And again about the old laws and trials in the United States. I love history and sometimes I encounter interesting things from the past few days. One of them I would like to share. I warn you, there will be a lot of bugs, sorry.

“God is God, Caesar is Caesar.”

“In this world, nothing can be absolutely certain except taxes and death.” by Benjamin Franklin)

In the middle of the 19th century, many religious sects, currents, and directions appeared in the United States. For example, Mormonism, whose followers are still millions. There were others, most of which are not. One thing was called Millerism, in essence it is a branch of Adventism. Their religious views are not important, the main thing is that they had such a leader, Peter Armstrong.

In the 1840s, Peter and his wife Hannah lived in Philadelphia, where he owned a small paper factory. After the Great Disappointment of 1844, when the Messiah did not appear again, Peter decided that living among the unbelievers was too hard. He decided to buy a piece of land away from sinful laymen and found a colony for true believers, ready to follow Peter because he "knows how to." He sold the factory and for all his savings acquired a plot of 6 square miles in Sullivan County in northern Pennsylvania. It is now a bear corner with a population of approximately 6 thousand people throughout the county, and then it was a deaf man. But that was exactly what Peter and his followers wanted, a secluded place away from empty eyes.

The Millers decided to found the city. They drew a map, marked the place for the temple, marked the sites, and officially registered the document in the capital of the county. And the name of the city was invented beautiful, Celestia. The plan was simple – to wait for the Messiah in this Celestia, and so far he has not been engaged in farming. Of course, Celestia looked beautiful only on paper, and in fact it was a village of several houses, barracks, cattle courts and, of course, a church.

For many years, Millerians lived their lives quietly. No one touched them because in the United States, religion is very tolerant, the main thing is not to interfere with the neighbors and everything will be fine. But in 1861, the world collapsed and the Civil War between the North and the South began. It turned out to be very bloody and needed more and more soldiers. Therefore, North announced a lottery-based call, and one unfortunate number fell on some Charles Russell, one of Peter’s few followers.

Then it was possible to legally repay from the call, but the price was with approximately two-year earnings of a good master in a big city, the sum for sectarians is very large. Money is money, but the native soul must be safeguarded in some way, not fit into the stupid settlements of laity. And then Peter took a desperate step, writing a letter to President Lincoln himself. The message was about the following: “Dear President. We are religious people and very busy, waiting for the Messiah. And in general, all your conflicts of eaten eggs are not worth it. Our brother Charles has no desire to fit in this prostitute at all, so for religious reasons we ask him to be released from the service. And for the honorary role of the confederate bullet target, look for other candidates."

The chances that Lincoln would receive the letter were poor, because the letters were sent to him in bags and boxes. But the inhabitants of Celestia may have prayed well, or may have just stunned, but Lincoln really read the request. Moreover, he sympathetized and ordered Charles to be released from service and not to touch the militias at all.

It was, of course, great luck, but here Peter had an even more radical thought. "Once the President himself signed up for us, we need to forge the iron without leaving the box. We do not support war, all kinds of worldly quarrels and quarrels as well. From the unbelievers we need little, we live essentially separately, damn we pay taxes?" The idea came from Peter. thought and done. He wrote a letter to Congress and stated, “We are peaceful aliens and outsiders. Don’t consider us part of Pennsylvania. We are somehow ourselves. And collect taxes from someone else.”

“Hello you.” In Congress, I read the message. “For complete happiness, we only lacked other separatists. Money and the cat cried. There is no trade, England and France are fighting in front of the eyes, so the South will support. We have here, fleas, war, the Gadda Confederates of Frederiksburg have taken, and there are still pretexts, and in the very heart of the North. Do you see anything in your Pennsylvania? Deal with the marginals.”

