338 * LAND-TAX. 
a much lef$ considerable thing than what they ufually are 
at this day. Tenths are feid to have been firft granted 
under Henry II. who took advantage of the fafhionable 
zeal for croifades to introduce this new taxation, in order 
to defray the expenfe of a pious expedition to Paleftine, 
which he really or feerningly had projected againft Sala- 
din emperor of the Saracens, whence it was originally 
denominated the Saladin-tentk. But afterwards fifteenths 
were more ufually granted than tenths. Originally the 
amount of thefe taxes was uncertain, being levied by af- 
ieffments new made at every frc-fh grant of the commons, 
a commifiion for which is preferved by Matthew Paris ; 
but it was at length reduced to a certainty in the eighth 
year of Edward III. when, by virtue of the king’s com- 
miffion, new taxations were made of every townlhip, bo¬ 
rough, and city, in the kingdom, and recorded in the ex¬ 
chequer, which rate was, at that time, the fifteenth part 
of the value of every townlhip, the whole amounting to 
about 29,000k and therefore it lfill kept up the name of 
a fifteenth, when, by the alteration of the value of money 
and the increafe of perfonal property, things came to be 
in a very different fituation. So that when, of lateryears, 
the commons granted the king a fifteenth, every parilh 
in England immediately knew their proportion of it; that 
is, the fame identical fum that was afieffed by the fame 
aid in the eighth of Edward III. and then raifed it by a 
rate among themfelves, and returned it into the royal ex¬ 
chequer. 
The other ancient levies were in the nature of a modern 
land-tax; for we may trace up the origin of that charge 
as high as to the introduction of our military tenures ; 
when every tenant of a knight’s fee was bound, if called 
upon, to attend the king in his army for forty days in 
every year. But, this perfonal attendance growing trou- 
blefome in many refpects, the tenants found means of 
Compounding for it, firft by fending others in their Head, 
and in procefs of time by making a pecuniary fetisfaflion 
to the crown in lieu of it. This pecuniary fatisfaftion at 
lalt came to be levied by alfelTments, at fo much for every 
knight’s fee, under the name of feutages ; which appear to 
have been levied for the firft time in the fifth year of 
Henry II. on account of his expedition to Touloufe, and 
were then (fir William Blackltone apprehends) mere ar¬ 
bitrary compofitions, as the king and the fubjeCt could 
agree. But this precedent being afterwards abufed into 
a means of oppreffion, (by levying feutages on the land¬ 
holders by the king’s authority only, whenever our kings 
went to war, in order to hire mercenary troops and pay 
their contingent expenfes,) it became thereupon a matter 
of national complaint; and king John was obliged to pro- 
mile, in his Magna Charta, that no feutage Ihould be im- 
pofed without the confent of the common council of the 
realm. 
Of the fame nature with feutages upon knight’s fees 
were the alfelTments of hydage upon all other lands, and 
of talliage upon cities and boroughs. But they all gradu¬ 
ally fell into difufe, upon the introduction of fubfidies , 
about the time of king Richard II. and king Henry IV. 
Thefe were a tax, not immediately impofed upon property, 
but upon perfons in refpeCt of their reputed eftates, after 
the nominal rate of 4.S. in the pound for lands, and 2s. 6d. 
for goods ; and for thofe of aliens in a double proportion. 
But this affelfment was alfo made according to an ancient 
valuation, wherein the computation was fo very moderate, 
and the rental of the kingdom was fuppofed to be fo ex¬ 
ceeding low, that one fubfidy of this fort did not, accord¬ 
ing to fir Edward Coke, amount to more than 70,0001. 
