The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-01-09 00:00:00

To THE E'DriOH OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—A bill lsLiOat;;ht int, the Cournaeins to rate the owners
of teneineuts instead it the occupiers: his job has of late, nun
front time to time, in all manlier of been strougiy re-
commenned and pushed ferwaid by the anyocates of the urn
poor law bill, and by the tine., new-made monarchs, then
hoed assiitauts, and their little winking tools, called guardian,
The coimoon clap-trap professions ate put mina to make it
appear -palatable. The benefit of the poor is the professed ob-
ject. .We are told that from the, inability of a great poi lion of
the working classes to pay rates, the tax-gatherers ought to,
longer to have a claim ou the occupiers of small houses, but "
the owners; and that the power to rate the latter, instead of
the former, would ruttier a great boon on the Yes,:no ,
doubt it would, if in reality they were to be exempt ft ow pa)-
; tint this is not intended, and het ein is the••deception. It
is web known that a tax on any article is always paid by the
consumer or user; consequently, if parochial rates are made a
house-tax on the landlord, it must have a teu'leucy to increase
the aumuut of rent, and, mauy cases,, the landlord will at •
once chip on the additional charge,• and thus the tenant, in re-
ality, will still be the payer. Yet some have the roily or im-
pudence to call this a boon to the poor. John Bull is not quite
so stupid tie gulp this down, at all events. The true stair lit the
mutter is this: that it is now, and has long been considered.
such a barefaced act of injustice to make the poor pay poi-
, rates, road-vales, lighting-iates, police rates, and all 'Altai
chat ges„ that the parish authorities, and even the poor law cow-
missioners and their adherents, are almost ashamed of the .im--
position,.or, at all events,,theythluk it not good policy tie en-
rnrc.e those demands on poor lamthes, who can scarcely obtain
a sufficiency of bread.. Yet, on the other hand, they death
perceive that to exonerate this most numerous class from these
burdeus, would entail tore on themselves and others; couse-
, (Petals a.scheme is devised to wake the . poor Tay indirectly,
and thereby relieve the taxing authorities and the government
from the odium and disgrace of enforcing -these, in many in-
stances, palpably unfair imposts. Well, them, they have at last
hit upon this dexterous tricking plan of fixing these imposts on
the owners. :But will it uot enhance the price of rent? Then,
where is the benefit to the poor? Nay, instead of a benefit,
they must .be worse off; for theiripoverty in many rases is a
reasonable excuse for exemption Ruin rates; but it will not be
so for rent,-so long as there is a ,chair or bed left; nor can it-
reasonably- be expectee, for the- laudlord. would not only be
Lashio- his rent, but in addition to which, under the new.law, he
would he eoropelied to pay the tenant's rates. This system is
already in practice in many of the metropolitan parishes, where
they have local acts.
At the time these acts were obtained, it was considered, that
there being so much risk in obtaining rates from..this class of
houses, that the parish authorities should be altowed to assess
the landlords in aless amount than tenants, provided they would
farm or cmnpound to pay a certain sum for the whole,_ full or
empty. By thus making them responsible, and' compeliing
them to pay, let or unlet, they ate forced to keep up high rents,
or else the taxes would make their property worth little or no-
: thing. I have seen rows of houses, where a great portiou
them were occupied, and taxes charged ou the whole, that they
became worthless, and they were compelled to pull them down,
because the rents were not suffieient to pay theautes; rouse-
quently this sstein of rating, if it become general, has &direct
tendency to injure this kind of property, and, iu some instances*
td make it worthless.

.And is it not equally injurious to the tenant? As one proof,.
I have small houses which I let for £l3 a-year, and have always
sonte.empty, and some tenants leaving, from whom 1 never get
the money. • Now, if there were no farming the rates, I would
let them for £8 instead of £l3, and it would be more to my in-
Iciest to do so. In the first place, at the low price it is more
likely that they would be all inhabited ;- and iu the next, poor
persi;ns could pay the smaller amount much better than the
larger; consequently the. rent would be more certain. Look
at the enormous increase on the tenaut occasioned by this eve •
tem ; instead of having to pay only about £3 be hae to pay £5„
but not under the head of rates, unnd, where, in case of need,
'he would have a reasonable Idea for exemption, but rimier I ti
head of rent, where there is no plea. Well, theil, is not this
au injury to the ,poot ? T:ok about a boon—why, is it not a
gslariug act of injustice? Whit justice. I should like to know,
can there be in placing taxes out a poor man i tan indirect way.;
front
.which tie cannut possibly be relieved front any load until
they have deptived him of every thing he possesses?. We tint
that whele the landlords pay the rates they have nearly doubled
the rent. Anil if the tenant cannot pay this exorbitant charge.
his goods are sold, and alt his jute necessaries for housekeep-
ing, are taken front him: he has nowhere to sleep, nor anything
to use. His house is broken up, and his family become inmates
of a wolkhouse, and perhips fur ever after a burden on the pa,
list]. Whereas, were every Occupant liable to pay his own-
rates, his rent would be much less, and where there was an in-
ability.to day, he would have an appeal, and 'Mehl be excused,
and such relief, little as it may appear, would, in many CUSPS,
prevent families becoming paupers. Such relief would be cheer-
fully given and easily borne by the public. The loss would be
scarcely felt. 13w not so with the landlord : he cannot so cavils
ehe pAyment, for the loss would fall on hims,lt. There
familics. sold up and brought to pauperism ill these. excuse cu
inure or t
tneropolitan parishes (where the landlords pay the rates) than
in any other part of the country. Anti. mind, not from any
or avariciousness on the part of this e 1555 of owners.
for they are meetly tradespeople, who arc naturallY inclined to
sympathize with the dis:reserd, -and who would, new arid then
very readily pur up with the loss or rent, b•it they cannot aff,,rd
to lose that and at the,-sonic time be made to pay the tenant's
taxes. _

