The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-04 00:00:00

BURDENS ON REAL PROPERTY. I Act, becomes payable ont of the proceeds of the land
REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE. before any portion of them is available or applicable to
the profits of the capital invested in its cultivation. Jt
is further important to consider the effect of this charge
on the land in the case or a serious fall in the price of
agricultural produce. Under the old law, the value of
the tithe would correspond with that of the crop, but
under the law of commutation it would take several
years before the land would be relieved in the amount of
its tithe.
The intensity of the pressure of a burden must be
e
measured by the relative ability to support it ; and the
Committee, therefore, place before the House an
.h
esti-
mate of the rateable value of the real property on which
the the enumerated burdens are assessed. Acceoarldvinate
of
return made to the House of Lords, th%ann
England and
real property assessed to the poor-rate
1841, amountedg to
Wales in the year ended Lady-day,
rates, alone, amounted to 9,687,9501., 87
62,540,0301. The land-tax, high_r9a...svo,lc,huwcohoidantdhopsoobre-
-9ft about 15. per cent, on the
niaglaanaddedandthleirtaitlehse.
equivalent to an income-tax
If to the above sum
annual value of real porfo9pe6rBty7.9i
chargerent-
9,687.9501. is
making a total of 14,187,950/., the contribution annu-
aly levied on real property for the public service under
the five heads of tithes, land-tax, poor, highway, and
church-rates, is equivalent to an income-tax of nearly
23 per cent. on 62,540,0301, the rateable value of the
real property in England and Wales.
This sum, however, is probably much below the ac-
tual value of the property liable to the above-named
rates. The Committee believe that the returns which
state the rateable value of real property in. England and
Wales to be 62,540,0301 have been made from the rate-
books ; and as in some parishes property is not entered
at its gross value, a certain amount must be added to
the above sum before the actual value of real property
in England and Wales liable to the poor. rate can be
obtained. The annual value of real propf rty, as deduc-
ible from the income-tax, amounts to 85.802,7351. in Eng-
land and Wales. The land-tax, highway, church, and
poor-rate (including the county-rate), would be equiva-
lent to a tax above eleven per cent. on this valuation •
but it should, however, be remarked that mines, other
than coal-pits, manors, and fines, which are exempt from
poor•rate, are included in the above estimate.
The Committee are aware that the above-enumerated
sums do not represent the whole contribution levied on
real property for the public service. In some counties
rates are raised under the head of bridges. lunatic
asylums, and constable rates; while the land is still
liable, in case of the militia being called out, to a heavy
disbursement for the support of that nati.inal force. An
additional charge has also been imposed on the land by
the expenses of valuers and solicitors incurred under the
Tithe Commutation Act. Mr. Blamire estimates the
above incidental charge at an average of 2s. Id. per
acre. The Committee, however. have not deemed it ne-
cessary to enumerate charges of a merely incidental and
temporary nature; nor have they. from any returns made
to Parliament, been able to ascertain any amount of
separate rates raised in some districts in addition to the
poor and comity rates.
The stamp duties levied under the head of ‘• Deeds
and instruments" in 1844 amount to 1,646,365 ; but a
portion of this sum being derived from other sr,urces,
ought to be deducted before the burden affecting real
property in that respect can be correctly estimated.
The Committee, moreover, wish to direct par‘icular
attention to the important evidence given 13%; Messrs.
Senior, Stewart, and Baxter, on the unequal "pressure im-
posed by the various stamp acts on deal.Ms with real
property. The last-named witness, Mr. Baxter, says the
stamp upon a 50/. sale (calculating a certain length of
conveyance) would amount to 121 'tier cent.
sale to 5 per cent.; on a 300/. to 23.. per cent.; on a ; on a
5100/.
00/.
cent.
sale to 1/. I4s. 3d. per 1001., P.nd above that sum 1 per

tee, however, are of opinion, that the remission of the
taxes on horses ridden occasionally by occupiers of farms
under 500/. a year, on those used by bailiffs, shepherds,
&c., and on husbandry horses used occasionally for other
purposes, or let occasionally to hire, estimated by Mr.
Pressly, the Secretary to the Board of :stamps and
Taxes, at 79,0961., must be considered to constitute a
special exemption.
3. Tax on shepherds' dogs.—Shepherds' dogs are ex-
empt from the duty levied on all other dogs. This ex-
emption, according to the same witness, is equivalent to
9,8761.

