Book V. LOCALITY OF FARMING LANDS. 717 



is not the least difficulty in effecting it, by giving to the tithe-owner, either a proportion 

 of the land, or by converting the tithe into a perpetual corn rent. Both these plans 

 have been adopted in a variety of cases, by local acts in England, and they ought now 

 to be enforced as a general system. 



4439. An assessment for the maintenance of the poor, is another parochial burden, 

 which is annually increasing, and which, if not speedily regulated upon proper princi- 

 ples, will inevitably absorb a very large proportion of rent in England. Indeed, there 

 are instances, where between the years 1815 and 1822, it has absorbed the whole. This 

 tax is the most dangerous of all for the farmer, on account of its fluctuation, and in- 

 deed, it may be said that it never falls but continually rises. During infancy, in sick- 

 ness, and in old age, assistance may be necessary; but, as Malthus justly observes, the 

 poor-laws hold out support to the vicious and idle, at the expense of the prudent and 

 the industrious. These payments also destroy the spirit of independence, and those 

 ideas of honest pride which stimulate a man to use his utmost exertions in support of 

 himself and his family ; and on its present footing, the boon is administered by the 

 parish officers with caution and reluctance, and received by the poor with dissatisfaction 

 and ingratitude. 



4440. In Scotland^ the poor are in general jrOiintained hy voluntary contributions ; but 

 when these are not found to be sufficient, the proprietors of the parish, with the clergy- 

 man and vestry, or kirk-session, are directed to make a list of the indigent persons in 

 the parish, and then to impose an assessment for their relief, one half to be paid by the 

 proprietors, and the other half by the tenantry. 



4441. The national burdens in general, as the duties on houses and windows, and 

 other assessed taxes ; or assessments for the support of militia-men's wives and families, 

 for the conveyance of vagrants, or the prosecution of felons, fall no heavier upon the 

 farmer, than upon other classes of the community; but there is one impost which is 

 severely felt by the arable farmer, namely, the tax on horses employed in husbandry. 

 The inequality of that tax is strongly objected to ; for lands, when pastured, and neces- 

 sarily suljject to the least expense, pay no part of it. The burden consequently falls ex- 

 clusively on the lands in tillage, which, as a necessary consequence, must prevent the 

 farmer from giving so high a rent on arable land as he would on grass land, in pro- 

 portion to the produce. 



4442. There are likewise various miscellaneous burdens affecting the farmer, as statute 

 assessments for bridges, which are of such public utility, that moderate rates for their 

 maintenance properly applied, cannot be objected to ; statute labor on the highways ; 

 constable dues, which are seldom of much moment ; charges of the churchwardens, 

 including the repairs of the church ; and in some populous parishes, there is sometimes 

 a burial-ground tax. All these are paid by the occupiers. In some places also, there 

 is a sewer's tax, chargeable on the landlords, where it is not otherwise settled by express 

 contract. Adstriction to mills, however, is the severest burden where it exists, for not 

 only is the expense of grinding double or treble what ought to be exacted, but the 

 farmer is bound to carry his grain to be manufactured by a person, in whose skill or 

 honesty he cannot always place any dependence. 



4443. As an example of the payments made by a farmer in England, whose rent is 

 annually 500/. the following is submitted : 



Tithes are compounded for at - - , - 



Poor's assessment is 5. on the pound - - 



Church assessment - - 



Highway assessment . _ - 



House tax and window tax - - 



Horse tax and dog tax - - 



Stamped receipts for these and other payments - - 



The whole are very nearly 53 per cent., or -- - .264 00 



4444. The vexations to which farmers in England are subjected, from various uncertain burdens, oper- 

 ates as a premium to Scottish agriculture. It is ingeniously and justly remarked, that physical circum- 

 stances are much more favorable to agriculture in England, than in her sister country ; but these advantages 

 are counteracted by the accumulation of moral evils, which might be removed if the legislature were to 

 bestow on matters connected with the internal improvement of the country, and the means for promoting 

 it, a portion of that attention, which it so frequently gives to the amelioration or improvement of our 

 foreign possessions. 



Sect. XII. Of other Particulars requiring a Farmer s Attention, with a view to 



renting of Land. 

 4.4'i5. A variety of miscellaneous particulars require consideration, before a prudent farmer 

 will finally resolve to undertake the cultivation of a farm ; as, the nature of the property 

 on which the farm is situated ; in particular, whether the estate is entailed, and to what ex- 

 tent the possessor of the estate is authorized to grant a lease ; the character of the landlord, 

 and in case of his decease, that of his family, and of those whom they are likely to con- 

 sult; the real condition of the farm in regard to the enclosures, drainage, buildings, &c. ; 

 the crops it has usually produced, and the manner in which it has been managed for some 



