individual or family use sufficient for three months; "6. The professional libraries of lawyers, judges, clergymen, doctors, school-teachers, and music teachers, not exceeding five hundred pesos in value. "7. One fishing boat and net, not exceeding the total value of twenty-five pesos, the property of any fisherman, by the lawful use of which he earns a livelihood. "SEC. 2. All Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed. "SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect on its passage." Respectfully submitted. To the Honorable, FRANK A. BRANAGAN, GREGORIO ARANETA, NEWTON W. GILBERT, RAFAEL PALMA, Committee on Taxation and Revenue. the PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINE COMMISSION. The report was accepted. Assembly Bill No. 4 was thereupon read the second time and, together with the report of the standing committee thereon, referred to the Committee of the Whole. It was considered in committee and reported back to the Commission with the recommendation that the amendment recommended by the Committee on Taxation and Revenue be concurred in with the following further amendment: Strike out section 2 in its entirety, and that as so amended the bill pass. The amendment as recommended by the Committee of the Whole was adopted and the bill ordered on file for third reading. [Committee Report No. 82.] MR. PRESIDENT: Your Committee on Taxation and Revenue, to which was referred on December 16, 1912, Assembly Bill No. 6, entitled "An Act providing that the annual tax on the assessed value of the real estate of the city of Manila for the year nineteen hundred and thirteen and in subsequent years shall be one per centum thereof," has examined the same and has the honor to report it back to the Commission with the following recommendation, viz: That the bill be passed with the following amendment: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: "SECTION 1. Section forty-six of Act Numbered One hundred and eighty-three, entitled 'An Act to incorporate the city of Manila,' is hereby amended so as to read as follows: “‘SEC. 46. Duties of the city assessor and collector.—The Collector of Internal Revenue of the Philippine Islands shall be ex-officio city assessor and collector of the city of Manila, and said Collector of Internal Revenue and his authorized representatives shall perform the duties and render the services required by law of the city assessor and collector and his deputies. The duties prescribed by the Internal Revenue Law of Nineteen hundred and four for provincial treasurers and their deputies shall be performed in the city of Manila by the Collector of Internal Revenue and his authorized representatives. The Insular Government shall be reimbursed by the city of Manila for all costs incurred by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the performance of the duties formerly imposed by law on the city assessor and collector of the city of Manila and his deputies, excepting costs incurred in the enforcement of the internal revenue law of nineteen hundred and four. The real estate of the city of Manila shall be assessed and valued for taxation by the city assessor and collector and his authorized deputies, who are empowered to administer any oath authorized to be administered in the assessment or collection of taxes. He shall make a list of all taxable real estate in the city, by districts, and the names of the owners in each district shall be arranged in the order of the lot and block numbers with a brief description opposite each such name of the property owned by such owners and the cash value thereof. In making this list, the city assessor and collector shall take into consideration any sworn statement made by the owners of the property, but shall not be prevented thereby from considering other evidence on the subject and exercising his own judgment in respect thereto. For the purpose of completing this list, he and his authorized representatives are authorized to summon witnesses, administer oaths to them and subject them to examination concerning the ownership and the amount of real estate in each district and its cash value. It shall be the duty of the city assessor and collector, so far as is necessary, to examine the records of the office of the register of deeds showing the ownership of real estate in the city. "It shall be the duty of each person who at any time acquires real estate in the city of Manila, and of each person who constructs or adds to any improvement on real estate owned by him within said city, to prepare and present to the city assessor and collector, within a period of sixty days next succeeding the completion of such acquisition, construction or addition, a sworn declaration, setting forth the value of the real estate acquired or the improvement constructed or addition made by him and containing a description of such property sufficient to enable the city assessor and collector readily to identify same. Any person who fails to make and present such declaration of real estate newly acquired by him within the said period of sixty days shall be deemed to have waived his right to notice of the assessment of such property, and the assessment of same in the name of its former owner shall, in all such cases, be valid and binding on all persons interested and for all purposes as though same had been assessed in the name of its actual owner.' "SEC. 2. Section forty-seven of said Act is hereby amended so as to read as follows: "SEC. 47. Rate of annual tax.-An annual tax of one and one-half per cent on the assessed value of all real estate in the city subject to taxation as hereinbefore provided is hereby levied. All taxes shall be due and payable on or before the thirtieth day of June of each year, and if any taxpayer shall fail to pay the taxes assessed against him on or before the thirtieth day of June of the year for which such taxes are due, he shall be delinquent in such payment and shall be subject to an additional tax of fifteen per cent of the amount of the original tax as a penalty for such delinquency, together with interest at the rate of one-half of one per cent per month on the sum of the original tax and the penalty, such interest to be calculated from date of delinquency to date of payment. Such penalty and interest to be collected at the same time and in the same manner as the original tax: Provided, That in calculating interest, any fraction of a month amounting to fifteen days or more shall be deemed a full month, and any fraction of a month amounting to less than fifteen days shall be disregarded: And provided further, That at the option of the taxpayer, the tax due for any year may be paid in two installments, the first of such installments to consist of one per cent of the assessed valuation of the property and the second to consist of the remainder of the tax for the year. In such cases the first installment must be paid on or before the thirtieth day of June of the year for which the tax is due, and the second may be paid at any time prior to the first day of January of the following year, but if the first installment of the tax for any year is not paid on or before the thirtieth day of June of such year, then the whole of that year's tax shall be delinquent and the penalty due thereon as hereinbefore provided. If any taxpayer, having paid the first installment of his tax for any year, shall fail to pay the second installment thereof before the first day of January of the following year, the penalty collected shall be fifteen per cent of the amount of such second installment with interest thereon as above |