The following is the report of the Committee by the
Lords Committees appointed a Select Committee to in-
quire into Burdens on Real Property, and the impedi-
ments to agricultural transactions, caused by the system
of Excise duties, poor-laws, and local taxation ; and also
to inquire and to report on the legislative exemptions
and pecuniary advantages provided by law in respect to
taxation as affecting landed property.
Ordered to report, that the Committee have met, and
considered the matter to them referred, and have exa-
mined several witnesses in relation thereto, and hare
agreed to the following report :
The Committee have thought it expedient to divide the
subject into two heads, viz., " Restrictions upon Cultiva-
tion," and "Positive Charges ;" both being imposed for
the general advantage, and not for the special benefit of
that class upon which they exclusively or mainly fall.
Under the first head it appears to the Committee that
they should include the prohibition to grow tobacco, and
the restriction on the use of malt for agricultural
purposes, in consequence of the heavy duty imposed
upon it.
The tenant farmers lay great stress on the malt duty, and
its injurious interference with the cultivation of barley.
The Committee, however, cannot consider that impost,
which, on the average of the last ten years, has produced
very nearly 5,000,0001. annually, as borne exclusively by
the land ; beer being almost a necessary of life with the.e
mass of the population, the duty falls as a generalitbabxa
_e
the consumers of the article ; but it is unquesated blthat so heavy a duty diminishes the dembantd
de-
rivesp of a ready market all except the
laretee:
a barley
qualities of
barley. A duty of 21s. Bd. on
_set
Mr. Barclay is of
costing 345. is so heavy a tax, th
cultural witnesses opinion that no brewer can afford. to buy inferior barley
and make it into malt. The agricultural
nugdly of the
ex-
amined before the Committee
inferior
restriction the excise lawsimposec onpl aimnallto.
The advantages of this
barleys for fattening purposes.of dispute between I d
earne
having
been matter
process
chemists and practical farmers, the Committee will con-
tent -themselves
by referring to the evidence of Mr, Hud-
son, of Castleacre, Mr. Bennett, &c, on this zubj-ct, and
adding,
that if further experiments should establish the
utility of the process, the malt-duty must be considered
as a serious obstruction to agricultural economy.
The Committee consider the malt and other excise
duties rather as restrictions on cultivation, and as impe-
diments to the improvement of land, than as exclusive
charges on real property. The duty on hops amounted,
in 1844, to 388,526/. ; the duty on British sugars to
7,052/. ; the dutron bricks to 435,735/.
The Committee have no means of ascertaining the
• exact amount of injury inflicted on real property by the
excise-laws; they cannot, however, but conclude, from
the evidence before them, that the repeal of the malt
duty would considerably increase the demand fer barley,
and that the removal of the duty on bricks would not
only tend to the m ire rapd improvement of real pro-
perty in towns and their vicinity, but, what is still inureimportant, add to the comforts of the panrer classes by
improving the character of their habitations.
The Cemmittee have attempted, under the second
head, to ascertain the extent of the various charges to
which real property is subect, and to place them under
the consideration of the House.
It is evident that every compulsory charge levied upon
the land, and which becomes payable out of its proceeds
before any portion of them is available or applicable to
the profits of the capital vested in it, must be held to
affect that capital.
If such charges are of a magnitude to reduce the value
of the net produce of the land below the average profits
of capital, such capital would, in accordance with general
principles, be withdrawn from the cultivation of the soil,
to be diverted into some other channel. It is, however,
universally admitted that this general principle is in
some degree disturbed by the preference givers to some
occupations over others. The cultivation of land will
attract capital at a lower rate of interest than most other
,occupations ; the rate of remunerating profit is conse-
quently smaller, and it would, iu proportion, be sooner
exhausted by extraordinary burdens.
In estimating the amount of the burdens to which
real property is subject, the Committee have not deemed
it necessary to attempt to draw a distinction between the
owner and occupier of the soil, as representing separate
interests. In many parts of the country they are actually
identical, the owners cultivating their own property.
Letting land to capitalists, instead of the owner cultivat
ing it himself, is only a different mode of management;
and all charges levied upon the land, whether paid by
the owner or occupier, reduce the net profits of their
joint capital invested in the cultivation of it. The capi-
talist hires the use of the lend, and of the buildings
necessary for the cultivatice, of it, as an instrument by
which he may turn his capital to profit ; ar.d the price
he offers is regulated by the liabilities he incurs in the
employment of such at instrument. When those liabi-
lities are easily as'eertained, the capitalist can precisely
calculate the consequent reductroa in the amount he
would otherwise pay for the use of the soil ; but in cases
where the charges fluctuate, and an approximation to
their amount can alone be made, he subjects himself to
the variation of those charges during the term of his
occupation. When these direct and indirect charges
equal in amount the profit remaining after the expenses
of management and interest of capitalhave beendeducted,
the capitalist is no longer able to pay for the hire of the
-instrument with which he employs his capital.
The land-tax, in the opinion of the Committee, is a
burden upon the land, inasmuch as it must be deducted
from the gross proceeds of the land before its net product
can become available as profits of capital. The tempo-
rary Act of the 4th William and Mary imposed
