The Sun. — London, England, 1815-10-13 00:00:00

'TAXES. FOR THE SUN. MR. Ebrron,—l observed, in my last letter to )•oa on the subject of such Taxes as atiectedPro 'perly in Houses, I conceived it poSSPole 8 9 to . con . - ,the House Tax and Window. Dtityy that 'the Landlords or their Tenants might be relieved 'from the unequal and partial 'pressure of those ust - iessments upon their respective houses, without tthy deticieney to - the Ilec'enne. An inquiry into the vcossillility of bud) a mea sure slhall he the•suhject of this letter ; but before 1 proceed,. I will advert to - the circumstances that • appear to me to 'warrant the necessity of it The aesessments are unequal and partial„ be cause they do not attach on all houses and build en,-.c ; nor on those on which they do attaeli, in 'a fair r;ql Tell-•-pioportioned It frequently occurs, that of two houses next to ea. h other, the one - of nnich less ilimensiC: and at less rent and cost in the building than another, shall, from having more windows ill it,. pay a gi eater proportion of Ta i xes than the Incger house, it is as frequent, from the saute cause, that for two adjoining houses of equal size, cost in huilding, and plan, except as 'tb windows, 'the respective owners cannot procure an equal rent. Those who have the letting of honses are well aware, that on treating for the hire of them;the enquirer naturally di r ects his attention, amongst other things, to the number of windows, as an out-going in the shape of tent ;. front tvhich he is induced to give 15s. less rent at least for every window one house shall in its number of lights exceed an Other, though equal anti ofttn superior in its properties in every other respect, because the stim'of 15s. is the average Tax on each-window tit houses of the most common size. Thus the more the accommodation of light is afforded to the occupier, at a consequent greater cost to the owner, the less rent in proportion can he obtain. This principle, so generally acted tipon, must prove a detriment to the Reventre, which 'will be seen in the di ff erence of The duties paid on the house I before stated at 1001. per ann. having 30 windows, and one of the same rent baling five less And if he House Tal: is 45.! in the pound, vehich W4S recently proposed 'to be ilaid .on the rents of till houses; the assessuients will,be thus : Tax at 4s. on 1001 Dirty nt flO window 3 ; .L.2a o•*! 19.0 0 'L.:YI 22 6' tonne Tax at 4s. bn 101 . 2O 0 0- buty on 25 windows 35 17 Difference pai,l to Clnvernment• between two Z houses of equal rent; L. 3 15 0 In such instances the slim of 31. las. is los4 to the revenue, and the difference, in many iatances, must unavoidably be much greater. But supposing, in the latter case, the landlord was to add to his rent 3/. out of the difference be. tween .the amount of assessments paid on two houses, as before-mentioned, %I-bleb in fairness he may deniancli it wilt prove a deduction front the revenue of 31. 3s. per cent. and the outgoings to the tviant will not be a much as in the first raise by 35.- Thus on a rent of L:103 • 0 6 11 ,, ,ice Tax at•4s i)(ny ou 25 windows l5 17 't; The rt venue to Government, in this case 1.16 Do, in the foriner '3cj i I.os to the revenue 3 :3 0 Out; to the Tenant in the first instance ...... 1:39- 12 6 130. in the latter.. . .... .9 6 Saving to the tenant in d 0... . L.o s o I took occasion in a recent publication to ob serve, `,* that the old farm houses aboundjn the, nunther of windows, and the farmer must pay for all' of t hem, except that on which is inscribed conspicti ously the word Duiry, to tell the' thief as well as the assess6r where his stores lay, without be will block them up, and characterize his dwelling with the appearance Of misery by such disfigurement. It is absurd to tax a hearth or a window, to deprive any i:ooro of the conventency of ‘varmth and fight, to - shut out the air, the heat and rays of tLe sun, which Providence dispenses equdly to all. Grain retluires air as well as cheese, milk,•and butter ; yerthere is no exempticin for a grairary-window, xf in the house. The labourer and servant,. in- , stead of being immersed in darkness, should he enabled