The National Register.
London, England, 1816-02-19 00:00:00

fieiently impressed.
It has been for a long time a question among financiers
mind political economists, out of what source taxes are
actually raised ; whether they bear ultimately upon the
/and abate, or are fairly divided between all parties in
the community, and paid out of commercial and manu-
facturing industry. To resolve this question fully and
accunitely, it is necessary to go somewhat profoundly
into the nature of the different sources of revenue and of
wealth, which in a weekly register of politics would be
impos.sible. We shall endeavour to avoid this ; but must
briefly premise, that all income or revenue must be de-
rived either from the rent of land, front interest of
money, the profits of trade, or the wages of labour.
Ultimately, however, it will be found, that profits accu-
mulated, and interest to be continued for any length of
time, will be converted into the rent of land. Wealth
itself' consists of permanent and consumable things. The
permanent are land, houses, and machinery ; the con-
sumable, live-stock, raw produce, and manufactured and
commercial goods.
Rent, interest, profits, wages of labour, may be con-
sidered as the titles by which each man's claim to these
various articles, as they annually arise and are consumed,
may he ascertained.: for the mass of the whole people
must divide the whole wealth, or growing produce, and
existing commodities, together with the houses and land
of the nation, tweording to some given proportion, which
may be militated by the whole value of rent and inte-
rest, and the *hire amdanft of profits of trade, of wages,
end of labour. These carious items, therefore, we will
consider as put for the whole community ; and any
charge upon the wealth of the whole community must
be distributed among them according to these propor-
tione. as they exist at any given time.
Suppose any portion of thin wealth to be raised from '
among the litople, however it may be re:sed, it must
ultimately be distributed so as to bear upon the perma-
nent, and not the actual or present wealth, fur the time
being, of the community. It' it is raised by taxing land,
110116e:4, and the interest of money, this is a direct tax on
permanent income, and is a mere transfer of the perma-
nent property from its present possessors, to some other
persons to whom it is distributed by the hands of Go-
vernment, throttqh the medium of their expenditure.
If it he raised directly on commodities, they must be
taxed in money, or seized in specie, which is nearly the
same thing, and the dealer in the connuodities raises the
prices of them according to the tax. By this means, the
dealer himself entirely avoids the burthen of the tax.
Were the goods arbitrarily seized in specie, the tali:et
w mid be nearly the same; for traders generally purchase
upon credit, and to ruin the trader is to ruin the credi-
tor and the capitalist ; &truth which, in thc general insolvena
cy ofall classes of the community, is, we believe, very clearly
perceived at the moment in which we arc now writing.
Raise money and levy taxes in any way, it will, we
believe, ultimately lidl upon the rent of land, houses, and
machinery, although for a time it may be borne rather
severely by the traders and manufacturers. 'We are
ourselves. indeed, fully convinced that a perpetual charge
can only be paid by a perpetual fund, sash as the law in
England designates by the Rea real estate. The national
debt will therefore he found a mere charge upon the
national rents. Taxes levied in one year, may bear upon
the industry of the country; and the rent of land, indeed,
is the result of the industry of the country. But indus-
try is at, ll times kept at its full stretch, according to the
manners, habits, and nature of. property, at any given
epoch of time. Diminish industry, and wealth is dimi-
nished; lessen time rewards of industry, and the excite-
ment being gone, the activity and powers of' life, so to
speak, which are necessary to the maintenance of the
national industry, arc destroyed. The moment, then, that
any system of taxation be; to press severely upon this
lass, that moment national income is diminished, because
industry becomes either paltied or barren, and revenue
and taxation fa