The Irish standard., 1909-08-28
SPEECH Of Mr., LLOYD GEORGE ON Z
TAXATION Of THE LANDOWNERS
The British Chancellor Of the Exchequer Delivers Interesting
Address the Workngrnen and Explains Them Why
Landlords Should be Taxed Unearned increment Rich
Must Pay for the Dreadnoughts.

Mr.. Lloyd George, British Chancel
lor Of the Exchequer. recently de-
livered the following address to an
audience of workingmen at Lime
house, in the vicinity OF London, OH
the taxation OF land for revenue:
Let us take first Of all the tax on
undeveloped land and on increment.
Not far from here not SO many
years ago, between the Lea and the
Thames, you had hundreds of acres of
land which was not very useful even
for agricultural purposes. In the main
1t was sodden marsh The COM
merce and the trade of London in
creased under free trade Qoud cheers),
the tonnage of your shipping went up
by hundreds of thousands of tons aud
by millions, labor was attracted from
all parts of the country to help with
all this trade and business done here.
What happened? There was no hous-
ing accommodation. This part Of
London became overcrowded and the
population overhowed. That was the
opportunity of the owners of the
marsh. All that land became valuable
building land, and land which used to
be rented at pounds or pounds al
acre has been selling within the last
few years at 1000 pounds an acre,
5000 pounds an acre, 5000 pounds an
acre, 5000 pounds an acre. Who
created that increment? (Cheers.)
Who made that golden swamp? (Moro
cheers.) Was it the landlord? (Cries
of "No.D Was it his energy? Was
1t his brains daughter and cheers).
his forethought? 1t was purely the
combined efforts of all the people en-
gagged in the trade and commerce uf
that part of London-the trader, the
merchant, the shipowner the dock
laborer, the workman-everybody ex-
cept the landlord. (Cheers.)
Now you follow that transaction.
The land worth pounds an acre ran
up to thousands. During the time It
was ripening the landlord was paying
his rates and his taxes not even on
2 pounds or 3 pounds an acre. 1t was
agricultural land, and because it Was
agricultural land a munif1cent Tory
Government Oaughter) voted sum of
two millions to pay half the rates OF
those poor distressed landlords.
daughter and cries of "Shame.") You
and l had to pay taxes in order to
enable those landlords to pay half
their rates on agricultural land, while
it was going up every year by hun
dreds of pounds from your efforts and
the efforts of your neighbors. Well,
now that is coming to an end. cloud
and long-continued cheering.)
But there is another little tax called
the increment tax. For the future
what will happen? We mean to value
all the land in the kingdom (Cheers).
and If land goes up in the future
through the efforts of the community
the community will get 20 per cent of
that increment. (Cheers.) What a
misfortune 1t is that there was not a
Chancellor of the Exchequer who did
this 30 years ago. (Cheers and cries
of Better late than never.") Only
80 years ago, and we should now have
an abundant revenue from this source.
| (Cheers.)
Let me give you few more cases.
Take a case like Golders- green and
other cases of a similar kind where
the value Of land has gone up in tho
course, perhaps, of couple of years
through new tramway or new rail-
way being opened. Golder's- green is
there was plot OF land there which
was sold at 100 pounds. Last year !
went and opened a tube railway there
What was the result? That very
piece Of land has been sold at 2,10(
pounds ('Shame'): 100 pounds before
the railway was opened-before
went there Naughter); 2.100 pound,
now. So am entitled to 20 per cen,
on that. (Laughter.)
Now there are many cases wher.
landlords take advantage Of the ex.