2 rate of 4s. in the pound on land, hereditaments. tene-
ments, offices, and pensions, and 245. per 1001. on per-
sonal estates; but. in the subsequent annual Acts the
rate varies from 4s. to Is. in the pound on lands, here-
ditarnents, &c. The 38th of George 111. fl seed the
quotas payable by each county, city, and borough, and
directed the commissioners under the 't ct to charge
the several divisions in proportion to the sums assessed
thereon by the temporary Act of William and Mary.
Although the quotas are fixed, in refereece to eal
district, by the Act of George 111., the law admits
a variation in the allotment of the sum amongst
the different owners of property within the
:district:, and reclempti..ns continue in consequence ;
although except for the purpose of insurance against an
increased rate on approved property, the privilege of
redemption is, at the present price of the funds, nearly
a dead letter. This tax is most unequal in its pressure;
and, from the statement put in by Mr. Wood, it appeals
that the quotas are higher in proportion to the value of
property in the purely agricultural counties than in the
mining and manufacturing districts. Acco'ating to the
latest returns, the land-tax unredeemed amounts to the
sum of 1,164,0421. The amount of land-tax which has
been redeemed no longer appears, as a burden upon land;
but it must not be forgotten 0:let the proprietors of land,
in order to escape from tte operation of the tax, have
paid over to the state ar, amount of capital of which the
stun redeemed repreeents the annual interest, and of
which the state is atilt deriving the advantage.
The poor-ra • te, including the county-rate, amounted in
1444, to 6,847,205/. That amount is the return of actual
'payments; 'out the evidence accompanying this report is
pregnant - vith proof that the employment of unprofit-
able lah,our would constitute an Important addition to
such -returns. In order to reduce the poor-rate, the far-
InCrs in many parishes employ more hands than the eco-
rnomical working of the land requires. Mr. Robert
'Smith explains this system ; and Mr. Baker estimates
this additional outlay on his farm at 31. per week on 500
acres. The actual sum levied in the name of the p ,or-
rate does not, therefore, correctly represent the full
amount of the charge imposed upon real property by the
;laws regarding the maintenance of the poor. It is true
that, as tar as be is a ratepayer, the manufacturer may
be influenced toy similar motives to keep in employment
for a time 'unprofitable hands ; but the extent to which
these motives operate will, of course, depend upon the
relative proportion of the charges to which the respective
AWo',•ests are subjected.
The highway noes, exclusive of those which are at
*present relieved by the aid of turnpike trusts, amounted
in 1839 to 1,169,891/. The Committee feel it their duty
to observe, that the ratepayers not only have not the
exclusive use of the highways,but notallowed
are even
to limit th • eir expense by the repairs necessary for tne
'conveyance of agricultural
dinasmuch h
roads, if not in a
st
of prp uce ; as t e
of general traffic, i3 repair sufficient for purposes
ay
e oldicted for any party using
them, although suchM& party is not liable to the highway
'The Committee feel it their duty to direct attention to
the probability of the repairs of the turnpke-roads
,falling eventually on real property. Mr. Baxter states
-that in the neighbourhood of Doncaster tolls are paid to
the turnpike trusts, notwithstanding the entire mainte-
nance of the roads has fallen on the rates. Mr. B.nnet
also bears testimony to a rate beingead
raised
inthe.ast
year for the repairs of the Holyhead turnpike-road in
his parish, amounting
to an exnenditure of about 1001.
'
per mile. However important may be the advantages
which accrue to the landedinterest from the improve-
anent of the highways, their maintenance is not the less
a positive charge or burden affecting the profits of the
real property of the country.
The church-rates constitute a smaller, but still a po-
sitive charge upon real property ; they amounted in
1839 to 506,812/, this being the latest return.
The Committee are of opinion taist the tithe commuta-
tion rent-charge operates as a burden on the land which
is subject to it, inasmuch its a terrain amount measured
in produce must be plid, whatever may be the nature
of the cultivation or the return male by it. The value
of the crops, without ref-rence to the natural qualities
of
the soil, being taken into consideration in fixing the
bads on which the commutation rests, lands which by
artificial means were rendered highly productive during
the seven years on which the commutation is based,
have become in consequence permanently li:uble to a
heavy rent charge. Mr. Wea;l, in his evidence, stares
that the high farming introduced at great expense into
the parishes of Beddington and Wallington had raised the
tithes during the years preceding the Commutation. Act,
from 3s. 6d. per acre to 7t. arid Bs. per acre. Mr. Bennet
remarked that the heaviest wheat lands have the heaviest
tithes upon them ; thus imposing the heaviest charge
where cultivation is the most expensive. Mr. Cramp
says the tithes in the pariah in which he resides amounts
to 17s. 61. per acre ; and Mr. Blamire, in answers 2,524
and 2,525, confirms the evidence of preceding witnesses,
that the rent-charge amounts, in souse cases, to more
than one-half the, rail ; that one-third is not an unusual
proportion, and that there are Some rare eases where
the rent-charge is equal in amount to the whole rent.
On the supposition of a continued reduction in the
amount of proceeds derived from capital invested in the
cultivation of the land, it is self evident that titheable
land would be adandoned sooner than laud which is
tithe-free ; and though the landowner has no claim
whatever to the property of the titheowner, the
tithe itself would in that case have the effect of divert-
ing capital from its cultivation. The Committee, there-
sere submit to the consideration of the ,
House the fact
'chat 4,500,0002, levied -under 'tbs.) Tithe Ccmuratation

