SOUTHERN AFRICA. 389 
the firft eftablifhment of the colony a kind of capitation tax was 
levied under the name of Lion and Tyger money. The fund fo 
raifed was apphed to the encouragement of deftroying beafts of 
prey, of which thefe two were confidered as the moft formida- 
ble. But as lions and tygers have long been as fcarce in the 
neighbourhood of the Cape, as wolves are in England, the name 
of the aflelTment has been changed, though the afTelTment itfelf 
remains, and is applied to the repairs of the roads, ftreets, water- 
courfes, and other public works. The fum to be raifed is fixed 
by the police, and the quota affigned to each is proportioned to 
the circumftances of the individual ; the limits of the afTelTment 
being from half a crown to forty fhillings. The perfons liable 
muft be burghers, or fuch as are above fixteen years of age, and 
enrolled among the burgher inhabitants. The ordinary amount 
Is fixed at about 5000 rlx dollars a year. 
Another affelTment to which heads of families are liable i& 
called Chimney and Hearth money. This is, properly fpeaking, 
a houfe tax, fixed at the rate of eighteenpence a month, or 41 
rix dollars a year, for every houfe or fire-place. This fhould 
feem to be an unfair afTefiiiient, as the richeft and the pooreft in- 
habitant, the man with a large houfe and he who polTelTes only 
a cottage, are liable to the fame contribution ; as it is prefumed 
that every houfe has its kitchen fire-place and no other. The 
amount of this aflefliment is about 5200 rix dollars, which, at 
the above rate, correfponds very nearly with the number of 
houfes in the town. 
They 
