The Opelousas courier., 1895-06-08

w Wv HOt uISCuSS the tariff.
Land owners especially should DO
interested as the principle benefit OF
uh' improvement or social advances
goes to them in the increase of value
given to land. Address this Office. O.,
L. U. Box SIS, Buffalo, N. Y.
WORSE THAN THE SINGLE TAX.
fonfiscaticn of Property by Income Tag
and Succession Tax Laws.
An interesting and valuable review
OF the tendency of tax legislation iE
Europe is given by IAN American
l%raveler,' in a letter from Nice to the
New York Sun. We quote some ex,
ira It's in condensed form.
The progressive income t. X" repre-
sents a great initial step in the sociaGr
lst'c attack upon private property.
The M C4sefessive inheritance duty is an
other any still more effectual step in
the sam direction. What the inte1.-
nationap socialists are now devotinr
themsel. les to is the promotion of such
legislation in all civilized countries.
They have achieved a great triumph
in England by the enactment of Sir
William Harcourt's death dnties, the
inevitable effect of which must be III
the first place to sweep away the
whole class of country gentlemen and
mobiles dependent upon inherited ea-
tates in land, and in the second place
to bring about further legislation in
volving the gradual land perhaps not
very graduaD absorption by the state.
of private property of all kinds noIy
transmissible from one generation t.
the mex under the laws of inheritance.
THE CAvENDIsH PROPERTIES.
You have doubtless taken note in
America of the speech in which the
present duke of Devonshire some
three months ago set forth the effect
of the new death duties upon the
great landed estate of Cavendishes
whenever by his own death that vast
property shall pass into the hands CT
his heir presumptive, Mr.. Victor CAY
endish. As the duke showed, the state
treasury, and in cash, not less than six
years income of the whole property.
Since that speech was delivered it is
announced by the English press that
another great English nobleman and
land-holder, the Duke of Northumbef-
land, has been executing deeds of gift
to his heir, Earl Percy, and others Of
his descendants, expressly to avoid the
ruinous effect. upon the family prog
4,,%r - H. -a-, l,, D,& ~ -.
fiuence of this socialistic legislation in
England must, of course, be felt most
keenly by the smaller proprietors.
The other day the most distinguished
English historian of our time, Ma.
James Anthony Froude, died, leaving
three children, a son and two daught-
erS.
He had provided by will fer his
Youngest child. Under this will
she is to receive an estate est
mated roughly in our money at
$780, 900, some $40, 900 more passing
under the same will to the elder
children for whom he had
made provisions during his life.
Upon this modest property, amoung-
ing to about $4,000, the British
exchequer now levies no less a SUN
than S15, ZOO in cash, or between 20 and
rs per cent. Of it's value! .
sUCH TAXES ARE CoNFIsCATIoN. =
How can such a tax as this be de-
scribed except as a practical confiscA-
ton? And do not the socialist leaders
show their judgment when they call a
halt in the laundering and chaotic
business of strikes and summon their
followers, the legions of the prole-
taires, to rally behind the banner of
political reform" fall into the ranks,
and march to the attack upon capital
at the polls?
What is going IN at this moment IN
France? The finance minister, NJ.
Poinscarre, recently introduced inlo
the chamber, and a bill establishing
system of succession-duties in France
more drastic even and more fatal to tie
very existence of the institution Of
private property than the death dutiss
of Sir William Harcourt. M. Poin-
SCARE proposed to levy as successiot-
duty upon a large class of estates IN
France. an immediate cash tax of 1914
per cent. in addition to the existing
stamp duties, the liquidation expenses,
the duties on the sale of real estate in-
volved in such inheritance, the execut-
ors' dues, and all the other expenses
now attending the transmission of
property in France by inheritance!
Nor is this all. The existing English
provide that if an inheritance
passes from the first heir to a second
within ten years only a half duty shall
be levied on the second TRANSMISSION.
Nj. Poinscarre takes no such thought
for the future in his bill. He has,
scale Of duties, modified by the degree
of relationship, but if an estate passes
from one brother, for example, to az
other, and then toa sister, as may very
well happen within a space of three
or less, the estate will be mulcted
in q tax of 1871 per cent. on the first
transmission, and again in exactly the ,
same amount on the second transmits
sion, and again on the third.
THE PILING UP OF TAXES.
TIA man inherits an estate from his
brother, he will pay a cash tax of 1sh
per cent. on its appraised value. If he
dies within a month, leaving the es-
tate to a nephew, the nephew will be
mulcted instantly in another cash tax
Of 1871 per cent, 50 that within a years
time the state may take out of one
given property, in addition to all the
fiscal burdens, q cash tax Of 90 per
cent, of its total value! If this is not
ncipient confiseation of the fine old
type. what is it?