The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1891-07-18
SINGLE TAX DEPARTMENT.
cLADsTokE ON TAXATION.

Some very brief and obscure tele-
graphic dispatches, a couple of weeks
ago, mention the fact that Mr.. Provand,
liberal, had Introduced in the house
OF commons motion to increase the
tax on land, inIorder to relieve industry
from Its present burdens, and that a
lively impronlptu debate had taken
place, ln.Thicll Mr.. Gladstone had taken
part. Nothing definite, however, could
De learned froIh these dispatches as to
what course the debate took. From
British exchanges it appears that Mr..
Provand opeIed the debate with a
speech in which he showed that out of
the H125, 900, 00b raised by taxation in
Great Britain only f5, 900, 900 was raised
from land. Tile rest fell on the mass
of the people, the landless, in various
ways. On food there was tax of f5,
500, 900, and Ideal taxation, which is
borne mostly tly the renters and occu-
piers of HOUSES, amounted to ESQ, 000,-
600.
DR.. Clark, another liberal, or radical
member, pointed out that the great
problem was hbw to get taxation shift
ed from industry, where it was placed
by landlord paFliaments for their own
relief, back to fits proper place, on land
values. Thosd values, he said, are due
TO the natural Expansion of the commu-
nifty, and should be taxed to relieve
those who have to pay taxes out of hard
earned mcconnell
The whole Question was brought up;
the exemption of idle lands from taxa
ton and the encouragement of land
speculation anh its evil effects, the man.
per in which land values increased in
consequence Of the public improve.
ments to which the landlords did moi
contribute.
Mr.. Gladsto1e's speech was drawn out
by a statement of the Troy minister OF
agriculture, MI Chaplin who claimed
that rural landlords were already over
burdened with taxes. In the course OF
his speech Mr.. Maidstone said:
1t appears 10 me, beyond all doubt
that under our present system ground
rents enjoy Undue exemption. The
owner of property has long enjoyed, al
the expense OF the ratepayers, priv
leges which arb really unjust.
lie also denounced Mr.. Goschen's plan
of devoting part of the imperial rev.
enues raised tH indirect taxation, such
as customs takes, to relieving various
localities FROM their local rates, as ''ir
the long run la sheer, unmixed, undi
luted gift to the landlords. OF course
Mr.. Gladstone did not go to the extent
of declaring tor any radical policy o.
land taxation, for he himself is as near
Nv conservative on the land question
as it is possible for him to be; but nj!
remarks are The more significant OF
that account, Tor he had to show tha
the Tory party was the landlord party,
and, by implication, that the liberals
were opposed Ito landlord Legislation
One report stated that Mr.. Gladstone
, took occasion TO distinctively repudiat,
the ideas of Henry George in his speech
on this occasion; but, notwithstanding
this and the fhct that he has practical
Nv announced that the Liberal party!
platform this year will be confined II
advocating home rule, lone man, on
VOTE" the abolition of death duties, ant
the equalization of taxation-a very in
definite proposftion-this debate show
that the Liberdl party is being forcet
by it's more radical members into ad
vocating the taxation of land values