268 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



land, houses, tithes impropriate, 

 3)roportions of tithes, coalmines, 

 or saleable underwoods in the 

 said parish, in such competent 

 sum and sums of money as they 

 shall think fit,' a convenient stock 

 of flax, &c. to set the poor on 

 work ; and also competent sums 

 for and towards the relief of the 

 lame, impotent, &c. to be ga- 

 ftliered out of tlie same parish, 

 according to the ability of the 

 same parish." A'/ithout troubling 

 tlie Hou-;e with the numeious, 

 and in some instances contradic- 

 tory decisions, of the courts of 

 la^v upon this sliort enactment, it 

 will be sufficient to state, that the 

 intention of (he statiue to ta\ the 

 inhabitants of the parish for tlieir 

 local and visible property, as well 

 as the occupiers of land, has been 

 recognized as indisputable ; and 

 if in practice the burthen has 

 been imposed almost exclusively 

 on land and bouses, it has not 

 arisen from the taxation of per- 

 sonal property being eitlier illegal 

 or imjust, but from the insur- 

 mountable difficidty of ascertain- 

 ing legally the amount, or even 

 existence of a si)ecies of properly, 

 to which in truth the terms load 

 and visible seem scarcely to apply. 

 The intention of tlie legislature 

 therefore to bii ng into ei[ual con- 

 tribvition all species of income, 

 has faikd in this instance, as it 

 has done sub-;e([uently under tb.e 

 original land-tax act, which vas 

 designed in its first establish- 

 ment as a tax on all income, and 

 from the satue cau;-e, na:iielv, the 

 difficuby of ascertaining with any 

 reasonable precisum, the amount 

 of the contribution, without the 

 exercise of powers wliich tiie exi- 

 gency of the stiite in tinic of war 



has alone induced the legislature 

 to grant. The Committee conceive 

 therclbie that the House would 

 deem the eciualization of the poor 

 late, if practicable, purchased too 

 dearly at such a price. There is 

 however one sj)ecies of income 

 derived fiom personal |)roperty, 

 the dividends pajable to the pub- 

 lic creditor, whicli though it has 

 been decided not to come within 

 the existing la-v, as being neitlier 

 local nor visible, is yet free cer- 

 tainly from the above difficulties, 

 and if it presented no others, 

 would affcnd a facility of assess- 

 n)ent whicli has n;iturally sug- 

 gested it as a convenient source 

 of contribtitiun. But without con- 

 sidering in what proportions a 

 sum raised by an assessment on 

 such [iiopeity sliould be distri- 

 buted among all tlie parishes of 

 England and \\'ales, to none of 

 which it has any local relation, it 

 is a far more important ques- 

 tion for the consideration of the 

 House, whether justice and good 

 faith to the piiblic creditor would 

 permit the income derived from 

 this (me species of })eisonal pro- 

 perty alone to be taxed, in direct 

 A iolation of the chuise in every 

 loan ;ict, by v\ hich the payment of 

 the dividends is secured, " free 

 from all taxes, cliarges, and im- 

 ])usitions," when almost all pro- 

 l)erty of a similar description is 

 ])ractically exempted. In the case 

 of the income tax, the profits of 

 :dl personal j.'roperty were brought 

 into ecjiud contribution for tlie 

 general purposes of the empire j 

 in this instance it is jiroposed to 

 select one spcciisof such property 

 for taxation, which has been by law 

 specially exempted, and to apply 

 it in aid of the disbursement in 



Ipcal 