whereas a moderate land-tax at the feme rate produces two 
millions. It was anciently the rule never to grant more 
than one fubfidy and two fifteenths at a time; but this 
rule was broken through for the firft time on a very prelf- 
ing occafion, the Spanilh invafion in 1588 ; when the par¬ 
liament gave queen Elizabeth two fubfidies and four-fif¬ 
teenths. Afterwards, as money funk in value, more fub¬ 
fidies were given; and we have an inftance, in the lirft 
parliament of 1640, of the king's defiring twelve fubfidies 
of the commons, to be levied in three years ; which was 
looked upon as a ftartling propofel; though lord Claren¬ 
don tells 11s, that the fpeaker, ferjeant Glanville, made it 
manifeft to the houfe, how very inconfiderable a fum 
twelve fubfidies amounted to, by telling them he had com¬ 
puted what he was to pay for them ; and, when he named 
the fum, he being known to be poflefied of a great eftate, 
it feemed not worth any farther deliberation. And, in¬ 
deed, upon calculation, we (hall find, that the total 
amount of thefe twelve fubfidies, to be raifed in three years, 
is lefs than what is now raifed in one year by a land-tax of 
as. in the pound. 
The grant of feutages, talliages, or fubfidies, by the 
commons, did not extend to fpiritual preferments; thofe 
being ufually taxed at the feme time by the clergy them¬ 
felves in convocation ; which grants of the clergy were 
confirmed in parliament ; otherwife they were illegal, and 
not binding ; as the lame noble writer obferves of the fub¬ 
fidies granted by the convocation, which continued fitting 
after the diflolution of the firft parliament in 1640. A 
fubfidy granted by the clergy was after the rate of 4s. in 
the pound, according to the valuation of their livings in 
the king’s books ; and amounted, fir Edward Coke tells 
us, to about 20,oool. While this cuftom continued, con¬ 
vocations were wont to fit as frequently as parliaments'; 
but the laft fubfidies, thus given by the clergy, were thofe 
confirmed by ftatute 15 Car. II. c. 10. fince which ano¬ 
ther method of taxation has generally prevailed, which 
takes in the clergy as well as the laity ; in recompenfe for 
which, the beneficed clergy have from that period been 
allowed to vote at the election the knights of the (hire 5 
and thenceforward alfo the praftice of giving ecclefiafticai 
fubfidies hath fallen into total difufe. 
The lay-fubfidy was ufually raifed by commiffioners ap¬ 
pointed by the crown, or the great officers of ftate ; and 
therefore, in the beginning of the civil wars between 
Charles I. and his parliament, the latter, having no other 
fufficient revenue to fupport themfelves and their meafures, 
introduced the practice of laying weekly and monthly afi- 
fefiinents of a fpecific fum upon the feveral counties of 
the kingdom; to be levied by a pound-rate on lands and 
perfonal eftates; which were occafionally continued dur- 
ingthe whole ufurpation, fometimes at the rate of iao,oool. 
a-month, fometimes at inferior rates. Thele periodical 
alfelTments, the fubfidies which preceded them, and the 
more ancient feutage, hydage, and talliage, were to all 
intents and purpofes a land-tax; and the alfelTments were 
fometimes exprefsly called fo. Yet a popular opinion has 
prevailed, that the land-tax was firft introduced in the 
reign of king William III. becaufe in the year 169a a new 
alfelfment or valuation of eftates was made throughout 
the kingdom ; which, though by no means a perfect one a; 
had this effeft, that a fupply of 500,000k was equal to is. 
in the pound of the value of eftates given in. And, ac¬ 
cording to this enhanced valuation, from the year 1693 to 
the prefent, a period of near a century, the land-tax has 
continued an annual charge upon the fubjeff; about half 
the time at 4s. in the pound, fometimes at 3s. fometimes 
at 2s. twice at is. but without any total intermiffion. 
The medium has been 3s. 3d. in the pound; being equi¬ 
valent to twenty-three ancient fubfidies, and amounting 
annually to more than a million and a half of money. 
The method of railing it is by charging a particular fum 
upon each county, according to the valuation given in 
A.D. 1692; and this fum is alfelfed and raifed upon indi¬ 
viduals (their perfonal eftate, as well as real, being liable 
thereto) by commiffioners appointed in the aft, being the 
principal landholders in the county and their officers. 
Redemption of the Land-tax .—The fum fixed by 38 Geo. 
III. c. 5. to be paid for the land-tax in Great Britain is 
2,037,627k 9s. o^d. which is now made perpetual. To 
this time the land-tax afts had been annual; but, by 3$ 
Geo. III. c. 60, after reciting that it may materially con¬ 
duce to Strengthen public credit, that the duty now pay- 
a abid 
