48 



although they may appear to us to amount to a very 

 small sum, rated by the number of persons, they 

 must be considered heavy in a country so destitute 

 of little other capital than that of land, now vastly 

 depreciated in value. The whole taxes in Prussia 

 amount to about 10$. per head; but the effective 

 value of money, in exchange for commodities, may 

 be considered to be double what it is with us. 



Those Taxes pressing peculiarly on the land are, 

 first, the Grund Steuer or Land-tax. This is not, 

 however, imposed in each province, but only in those 

 where it existed before they were united to the 

 Prussian monarchy. This is not levied in Branden- 

 burg, though it is collected in each of the three 

 maritime provinces, which are the subjects of more 

 immediate consideration. This tax was designed to 

 be 25 per cent, on the nett value, or annual rent of 

 the land, and when imposed was an equable burden. 

 In process of time, from the improvement of some 

 estates, and the neglect of others, and from a variety 

 of other causes, that rate, which was originally equal, 

 has become in practice at the present day very un- 

 equal. 



The land is divided into six classes, the rent of the 

 lowest of which is estimated to be about Id. per 

 acre, and that of the highest about 4<s. an acre. On 

 this amount the tax is 25 per cent., and averages in 

 the three maritime provinces somewhat less than 3d. 

 per acre. The gross amount collected in the three 

 provinces annually, according to Hassel, is about 

 .265,000 sterling. 



The local taxes, which have been already noticed, 

 do not fall wholly on the land. That for the dis- 

 abled soldiers, and the families of such as fell in the 

 conflicts, is in part borne by the cities and towns, 

 though the chief weight falls on the land. The 

 same, in some measure, is the case respecting the 

 tax for roads, bridges, schools, and the poor. These 



