Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-01-29
About Taxes.

Every country has It's troubles, espe-
clally in regard TO financial matters,
md we OF the United states need not
expect to escape them because ours ~
n republican form OF government. The
more decidedly law-abiding a people may
be the more unmanageablc are thoy II
anybody attempts TO wrong them. They
never agree upon n measure until they
have canvassed its supposed merits tho
roughly. and made up their minds That
II is the best they can expect under the
circumstances. Hence the remark Is by
no means extravagant that If the people
OF England were to conclude to abolish
the monarchy they wou,l T.. not BY
revolution. but by act OF Parliament.
This remark Is equivalent to saying that
the people Of England are law-lovers.
But we suppose that the people or
France are really very much Ike tue
people Of England In regard To all such
matters At any rate, here are two e.
tracts from the New YORK Journal OF
Commerce. whlca we reproduce az being
calculated to reconcile our people TO the
income-tax. which we have lately re-
sorted to in this country. We quote The
first extract
"Sir William IIarc)urts new death dH-
ties threaten to administer the last blow
TO the smaller English land-holdefs. and
10 infuse new seriousness into the Ike
Of the great ones The Duke OF Devon
shire publicly declared some time ago
that when the CavcHdish estates passed
by his own death to HIS hcir. the STATE
would claim in the shape OF uc-cSti'h
and estate duties a cash payment equal
10 six Years income OF the Wnnle pro-
perty. The worst that can happen 20 inc
dukes IN such circumstances - lhdl
they may be- compelled to close some "i
their great houses which are among the
show places of England, but 10 the
smaller lrJpriet0rs inheTitng estates
encountered with mortgages Jointnres'
and what not, the new death duu mean
nothing less than expropridtlon AID not
a very gradual form Of 1t at that.
We give only short extract. but II
will suffice TO enable the reader to under
stand that there is great freedom, both
Of speech and Of action, in the Molhr
Country. and one reason why La6land
seems to be progressing at more rapid
rate than the United states in the d.
rection Indicated IN the foregoing extract
is the fact that the existence 0. a mon
arch and OF a nobility. or OF privileged
classes. makes the commoners more
Jealous than they would otherwise be OF
their rights. and more ready to rally
To- their support But now as to France.
The Journal of Commerce says:
but hard as is the present case Of the
county magnates Of England, they have
the dubious satisfaction Of knowin~ that
the great landed estates OF France are
threatened with burdens more grieFous
still The succession duties prop)s. "A by
the Finance Minister AMI supported ~
the influence - the French Cover. mcnt
contemplate the payment q I'm imm' Hate
cash tax Of 10 - per cent. IN addition to
stamp duties and other fxal charges on
the transmission Of q great landed pi9-
pcrty 10 the next owners by inheritance.
The French law is not framed 30 50 IN
dulgcnt n spirit as the English. for L
does not take into account Ia possibility
Of a rapid deyolution Of estates follow
Ing the death OF the first heirs
Henry Georges theory is that all taN0s
ought to BE levied upon the land. Il
would seem from the foregoing extracts
that this theory has gained some head
way in England We conclude that how
ever Objectionable our income-taT is, IL
IS by no means as oiious as would be
tax-laws such as those which seem 70
be growing so rapidly in public favor in
ENGLAND and France