GENERAL PRINCIPLES 27 



an offence against equity and public good 

 faith, but an offence against economy, with 

 the penalty paid by the taxpayer. 



One of the best methods of securing 

 economy and efficiency in expenditure is 

 in making the connection between public 

 expenditure and the consequent burden of 

 taxation as clear as possible to the parties 

 most interested; that is, the payers of the 

 taxes. That is supposed to be the one great 

 advantage of local rates over national taxes. 

 And this is the reason why most reformers, 

 who advocate on the grounds of equity a 

 transfer of charges from local to imperial 

 funds, still think, on the grounds of economy, 

 that the transfer should be only partial. It 

 might be more in conformity with equity 

 to make the relief of the poor entirely a 

 national charge, but it is contended that if 

 this were done, the consequent extravagance 

 would result in great loss, and eventually 



