A portian of the 8-8 thu8 9uFche8ed by Mr. Tepp .heve been ured on other inlltF'UWnt8 8tiee that time, but the remalader are nav la the h8nd8 of H. Ii. Welnert of Seg~ln, rho derlre8 to embag them for rtam98 OS rnaller deaomlna- tiai. Ia th8t letter JOU IWqU8Sted OUI' 09iniQ U to vhether Or not LOU 8hould rrk8 tb0 eXChange FSqW8tsd br HI'. Weinert.

Slnoe writing ue the above letter pu have lad correepondenae with Mr. It. A. Welnert, 8ttorney at further Seguln, aad It 8eem8 that the lnformatian regeivcrd and given U8 -8 not COPlWCt. YOU hAVe FeqUe8t8d thrt V8 UW’VW PUP as 8t4t8d in &. R. A. hat8 qUb8thl, 888u t0 YOU Of ~OVC%llbe~ 14th, a8 fO11oV8: bbiaeFt’8

In the month of July, 1937, ‘&e follovlag mat8 V8P8 U8OUt8d in C~eotiM th8 8818 Of OOFtaiTl Vith

(1) A88&llDlIJiat fiOZll BO8teX oil COl'9OF8tian to w8~t"Vir&ui* Qas Oorporatiaa ~overlng aa utulivlded ane- hair lntereet la the Rage Loen Campsng 1e88e. A VBadOl”8 to 8ecure th8 paymsdat of two note8 lien wa8 retaiaod in the amouat8 OS $27,700 and ~13,000 respectively. (2) An rsri&k- lBIlt tl'OlU H. H. ~3in3rt t0 West Virginia @%8 COr9OMtiCUl CoV- orlag the Lackey-Weldan tventy end 8lxty 8Cre tract8 and an upldlVld8d one-fourth interest in the R\mse Loan Co@eny lend. A Vendar’8 lien ~88 retained tc 8ecure the psplusnt of two note8 In the amalsts of )105,000 8nd $77,000 rerpeatlvely. (3) A bill ai 8ale from H. E. iielnsrt aad A. b. Bauahwn to Yeclt vlrginir cm Corporatllxl 4aslgnlng the cepitrl rtaok or sane Oil commny. The purchawr exeauted e oolleterel pledge of the 8tOak to 8ecure the payment Of tvo note8 ln the WWt8 The notes motioned in rubdlvlsians of ~~0,000 and $205,000. ma 2 above vere also 8eCUr3d by Deeds of True ooverlng the race property aad securing the 8eme notes. All of these ln- 8trment8, including the Deeds of Trust, vere recorded end ll ot them vtrc s&med ln l co?dfmce with the provlslons Articla 7047e, Velaon’s Civil Statutes. The total ateups usea amcuntec? $SlS.!!C. Hovevep, ti%wyh joy confusion tvo sets r;racred, one for of rfaanps had -;ecn ,$S.Scr by H. H. WeInert end assoclatax nna the other baing for $697.1,: by the Alamo Rs.t.1onal Bank. Since that flme a part of the surplus stamy heve been used on other documenta, but the interested 9w%ies 8t.111 have an hand $448.20 vorth of thO83 8tamp8, being nine rt IS 24ollght to 8tampo of the denomination of $49.80 each. exchange those staup for other stamps of nmaller danomlnatlon.

. Pl;g8 3

HWOlSblO char187 &O-t, Article 70470, Veraca’8 Civil Statute8, a8 It read at the time the rtAst98 In questIon Vera proha v18 a8 fol- lo*81 “.(a) Except a8 herein otheruire provided, there

i8 hereby 18Visd a ad A88e88ed tU Of tan amt8 (lo/) on eaoh Ohs Hundred I&l&~8 ($100 or ?ractloa there- .over the first TV0 Euadred Do Lr ((200), 0 l ll of, note8 and otlIgatIcm8 recured by ohattel mortgage8, deed et trust, mechanIctc iieh OOntNCt, veador’8 lien, -188 OQltmt COditiOWl and all iXl8tlUlltXlt8 Of a nature uhIoh are filed or recorded In the o?- rimllar tics a? the County Clerk ueder the ReEIstratIan I&v8 of this State; providing that no tax 8hall levied m instruments for an cmotmt of Tuo Hundred Dollars ($200) or 1088. After the effeotlvo date of thi8 Aot, exoept a8 hereIaa?ter provided, no lnnrtrummt oreatlng llea a? shy charaoter to 8eoure the 9ay- ment a? money, or resorvlng title to any property un- til the purahsre price thereof shall have bean p&Id, r&l1 be rihd or reaarded by auy County Clerk In ttds State until there ha8 beea afflsed ruch la- 8tIWlW3llt 8tXUt98 in aCOOrdanC0 VIth the JJFOV~~~CQIS Of thl8 Sectloh: 8nd prOVlding ?urther that the prool- 81ollS Of thi8 8eCtiCUl S&11 IiOt amij rIXXiV~8 Or extenalcam of any notes or obllgatlons, 8nd 89ecI?l- tally 8hall not apply to refunding o? exL6ting bends or abllgation8, And PI’OYiding ?UPthBr ehi8 8’3’3tiOll to notes aad Obli~ti~8 or in8tru- 8hrl1 not apply taken by oh behalf OS the meat8 reour3ag 8m8 WIted State8 or any oorparats agenog or lnstrumental- Ity of the UhIted ztat3s Scveenmeht In carrying out a governmental 9urpca3 a3 ?xpessed In any Act of the Coagrers of the Dnlted States."

"(b) Payzimt of t!ze t8.x hereby levied shall be evidenced by affixing tile stamps herein provided to all in3trumiits x? vithln the provlslnns l3citi suMlvlsion (a) of this Section, and It shall be the duty of tt %a',2 Treeertror to hava orqzaved or Trlnted to co3qQ.g vlth thic Snctlon, ma the stamps cacessarg to seil tiiti sam to all perzmo upon 63-a and pay- mont therefor. The stamps shall be of suah design ead denaminat.lan a8 to the Treasurer rhall seem proper, a!Ki hall shw the auomt of the tax, tk:a patents of vhich is evidenced thereby, &xl shall contain the vorda Vote *4 Hamrable Charlm Lockhart, Page 4

StUllp.’ The State Treasurer shall responsible for the oustody and 8818 OS suoh du!q~s tad the prweedr therefran under this ofilclal bad.”

It ns reoent.17 held by the Emtlmd Court of Civil Appeale in the aaee o? City of Abbilene v. Frier, (not 7et reported) that the tu levied b7 this atrtute is, in ef- feat, prlvllege tax laid spool the prlvllege of using the tzc$ reoords, not (L t8x upon the note or obllgatlca Be-

Benoe a atamp has not been used until it has been at&d to an lnntrment for recording. Consequmtly, lt oamot be Bald that the rtamps now held by Nr. Yeinert had ever been rllocated assigned to any particular malt. A stamp may be purchased vlth the intention of pIa:- lng th@ same upaa me dooument, rhereur the .ume may be used on an entirely dlffermt instrument, There 16 nothing to prevent 8 perron’s no doing.

While the statute, neither ia its original form nor aa unended, oaotains no provielap1 relating to ex- change OS rtamps, JOU advise ua that it hba been the prac- tice of your Department to exchange such stamps when those &dn:z;ome person are of denomlnatlons not suitable to

We see no objection to such pmbctloe. Uader the iacts aa kbmltted ln Mr. Weinert’s of November 14, 1940, there oan be no questlm but that the exchange map be made.

Yours very tFu1g ATTORlVEY GEZEXALOPTFJLAS Glezm R. Lewis Asslstmi