CHAPTER YII. 

 RATES AND TAXES. 



Anybody wlio knows anything at all about the 

 question of rates and taxes in country districts 

 knows that realty — that is to say, lands and 

 houses — bears a much larger share of taxation 

 than personalty ; and he also knows that many 

 charges now thrown upon the local ratepayer 

 are of Imperial concern, and therefore ought to 

 be thrown equally upon both personalty and 

 realty, and not upon one class of property — 

 namely, realty. At the present time, however, 

 there is indication of some interest being shown 

 in the whole question; and in a volume dealing 

 with agriculture and tariif reform it is perhaps 

 right to tirge that agriculturists are still dis- 

 satisfied with the system of rating and taxing 

 which (since all protection from Cobden's time 

 has been denied them) has, with lowering prices 

 and foreign competition been most unfair and 

 exceedingly hard upon them. There are some 

 who altogether deny that the owner and occupier 

 of land are overburdened in the matter. It is 

 partly to combat this that in tracing the modern 

 history of the subject we venture to place a few 