Fire insurance on implements of husbandry and stock
must also be allowed to present a case of special exemp-
tion in favour of land. Mr. Pressly estimates the relief
afforded by the same at 50,0001.
The Committee do not consider the repeal of the other
taxes enumerated in the table produced by Mr. Pressly
as constituting special exemptions in favour of the land,
inasmuch as no similar tax is continued on any other
property. A special exemption from taxation implies
the existence of a tax borne by all property with the
exception of one particular species of property ; arid, in
order to establish the exemption of the land from a par-
ticular tax, the existence of this particular tax on other
descriptions of property must be established. As there
is no tax on artizans, labourers, and others employed in
manufactories, mills, and shops, the absence of a duty
on labourers employed in husbandry cannot constitute a
special exemption. In the same manner as clerks, in-
spectors, and foremen in mills, &c., are not taxed, the
absence of a tax on bailiffs and stewards forms no special
exemption.
The Committee place before the House in a tabular
form the exemptions from the window duty, showing
the convertive amount of such exemptions affecting the
agriculturist and the tradesman:—
Farmhouses under 2001. a year £26,291 19 7
Outhouses

Tutal ............ 30,244 8 4

Trade offices and counting-houses
Shops

Total
51,396 12 10

Trade
Land

51,396 12 10
30,244 8 4

Balance 21,152 4 6
The Committee need scarcely remind the House that
the whole of the window duty is a tax upon real pro-
perty only ; and that, while farmhouses where the rent
is above 2001. a year are assessed to the duty, shops,
trade offices, and counting-houses, whatever may be their
annual value, are exempt.
The exemption of manure from tolls on turnpike roads
is counterbalanced by the liability of the land to the re
pairs of the roads in case the funds of the trust are not
found saficiont fer the purpose.
. From the documents before them, the Committee feel
p easure in being able to state that the exclusive burdens
on real propert3 appear to be lighter in Scotland and Ire
land than in England and Wales. Under the recent
Scotch Poor Law Act, as well as under the ancient law,
means and substance are liable to the charge for the main-
tenance of the poor. If' this principle were fully acted on,
the burden would fall equally on every description of pro-
perty ; but hitherto the pressure of this charge under the
law has been mainly, if not entirely, borne by the land.
The teinds fall much lighter on the land in Scotland
than the tithe rent-charge does on the land in Eng-
land, in consequence of the teinds having been
valued at a remote period, and the proprietors of the
land being allowed to buy them at a reasonable rate of
purchase. From the evidence, the land-tax, the building
of the churches and manses, rogue-money, prison-
money, repairs of bridges, commutation of statute la-
bour on the roads, building .and endowing schools, and
paying schoolmasters, appear to be the chief burdens on
land in Scotland. The returns made to Parliament do
net enable the Committee to piece before the House the
exact amount levied under these different heads.
In Ireland, the poor-rate and county cess seem to have
amounted to 1,414,8501. ; to which must be added the
rent-charge for tithes, the vestry-cess for coffins for the
poor, the charges under the Boards of Health, the found-
ling-tax, and the ministers' money,
The Committee do not consider the large sums levied,
both in town and agricultural districts, for purely local
objects, as special burdens on real property, but refer to
the various rates for paving, sewerage, lighting, &e., in
towns, and the heavy charges for drainage, repairs of
dikes. embankments of' rivers, &c., in the agricultural
districts, as evidence of the outlay incident to, and inse-
pareble from, the improvement of real property.
The income-tax falls more heavily on land than on per-
sonality, in consequence of the mode in which the two
descriptions of property are assessed. Neither the land-
lord nor the tenant has any escape from the strict provi-
sions of the law. The owner is assessed upon the gross
rental, or on what the surveyor would consider a fair
rent. No allowance is made for repairs, agency, or ar-
rears; in consequence of which it results that a landlord
invariably pays a per centage to the income-tax on a
larger sum than his net receipts. The incomes of trades
and professions, on the contrary, are generally ascertained
by the voluntary declaration of the parties.
The agricultural witnesses complain also of the re-
striction in the choice of labourers imposed on the far-
mer by the law of settlement ; and Mr. Coppock, the
clerk of the Stockport union, bears evidence to the
hardships and expenses occasioned by the present state
of that law.
The question having been raised as to the principle
adopted in rating railways to the poor-rate, the Commit-
tee have examined Mr. Goode and Mr. B. Russell on
the subject ; and it appears from their evidence that the
uniform principle of assessing all fixed property at the
net rent or clear amount at which it can be let has not
been departed from. Railways are rated as improved
land on the net rent a company of carriers would
give for the occupation of the same ; and as the
rents of a railwas would depend materially on the
profits derived from the carrying trade on it, the profits
are taken as a guide to arrive at the net rent. Mills are
rated on the same principle, namely the rent for which
the mill, with its appurtenances, would let. Considering
the changes occasioned by the creation of real property,
as well as those t.king place in the relative value of dif-
ferent descriptions of real property, the Committee need
scarcely point out the advantage as well as justice of
periodical and uniform valuations.
The Committee earnestly request the attention of the
House to the important evidence of Mr. Stewart, on the
evils proceeding from the length of deeds connected with
real property ; and while the Committee acknowledge
the benefit of the Act passed last session respecting satis-
fied outstanding terms and short deeds, they are at the
same time anxious to imprees on the House the neces-
sity of a thorough revision of the whole subject of con-
veyancing, and the disuse of the present prolix, expen-
sive, and vexatious system.
The Committee have received evidence on the advan-
tages of a registration of d. eds in Scotland and Ireland,
and on the great facilities afforded by means of similar
institutions to dealings with real property in foreign
States. The Committee, however, limit themselves to
the expression, of their opinion, that a registry of title to
all real property is essential to. the success of aby at-
tempt to simplify the system of conveyancing.
The practical inferences which may be drawn from
the evidence and from the preceding observations are
very important. In seine cases remedial measures,
founded on sound principles and past experience, have
been suggested for evils not admitting of much doubt or
controversy. In other cases, various reforms have been
recommeneed, which are entitled to serious and imme-
diate attention.
In conclusion, we recapitulate some of these recom-
mendations :-
1. The improvement of the law of real property ; the
simplification of titles and of the forms of conveyance ;
the establishment of some effective system for the regis-
tration of deeds.
2. An extension of the measure of 1835, by relieving
the counties and boroughs from the portion of expense
to which they continue liable for criminal prosecutions,
as well as the maintenance and conveyance of prisoners.
This measure, however, should be accompanied by an
adoption on the part of the state of an effective control.
3. The adoption of the liability of the owners of
houses under the annual value of 101. to the rates at
which the same are assessed.
are
obvious
4. Where establishments exist or may be rev-
, red for
the support of lunatics, and where the:-e are
reasons, both of economy and humanty, for centralising
of the state can be mad
the administration ; and where, ..l
made av ,rove all, the resources
aggravatingidied, the .eatable, without any risk of
.
the evil proposed to be reme-
deo
m o r m
iitnt .:. , g
.c, r e a P
ee are not prepared to justify the im-
p of tt.'..-e whole cost upon one description of pro-
perty. Tire Committee, therefore, submit that the charge
for tee maintenance of pauper lunatics tin oughout the
'empire ought to be undertaken by the public.
5. To a certain extent the observations made on
lunatic asylums
Goode
toudree
for
ro
thewm sa, may befrom
a ,in
an
t el applied
ae l toan some m
reliefe
documents,branches
o r
the
that of fo
the
hhr
e. e
establishment charges, inclusive of salaries, amount to
17 per cent. on the total expenditure for the relief of the
poor, and states that these charges might be provided
for by the government, without leading to any evil
consequences in the administration of the poor law.
6. A charge is periodically cast upon the land for the
militia-rate ; this is not now levied, the militia being
disembodied ; but, considering the subject of the militia
to be general, and not confined to the interests of a par-
ticular class, the Committee are of opinion that this charge
should be provided for by Pelham. nt ; care being, hos
ever, taken that if the public assume the responsibilityv-
the charge, the government should
sure the efficiency of thforhave authority to in-
7. It is most desirable thethacte.
the progress of malting barley r experiment for testing
fatten-
ing cattle should be regpeatetlwohrbthe purpose of thei co-operation of
Ipersons of acknowledged skill in a
These measures appear to the Cog
irni cmui
tttuer,e.t
be
sary, because they are just. They have Conofi
recommendation of change in the sources front:
dnecei•
theirl.
certain charge., should be defray, d to matters in which
which
every i
oughtnteresto be shared
is eq
by ll.ually con
acern expense teed, and the expe of
The Committee considered themselves limited
to an inquiry into the relative burdens on
different descriptions of property
within the
kingdom ; a more important consideration would
probably
be the proportion of burdens on the cultiva-
tors of land in this country, as compared with thase
borne by the cultivators of foreign countries intended to
be admitted into competition with them in the same
market. On this subject some information has fallen
Banfield. been ac
who have
quefrom Messrs. Cramp and
countries rn • ted with the condition of farming in
bor-
dering on the Baltic, and in the
north of France; but the
' their instructions precluded Committee were of opinion
• them from following up this description of inquiry. The Committee have dire led the minutes or evidence,
with an apoenctia aud India thereto, it. be laid• hutoro
your Lordships,