to.rise.from their beds without the risk of breaking their •necks; , ••• . • • . This despicable system of blocking np windows is not peculiar to farmers; it prevails in every tlass of society. The tradesman, or private per sons, to save the Tax, are alike prone to do with' as fcw,wiudows as they can ; and will block up even one window if it can possibly be done with out—thus we often see houses of the first respect ability, especially ancient outs, atril; more espe cially after the number of windows amount to forty-four, equally desradcd with those of the lower order, and some of their apartments • im mured in darkness, because the addition of si ng l e li g ht beyond that, ninnber "might,stihject them to alt additional Tax of two pounds ten s.hillin gs for it. . We cannot always brand icitlr theanness those who have recourse to such methods; *it''arises frexpie . otly front t; justifiable economy. It is this principle that induces the builders of houses, whether fot.their own p r i vate use or f or s p ec Ula: tion, to contrive to do with 'the fewest - possible number of. lights, and very commonly by,an auk-• w ard and disproportionate size, to frfaike"!eme . to serve the place of two. Ily some such windows; as ridiculainsly disposed, they expect to derive the benefit of a borrowed or internal light, which, they prestime, will escape unseen by the surveyor, and enable them to eveulc the Ditty. Thus is the genius of the architect often cramped, by depriv iog him.of the-power of attending so those beau tiful proportions, which constitute the chief or- , rutmcnt of our houses; our towns, and our cities,. often giving them the appearance of sepulchres rather than the - habitations of the living, and throwing them in the back ,ground, AyliePco l 7 pared with the ordinary dwellings of Atjigtip and of Rolutl. It is. this ill-judged Tax, productive of an. abject policy, that 'induces many to exclude the lightfrotu their cellars and even their -staircases, at the risk of their limbs, he,ach, anct pope,s;y, which must suffer from "tlie consequent def)riva tion of air; and from the damp, thy rot, and de cay, which darlsness engenders. And the Morality of the 'occupier is in perpetual danger from . the subterfuge and evasion he has 'reeOurse to, that he may avoid the . presi3ure of the Tak upon !jib. The ill cire6ts of this acting restraint on' the oF der and symmetry of our houses is 'ezident on at tending to inost of those edifices on ‘vhich the duty.lioes not attach, such HS Iyarchous_!s, manu factories, awl 'many public bnildings, t - endered inure colo,voiliou; and convenient in the divisions of their several apartments, bettedook ing, from being more duly proportioned, and partaking of all those just degrees of light, that can be obtained and are necessary for their, re spective purposes., Let this impediment to the improvement of our buildings be removed, And they will assume, ere long, that light, ,airy and cheerful appearance, for want of which they havelong been the-re prOach of foreigners and men of taste. It is -evidently an injudicious policy or assess ing; the duties oir houses for ally of t hose.quali ties that recommend them, tor that which tends to check and - discourage their improvement di minishes the annual value of them, consequently the revenue to he derived from them will always be affected in proportion to the convenieneies aiel accommodations they are capable of furnishing to the occupier—even the look and beauty of th premises will heighten their value. I will point out the cruel policy, the severe-, hardship of this duty from a fact to my know ledge, in the case of a well-bnilt and elegant house at TenburY, in Worcestershire, that twenty-five years ago was let for thirty-five pounds, a very in considerable rent, even then, in proportion to the mirth of the house, when compared with others, but which was all that could be obtained on ac count of its number of windows being sixty ; the dial on which was then aboui Twenty Pounds, exclusive of Llonse Tax. It at length became un tenanted, and as the duty increased, it proved f r wu Unit cause alone, impracticable to let it—several windows were stopped up, but