The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1872-01-02 00:00:00

THE LOCAL TAXATION
QUESTION.
OF Till iioN. W. ii. B. POKTMAN, M.P.
TENANT FARMER'S OPINIONS F.XPRESSED
BY MIL FOWLER, OF WIIITECIIUROIL

THE-DOBSET MUST GIVE THE SUBJECT
ATTENTION OK GIVE WAY TO OTHERS WHO WILL
MR. PORTMAN WILL OONSIDER.

At the anneal meeting of the illandford Agrioultural
Scanty the *abject of local taxation eame to the fore.
Mr H, Fowler, of Whiteohnroh. is an able and earnest
S4TOIIIIIIIII of the Patine of rating personal ea well
real property for load taxation. Lord Portman, at
Qoartes Seesions ham pet a damper on the saltation,
sod the Hon. WI!. B. Portman, if he to not
averse from the movement, is certainly not warm in
ilk favour. It wesa good thing, therefore, to talk
over the subjest plainly and fairly at the agricultural
dinner—indeed, sharking it would have been eowardiee
onE dietagealosonses on both sides. However, th re
was no leek of ontepek and good must resolt.
The Chairman bad got no Ifurther down in the toast
list tliaa the 11" Ulm* and Clergy' when the game
lame In view :
_ .

- The FARQUEWIROS sympathised with the
Smut farmers la their feelings with regard to the amount
they had to eentrlbets towards the support of the poor
sod the nines institutions in the sountry, and be did
think the time bad some when the aree of sasessment
should be enlarged, end other person. ealled upon to
✓apport their pole, the police, their lumina and their
poor In addition to thonseelves—(bear, hear). Ho did
not snotty see it we. jostles—lf he was wrong he dote
say their Mend Mr. Portman would set theca 6/Lc—
that their neighbours, who might have had land sod
had theme to sell It sod ant themselves up In some
lading or ether, should Weft free themselves from
all liability In regard to the support of the things be
had mentioned—(boar,bear)—ehargee which, he thought.
should be more widely borne, so that them ootheeted
with the land might in some dwell be relieved by those
frem other seem& He hoped those members present
would bear that in mind, and he trusted they would
bass • large and united body to do justice whore he
believed justice wee due—(theare).
The toast of "The County Members " followed. and
gays Mr. Portman an opportunity to deliver hosed'
oo the great question :-
111, Ferrite., if.P., in responding mid he mutt
admit that not long aloes he had hardly expected to
have Wand himself there that evening. for a cress
national mlandey was overhanging them. They math
all be truly grateful that It bat boon removed—(em
planes). He begged to thank his friend, Mr. Farquhar.
son, foe suggesting to him a subject upon whlca he
might talk, and also his friend, Mr. Itarobro, who had
told him privately that if he talked politics he
should get upend " pinh into" him, yet the first thing
he Mr. Hambro did was to uphold Lord Shaftmbury,
as an opponent of the Ballot Bill—(laughter). Oue
thing he thought they were all agreed to uphold was
the Monanhy. It was the height of folly, and he
multi sot understand how anibody, who bad really
the question, could preach up the doc.rino
c
Vraerda dis, la opposition to the advantages enj.o- A
seder the beet form of Government in the world.
There was so question that to England there was •
pester amount of permits' liberty existing than in
way part of the world, and it was carious to see bow
all fordo countries admired and respected our state
and hardly understood the great liberty of speech that
existed In the country. HO 6•11 entreats from two of
the leading French newspapers the other day, in which
they said what • carious thing liberty of speeoh it ie
Backed. There we see a member of Parliament pin.;
about preaching the doctrines of • republic, in oppose. '
lion to the misting form of Government, and in.t.ad
of being interfered with be la allowed to say what he
likes, and it doesn't seem to affect anybody. Ile is
allowed to go him own way, and not only that, but he
has • force of police sent to the room in which he
ghee his lecture to see his heed is not broken. In DO
other country in the world would they do that. With