The transfer, moreover, of real property is subjected
by law to other difficWaties, expenses, and inequalities of
a similar character. According to the evidence of the
same witness, the expenses, including stamps, upon a
sale of 501. -ealue, amount to no less than 30 per cent. ;
upon a -,ale of 1001 value to 15 per cent. ; upon a sale
of 6001 value, to 7 per cent. : upon 1,5001., 5 per cent.
The Committee are convinced that the marketable value
of real property is seriously diminished by the tedious
and expensive process attending its transfer. Nor is it
only in the transfer of real property that the pressure
of this burden is felt. It is a work of time to raise
money on landed security, and the law expenses inci-
dent to the transaction are a considerable addition to
the interest on the sum borrowed, The transfer of the
debt or mortgage is also attended with serious expenses
to the mortgagor ; the process of discharging the land
from one loan, and subjecting it to another, being both
heavy burdens upon the proprietor, Mr. Baxter give:,
the tollowing evidence on the expenses attending mort-
gages :—"A mortgage for 50/. would cost, in stamps and
law expenses, 30 per cent. ; a mortgage for 100/. would
cost 20 per cent. ; a mortgage for 4501. would cost 7 per
cent. ; a mortgage for 1,5001. would cost 3 per cent. ;
a mortgage for 12,5001. would cost 1 per cent. ; for
25,000/. it would cost 15s. per 1001., and for 100,0001.
it would cost 12s. per 100/."
The objects for which the above restrictions and taxes
are imposed are all of a public nature, and interest alike
the possessor of personal property and the landowner
who derives his whole income from reality. The pro
hibition to grow tobacco, and the restriction on the use
of malt for agricultural purposes, are imposed for the
protection of the revenue raised the general purposes
of the state. The stamp duties levied in connexion with
real property are applied to the same objects ; and the
direct charges whict constitute the heaviest burdens on
real property sepply the funds applicable to the internal
services of „ice state.
Tht,' Uommittee observe that the annual amount of na-
ti:mal income, as deducible from the income tax, in 1842,
amounted to 244.760,530/, while the real property rated
to the poor-rate, according to the returns made to Par-
liament in the same year, was 63.540,030/. Thus a
great portion of the admistration of justice, of the main-
tenance of the fabric of the church, awl of the internal
communications of the country, as well as the entire sup-
port of the poor, are all defrayed from a taxation from
which nearly three fourths of the national income are
exempted.
It is incumbent on the Committee to remark, that the
relative prop, rtion of the special burdens on real pro-
perty assessed upon houses and other property, as coin-
pared with land, has of late years been increasing in a
progressive and rnpid ratio. The Committee refer to
this cnange with pleasure, as indicating a large increase
in the fixed capital of the country; and cannot doubt
but that in the districts where the change has been the
greatest, a material relief has been afforded to the rate-
payers by extending the field over which the local bur-
dens are spread. But, although the proportion between
the different classes of real property has thus been
altered, the burden does not fall the less exclusively
upon real as compared with personal property; and the
Committee feel it incumbent on them to remind the
House, that neither the law nor the spirit of the consti-
tution originally contemplated so partial a system of
taxation. The poor-law of Elizabeth, and the land-tax
of William and Mary, embraced every description of in-
come; but, in consequence of the comparative facility of
rating visible property, and the small amount of income
derived from other sources in the early period of their
assessment, personalty seems to have escaped its legal
share of contribution to the public service. It is neces-
sary, however, to observe that the liability of stock in
trade was continued by law to a late period, and is, up
to the present day, only suspended by an annual act of
exemption.
The Committee have further directed their attention
to the charges of a public nature, from which real pro-
perty has become exempt, while property other than
real remains liable:-
1. Legacy and Probate Duty.—Freeholds are exempt
from legacy and probate ditty. The Committee have
not been able to ascertain the exact amount of legacy
and probate duty paid by leasehold property ; but they
feel it their duty to draw attention to the fact that lease-
holds are not only liable to the stamp duties on death gs
wi h the property inter cites, but also to the probate and
legacy duty. Nor can the Committee avoid reminding
the House, that legacy duty is paid in every case where
the testator has devised his lands to be sold ; and,
according to the evidence of Mr. Baxter, a solicitor
of very great practice, nine will, out of ten, in the
middle ranks of life, convert the whole land into
personalty for the purpose of division. The evidence of
Mr. Pressly tends to confirm the previous evidence of
Mr. Baxter, that a considerable portion of the legacy
duty is raised on freeholds devised to be sold for the
purpose of division. He witnesses that Mr. Trevor, the
controller of the legacy-duty, estimates it (the portion
raised on freeholds devised to be sold) at five-twelfths of
the amount. Assuming the legacy duty to be 1,200,000/.,
he estimates the proportion of duty
arising from real
continue a,
estate at 500,0001. "I think," the
"he has put it too high. Ido not thiwngnutheasst
a fourth, or scarcely a fourth, of the 120,00
morew. dean
duty arises from land." The witness, however etc 2:
not include leasehold property in his calculation ',
being liable to both probate and legacy dut.- ,„„,-;ie
ad ed to the above-ntenttoned estimate bef: " e
at the full portion of the legacy duty ar
,si ore
e
of the
proceeds' of the land. ng out
hrJeses are to the far-
2. Tax on horses.—Husbandr
Aitzifieturer and so
mer what machinery is to they
other
far as the latter is exempt fro,
water, or
The
_ation, to the same
wmhe.er.ttho,bre.of
steam.
fixed machinery of
is rated with ',is buildings, for the purposes of
power,
tax and of local taxation, on the principle of
the manufacturer, algh t
the fo
r
thethe janme7uen; of rr,mt which would be given by a solvent
tenant tor their use ; and the thrashing machine and
ether fixed machinery for the farmer is rated with his
e.
The aoveaele r machieury of themanufacturer and its
prorate are exempt from such ratine,
buildings, and the rest of his farm on the same principle
,T, while the arable
'wad of the farmer is rated at the improved value given
to it beyond its natural value by the introduction of the
plough upon it, which value would cease it' the plough
were withdrawn from it ; and thus, by rating
his property on the increased value produced
by the use of his moveable machinery, the
latter is indirecly, but not less effeetivelf,
taxed, as well as his fixed machinery. It has been
urged, that as trade hor-es are liable to taxation, the
absence of duty on husbandry horses constitutes a spe-
cial exemption. There is, however, this difference be-
tween them, that the forint r cannot be considered in the
light of machinery where they are not used for the
purposes of production ; arid as the tax on the farmer's
horse was, in effect, a tax upon his plough, it consti-
tuted a peculiar burden upon the machinery of the agri-
culturist, from which that of all other manufacturers
was free ; and the 'removal of it cannot fairly be con-
sidered as a special exemption, though in some instances
where it is retained on horses used in trade, the con-
tinuance of it May perhaps be held to be a peculiar
burden on those trailers. It should also be noticed,
that the farmer cuff ra indirectly to a considerable
extent by the tax on horses, inasmuch as it tends to
limit the number k.. pt, and consequently the de-
mand for the animal, as well as .for .the.. produce
of the land rclaired f,A. his sustenance. The (..;wiimit.

