79 



CHAPTER VI. 



BENTS, PROFITS, AND WAGES. 



To give the finishing touch to this picture, we have now 

 to inquire how the gross production, previously 4;o 1848, 

 was distributed ; that is to say, after deducting taxes and 

 accessory expenses, what portion of this five milliards 

 (200,000,000) of nominal value came to the proprietors 

 of the land, constituting the rent ; what remuneration 

 the farmer got for his trouble and use of capital, or, in 

 other words, the profit; and how much of it was paid 

 for manual labour, properly so called, or wages. When 

 we have completed a similar inquiry for France, our com- 

 parison between the two agricultures will be complete. 



First of all, the portion contributed to the general 

 expenses of the country, or taxes. 



Many errors have been diffused, and are still credited 

 in France, respecting the system of taxation which exists 

 in England. It is commonly believed that land in Eng- 

 land is almost free of imposts, and that the whole public 

 revenue is composed of indirect taxes. This is a great 

 mistake, for nowhere does land bear such heavy bur- 

 dens as in England. Only it is not the State which 

 collects what the land pays directly; at least land con- 

 tributed hardly anything to the public treasury before 

 the imposition of the income-tax. The only impost paid 

 directly to the State was a trifling tax, which proprietors 