7-The principal reason. assigned for rating the owner is the
difficulty of obtaining rates from the poor. Well, and Os then
not as much difficulty in olitiaining 1,14 ? The t tx-gathere:' i
possesses all the power that the landlord dies 805 id,,,, h• I
has this advantage—the deinamt is Tess, and c oisequentiv ;nor':"
likely to be obtained. And if he find great ditlitothc,,,
au.il
losses in his collection,, just the same will it be with the land-
lord. Yet, .ou this most .preraritius property, where neither
rates nor rents can be obtained without frequently witnessing
revolting and oppressive measures. is it not a monstrous act ,i
injustice to throw the whole burden on the owners of moil!
.property, thereby depreciating that, and at the saute time in.
crea,,,,,u the poor aldn's rent?
Instead of being a relief, it is clearly an act of iippression
fur I will defy any one to prove that it Gan possibly hat., an
i
tendency at all to reduce rent';, but, on the centra rt. d, to ts),l
th on. If this contemplated bill should. pass into a law it ~,41
he (wind that where rates are high and rents low and nig ult to
be obtained, landlords will find. it more to their interest to pull
:down some of their tenements, and in some parts a less numberwill be built, consequently rents trill be kept up to the highest
pitch. . The price is regulated by the same principle as ih,„t „f
every other commodity. If they are scarce, rents.are higher.
The greater the number the cheaper the rent, and the better
for the poor; but this new bill will have a direct tendeer), to
prevent this. Vet these quack laterals, these pretended ati_
vocates of the working classes, call it a boon to the poor, when,
iii reality, it. is an oppression; it is all act to burden little
proi•ert vs and to make t he owners of it lax-gatherers on the poor.
It ought to he entitled " An act to raise the rents of the poor,
anti to set the little landlords to harass and distress them, and
to make small prepertywor hies,"
Such a s3stem of legislatien ought to be strenuously opposed
lit every parish ;
and those local and partial arts in the metro-
politan parishes that adopt this principle iu part ought to be re-
pealed and put upon the saute footing as other parishes iu the
country.
In 1831, an aet was passed to rate the•owners instead of' the
occupiers of small houses in Liverpool; and in 184 another
act was passed to repeal this; under the following reasons re-
viled :--`! That various rates and assessments hid been made
by viitue of the said act, and that the same had occasioned
The public-spirited
touch discontent, and had tendt-d indirectly to the impoverish-
ment and oppression of the oct upiers."
such partial and unjust legislation • and it is to be hoped that
people of Liverpool would not submit to
the metropehtan parishes will follow the example, and no
lonver quietly
suffer such imposition,
but at once oppose the
practice, and by doing so they may then expect redress, and not
before. THOMAS SINGLE.
Illile-end.

5.-D 1313 in g :ritfilig:vence.

FRED IY. JANI S.S.E'

A IVITVED.—Franeli 1)-1,,u; from Chat iostun, sailed 1 lth Dec.—
St. A'irew, Leiieh, from SK John, N.B.—Th.)lTm' Armstrong, M•Al-
ister, trout T reeira—,and Elizabeth Waller, (ruin Valitataiso
Atelier, Gras sun, from Sa vanilla, at this •porl ; saikd 11th Nov,
Tto. tV, sailed about a week previous fur this purl. The
Britannia was to sail about Ist Dec. fur this port
ilesperuS, Baxter. hence, at the Mauritius
Bridt.;etown. lic,lley ; ant Byron. Forrest, hence-, at St John, N.B.
Wolfscove, flainilton, hence, at ditto
Hayes, hence. for Leghorn, at Falmouth
Pea:t, Masters. hence, for Tampico, at Holyhead.
M“rys, 'Crusbie, hence. for Baibados. off :•q. David's Head
02tavia, Sailed frOin Carrickfergus for Val ;araiso.29th Dec.
Mariposa, Davies, from tblinbrie fur New lircark; at this port,
and with loss of boats, bulwarks. cookhouse, &e.

