on the present aprropriation of wages, etc. 283 



House Expenditure. 

 House-rent. 

 After food and clotliing comes liotise-rent. The amount cliai-ged to 

 duty on dwelling-Iiouses in 1878-9 was 36,609,000L, and the annual 

 value of dwelling-houses not liable to duty under 201. was 32,692,000Z., 

 making a total of 69,301,000?. Adding one-fifth to the amount charged 

 with inhabited house duty, 8,000,000?., in order to obtain the real amount 

 of rent, the total amount so expended is 77,000,000?., equal to VMd. 

 per head per day. Assuming house property to return 6 per cent., the 

 net cost would be about 72,500,000?., giving a proportion of l-36c?. per 

 day per head. 



Furniture. 



To house-rent we must add the expense for furniture. The number 

 of houses built yearly averages 60,000. At 100?. furniture each the 

 expense of furnishing them would be 6,000,000?. But existing houses 

 require constant additions and renewal. The total number of houses is 

 now 6,500,000,1 and the total rental may be estimated at 100,000,000?. 

 Let only 5 per cent, on the amount of rental be taken for renewal of 

 furniture and the amount is 5,000,000?., making a total, with the furni- 

 ture of new houses, of 11,000,000?. Deduct from this 20 per cent, for 

 distribution, and the expenditure is 0-20f?. gross, and O'lSd. net per head 

 per day. 



Coal. 



The consumption of cofil for housfehold pui-poses was given by the 

 Royal Commissioners in 1869 at 18,000,000 tons. Assuming the present 

 consumption at 20,000,000 tons, its value at 12.s. per ton wholesale, and 

 16s. retail, would be 12,000,000?. and 15,000,000?. respectively, or at the 

 rate of 0-29c?. as the gross, and 0-22fZ. as the net cost per head per day. 



Gas. 

 We have no account of the total expenditure on gas and other 

 descriptions of light, such as paraffin, tallow, stearine and wax candles, 

 &c., all over the kingdom. The total amount of gas-rate (private lights), 

 received by the Metropolitan Gas Companies is about 3,000,000?., repre- 

 senting an expenditure of 16s. per head. Taking 10s. a head for the 

 whole urban population and 5s. a head for the rural, the whole expendi- 

 ture would be 13,700,000?. Deducting 20 per cent, for distribution, and 

 the amount is 11,000,000?., or in the proportion of 0-25d. as the gross, 

 and 20d. as the net expenditure per day for every individual. 



Water. 

 No data exist for estimating the expenditure for water. Here also 

 the expenditure in cities is greatly in excess of the expenditure in 

 rural districts, whilst considerable quantities of water are used for manu- 



■ The Census Commissioners reported the number of houses inhabited in 1881 to 

 be as follows : — 



England and Wales .... 4,833,84-1 



Scotland 729,010 



Ireland 912,261 



6,475,115 



