TBANSACTIONS OF SECTION F. 741 



There is a free ferry at Woolwich wliich carries any wbo wishes to travel 

 between that place and North Woolwich without any charfje whatever. It has 

 been ohserved that until the ferry was started the land at Nortli Woolwich was 

 comparatively valueless; that the ferry created a rental value on the north side of 

 the river which did not previously exist ; and that when the ferry was made as 

 free as a free bridge, the land values at North Woolwich increased still further in 

 rental value, even more than enough to pay for the cost of maintaining the free 

 ferry. It therefore appears that the occupiers of land in North Woolwich pay a 

 higher ground-rent on account of tbe ferry being free, or in other words, that they 

 pay in rent what they save in fares ; and while they are saved some trouble in 

 buying tickets, &c., the financial benefit of the free ferry goes into the pockets of 

 the ground-landlords in North Woolwich. This instance points the way to secure 

 free travel without burdensome taxation by simply taking the increased land values 

 imparted by making travel free to pay the cost of the same. This would not be un- 

 just or oppressive to anyone. It would not tax anyone's industry, but simply 

 appropriate for public uses one of the effects of the public enterprise. 



Until the several upper floors of a new building are connected with the ground 

 floors by stairways, the upper floors are comparatively valueless ; but when the 

 stairways are put in the upper floors begin to have a value. If these floors are 

 made still more accessible by free lifts or elevators, the value is still further in- 

 creased. No company fitting up a large building for rental would think of letting 

 another company put in lifts and charge a toll on their tenants. They would know 

 that such a course would depreciate the rents of the upper floors. On the other 

 hand, they make the use of the lifts free to the tenants, and more than recoup 

 themselves for the cost by the increased rental value imparted to the upper floors. 

 The situation with reference to free travel on railways and tramways is the same, 

 only that passengers would not be carried up and down, but to and fro laterally 

 instead of vertically. 



Some years since, in Sydney, it became necessary for the municipality of Sydney 

 to purchase certain lands for jjublic purposes. When the holder was approached for 

 a price, he charged a great deal more than the then present value, ' because,' said he, 

 * in a few years the value of the land will be considerably increased by the con- 

 struction of railways and wharves in the vicinity of the laud.' The Government 

 decided that this prospective value could not justly belong to the landowner, and 

 that it would be the result, not of his industry, but of the public progress. They 

 therefore took the land, pa3'ing the then present value for it. If this principle 

 could be applied to the free travel question, there would be no difficulty in securing 

 it without direct loss to anyone. If certain landowners should fail to receive a 

 prospective value, being the result of public and other improvements in their 

 vicinity or the result of making their lands more accessible by means of free travel, 

 they cannot claim that they have suffered loss, but can only say tb"! cue public 

 have decided not to make them a present of such unearned increment, but rather 

 to appropriate it to pay the expenses of making the land more accessible. It would 

 not be diiflcult to imagine the great benefits that would result from applying this 

 fair principle of taxation, because it would result in the payment of all costs of 

 roads, sewers, lights, police, parks, by a tax upon the lands enhanced in value by 

 these public expenditures. The question would simply be whether the unearned 

 increment should be given to landholders, or whether it should be taken by the 

 public, who create it, to pay the expense of creating it. 



If this method of free travel should be adopted, the enormous expense of con- 

 structing and maintaining railways would be greatly lessened, (1) for the reason 

 that the Government, in constructing railways, would only have to pay for the 

 value of the improvements upon land which they appropriate for the purpose, the 

 unearned increment being previously taken in taxation. (2) There would be 

 another economy in the amount of taxes which are levied upon the plant and 

 rolling-stock of railways, which would be exempt from taxation. (3) A good 

 economy would be effected in tbe management of railways, as all the expenses of 

 printing, selling, and collecting tickets would be avoided. If the carriage of goods 

 ■were also made free, the expense would easily be met by a taxation of the increased 



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