INCIDENCE OF RATES AND TAXES 121 



landlord must pay any part of the rate which 

 if paid by the farmer would lower his profit 

 below the normal. On this view, you will 

 observe that the profit of the farmer is looked 

 on as a first charge on the proceeds of his 

 cultivation. The rent is a surplus, which 

 being lopped off, simply equalises the profits 

 of farmers in general. The rate or the tax is 

 again only a proportional part of this rent. 

 It is a fraction of the surplus, and leaves the 

 farmer unaffected. This is the simple econ- 

 omic theory, and if the conditions assumed 

 hold good, so also does the theory. 



But in practice the theory is applied by 

 reformers, who are not engaged in agriculture, 

 regardless of its strict meaning and of the 

 conditions and assumptions. The fierce dis- 

 cussion on the Agricultural Rates Act on its 

 introduction and first renewal is a good 

 illustration. The relief was said to be 

 simply a dole to the landowners. 