. SATURDAY, JANUARY 6.—v% ind S.S.E..:—Moderate.
Sarah, lipy, hence at St. John, N.B.
LuerOtia, 11 ay,s, hence at Le-,,horti
Moslem, Vale. sailed from Leaborn for thii.port 15th Dee.
Arethusa, Turner. and Lord Russell. List, hence at Marseilles
Liverpool, steamer) hello.. &e iit.Malaga
Franklinnl, bh, hence for ealeutta, at Miifntd
Falcon, Hide, hence for Newfoipidl.ind. at NlWord

SUNDAY, JANUARY 7.—Wind light and variable.
Very thick weather,
Birminzham, —, from S.,vanoati : sailed llth Dec.—Nathaniel,
I tooper; from and Isis,—, from Jamaica.
BAILED.—Lynx, Creierton, for Terceira-oc,, Queen. M'Mtsters
for Jamaica—Eliza Waugh, for St. DumingroTyro.. Froy,
for At.twerp—Zorgen t. Berguis, for Rotterdam—ThomaoDomp•
Weatherall, for A f,ica—Poreupine. Cook, for Constantinople-_
Castries, Mond..l. for St. Locia—Anne, Mum, for Africa—Frederick,
Witt,reen, for Antwerp—Frances, Delpierre,. for Osteml—Warrior,
Armor mg. f,n-Vt-nic--Ctlonarrri,. Ortieoer, for' the Cape of Good
Ilope=Sophia, Lingard, for Bahia.

Fairie Queen, Hookey, from Nheuritins,, nt this port; sailed 1711 i
Oct. and. from Ascension 26th Nov. Thy On vx-sailed 14th Oct. for
the Cape and this ;tort Th Stirling was to sail on the 18th. and the
Hamilton and Hortensia in a tew days. all for London. The IVestt,
mondand ha, juStcomm.pecd loading for th s ;tort. 11.N1 schooner
Fair .1114ta-Mond was at Ascension, • with the l'ortugeso 1..44 Ve us, a
prize captured in the river Benin. 25. h Spit ; on the 28th Sept the
Rosamund also captured the Portugut brig Cionaes with 138
slaves on'atard, be onging to the same owners. On the esth Oct. in
t. 3J a.) 8, 10ng....,9 55 E, sp ke the Bengal, from Calcutta for London.
On the 15th Dec. in lat. 21 3, long. 31 30,- spoke the Barrossa, (trans-
port, from ('ee lon for Deptford. • On the I6t h, in lat. 93 3M. lon.'. 34
31, spoke the Brazilian, fr. m Bahia for Trieste. On the 17th, hylat.
24, long. 34, spoke the I,dy East from Bombay for this port. On-the
23rd, in lat. 32, long. 31 21, spoke the Isabella, from the Clyde for
Charleston

Formidable, Stagg, henc at China
Helen Jane, , hence .or Jamaira' off St. Michael's
Wm. Harris. Luly, hence for Trieste, at Dublin
Maria. Johnstone, hence for Terceira, at Dublin
Clonmell. steamer) from Waterford, is aground on the North Bank
BAHIA. Nov. 17.-44 pieces cedar a.ul three -casks oil, have arrived
hero from the wreck of the Medora, Tweedie

TORBAY, Jan. 4.—The Awtuste from Havre for Liverpool,
which received damage in running into Brixham pier, lath Nov. has
re-shipped her cargo, and is ready to proceed

MONDAY. JANUARY
8.

ARmvun,—Willinm, IV, Christian, from Savantlla—Margaret;
—, from q. John, N.B.—and Dauntless. froMßichibucto.
SAlLED.—Cynosure, Brice, for Tiicst«—Protector, Edgar, for St.
Thomas and Ltv2uira—Virgmia.' Hovel!, for Rio Janeiro—New .ler.ey,
Dickson, fur New York—Garland, Wittli ton, for tl:tranham—Fair.
field, Clark, for Jamaica—Feronia Jarvis. for Gibraltar—Mary Ann
Webb, Lloyd, fur Calcutta—Red Rover, Collis, for Syra and Conitan-
tiiMple—Campion, Gallilee, for Virginia—and Victoria, Yates,. for

- CALCUTTA; Oet.•lo—Tho. Herrnlenn, Iluxtable, from Liverpool, is
riding by two ke,lge anchors only, in the ilooghly, below Ripley
Sand,: ; totally niiinasted

.
SINCAPORE.. Sept. I I.—The Sir John Beresford, and Columbian,
both for London, will sail shout 17th Sept.
Al,,,q:i4nder, Ramsay. hence at Calcutta
11131idarin. 1)ol,511. torn Calcutta for Llverpnol 6th Oct.
E-7in burgh, , from Bombay, at Sineapore
( n, —, hence for Bombay. was spoken 3rd instant, in Ist.
8 57 N. long 27 7 •
Wm. Turnei. hem, for Bomliay, off Waterford ,
1 er ford, Reaburn..from Calcutts, at this port: sailed 3rd Aug, and
St f !demi 15th Nov
Ann bockerhy, Bent, hem!, for Rio Janeiro,. was seen off Tuskar
3r;l instant.in company with 17 sail, outward hound
cionnwl, (steamer) frum n aterford, at this port, alter being aground
on the North Bank