1 8^03 . jigrtcultttral Intelligence, 3 ^ f 



cordlnj; to his means, or, more fl:ri£lly fpcakinj^, accordlnp^ to 

 his abilities. It the tax was meant to be upon rent, no differ- 

 <*nce ought to have been made in the per centage^ whether the 

 rent amounted to five poutuis, or five hunilred pounds : The 

 confequences of fuch modifications and exemptions will occa- 

 fion an impcfition of frefh burdens at an after period, befides 

 opening a door to frauds and abufes. 



The tax upon the pofilllbrs of land may, in the fccond place, 

 be viewed as opprefTivc, becaufe it falls hcavieft upon thofe who 

 are leall able to pay it. Every man who pofTefTes under an old 

 leafe, confequcntly paying leaft rent, will be {lightly taxed \ 

 while thofe who have lately taken farms, and have hard bar- 

 gains, will pay according to the rack rent •, which, in many in- 

 stances, now triples the fums paid by the old poiTefTors. But 

 why tax a farmer according to his rent ? Merchants and traders 

 might, with equal propriety, be taxed according to the amount 

 of their invoices. No other clafs of the community can be 

 charged a halfpenny, unlefs upon actual income of one kind or 

 other j but the farmer muft pay, whether he enjoys a halfpenny 

 of income or. not. 



Befides, it ftrikes us, that being a tax impofed upon landed 

 property, it ought to be paid by proprietors themfelves during 

 the currency of exifting leafes ; and here we believe v/e are cor- 

 rect, unlefs the tax had been impofed in a different fhapc, that is, 

 upon adual income. An ex pojl faElo per centage upon landed 

 rent, is exa6bly the fame to the farmer, as if the rent itfelf w^as 

 raifed to that extent ; therefore, unlefs in cafes where the tenant 

 is taken bound to pay public burthens, the tax, in ftrift juftice, 

 ought to be defrayed by proprietors. In after bargains, it is plain 

 that the tenant will calculate upon the extent of this tax, and 

 form his offers accordingly. 



It is not altogether the amount of the prefenr tax which calls 

 for the attention of farmers, but it is the principle upon which 

 it is impofed. The fame power that enacted a payment of 6di, 

 per pound this year, may afterwards augment it to one, two, or 

 three fhillings, or any other fum, as public neceffity requires. 

 If it were merely an income or property-tax, we would have 

 been filent, becaufe it would not have been levied upon any 

 perfon, unlefs poffefTed of income ; whereas, in the prefent fhape, 

 a farmer is liable, whether he have income or not, and may be 

 forced to facrifice his capital flock piece-meal, in order to de- 

 fray it. When a tax of two (hillings was firfl laid on each 

 hojfe employed in agriculture, few people thought much of the 

 matter ; bat now, when raifed to twelve (hillings and fixpence, 

 the fubje£l is more ferious. As neither of thefe taxes can be laid 

 upon piirc'hafers (whirh was held to be a valid objeftion againft 



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