126 AGRICULTURE AND TARIFF REFORM. 



Of this amount, however, a sum of ,£650,000, 

 namely, £300,000 for police superannuation, and 

 £350,000 for the extinction of licences, was to be 

 allocated for these two particular and specific 

 purposes. The " residue," £393,000, was to go in 

 relief of local taxation generally. The Govern- 

 ment, however, withdrew that portion of the 

 Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Bill which 

 had reference to the licences, and the £350,000 

 was therefore add 3d to the " residue " referred to, 

 which allowed of a sum of £743,000 being placed 

 at the disposal of local authorities. No directions 

 were given in the Bill as to how the local authori- 

 ties were to use the money, though permission 

 was given to apply it towards technical education 

 purposes ; and from then up till now it has been 

 chiefly used each year for such purposes. 



The Death Duties. 



By the Local Government Act of 1894 no 

 further direct liability was thrown upon the local 

 ratepayer, although the parish councils created 

 under the Act have in carrying it out increased 

 the local rates considerably. But the year 1894 

 will be memorable in the history of possessors of 

 real property, for it was in this year that Sir 

 Wiliam Harcourt passed his famous Budget im- 

 posing the death duties. It has been the 

 favourite cry of those who want to tax landed 

 property more largely that the reason for doing 

 so was because land was exempt from those dutiee 

 which personalty pays when the owner of the 

 personalty dies. On the other hand, the oppon- 



