RATES AND TAXES. 123 



stated tliat they only opposed Mr. Pell becaune 

 they had full confidence that he (Mr. Gladstone) 

 regarded the whole question as " really urgent." 

 On March 28th, 1884, however, as no proposals 

 were offered to meet the difficulty, Mr. Pell again 

 moved a resolution deprecating " the postpone- 

 ment of further measures of relief acknowledged 

 to be due to ratepayers in counties and boroughs 

 in respect of local charges imposed on them for 

 national services." This motion was carried 

 against the Government by 208 votes to 197, but, 

 as in the case of twelve years previously in Mr. 

 Gladstone's Administration, compliance with the 

 expressed desire of Parliament was once more 

 /efused. In Mr. Childers' Budget speech of this 

 year (1884) an undertaking Avas given that the 

 consideration of proposals for increased charges 

 on real estate by way of death duties should be 

 entered on only in conjunction with the readjust- 

 ment of local burdens. But the Budget of 1885 

 contemptuously violated Mr. Childers' under- 

 taking. It was proposed by such Budget to place 

 an additional tax upon real property. Accord- 

 ingly, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach challenged the 

 second reading of the Customs and Inland 

 Revenue Bill. His motion, besides censuring 

 other financial proposals in the Budget, " declined 

 to impose fresh taxes on real property until effect 

 had been given to the resolutions of 17th April, 

 1883, and of 28th March, 1884, by which it had 

 been acknowledged further measures of relief were 

 due to the ratepayers in counties and boroughs 



