70 RATES AND TAXES 



different interests of landlords and tenants, 

 must be reserved for the concluding 

 chapter on incidence; but in this very 

 general historical survey, it may be 

 pertinent to observe that under present 

 conditions the popular idea that there is 

 a constantly increasing unearned increment 

 from land, owing to the general progress of 

 society, is the reverse of true in the case 

 of agricultural land. The point received 

 careful examination from the last Royal 

 Commission on the depression of agri- 

 culture ; and in their report (iSgS), 1 after 

 quoting the distinction drawn by J. S. 

 Mill between economic rent proper, that 

 is paid for the natural qualities of the 

 land, as distinct from what may be called 

 profit rent, or what is really interest on 

 the capital sunk in the land, it is stated 

 that over a very considerable part of this 

 1 P. 28. 