At that time there was no income tax in the United States. The federal government lived mostly at the expense of import duties, alcohol excise duties, and inheritance taxes, and the state government at the expense of property taxes. Moreover, any separatism is filled. So the money was barely enough, so the rebellion was a very serious matter and the precedent could not be allowed at all. And the government of Pennsylvania, having received a delicious sweat from the federals, dropped it down to the level of the county. And the county has already issued a strategic pencil to the taxpayers and gave the command "To understand."

Customs officers arrived in Celestia and said clearly and seriously "taxes on real estate chase." “Fuck you two.” Opposition to Millennials. "We have clearly written to the federal authorities that we do not want to talk to you with fools at all. Go away and do not prevent the Messiah from waiting.” “We don’t know anything,” the taxpayers blasted. You can write letters to the Turkish Sultan. Now everyone is writing, literate steel. But here are the documents, your land is registered with Peter and Hanna Armstrong. This is private ownership. We have the right to collect taxes. So chase the dollars and don’t make us nervous, there’s someone to ruin them.”

Peter and Hannah were defeated, indeed, on the one hand, they actually registered the land in the county and previously paid taxes, so in essence the law and the rules were recognized. On the other hand, you don’t even want to pay taxes. Peter grabbed his nose and came up with the cleverest solution he thought. He and Hannah appeared in the magistrates of the county and declared officially "We transfer all rights to our land to the Creator and our Lord, Lord of heaven and earth, and his heir in the person of Jesus - the Messiah, for further use and for eternal ages." And they demanded that this gift be officially recorded and registered.

The county government from such a settlement fell into a downturn. Honestly, there is nothing to bother with. Land in private ownership, to give have the right to anyone and at any time, officially no reasons not to rewrite the land. There is also no objection from the recipient of the gift. What to do is to rewrite the earth to the Lord. “And the money? From whom to get them now?” Tax is stopped. “But from Pushkin, you will get from the Lord.” Peter said, and proudly departed.

The situation from the local government’s point of view has been awkward. All according to the law, money to demand from no one, traveled on a curved goat. The main precedence is which. Now who ever begins to give such tricks and what to do? It is necessary to bring crumblers to feel, but only legally. And the surrounding people, such a scapegoat, and in fact, live passed and the slogans appeared "We are all registered in the milerites", "Let us be faithful to the vows of grandfather Peter" and "Celestia - the mother of order." The scheme worked out quickly: you are called a millerite, you settle in Celestia, you do not pay taxes and you are not afraid of calling, once the President has allowed. And the ugly people clearly flung into the offshore and boldly showed the government figs and other disgraceful gestures.

Not only did the countryside begin to be scattered and shaken, but the rumors of Hades also spread across the state, which in itself was no worse. When officials from the distant Harrisburg (the capital of Pennsylvania) heard about this unnecessity, they severely asked the local officials, "Well, what are you crawling there? Here every dollar is on the account, and you’re playing catshies.” The locals are just embarrassed, “And how? We would be happy, but we cannot create lawlessness. In the face of the call the order of the President himself is millerites not to touch. And the taxes, from whom to take?” “The problems of a cowboy sheriff are not a matter of mind, do what you want, but whatever the money is.” The state answered.

The first thing, it is necessary to appoint an extreme - let them be the chief tax inspector of the county. In his diocese is a mess, he and the problem to solve. “Thank you very much,” the inspector whispered and scratched the baldness. Nothing to do, I went to study the laws. The dust in the archives swallowed, the laws read, thought, and then sinisterly smiled and spoke, "And on the astute Miller's ass we have a screw with a screw." The next day he and his subordinates appeared in Celestia.

“What are you attached to?” He asked Peter.
“How about what?” I was surprised by the chief inspector “Taxes collect.”
“Well, take it together. Show me what you are capable of, the gentlemen.
The chief tax inspector quickly got the paper and knocked it to the door of the church.
“What is this unnecessary?” The residents of Celestine were outraged.
“Nothing special, don’t pay attention. It is simply an agenda, calling the Lord to court. You gave him the land, you know him. Send it to court on Thursday.”
“Don’t fuck yourself.” Peter was crazy. “I have never seen him. How do I transmit?”
“Where does God live?” The taxpayer laughed.
“God is in everything and everywhere. In the grass, in the trees, in the sky, in the creatures of the woods, and in the soul of man, Peter began to preach on the machine.
“Here’s a good thing,” interrupted his inspector, “meaning he will see the agenda clearly. He can’t come by himself, let the representative come.”