still it could not be let. _ this was hardship/, a circumstivice which happened (luring the•tinte it remained tmocenpied rendered it still inor,e so:' The •law very prtyerl-7 exempts a dwelling from i the House 'lax, ‘vllite. empty, , although a person,. being'a servant, shall reside therein for the sore purpose 'of taking care of it ; but tinder the very same circumstances it is not exempted fi.om the Window'Duty. The house in question w'as robbed of some Of the marble to a lire-place and of a leaden gutter, and tts the paper tint! plaster 'began to fall from the. walls, - and it •Nva repeatedly suffering trnru depredatiOns and delvidations, the agent was.de sired to pia some poor person in, it to take care of until let. This was no sooner done than it was charged to the Window Ditty. ThtiBcircum stanced, the owner bad no alternative, bitt to suffer the premises to . fall to decay, or -pay the Duty if taken care of,‘trf pill it down, or,sell ; the; tatter he was compelled td, as the best evil the whole, and sold the materials for 8 . 001. which before the increase of the Window Duty cast 2500,/, and had been recently valued on oath to. dear alumna. Tufts, 13T an excess of taxation, an individual suffered the loss of his roperty, and the Government the loss of its revenue, which bcith 'night have retained had tie Tax been pro-' portionahly on the ,rent instead of the windows. The incrtase of 'Old duty on the number of win ; (lows that house 'contained, would now have amounted to about .lofty pounds, %vilich, toget!•er with the intended tax of tour shillings in the pound on' the house, as recently prOposed, when aNled - to the landlord's Property Tax, would have made the lirhole'reienue on the rent equal to 1401. per tent. When a tenant takes a house on lease, be na turally, reckons on those charges upon it as well as the rent, which appear within the limits of his income to defray. His distress then Must be very obvious on every increase of Taxes thereon, when - without the power of making void the lease if un able to unde&t it. t_ , An inequality in the scale of taxing houSes for their windows is obServable in the cae of win donis of large dialensions 1)64; assessed as two, if built since 1785,, whereas, !nun the fortuitous circumstance of -being built prior thereto, the same sized window; or a larger, shall be taxed only as one. There is another obicetion to a Tax on Win (lows, which was deemed to be a very immaterial one by our ancestors: I mean that ohnoxiOus power vested in Surveyors appointed by the Crown, ,of entering into and passing through any 1-Chtse to inspect the windows ; for though we. find by' the Doomsday Book that so early as the con quest, the duty of fuhrage or fuage,'or smoke tar things, was paid by custom to the King for every chimney in the house ; and, in the reign of•charfes the. Second, Pailiament established'an hereditary revenue to the King for ever on every hearth in all houses paying to Church and Poor ; yet, by subsequent statutes fur the more regular assess &tent of duty, public ;Officers were t upo,vered by the Crown to .enter :and view the„inside every house o-ace a year,, it became so vevy ob noxious, that at the Revolution it was looked up on as one of those great evils that ought to be abandoned, and " Hearth Money was declared to be not only a great oppression; to the poorer sort, but a badge of slavery upon the whole people, ex posing every man's house to be entered into and searched at pleasnie by persons unknown to him, and therefore to erect a lasting monument of their 'Majesties goodness (King William and Queen Mary) in every house in the kingdom, the duty of hearth money was taken away and abashed." 1 am . by no means disposed to take exceptrons, at any reasonable method, that Government may. devise to prevent an y evasion of those Taxes, which the wisdom and wants of the Legislature have deemed right and necessary to be imposed on the subject, but consistent with the abov e de elaratiiin,, it is equally revolting to ihe feelings of ,13ritotis to be subject tollotniciliary visits - ,whether to search for.lights or hearths. Amu as since the first enactment of tbc' Window Duties, alt:iater: nal or borroded'ligias are liable:to be paid for The Crown Offieer, to , do his citify effectually; . ..tas.