The Express.
London, England, 1850-04-05 00:00:00

INEQUALITIES OP THE LAND-TAIL-PRO-
WINDINGS OF TR CORMISMONSRS FOR
RIDDLEI3II.

Yesterday a general meeting of the Land-Tex
Coessistheors for the county el MiSSlossa tree 11.1 d, br
sdkumustfut hem the 46th rlt., et the gessioes Hesse
Clerhouwell-sreee, to detonate* the made Ywhip% the
lend-tat sseremPuts should be made lutist eouhty fee the
4let. IMO. Jere Hsaonoys Hoax, Neg., the taelnalin of
, the oonuaiedimere of the Holborn division, was voted to the
chair.

—Tro CHAIRMAN said It word he in; the resells..
lion of the great body of essnroberson t that
immediately baler the esedersa ad the PaeaaarLap at their
meetleg last week a rear whirr Meerowilliomd was made.
The mutt noes entered upon Mae miewesa.west, "That to raise
the era payable for the year 1806 =at I' tie sets of perlia
art relating to the land tar, for girl part of the county of
Moldier: described in the said ore of parliament as the
rest of the county of Middlelez. the our sums be erred
upon each bur.dred, division, or liberty, r have been retpee•
tieely ebarged thereon is previous jean, ear sums berg in
proportion to the sums which were amassed on the same
hundreds, dieisiose, or liberties respectively, 'by en
set posed in the fourth year of the reign of
William and Mary." TIM motion was met by
an amendment for an adjournment of the meeting,
which amendment, was unit d the result being their being
that assembled together. The (Nutt°, before' the meet-
ing, therefore, would be that unbolted in the motion
be bad read.

Mr. SIMPKIN meld he rose for the purpose of making a
few very brief observations in support of the motto' that
had been read, "oestanse, warding to the view he took of the
law, though be was no lawyer, such was the only legal
mode in which the land tax assesamexts could at present be
made. Tae coe-tion of equality or inequality must b•
lo at in mnre ways than one, and by no means the least
important consideration was, how did the present payers of
the tax come into poieession of the property from which
the tax was derived. Terre were four ways of coming into
passeisim—by purchaser, inheritance, gilt. and by a goes% ;
sad he' would ask who of the parties who had BO
acquired their property ought to complain ? If a taxpayer
got kis property by purchase he obtained it for • much
lose I: land tax were charged upon it, than he
would were there no land tax; a d what right hag
be to eomer.io 1 II by inheriesace, those who had
just came of complaint had long ARce departed, and the
present possessor ought not to raise an *stn. And the
BOAR argument he should apply in lbws gun where pro-
part)iwars acquired by gift and oequeet. The parties who had,
according to his vi:w, the most right to complain, wore
Ham who had bought their property at S 6 yams' purchase,
secordieg to the act ot parliament; to obtain redemption
from the tie with thou his sympathy rested, and he should
appose any alteratton in the assuement until there was en
auntie' in the law. The conteque-ces of as equalissoon
would be to *sham the property of some landowsers, such as
the Duke of Redford the D.aks of Portland, Lord Portman,
and ethers, whilst it depreciated the property of others; gad
whilst rents were raised in one case, metered of being dimi-
eddied in the other, the landowner would attire the bene fit.
His objections to sny alteration in the assessment did not rest
here, for be considered thtt by an equalisation the county
would be thrown into an immensity of con'tesien, litiga-
tion. expense, mil difSculty.
Mr. WHITE seconded the motion.
Me. PAYNE, the coroner, said the commissioners were a
public Jody, and, there fore, they must have some regard to
coneistency. At the last meeting a motion for an equalise.
tiro was negatived, and, thtnfore, they stood commuted to
the principle of the present mode of asselement.
Mr. WHITE begged, as the sunder of the motion, to
my • few words in its support. He had, as he had before
stated, been a commletaner more than fitry years, and he
was satiefi-d, from the results of his experienre iu that ra-
pacity, that the_present asseventents could nut and ought not
ts be altered. Ia allusion to the •• Redemption Act" the
speaker said he had all along considered it one of the great.
eat blot. upoe the legislatorial history of the country.
A COMMISSIONER sail he opposed any change for
two reasons—fret, because they had lot the power to nuke
• gamic • and seem Ily,becaute a change, if made, would
be imp litie in the extreme.
Mr. OFFER said it had more than once been hie fortune
to be amused by the arguments used a-,d the reasons ex-
plained la public meetings, bat he had is his life been
more unused than by the arguments he had heard that
morning emanate from the supporters of the present sj stem
el aseessiag the land tax. (Hear, hear.) He was
• Tower Hamlets boy (much laughter) and he
would ask the parish of Marylebone. "Do rue my anything
like • just or fair portion of this tax ?" That was the Ties.
lion—there was the issue—was the tax now fairly eat in-
ditlerently raised 1 (Hear, he-r.) He thought tar commis-
sioners were all agreed that an equalisation oueht to be
made, that the present sods was steak and unjust, and
they would, therefore, stultify themselves by carrying this
motion. The principle of, qealisstiou was acknowledged at the
last meeting, by the appointment of a committee to go to the
government upon the subject, and he thought the baiter
course would be to adjourn the present meeting until that
committee made their report.
Mr. METCALFE raid there could not, be thought, be
any doubt but that when the nutmeats were first made,
they were made fairly and indifferently, that was, accord.
Mg to the value of the proearty in the divisions. A large
assessment was made upon the Tower Hamlet., because it
was then a very opulent district, and • smeller one upon
Marelebone, because at that time it was an unimporttat
suburban parish, and the assessment of 6001. was nu doubt
spas the full value of its property. Marylebone had been
described as the great aristocratic peril ; why, it was radical
all over from beginaing to end. (Loud laughter.)
The CHAIRMAN begged commissioners oho might
speak would &beans from making any observations of •
political nature. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. METCALFE said he had only further to say, that
be entirely coneumd with, and should support, the motion.
• COMMISSIONER thought an equalaatien vet y desire-
hie, bat said that it should be by an act of parliament,
penchant
ottainieg • clause giving redemption at twenty.five years'
Mr. COPPOCK said that at the last meeting he had
argued that it was the duty, sad in the power of the ens
ristssimen, to equalise the tax throughout the county of
Middlesex, and he proposed • resolution for the levying of
an equal pound rate spun thecounty is accordance with what
ha cuwended mu the clear, common sense meaning
of awe of parliament which he quoted ; but though teat
resolution, proposed as an amendment, was not carried, not
one commissioner raised his voice against the principle of as
equalisation and he was surprised that any c.mmiisiouer
should now, with inch a word as robbery in his mouth, stand
up in defence of the system at present observed.
Mr. TYNDAL seconded the amendment, which, after
some discussion, in which Dlr. Neater, Mr. Payne, Mr.
Elliott, and other commitsioners took part, was put from
the dear and negatived. The original motion was carried
by 31 votes to 7.
. . _

A vote el thanks to the Clueinwsu for the courtesy and
ahiiity with woick he had p►esided over the meeting was
then carried. and atkaowledged by Mr. Mean.
The meeting then broke up.