Auditors office Jackson
April 25, 1849
Dear Banks
I recd your welcome letter today, but would have been more glad to see you. I am more a prisoner now than the convicts in the prison who do now & then get a chance to work out of doors - but I hope ? of these days yet, after straitening [sic] up some crooked things here, to shake hands with my Westville friends. I hope by all means to see you and Douglass & Berry, & Dampier &c at our convention. I am very content with whatever the Democracy may then do for the cause. My own interests are subservient to these, always.
You ask for a form of a Tax Collectors Deed. The best, under existing laws, is the literal form in the statute, (Acts 1846.p79.Sec 31.) only putting in after the word "property, to wit" in 6th line of the Sec. as following, "after having duly offerred [sic] the same in lots of one eighth of one section, separately, according to Law". This will make the deed conform to the late decision, which is only to this effect - that the collector must offer first one 1/8, then another, & so on till the whole amt due from the delenquent [sic] Tax payer is bid - specifying each particular 1/8, as offerred [sic], so that the bidders may know what specific land is offerred [sic]. This I hope will meet your enquiry.
We are going to have a hard fight with Taylor's in this year - set our friends to work, and let us pull "all together" -
Very best regards to Douglass, Berry &c, your friend
Geo. T. Swann
