1824.] 
incredible, when the individual pressure 
of the house-tax is considered, that the 
aggregate assessment should be so little, 
and in whatever point of view it is con- 
sidered, the house tax is obviously in- 
compatible with fairness and justice, dis- 
creditable, if not to the personal, to the 
intellectual attributes of the rulers of 
this great country, calls loudly for in- 
quiry and further investigation into the 
past, and instart and unqualified revo- 
cation. 
I am not aware of any farther obser- 
vations which I can offer, that will ren- 
der the statement of the parochial as- 
sessments and house tax more easily 
House Ky ‘ax and County Rates. 
291 
intelligible. Y have noticed, however, 
by repeated communications of your 
correspondents, inserted in your ma- 
gazine, the general and egregious mis- 
take which prevails, respecting the ap- 
plication of that portion of the parochial 
assessments expended for other purposes 
than the relief of paupers, it being very 
generally considered as exclusively ex- 
pended in removals, and law suits at- 
tending removals, than which nothing 
can be more erroneous. In the ampli- 
fied return made to parliament in 1818, 
the application of the assessments on 
each of the three years ending easter 
1815, is represented as follows, viz. 
1812-13. | 1813-14. |. 1814-15. 
Maintenance, and Relief of Paupers.......--+++ | 6,679,658 | 6,297,331 5,421,168 
Suits of Law, Removal of Paupers, Expenses of 
Overseers or other Officers . Seek ode Mate 325,107 332,966 324,665 
Maintenance of the Wives and Children-of Militia 157,093 145,406 91,168 
All other Militia Charges ........----e0 ee eees 89,109 43,170 14,225 
Expended for all other Purposes :—Church Rate, 
County Rate, Highway Rate, &c...... PB Bit, J 1,614,871 | 1,692,990 | 1,657,627 
Total expended........ £) 8,865,838 | 8,511,863 | 7,508,854 
By the above it is seen, that although 
the law expenses form a very consider- 
able item, abstractedly viewed, it is very 
inconsiderable when compared with the 
aggregate of the assessments. The mi- 
litia expenditure has now ceased, except 
to a very trifling extent, which is in- 
cluded in the county rate, a detailed 
statement of which, under twelve se- 
veral heads, for the year 1823 I now 
send you; the statement appears some- 
what complicated’ in the extent of its 
detail, but I hope that you will not 
think it too much so for insertion in 
your Magazine, being the only one wor- 
thy of giving it a place; and when your 
readers are informed, that the return 
made to parliament comprises twenty- 
two folio pages, they will reflect, that 
what they lose in clearness they gain in 
fulness. Where no item appears. in 
column No. 5, (expenses of houses of 
correction) in those counties opposite 
the blanks, the accounts have not been 
kept distinct from those of the expenses 
of the gaols. Where blanks occur in 
other places, no expenses have been in- 
curred under those respective heads : 
the statement at. large will be seen to 
be a subject for comparative observa- 
tion, rather than general; the most 
striking feature of the whole statement 
will, on inspection, be seen to be the 
expense of the county of the town of 
Nottingham, the total of which very 
considerably exceeds the ratio of ex- 
-crime. 
pense on any other county ;. the infe- 
rences deducible from the circumstance 
are, either an extreme profligacy of ex- 
penditure, or a lamentable extent of 
The next most striking item, 
and the only one upon which I shall 
offer any observation, is, the enormous 
expense for the conveyance of offenders 
in the county of Lancaster. It has 
been the boast of some, of that great 
county, that the ratio of their poors’ 
rate, was less than in any other coun- 
ty; omitting to add, “ that the 
crime was greater,” and apparently 
forgetful ‘also, that various other 
inferences were deducible from the 
same fact; the total amount of the 
parochial expenditure in that great 
county for the last year, say 1822-3, 
was 361,250/.; . 219,411. of. which 
only was expended for the relief of 
privation, and 131,839/. for other pur- 
poses, considerably exceeding one-third 
of the whole, whilst the average of 
England and Wales is only one-fifth ; 
the following inference is therefore 
fairly deducible from the comparison, 
viz. that in Lancashire the standard of 
privation or starvation, call it which 
you please, is depressed to a lower 
mark than in any other county, and 
that no small portion of the means 
which ought to be applied in relieving 
it, are applied to its still further (if pos- 
sible) depression, I, shall be happy if 
it can be proved to be otherways. 
>» oO ‘ “J 
