The Express.
London, England, 1853-05-04 00:00:00

THE TAX ON SUCCESSIONS.

T 4 THY ZDITOII 01P.TMI DAILY KIWI.

Sit,—!li might naturally be supposed, your tort'
contemporary has a leader to-day on the result of last nights
division- on the first of the recitations at Mr. Gladstone's
budget. It endemism to make out a sus of peculiar
hardship urea the timid intermit to the endeavour to
make thong imatribut• to the l.pe duty, and points out
that it will be Is NU or mortgage part of their
estates to raise the laais essessisy for such purpose, and
inferentially states that ma hardship attends epos
any other description . Ycur contemporary
appears to forget that IsaaoWi property is subject, not
only to legacy duty, but to probate duty also.
11 • testator's property consist solely of &leasehold estate,
as is more frequently toe case with the middle and indus•
trims classes, who by their prudence and industry have
been enabled to acquire aud leave to their family an inhe-
ritance, than with the wealthy landowner, who generally
has other sources of income than that derived from his
freehold estate, his descendants have to raise the necessary
iamb to defray the duties which attach to such property ;
and a spirit of justice ought at once to silence the great
man's complaint at bevies to bear the same burthens as the
less wealthy leaseholder. floral landowner, under the
scheme of the present budge% mama one of the taxes to
which the leaseholder is millost. thamb, so it appears to
me, without any sufficiest imam Mars rimigued for his
being allowed to do so, vizi*, pebme
It certainly moms a gnat ••••••0 that both probate and
legacy duty should attach to the budding, the little all,
perhaps, acquired after many years of toil and struggle ;
whilst the ground =which it stands, probably a very small
pertioaetwmedukis, or marquis's, or earl's estate, should
pay no duty at all ; and I believe parliament will not allow
the evil to continue any longer. J. B.

HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK.
The official report says:—lt is gratifying to ob-
serve a decided improvement in the public health. In the
ant these weeks of April the d, attic' in London were 1,340,
1,213, 1,182. In the last week of the month the diminu-
tion to considerable, the number being 1,089. In the ten
corresponding weeks of 1813.52 the average number of '
deaths was 933, which, if raised in a certain proportion cc-
carding to increase of population, becomes 1,023. The ex-
OM of mortality in last week shore the estimated amount
is therefore 66, a result which is much more favourable thau
any these returns have yielded since the c..ld weather set
in. In January the deaths were about 1,000 weekly; since
that time they have ranged from 1,200 to mere than 1,500.
Fatal cases arising from diseases of the resp:ratory organs
have declined in the last two weeks from '242 to 206; those
from symette diseases differ little in the general result.
&attains has increased, while typhus continues to decline.
Pbtltieia rose from 139 to 162 in the two weeks. At 11,
Upper Sand-street, Woolwich, on 24th April, the son of •
wheelwright, aged 6 years, died of " Ecglish cholera (2
days)." •
Last week the births of 852 boys and 770 girls, in all 1,622
children, were registered in London. In the eight cone-
sponding weeks of 1845 52 the average number was 1,446.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height
of the barometer in the week was 20.571 is. The mean
temperature was 42.5 deg., which is 6 7 deg. below the
average of the urns weft in 33 years. The mean daily
tempo was below the average on every day of the
week except Saturday; and on Monday, the coldest day,
the depression amounted to 13 deg. The highest t 'mpera-
lure in the week seu 60.8 deg. on Saturday; the lowest
VF .ILP 32.3 doe. on Monday. The mean difference bet% eta
the dew point temperature and air temperature was 6.1
deg. The wind blew mostly from the north west at the
beginning of the week, and afterwards front the east.

Bnnisn FREEHOLD LAND AND PERMANENT
WILDING COMPANIII.I.—A meeting of these companies was
held on Monday evening, at Rsdley', lintel, for the pur-
pone of balloting for priories of rights to advances. The
chair was occupied by Mr. W. Fsrmer, who gave a brief
euellge of the objects of the comp-.-4 After the b..110t the
am of 1.000/. was olfi.red for compvition, in order to afford
ale naanoossful candidates an opportnoity of warring ad,
•aaim.