THE COLLAR-BUTTON SYSTEM.

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It provides:

“ That the Tax Commissioners shall find, before March i,the number of taxable inhabitants, copartnerships, corpora-tions, and associations liable to taxation, real or personal,and report them to the Comptroller of State, who shall fur-nish blanks to all taxable persons or parties, on which allparties shall make oath : What real estate they own, andwhere located ; what debts lie against the real estate, and theaddresses of the holders of the debts ; the aggregate value ofeach class of all personal property owned, ‘wherever situated,’including money, deposits in banks, bonds, mortgages, promis-sory notes, certificates of stock, book accounts, and solventdebts ; what debts lie against the personal property for whichdeduction is claimed, and to whom they are due ; what realestate is held as executor, trustee, guardian, etc., and thenames of the parties for whom it is held, and the amount andowner of any lien thereon ; the aggregate value of each classof personal property held as executors, etc., ‘wherever situ-ated or loaned,’ including money, deposits in banks, promis-ory notes, securities of all kinds, and solvent debts due orunpaid, and debts owing by such estate.

“ The above statements to be made under oath before April25, and to be at once filed in the Tax Commissioners’ office ;the oath to be taken before any officer authorized by law toadminister any oath. In case of failure of a taxable party tofile inventory, the Tax Commissioners are to present him witha blank, which must be filled out at once, and oath taken that itis correct. The Tax Commissioners shall make copies of allinventories, and deliver them to the various assessors.

“ The assessors ‘shall use the copies of the inventories to aidthem more fully in ascertaining, than heretofore, the taxableproperty, and to whom the same shall be assessed.’ (Underthe decision in Luckmeyer vs. Coleman, New York Supreme Court , November, 1891, they can go behind the returns.)

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