=, Much greater cause fit present to intrude ou the 'privacy of indixiduals than formerly.. • • in the View of the remedy, that I shall propose to get rid of midi measures, which sui•ely in the ,present slate of civilization arc still more objec tionable than 'in the time Of King William, Ii Shall take for my guide the declaratiOn of Black stone, that " the. thing to lie wished and aimed at in a land of liberty,. is , by• no means the total itholitkin of Takes, .which would draw after it very pernicious constaptericeS, the very supposi- , t,ion of which is the 'lei:4! t oof political absurdity. For as tire true idea of Government and Magis tracy be found to consist in- this, that Some few men are deputed by many othets to preside over public •aiFairi so that--individuals may 'the better be enabkd to attend their private coneems, it is necessary that these individualS should be 'bound to cOntrihnte" a portion of 'their private gains, in order to support that GOvernment and to reward that MagisCracy, which prOtectS them in the enjoyment of their respectiVe properties. But ' the things to be at are w isdotn and n'tode ration, nit d!4ly in granting, but also in the toe-. ,shod of raising the necessary Supplies; by con triving to do both in such a manner its may be most conducive to 'the national welfare, and at the. same tune most consistent with , ecOnomv and the liberty of the subject, who, when properly taxed, contributes only, as was before observed, some part of his property in order to enjoy the rest," Consistent- with thisopinkm, in order to adopt a System-of Taxation with that moderation and method.which is so mlsely recommended, I pro pose to aholish the Window Duty, or rather to consolidate the House Tax and Window Duty in one, as 'a general Building Tax, that is, on all pri vate Buildings of ecery description whatcrer, to be assessed when occupied only, at a per iientage on the'rents or annual value, the. only criterion by which they ought to be taxed. I have already strewn, that the House Tax and Window Duties amount to thirty, and sometimes to cent. per cent. on the rent. It appears that - the rental in England of such houses only as pay tire Tax and Witolow` . Duty, according to the last returns, is 8,57-1,6931., and "the amount of both House Tax and Window Duty paid on Utilc rental, is 3,074,6.481. noun thence it follows, that the average amount of Taxes paid on Houses at present taxed, is nearly .3( per cent. per annum on the rent; ,which, L11601;11 a general relief it thus equalized, woold still prove a Tax on that'description of property . at very much too high a rate. But the present House Tax does not aitach . on "looses at a less rent ChM five pounds per mitium,- mor,does the Window Duty attach on houses hay- - ing less than six ,wintlows - '; nor on man} ( 1 c 6 c 1 4 -• ed household and other offices, if let . separately ; for on many •buildings, uhtreitouse.s, an niann- .. factories ; neither is there any 1-louse Tax on .farm houses. Besides the deficiency to the re venue trout those descriptions of buildings escap ing taxation, great, loss occurs to it front much .evasion throughota the kiugdom. • I,,thereforc, propose, that the rental of every :description of building whatever shall, he forth with returned to the assesstirs,"either according to what it is let at, if at a rack rent, or worth to be let at ; that they may be all assessed at an equal per centage upon the rent .only in proportion to the amount, whin the Governmeni oow derives flout the House Tax and Window Ditties. This per centage shall be the same in buildings or whatever size or value, and not in an increased ratio according as the rent . ' is higher, which must lie very heavy without such scale, for that would be to-prohihit-the erection of buildings of ;peat value, and to increase the building of small houses which already produce a greater propoition of profit than large houses. In determining upon the annual value or rent of a house, when first built or occupied by aft owner, it has been too much.fhe Lad