Peter and the prosecutors came to court clearly.
“So, the plaintiff, what is the claim?” The judge appealed to the custodian.
“It’s just like an apple, your honor.” The chief taxpayer said. “God is in our possession here. You have to pay taxes, not pay.”
“Are you serious?” Protected the judge.
“More than that, my honor. We live in a legal state. The law is one for all, and for us, His servants, and for the Lord Himself, that He be glorified forever and ever. According to the law, “Every landowner must pay real estate tax within the established time limit. The law does not provide for exceptions for our Lord. He also has to pay.”
“Let me,” Peter intervened. “I want to say something.”
“Yes, and who are you?” The judge asked.
“My wife and I gave this land to the Lord and his Son Jesus. It’s all officially.”
“Good, but this is not your land.” The inspector also struck. “What kind of affection do you have to her?”
The judge noticed it wrong. The land is no longer yours. Do you have a power of attorney signed by the Lord and certified in writing by a notary to represent His interests in court?"
“No” blunted Peter.
“It is great. Then don’t interfere in the court proceedings, otherwise I’ll order the Bailey to expose you and in general I can punish you for disrespecting the court.”
“We hanged the announcement on the church, his house. The defendant unambiguously received the order and did not appear in the court, your honor" smiles out the taxpayer.
“You are absolutely right.” The judge admitted. “That means God automatically loses the lawsuit. The law is a law, one for all. I declare the sentence, for the failure to pay the property tax to confiscate the land from the Lord and transfer it to the property of the county. Mr. Sheriff, in accordance with the law, you will conduct public auctions. If the residents of the confiscated land do not leave it voluntarily, you can throw them out, also in accordance with the law. The verdict is announced, the trial is over.” The judge hit with a hammer.

Peter and Co were obviously outraged and stunned. “How is it? “Mr. Judge, are you a religious man, even if you are not a miller?” In response, “What can I do? I only judge by law. By the way, I have sworn in His holy book that I will honestly observe the law, and I will observe it.”

“What about you, Sheriff? Can you give a delay?” I prayed to Peter. “In God we trust, but everyone else pays cash.” We believe in the Lord, but everyone else pays in cash. Well, the constellations, the dozen children, and asking for it was useless. Exile non-payers for their work and entertainment.

Naturally, everyone was driven out of the town, the assessors determined the price, and the sheriff put Celestia on public auction. Peter grabbed his head, collected all his money, borrowed from whom he could and went to auction. The land had to be bought back, because there were houses, bars, economic buildings, in short, everything. The land was then bought back by Peter, but only at an increased price over the years. He was delighted, but the sheriff declared relentlessly, "You, dear buyer, must take on all the previous tax debt of the Lord, plus the court costs, plus pennies, plus the tax for the year ahead. Sorry, this is the law. Yes, and don’t forget to go to the magistrates and pay for new papers. Congratulations, you are the owner of Celestia again.”

In the end, Peter was in debt like silk. He tried to collect money from the Celestians and supporters, but surprisingly it turned out that being a milerite was not very glamorous. And taxes have to be paid, and the appeal has been cancelled because the war has ended. Almost all the people fled, leaving Peter, Hannah, and a couple of stubborn men. Debts had to be distributed, taxes paid, and the milerite paradise was gone. Peter soon died, and with him Celestia.

Now it is a thick forest where it is difficult to consider the remains of the foundations. The story began so beautifully. Maybe the ancients were right when they said, “Don’t wake up while it’s quiet.”