io8 RATES AND TAXES 



"land" is meant another fiction, namely, the 

 unearned increment. The rates on agri- 

 cultural land are actually at present a burden 

 on agricultural industry. And so far from 

 being a hereditary burden, the real intention 

 in former periods was to favour agriculture. 

 Rates on agricultural land are not of the 

 nature of rent charges that belong to the 

 people, but of the nature of income taxes 

 that, by a series of accidents, are only imposed 

 on some people and industries, and not on 

 others. The practical question then is : 

 Having regard to the present condition of 

 agriculture, are those engaged in that industry 

 able to bear the charges imposed on them 

 and a probable increase of such charges? 

 On this point the report of the last Com- 

 mission on Agricultural Depression gives 

 ample evidence. To say the least, relatively 

 to other industries, agriculture has not 

 prospered. It still remains, however, the 