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JUNE 4, 184

RAILWAY COMMITTEE

shares had fallen in value, and he for one was, therefore,
of opinion that the schemes were not approved of by the
public, and would not prove profitable.
The CHAIRMAN having explained the reason of the
fall in the value of the shares (observing at the same
time that the very same circumstance had happened to
every new railway company in the kingdom), and made
other statements.

(YESTERDAY.)

GROUP I.
HOUSE Op LORDS.
LONDON AND YORK (CAMBRIDGE AND

LINCOLN EXTENSION).
Mr. Leather, the engineer to the line, was examined this
morning by Mr. BAINES—He stated that the line fer a con-
siderable distance had gradients of the most favourable cha-
racter-4 in 1,000 for fourteen miles, and the remainder
averaging from lin 560 to 1 in 360. The cost of construc-
tion was 860,0001. It was proposed to cross the river Ouse
by means of swing-bridges. There was very little opposition
on the part of the landowners.
Cross-examined by Sergeant WRANGIIAM, on behalf of the
London and York—There would be a delay of sixteen mi-
nutes with every train at the swing-bridges, when the bridges
were required to be swung for the purpose of allowing vessels
to pass.

Mr. TURNER said he was now quite satisfied of the
desirableness of prosecuting the schemes with vigour
and he should therefore move the resolution propos3
by the Chairman.

- The resolution, having been seconded, and a few desul-
tory observations having been made by SOll3O shareholders,
was put and carried, there being in favour of the schemes
1,289,2501., and against, 3,2501.
Thanks were then voted and unanimously passed to
the Chairman, which having been acknowledged, the
meeting separated.

Cross-examined by Mr. HILDYARD, for the Eastern
Counties—The line from Selby to York, as proposed by the
Eastern Counties, has as favourable gradients as his own
line.

GRAVE:'END AN!) ROCHESTER
RAILWAY.
A general meeting of this Company was called for yes-
terday morning, at the George and Vulture Tavern, but
it was only held pro formci, and the business stands ad-
journed till the next general meeting, which is to be
held on the 17th inst., when business of importance is
to be brought forward.

At this stage of the procedings the Noble Chairman inti-
mated that their Lordships thought an insuperable objec-
tion to this line was found in its proposal to cross the Ouse,
as there was no 'ecurity to the public that the Lords of the
Admiralty might not also require the two additional
bridges proposed to be constructed by the line over
another part of the Ouse to be also swing-
bridges, and unles the counsel could bring forward evidence
of a nature to rent.ve that uncertainty, he thought it useless
to proceed with the further examination of the witness.
Mr. BAINES re-examined the witness, but nothing material
was elicited, and their Lordships then adjourned.

SOUTH WALES RAILWAY.
A special meeting of the shareholders in this undertaking
was held yesterday at the Paddington Station of the
Great Western Railway, in compliance with the sessional
orders, for the purpos of taking into consideration the
drafts of the following Bills now before Parliament :
" A Bill for completing the line of the South Wales Rail-
way, and to authorise the construction of an extension and
certain alterations of the said railway, and certain
Branch Railways in connexion therewith ;" by which
Bill power is proposed to be conferred on the said South
Wales Railway Company to make certain deviations
in the line of railway as now authorised, and to extend
the same, and to enable the Comp-lily to rent or purchase
the Forest of Dean Railway, and the Severn and Wye
Railway and Canal, and for ocher purposes.
" A Bill for making a Railway from Gloucester
to the Monmouth and Hereford Railway, and to the
South Wales Railway at Awre, to be called the Glou-
cester and Dean Forest Railway ;" by which Bill power
is proposed to be conferred on the South Wales Railway
Company, to subscribe towards the said intended Glou-
cester and Dean Forest Railway, and to purchase or
lease the same.
" A Bill for making a Railway from Llangynwyd to
Margam by a Company to be called the Llynvy Valley
Railway Company ;" by which Bill power is proposed
to be conferred on the South Wales Railway Company
to purchase or lease the said last-mentioned intended
railway.
" A Bill for making Railways to connect the Saunders-
foot Railway with the South Wales Railway, with the har-
bour of Saundersfoot, and with the town of Tenby, to be
called the Tenby, Saundersfoot, and South Wales Rail-
way, and for other purposes ;" by which Bill powers are
proposed to be conferred on the South Wsles Railway
Company of purchasing or leasing the undertaking by
the said last-mentioned Bill proposed to be authorised,
and of raising money for the completion of such pur-
chase, or for executing the works therein referred to.
" A Bill for making a railway from the South Wales
Railway, at or near the town of Neath, to Merthyr Tydfil,
with branches, to be called the Vale of Neath Railway ;"
by which Bill powers are proposed to be conferred on
the South Wales R.'ilway Company of purchasing or
leasing the undertaking by the said last-mentioned Bill
proposed to be authorised, and of raising money for such
purposes.
The chair was taken at 12 o'clock precisely.
The SECRETARY (Mr. Armstrong) having read the
notices convening the meeting,
C. RUSSEL, Esq. (chairman) said that the object of
the shareholders having been called together was in
consequence of the sessional orders of Parl'ament. The
South Worcester proposed to cross the Severn ; the
Committee of the House of Commons, however, thought
proper to re ohibit that mode of crossing, although fully
recommended by the engineer of the Admiralty. The
ocher alternative for crossing the Severn was that offered
by the Gloucester and Forest of Dean Railway, of which
they now proposed to avail themselves. The Committee
decided that the agreement made with the Brilhip Vale
Railway should be clogged with a condition, that they
should purchase the Severn and Wye Railway. The
committee of management, however, could not think
of complying with this unprecedented request, and
have, therefore, thought proper to abandon
the Bill for the present. The tunnel near Malvern had
also been thrown out by the Committee. Thess three
schemes having been rejected, the only course left for the
Committee was to obtain a line from the south of Wales,
in connexion with the metropolis, by the way of Glou-
cester. This scheme the committee of management
had now obtained by means of the Bills which would be
submitted to the meeting.
The SECRETARY then read the abstract and shor
titles of the
South Wales Railway,
Gloucester and Forest of Dean Railway,
Llynvi Valley Railway,
Tenby and Saundersfoot Railway, and
Vale of Neath Railway.
The CHAIRMAN then read the resolution approving of
these Bills.
W. ROCRE, Esq. proposed, and Mr. IRONMONGER se-
conded the resolution, which was carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN then said, that it would be necessary,
in his opinion, to add a clause to the resolution just
passed, which would be to the following effect :—" That
this meeting authorises the directors to agree to such
alterations in the said Bills as may be deemed expedient
during their progress through Parliament."
This resolution was moved accordingly, and unani-
mously agreed to.
Mr. ROACH then said that as it wanted a few minutes
to one o'clock (the time announced for the second
meeting), he should feel obliged to the Chairman if he
would briefly state what were the intentions of
the directors with respect to, and the progress of, the
new works, because in the country the general opinion
was that there was little or no progress made in them,
and in fact some despaired of their ever being completed.
That, however, was not his opinion, but he was satisfied
of this, that the people of the country held that opinion.
The CHAIRMAN said he could assure the meeting that
it was the intention of the directors to proceed with the
works in question with as much rapidity as they pos-
sibly could, consistent with the general interest of the
proprietors. He might state that the directors
had already entered into three contracts—two
with respect to the works at Newport, ex-
tending over a length of six and -three-quarter miles,
,aid another with regard: to SWansea, which extended
over a length of .two miles. One of the 'contracts at
Newport embraced a tunnel. Now those three con-
tracts embraced the heaviest of the works on the
line ; they were, iu fact, the key to the whole.
It was hardly necessary to say that the
directors deemed it prudent to complete the heavy
works before they entered upon those of minor im-
portance. However, he could assure the Honourable
Proprietor that every attention should be paid to his
suggestions, and care would be taken that the works
should be prosecuted with the utmost activity.
Mr. ROACH again begged to assure the lion. Chair-
man that his only object in alluding to the progress of
the works was, that the people in the country might
have the benefit of the Chairman's statement on the
subject,