regard to another subject whloh had lately been
tared about—that thee House of 001110110115 was
enough for this country. and that they did not want
another Huse, he did not think that opinion very
generally prevailed. There could be no queston that •
greet many men In the Honor of Lords were far sup, roe
Is a similar number of given men in the Housed Voin•
mons, and be approved the principle whith had obtained
ciliate years, of recruiting the ranks of the Lords from
the diatinguished men of the country. le thought that
when they talked about the House of Lords, theyshould
look round mad reform themselves. The Commons, be
thought had get very much out of hand." lie believed
neither leader bed got that control over his supporters
shish he ought to have. He was quite sure, with
regard to the present Government, that there never
we. a party more disorganised, or less easily held to.
'ether. He thought it might with truth be attributed
to 'erten Meets on the part of the leader. Mr.
Gladstone we. • very sanest and energetic man, but
at the same time be did not think that his exsitable
tomperameot wee always the best saloulated to manage
s large sasombly constituted as the Home of Commons
Tam But he thought the some fault might be toned
with the leader on the other aide. He had a
pest reason for Kr. Hindi's intellect. but he was not
mourned an the leader whom he (Mr.Portaian) followed.
He now mime to the subject which Mr. Farquharson
had suggested, and on which he would venter% to says
few words. He bad net gone into the matter so fatly
is Mr. Fowler had done, and he (Mr. Portman) ex•
he would trip him up before he had gone very
laughter.) His friend Kr. bianael-Pleydell, add
Ilafr. Farquharson had thrown down the gauntlet,
but he (Mr. Portman) could not accept that expression
because it meant that he wee elpectsd to take it up to
• hostile spirit; but he had • few statistics whioh he
had extracted from a report by Mr. Goesthen. the late
president of the Poor Law Board. They were very
serious Agues, and no doubt Mr. Fowler Ines them
already, but perhaps some present did not. Well, the
average amount of rates of all kinds paid In Dorset is
jest a halfpenny in the pound above tho average of
Zeeland and Wales. He supposed Mr. Fowler knew
that—(laughter). In 1868, we heard • great deal about
(Linty Financial Boards, and in that year Boards of
Guardians were responsible for an expenditure in round
annaben of ten millions of money. In the same y-ar
magi/dream and county treasurers were only respoa
for en expenditure of E 2,300.000. Then there ran
another carious fast that the aggregrate local espendi.
here of England and Wales in that 71311 l WM some what
hop ad the reesipta Of the mosey rabid 43 per cent,
was spent in town district., 18 per cent. in rural
districts, 3l per cent In mixed district, and 8 per cdat
In other ways. There eat be no doubt that of tha
many breathes of expenditure chargeable on the county
rate, some have of late yeses materially increaso 1—
(hear, hur)—but at tho mom time the console lewd
fend does more foe us than It did. The relief of the
poor, for instanes, has much knorseeed. In tenni num.
hen there has been an bermes of eight million, in local
betrdees. Of them eight millions the two of poor law
expenditure are shared partly to urban and partly to
rang rates, five to town raise; 000,000 to county
police rats, sad the remaining £500,060 to highway and
musty rotes, mostly rural. Yr. Guam's report
also contrails some menu figures in referencia t, the
proportioade valets of lands and houses. Ia 1814, the
total annul vane of the land, in this &note, wis
£37,063,000, of house £14,859,000. in 18L3 lands hod
nese to £42.1.38,0110 ; houses to £33,656,000. In 1868
lands had rime to £47,767,000; homes to 668 013,k/eh
The vales of land, therefore, has been far oatatrip,od
by that of other kinds of property. Taxation on Lind
has not Increased In &greeter proportion than the value
of land, but the poor rates have inctreued bete,en
1838 sod 1868 about two millions, while the share
borne by thejland has deereased to about the sane