practice' of late throughout the kingdom, and London in par ticular, to calculate the • interest _on the purchase money, at 5,6, 7, or nitre per cent., at thu ca price of Ole assessor, overseer, or surveyor, and add .that to the ground rent, for the rent at which the house be rated or assessed, a practice which Adam :Smith, in his Wealth of Nations, particutarly_condcinns, whO affirms, that the cost cannot give any data on which such a c'ec6Lan should be made. fallacy of it is obvious for several reasons : —Because the ground-rent may be a pepper-corn,' or as high as a fourth of the rent, 'Nrhich-I know to be very frequent. The house may be freehold, Or Copyhold, or leasehold. It may have a heavy land tax, or rent charge, or annuity upon it, or no inCombranee whatever ; or the purchaser might only have procured a contingent interest in it from' one year to ninety-nine, or more.. It might have been either in good or bad repair when sold. All these circumstances must unavoidably regu late or affebt the cost. If taken to hire, the te nant may; or May ni)t, be compelled .to repair. Some persons can • build - at less enense than others. Probably, froM the state of the . markets; or the wants of an individual, he may at one tiine be compelled to sell at a lower price that; at an- other, .Others,', to gratify their wishes, will give a larger ‘siitif of money, or a higher rent for it, than another will give. A .large old, or pew 'house, in one street or place, will not sell or let for as much as houses of the same size or quality in -another street or place. Two houses, costing the same price, or of equal dimensions or qualities, have unequal results in selling or letting itt different• situations. It Is, therefore, clear, that the annual value or rent of a' house cannot be regulated by the cost. Although a house should- not be let on it is not always under• such circainstances at tack. Many °Feiners obtain them at very moder4re an'd low rentbi, from the favour or affection of the 'owners,' .sprin i ;ing• frOia relationship or other causes. Sonic tenants on lease pay a fine to pro cure a dithinution of rent.' •- • ITO 'be - continued.] - The gallery of pictures at Dulwich College leas .bceu lately opened' vo• the Students of the 'Royal Academy. Inches .15 Rai Sept. 30 Oct. 29.7 0 • 53 60 I4i 51 53 44 Go 51 62 48 59' 62 51 51 -6 1 145 Fair 00. ' Po. cloudy 30.0 ‘29.9S At E.xrno‘utb, the-Lail Jones, of the Royal Navy, On Wedrcstlay, at Big , gan, Esq. of a son. On tlit lst ,October, Parves of a son: 11,11t' Ic of a :of a d libary-1 at Scu `l;ai a Va. I riao :l7 P a : • YAW ;Hs. • , ejtc an del to flon. Captain aught - cr. 4 ace , the W ife of John •,4°C.. tthttropton, Mrs. ,17_.:2.> A Gust°lls' Ivla,,etsfdio)Sirtni.iitall.lni‘viv‘-‘llte-ithioEtiDe Sir F art t 0 cfa c „dt re u er: c 300 j'otit•ke, of only hter e eiress of toe late • . Pto Ar On tiis chal, Leicestershire, B< 'e'l Calvert, to of laic:John Lan&r, Esl Ha t ' • On Tuesday last, Oct. 10, R'. ht. Ltiartl, E"I• ;. ) t f e ,p,eldPeccrel,EsscK to Charlotte, .i;1 ,- (laughter of . Gam ham, Esq. of ' Follhani DIED. lecca dillir Yesterday niornin_g, at Cholniondeley House, -: ji o l l'' Lady Malpas, in the 20511 year of her age. Oa ; :a itio r was seeonu dau4liter of the late General C;atopselli 31 j jel ). " aribeoduttotlv,7.aiscloeTrist aNluoly_asi\,,,e,l:lsessLs.on of Marquis H°lll'°l _ • ' . 1)0 1/1 ' RA 003,iit.fliert4iitlhoiyn,sat.gea(ti.C22aliteliiu ryt Lieutenant Cll3ls ... s 6''' , liio, 4 At Dathfries, on the years.oth of September, 3 "nu yra ' F. , :i . i. iif Glengaber, and of Buff Bav River, ill et.: is' Jao.aica. - . ' fele • : by J. ' AILS' . r./ r;o> tior ; and published by W. A. 4CILI over 11 , . VICE. No. 11-2, Stta.l,l : mus t b . 11 'eut. ) ;Orders, Lette rs (post%raid) i sce. ,: ll " toiarcE irkELt.idtiico.. .~'l MANSIO\-HOUSE. e c ity, • Yesterday a respeatible Bill Broker again appeared before the LOit.D 3IAYOa, 011 1 „ r derweut a private examination; which Instf;',.to wards of an hour, upon a charge in.eferrediF4,....; ..7,speetable persons, of the 'following natnr.'„.o4 he defendant and his piirtifer, it appeard, brokers, and the latter person bad received frog. Mr. Bate, of Cheapside , a bill to be i sc° L ‘ L.