VALE OF NEATH RAILWAY.
SPECIAL MEETING.
A special meeting of the proprietors and shareholders
of this line took place this yesterday, at three o'clock,
at the Company s Offices, 449, West Strand ; Louis
\rigors in the chair.
The meeting was called in pursuance of the ses-
sional orders, and it was unanimous in assenting to the
further proceeding with the Bill in Parliament.
The CHAIRMAN observed that the Bill had been read
a second time, and would go into Committee on the
15th of the present month.
There were 10,796 shares present and the whole
number of shares issued 275,000, so that the meeting
was perfectly legal.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH, June 3.
A considerable time was occupied to-day in the hear-
ing of a case in which the governors or ta ustees of the
Borough•road Institution sought to have their esta-
blishment exempted from a local parish tax. After a
long argument,
The COURT decided that the institution did not come
within the exemptions contemplated by the Act.
(Sittings in Banco.)
THE QUEEN V. JAMES GRIFFIS.
This was an appeal against a conviction, upon the
ground of illegality.
It appeared that the appellant, James Griffis, was
convicted for having, in the parish of Collington, in the
county of Devon, a dog and gun in his possession for
the purpose of taking and killing game. The convic•
tion was for three calendar months ; and it was objected
that it was bad on the face of it. inasmuch as it was
made by one commissioner instead of before two—the
one commissioner who committed not being a justice of
the peace. The law required that one commissioner, to
have jurisdiction, should be a justice of the peace, and
if not a justice, he should not adjudicate without the
presence and co operation of another commissoner; two
cornmisioners, not being justices, being armed with
sufficient power to convict.

Mr. GREENWOOD argued in support of the coviction,
citing several cases in support of his argument, and
submitted to the Court that the Act of the Commis-
sioner, under all the circumstances, was leLal, and that
the conviction ought to be affirmed.
Mr. MERRIVALE, with whom was Mr. CORNISH, con-
tended that the conviction was bad, upon the grounds
above stated, and

The Court, looking at all the facts, ruled that the ob-
jection was good, and that the conviction could not ba
sustained.

The Court was occupied during the greater part of the
remaining portion of the day in hearing arguments in
pauper cases of removal and settlement, in several of
which their Lordships gave a decision.

BAIL COURT, June 3.
In this Court to day several applications were made,
but all of them devoid of public interest. One was a
case in which a motion was made for a writ for a dis-
iringas for 5,0001. against a party who was alleged to
have sold his goods and gone abroad, in consequence of
embarrassments in which he was involved, by reason of
railway speculation. He (the defendant), whose name
was Wake, alleged that he had never heard of any pro-
ceedings being taken against him, and in answer to the
Court, as to how he had come by the knowledge of it,
he said he had heard of it on a Sunday, but that legally
he had not. The present application was for a writ of
outlawry against him, as it was alleged he was not ex-
pected to return, and that in several such cases Sunday
had been held to be a legal day.
The COURT granted the rule.
Mr. Lunt moved for a mandamus, commanding the
Thames Haven Railway and Dock Company to pay
a party the amount of a judgment he had obtained against
them, and prayed that it might be granted at once, as the
Bill of the Company would expire in July.
The COURT granted the rule, but said it should be in
the ordinary way.

THE QUEEN V. HART.
In this case an application was made to remove an in-
dictment laid against the defendant for perjury from
the sessions to the assizes. The allegation was that
defendant had personated the plaintiff at an election.—
Granted.

The next was a common jury case, in which the
plaintiff and defendant stood in the relative position of
building contractor and employer. When the case had
gone on for some time, it was agreed to refer it.
The Court rose at an early hour.

SECONDARIES' COURT, June 3.
(Before Mr. Secondary POTTER.)
IN RE FREDERICK CHARLES PARRY.
OUTLAWRY AND EXTENT.—III this case the jury were
empanelled under a Crown extent, to ascertain what
property the defendant was possessed of within the City
of London.
The solicitor stated the case. The defendant had for-
merly been one of the registrars in the Court of Bank-
ruptcy, and had retired on a pension of 6661. per annum.
An action had boen brought against him, and ultimately
the plaintiff in the suit took proceedings under which
the defendant was outlawed, and all his property had
become forfeited to • the Crown ; it would therefore be
only necessary to prove by a clerk of the Bank of Eng -
gland that the defendant was entitled under an order of
the Lord Chancellor to the above amounts out of funds
in their hands.
Mr. EVANS, from the Bank of England, proved the
fact.

