32 RATES AND TAXES 



and personal property contribute equitably 

 to such taxation." My present point is 

 that the equity of the present system 

 cannot be considered without reference to 

 the conditions under which it arose. Most 

 people would admit and at any rate, 

 in this country, every responsible statesman 

 would admit that in any reform regard 

 must be paid to existing contracts. But in 

 no contract can every point in the agree- 

 ment be recorded in extenso. In commerce, 

 it may be said that every contract implies 

 a reference to well-understood customs. In 

 effect, a large part of mercantile law has 

 arisen from the codification of the customs 

 of merchants. In contracts dealing with 

 the transfer or the hire of land, from the 

 nature of the case, as a rule, the terms 

 are much more explicit, but even in this 

 case, a good deal must be supplied by the 

 general law and a good deal by custom. 



