HEAVY TAXATION 349 



war had been getting from 15.$-. to i6j. a week and i8s. in 

 summer, 1 were walking the country searching for employment. 

 Many tenants threw up their farms, and it was often noticed 

 that landlords, ' knowing very little of agriculture and taken 

 by surprise,' could not manage the farms thrown on their 

 hands, and they went uncultivated. Some farmers paid up 

 their rent to date, sold their stock, and went off without any 

 notice ; others, less scrupulous, drove off their stock and moved 

 their household furniture in the night without settling. 2 



Farmers and landowners were asked to state the remedies 

 required. Some asked for more rent reduction and further 

 prohibition of import, but the most general cry was for the 

 lessening of taxation. 



A Herefordshire farmer 3 stated that in 1815 the taxes on 



a farm of 300 acres in that county were : 



f- d. 

 Property tax, landlord and tenant . .. . 95 16 10 



Great tithes . 64 17 6 



Lesser tithes ... . . . . 29 15 o 



Land tax . . . . . , . . 14 o o 



Window lights . . ... . . 24 I 6 



Poor rates, landlord . , .. .'.". 10 o o 



,, tenant . . '. -''. : " . . 40 o o 



Cart-horse duty, landlord, 3 horses i . 2 II o 



Two saddle horses, landlord ,;-.'>. .. 9 o o 



Gig .660 



Cart-horse duty, 4 tenant . . . . " . 720 



One saddle horse, tenant 2136 



Landlord's malt duty on 60 bushels of barley .2100 

 Tenant's duty for making 120 bushels of barley 



into malt 42 o o 



New rate for building shire hall, paid by landlord 900 



tenant .300 



Surcharge . . --. .; .-. ; ; : ti - * 280 



383 II 4 



1 Defence of the Farmers, <SrV. (1814) ; and Parliamentary Reports, v. 72. 



2 Agricultural State of the Kingdom, p. 64. * Ibid. p. 105. 



4 The agricultural horse tax was repealed in 1821, the tax on ponies and 

 mules in 1823. 