The SECONDARY, in summing up, said the jury would
find a verdict for the Crown, to which the property fell:
what would ultimately. be done with, it was no part of
the present inquiry.
The jurj accordingly gave a verdict for the Crown in
the proper form.
CHAPMAN AND ANOTHER V. FOWLER.
The plaintiffs in this action were the proprietors of
the Railway Director newspaper, and the defendant was
a provisional or managing committeeman of the Ham-
mond Vale Coal and Iron Company, a mining
speculation entered into during the last autumn.
The defendant admitted his liability to pay
part of the demand, and did not dispute
the fairness of the charges, but denied having given in-
stru-tion to the advertising agent or collector for the
insertion of the whole. The real point in the case was
whether, when credit was given, a written or printed
order was necessary. Several demands had been made
at the office of the company for 17/ 55., and the Secre-
tary, Mr. Hughes, said it would be paid.
Mr. Hooper, an advertising agent, said he had given
some thousands of orders, and in very few instances was
asked for a written one, nor did he ask for any of
directors or others in general. On being served with
the writ deferdant had admitted his liability.
For the defendant it was urged that the Company
had offered to pay any amount for which orders could
be produced.
Mr Hughes was now called, with a view of showing
that he had given the orders to the amount of 61., which
had been paid into Court.
On cross-examination, however, he admitted that an
order had been given for others, which he remembered
on seeing it, and in other respects he did not shake the
evidence of Dixon.
The SECONDARY said that as a matter of law it was
not necessary that the order should be given in writing,
although it was better to have it as a matter of pre-
caution; the main question in this case was whether a cer-
tain order had been given by Mr. Hughes for the inser-
tion of a long advertisement or by one of his clerks by
accident, but that the draft or copy had got into plaintiff's
hands was quite clear, and also that they bad inserted it.
The jury, after a short consultation, gave a verdict for
the plaintiffs.

HUMFREY—I wish to ask, Mr. Chairman, whether
those Bills limit the South Wales line to any particular
gauge.
The Citantmax—l believe there is no clause whatever
of that sort. The South I,‘ ales is committed, you know,
by the Bill that they have already obtained—they are
a brokd gauge railway. I should think, as a matter of
l'ea,on and common sense, that that will be the gauge of
every railway that may flow into it.
Mr. HUMFREY thought that, as the Bill was about to
be altered, it would be well now to insert a clause giving
the proprietors power to alter the gauge as they might
hereafter think desirable.
The CHAIRMAN said that the question of gauge would
be settled by Parliament before these Bills could receive
the sanction of the Legislature ; and, of course, what•
ever determination they might come to must guide the
course of the proprietors. At the same time, he must
observe, that he c mild not for one moment entertain the
notion that Parliament would compel them to alter their
present broad gauge.
Mr. HUMFREY begged to differ from the Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN—However, before these Bills can be
brought to a conclusion, we shall know the decision
both of the Government and the Legislature upon that
question. lam informed that there is no clause in the
South Wales Act that binds us to any gauge.
As it still wanted twenty minutes of the time an-
nounced in the advertisement for the holding of the
second meeting, the meeting adjourned until that time.
At one o'clock
The CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD again took the chair,
and said that they were assembled for the special purpose
of carrying into effect the sessional orders of both
Houses of Parliament of this year. Now by those
sessional orders they would be aware that it was
required that a public meeting of a new railway com-
pany should convened, at which there should be re-
presented, ether in person or by proxy, one-third of the
shareholders of the company, and that of that one•third
there should be a majority of two-fifths at least in
favour of the prosecution of the scheme before the Le-
eislature would sanction' it. The capital of the South
Wales Company now amounted to 3,000,000/. ; the
quantity, therefore, that must be represented at the
meeting was 1,000,000/. Now, in proxies, they had re-
ceived the note,' of the holders of shares amounting to
1,289,250/., independently of the shares of the proprietors
who were then present, in favour of the scheme. There
could be no question, therefore, that they were
a properly-constituted meeting. After the ob-
servations that he had already made at the
prep would, to make
previous meeting it perhaps, be unnecessary for
any further statements upon the present
occasion. He then read the resolution approving of the
prosecution of the works.
In reply to a SHAREHOLDER,
The ChAIRMAN said that the Committee had ex-
punged the clause with reference to the Severn, and
they would now have to go
would involve an additional outlay, as the line would be
round by Gloucester, which
17 miles longer than original! intended. Mr. TURNER, said that he Yshould like to have some
information from the Chairman, directors,. or engineers,
as to the desirableness of going forward with the pro-
pond 13ills, Since the last report of the directors the

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.
A savage-looking fellow, named Florence Leary, was
brought up, charged with having scalded William Tut-
hill in a dreadful manner.
The complainant has been since his calamity, which
took place about seven or eight weeks ago, under me-
dical treatment, and was not able to move from the hos-
pital until Friday last. He and the prisoner have been
long considered to be quarrelsome fellows.
The complainant said that he was a tailor, and had
known the prisoner for about sixteen or eighteen years.
A little after eleven o'clock on the night of Wednesday,
the Bth of April, he went into the tap-room of the Box
Tree public-house, Gravel-lane, Houndsditcb, and sat
down near the prisoner. He was hardly seated when
the prisoner said to him, ,t what did you mean by
.offend-
ing my wife last night, and what did you callth( cause
me an
informer for ?" Witness replied, "you e
of having two men apprehended as deserters, and Icon-
sider you, therefore, an informer:' The moment
Witness used these words the pris,
bcnleedr shtirmuckuph,i,mn
itnhea
most desperate manner,
ground. Witness got uparaitdulttuXd to defend himself,
but was again knocked down by the prisoner, who knelt
upon his breast, dragged him to the fire-place, and turn-
ing the tap of the boiler, which was on the fire, let the
boiling water over him for about half a minute, and
scalded him in the most awful manner on the bully and
thighs. In dreadful agony witness endeavoured to rise,
but the prisoner, not satisfied with having inflicted such
punishment, gave him a most unmerciful kick on the
face, which floored him in a state of insensibility.
Some people in the room then lifted the prisoner up. and
took him (witness) to his home, and from thence he was
taken to the hospital, where his sufferings were almost in-
tole, able.
William Tuggctt, who happened to he in the public-
house on the night off' Oat) quarrel, dep4seci to the cu.