sesonnt--thear, hear.) There was another point. Mr.
Gamboa got reports from foreign countries as to the
Wean pwepo,tloa of taxation bone by the Lad. The
plwere—In 1868, in the United Kingdom, lid
per cent of the imperial taxation; and in
moss 18 per seat; In Prude 11 par sent; In 11.1.
earn, 20 per sent; In Holland 8 per cant; in Raisin
II per ant; la Austria 17 per mat, and in Hungary 32
per ant. So that In England the per outage was L.t.:11
than in any other country. They would no doubt hoar
something on the subject* from Mr. Fowler. and he
would therefore reed one more extract from the C
slang portion of Kr. Gesthen's report to the gov-n-
-ment—" The !amuse la load taxation in England end
Wales ham no doubt been very great—Les, ho smear,
Ikea to other ountries, but large enough to justify the
especial attention which it ham aroused. Th., greater
proportion of the 61111‘4110, however, has fallen on urban
and not on rural distriete." Mr. Farquharson says there
Is no name why personal property should n,t it, a
portion of those rates, bet the difilortlty is how to do
It. Paring from this subject, which he could not hot
sonsider is one requiring eonsiderable thought, ..nel
not emilly settled, Mr. Portman proceeded to .p otk on
the .future policy of the government, first &tieing
to the Leal gatherings which had taken pier% He
geld he wee amused at Gillingham to see the into
meat whisk had been shown at the Shaftesbury ;anon
had extended to that plan also. At that dinner those
were one or two dark horees—(laughter)—aod w ea
he got bask to Shaftesbury he understood th it one of
them—Kr. Evelyn Ashley—had gone through, it w.s
thought to Weymouth. He (Mr. Portman) did not kh„
whether Kr. C. 'Lathe) was looking about as on, of
those two "dark horses." (Kr. flambee : I Ic.:ow
nothing about them), He though.this excellent friend
Kr. Stun at the Shaftesbury dinner had ,033 *het
committed himself by Meting that very ea my of tho
Moral party had lost ormAdence In if,. Gladvooe,
sad if they had not, at any rate their wine had, end
he had • list of over 100, which, upon being i.halLn al
he offered to show to Kr. Glyn in private, 'fhot or. 3,
he soaddered, a sad breads of confidedee ; for, if td on
ladies bad reposed in MC Start such trust 113 o I .
hardly expect to be again so favoured. Ho oti4lo.
have remembered that nothing was so bad se b., ."
and telling—(loud laughter). In conclusion hi ag on
thanked them for the bad support they had given him
and his aolleognes as the representatives in Perlin-id
los the eounty, end hoped that whenever tho 1, 01
peered election took place, that maddens° weal be
moan shown, and that there would not be three on :.or
maddens In the field, bee that they would always
hen the tams support and lin in their esteem—(lud
cheers.)
The health of the committee was propoe..l by Vie
Cadieux, coupled with the name of Mr IL
Fowlsr—(ebeen). Mr. Fowler wee pretty writ as.
gestated with the finansial affairs of the maw), o:d
had given the subject of Weal Ithalian much att. a:
sad would take up the gauntlet which Yr. Port ii :
thrown down.

_
Forrtma 1 responding expremed him satisfaction
flat the Blan4lord Agricultural Society was 1., so
kar • oondltioo having £lOO in the bank sod an
adaitriolon 10 au members that dal'. He mauldoad
the wasiety was worthy of Ms support as • man MI I •
atrlsamas mad mat Paasioal reason why be statimtod
it. was thM In that elses which were itsnellted by r, he
Wilma Owe was as goatObristlan men an I ovum o as
la oast owes of sosestyl As regarded that fox w: aka
tbir hid "o'l4 so Wag, kat with ouch lade
tur)—be had 'irefully watched the
wriinewisiall Wks from the s
sad iippelelly has Mr; Perlman. With
ialrea: ker
;lairgialld question el Local Truratioa, as many
Imre this subjoin bid dlsseased at two
=e.,71 Qminir gemses, bat whatever It kid bean
forwardls opfoasivd as thoegh • wet hianiest
thrown over it to dile It. In this °wintry
dam sai nisuar keed weer tosalred %at atteation
Adak from Its tuipaellaire It ought
sad
Ler twesibul dAlTestit4 insh.""foakmaaTherigis% b.
Is