Rates — Taxes. 
311 
corn-rent was adopted, and the Tithe Commutation Act did not 
affect half the parishes in Buckinj^hamshire. These corn-rents 
or rent-cliarjres are now mostly paid by the landlord. The vicarial 
tithes run from Is. Grf. to 3s. 6fZ. per acre, while the large tithes 
are much heavier, generally one-sixth or one-fourth of the rent. 
In 1809 the amount of poor's-rates was fearful. In one parish 
they liad been as high as 21s. in the pound, and several instances 
were given where they ranged from 8s. to 14s. ; and even in the 
later days of the old law, the poor's-rates in Haddenham were so 
enormous, that some of the land for a long time was tenantless. 
Tlie average of the poor's-rate throughout the county was, in 
1809, 5s. 2d. ; it is now happily reduced to 2s. ^^d. in the pound. 
Still, as compared with some other counties, the state of pauper- 
ism is by no means satisfactory. In the commencement of the 
present year, in the nine unions into which Bucks is divided, 
11,112 persons were receiving parochial relief, which, taking 
the population of those unions at 143,509, shows that every 13th 
person is a pauper. In Durham and Salop there was only one 
person in every 21 of the population in receipt of parochial 
relief. By the last Poor Law Board returns, the poor's-rate for 
Bucks amounted to 83,698/. 2s., and the receipts from other 
sources were 2828Z. 3s., making a total of 86,526Z. 5s. The in- 
maintenance of the poor cost 6998Z. 3s., and the sum expended 
in out-relief was 44,924Z. 8s., so that the actual maintenance of 
the poor, does not absorb 5-8ths of the sum collected. Of the 
remainder, 214Z. 16s. was spent in law, and 1566Z. 10s. was 
swallowed up by constables and proceedings before justices. The 
county-rate for the last year amounted to 14,220/. 3s. 9£Z. ; the 
assessment of the county being 758,410Z. Just now the county 
expenditui-e is very heavy, for there is the new lunatic asylum, 
and new gaol, the latter of which cost this year, for instalment 
and interest, 3160Z., and still leaves a debt of nearly 3900Z. 
Although from the high price of provisions the poor's-rates are 
slightly enhanced, it does not appear in this county that the 
amount of pauperism increases with the price of grain. In 
January, 1852, with wheat below 40s. a quarter, the total number 
of able-bodied paupers receiving relief was 2045, while in 
January, 1854, when wheat had doubled its price, the number 
was 1920, being a decrease of more than 6 per cent. 
Buckinghamshire pays a heavier land-tax than any other county 
in the kingdom. It is assessed to the property-tax at 875,350Z., 
and the land-tax is 46,550Z. 16s. l^d., which is nearly Is. Id. in 
the pound. There is also the large sum of 2170Z. 19s. 4f(Z. re- 
deemed, which, if added to the amount now paid, gives the 
original tax at 68,252/. 15s. 6^6/., or more than Is. Girf. in every 
pound's-worth of property in the county. 
