STATE PAPER S. 



269 



local districts, in the control and 

 administration of which this class 

 of contributors -would alone ha\ e 

 no share. It must be recollected 

 also that even the general tax on 

 income did not attach on the divi- 

 dends due to a foreigner : and 

 that the stockholders, inhabitants 

 of Ireland and .'Scothmd, nnist be 

 considered, uith reference to the 

 poor rate, in the same light. Nor 

 can the Committee tiiink, that 

 either justice or policy would per- 

 mit a tax to be imixistnl on money 

 lent to the state, wliilc sums at 

 interest on other securities remain 

 practically exempt. 



If, therefore, it should be deem- 

 ed neither ])racticable to provide 

 the means for rating all personal 

 property, nor wise or just to se- 

 lect one species of such property, 

 so circumstanced, for taxation, it 

 may be still considered, wliether 

 any other means could be devised 

 of correcting the inecjuality of the 

 assessment, in parishes in which 

 the occupier of land now bears 

 the principal part of the burthen. 

 As each householder is likely to 

 burthen the parish in proportion 

 to the numbei' of peisons he cm- 

 ploys in his service, it has been 

 suggested, that it would be equi- 

 table that his contribution to the 

 poor rate shoxdd bear some pro- 

 portion to that nundicr An ob- 

 vious objectiim, however, to any 

 such arrangement presents itself, 

 in the case of the niuneious ])er- 

 sons employed by niar.nfactures ; 

 and from the possibility of such a 

 princijjle of a.ssessuicnt creating, 

 in otlier cases also, some discou- 

 ragement to emjiloyment. But if 

 this, or any other cx]K'dient on a 

 similar principle coidd be adopt- 

 ed, which would bring other pro- 



])ci'ty in aid of the land, it would 

 in that case become doubly ne- 

 cessary to provide effectually a- 

 gainst the mischief of a practice, 

 to which the Committee must 

 more }Kuticulaily advert hereaftei-, 

 of making up the deficiency of the 

 wages of labour out of tiie poor 

 rate. While that rate is derived 

 chiefly from land, the occupier 

 pays, in the shape of poor rate, 

 what should be moie propeily 

 paid in wages ; he still, however, 

 throws some share of the burthen 

 (;f the maintenance of his labour- 

 ers on otiier contributors, accord- 

 ing to the share of the rate. But 

 if ]iei'sonal property were brought 

 effectually in aid, the mischief of 

 this i)ractice would become of in- 

 tolerable magnitude, and woiild 

 proihice, perhaps, more injustice 

 than the present inequality of the 

 rate. 



In large towns little inequality 

 in the mode of assessment might 

 be expected to y)revail ; but va- 

 rious representations have been 

 made to youi' Committee, of a 

 large proportion of property ne- 

 cessarily escaping its share of con- 

 tribution, from tenements being 

 of small value, I'ented for shoit 

 periods, and the occupiers, wh.o 

 alone can be rated \mder the ex- 

 isting law, either quilting their 

 lesidence before the rate can be 

 collected, or being too poor to 

 admit of the late being levied ; 

 while, it is represented, the jjio- 

 piietors find no difficulty in secur- 

 ing a rent, which is increased in 

 the exact ])roj)0)tion of the amount 

 of the rate which is due, but im- 

 jjossible to collect. In these cases 

 the dclicieuccs arising fiom this 

 cause must be added to the suc- 

 ceeding rate, and paid by tiie 



mure 