- 1 . ! . for 1 :301: Mrs. Fitch, a respectable `widq v F r 3 l ( l 3 ) ii . residing in •Lambeth Walk, .also entrusted him with a bill for 2001. fo r a fi f t et" purpose. The bills 01. the money, however, - 00 S repeated applications, were not forthcomitigt the itwas at length urged by the defiendarg,ne'rlb,atthri -person to whom the bills were co nsi g partner) had left town, and . that. be rrasiw,' o f Th e fri . c0 3 , ... 6 sponsible for the transaction. the complainants, however, thought proper to bring the defendant before d ,i LordA . layor, while a warrant was issued , strict search instituted for the - appreb eusi" tio" . the absconding party, whose name is Feather se; hangli. Under all the circumstanCes of thci c the Lord Mayor ordered the matter to sta°“• ° fur another hearing. I.:AT - MN-GARDEN. thinking otherol:be Y c sterdaY, RoriBERY of SAbDLER ; S f SA' and R. Hunt, sons at the Und er Beadle for filer's Hall, were re-exaMined, and co ut t uitte farther exaMinatiOu. PREVENTED SUICIDE• 'esterday morniog as James Whti:e0)211::(::::131,1: Park,‘%-esre going g ing Tr"' 1 arm to the Ilegc! is on passing Lite bridge on the Canal, 0 , 1 k woman's bonnet and a Silk shaw wen l on th e b „ a i t c j ii little distance off'. One of them tto y ecen t up, awl found a stone in the bonnet Va P I „.0 its being blown aw 4, a nd tinder the stl'L'haltiu a sheet of paper, ow which tray - ‘O'i ttel uhtrks, the following lines Some I)3senger may soon pass by, - •Ad fhtd this bohnet Fhat here does lief n s l u t ri l.: ( i ) ti t i ) i.; i a c t e es w t , b s e i!. (;t p v t p 3 y e ,r')uftatree,ve revers of la " ;.. • Real happiness - love of bliss, And the God Bill her breast. in }is t f oi ?l , i . ! .,:t h , : a i l v, i • .., r , et c :t ! it:::letilti:::tei-ris, .l i i i e l i e . y re ; ( a ) o r d i:e (Ifir, 1:0 \v 89 cto: 1- s i ee tli drowned it : femalee t of :innate t.nowith:fot the L t ° but. °' W 4) In al: " . ' e: - ..0,1;:.., lav:o;+ Tier ," 1 I .in - the Canal, when lugthey w ere - "'Pr o .' -fietglisll:i.rioesii:od well-ort, ,i ( r t t,t, ' r,l l , l l, l l i ' ,. . o, : e: :: : : :,..i.,, t l : l , ' o l , ( s .‘t is :. l7 : a) l c, : la r t i tic : )i i a l , ( o t (pt ei l i .li g l l l ( l iti l ( ) ) . e e: i ti l ii .s tit . p ' tlc l i i it., Yl i l ita e )o t tn i i t rl T l . t is i c : l l. l.,, l :g i l li, e l l ell e (es er ri c s aSi ii C s l )‘ 7 ffi et y e et;. l tal a i li l ( Ci f Y i e , ( s. t il ig :t ri t :t r i ti : ( C I t ' a l ' , et sts : r uitsliee t i l l i ie l ' )i i ,t. se li t : c i i si v il i ne : c a t a s ' iri sr r ;t c3c e, : i lil ue ' t ' l: l or isiv ii eiti , l 7 ; 'l ci -re r : t t i , reaweaffoliauc t r t .it sappointed when'sheexpecreti.to e f- - erooloett c kt co .iito ail lotr,because she was on a ll.occas ioos for se, but requested a c o,-.'eti ' yr l'er• One Of the wen got a coac h ' I/ e ach"' road, into tyhinh she wel:tr d esirifig An tile ; ' ll i c u "" to-drive' to l'orturni-sqOa,:e' a e ic r i se '''' :aine there she would ' .11 - J"'" " lie'. 'lit!' :!. l e coach, buc. go to. uppOSid to be the g , shel l . l ( i Zl l t n t b l t V IC e g CI 71 of leer i' s et o lte l in t ic t lek e ey: l t ‘i ) VVl S ;(ll : 'letsil i Cri.l.l r (elei lC ;al i Cl(:sls-6:or:S;llP‘ise.geeti;tl;libigc`°ll:°lltilt'le.:titr:ll; neral iNference taken Iron' ber aosw er ‘vs - 1 : e 4" love was the . c a us e O f her rash attoopt• neared about 30 years adage' On i Sunday, about bronalgl ----- - - - - - a boy S:eca.c}rll:nol(;), t i l l i a e v S i n ° g ut h h i . s s i r ( i i‘ g le' l ao right car tti.°let itc1()18.:101;i11(ti,:;t1.611113:11::°0511:ter;siii two inches long, and one 31 ' d 3 , ) ,, a 1 (-; ..`,• The body has been examined -by ;ale` cutlet - nen, who pare given their opinion that ._., boy was murdered. He was _dressed in cord 0,.,Y jacket and tr,,,,,sers, an d a dark rvesr. 'Pe Pl' was taken to Ardrossan Church, and no pers'''' b, t i yet appeared to claim it. Ile appears to hav e be( ' ,about .11 or i 2 years of age.— METEOROLOGICAL JOEJItAL. -t1)0*. Thermometer 1 '1 7 I --~ \‘'ca' ..n J Pi'L ) 4