Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1910-03-04
The Political Trov. e in England.

The Political Trcu e In England.
To properly understand the meaning
Of the present political crisis in Eng
land, one has to be familiar with the
constitution of the governing bodies.
Before a bill can become a law in
England it has to- have the consent of
the House of Commons and House of
Lords and finally the King.
The House of Commons is a repre-
sentative body elected by the peo-
pie, and, broadly speaking, is compos-
ed Of two main parties, the Consev-
atiVeS and the Liberals. There are al
50 two minor parties, viz: The Irish
NationaliSts and the Labor party, but
these as rule vote with the Liberal
party. The House Of Lords is the
hereditary body, and includes the
peers Of the realm and the Bishops
Of the State Church (Episcopal) J
This body is non-elective and they
hold their seats for the sole reason
that their ancestors held them previ-
ouSly, so that whenever lord dies,
his eldest son takes his seat in the
House, no matter whether he posses
ses any governing ability or not. AS
regards the King, it may safely be
asserted that he will give his assent
to any measure passed by both
Houses because he knows that 1t will
be for the benefit of the country.
The Conservative party belongs to the
odd school and is built up chiefly Of
the aristOcrats and landed proprietors
end it upholds the belief in a tariff
as good for the country. The Libel al
party and remaining parties are dem.
ocratic and progressive and support
the cause Of free trade as the only
policy ON which to maintain the En-
pire. The House of Lords is conserv-
atiVe to a degree and almost always
votes the same way as the ConserVar
tive element in the House Of Com
mons.
In january Of 1906, the general elec-
6On was fought chiefly on the Free
Trade ticket and the Free Traders
won with about the biggest majority
known in history. During their term
Of office they passed many beneficial
measures, including the Old Age Pen
sion scheme, and In order to meet
the extra expenditures occasioned by
these measures and the increased
cost of the navy, the Chancellor OF
ExcheQuer, Mr.. David Lloyd George,
devised a new scheme Of taxation
and presented it in his annual finan-
cial statement, called the Budget, last
April The Chancellor looks after the
money Of the nation and in his bud
get states the amount he requires
and the means he wishes to adopt to
ocQuiTe the amount, and this latter
Is the cause Of all the trouble In
England. To gain additional revenue,
Lloyd George included, amongst other
proposals, certain land taxes. Now
everyone knows that the bulk Of the
land In the United Kingdom Is held
by a comparative handful of the pop
ulation, and Government returns show
that $3.50 persons own nearly half Of
the enclosed land Of England and
Wales, nine-tenths Of Scotland is own
ed by LOO persons, whilst two-thirds
Of Ireland is possessed by 1,942 per
sons. Consequently the oVerwhelm-
ing majority Of the people do not
possess a square inch Of the soil OF
their native country, and are simply
tenantsoat-will and residents on suf'
fsrance and not by right. The very
few people who hold all this land
are chiefly Conservatives of the
House of Commons and Lords of the
House of Lords.
Previously there had been no rev
enue tax on land, and when Lloyd
George submitted his proposals to the
House the landed proprietorS didn't
like the idea and began to kick
Briefly put, these taxes were four in
number, as follows: First, a tax ot
twenty per cent on the unearned in
crement Of land. This sounds big
but in reality is a very simple thing
II a person owns unimproved land or
the outskirts of town, and the towr
ggoWS out and takes it in, up Jumps
the value. But this value is entirely
due to the grwoth and enterprise o.
the community, and all the landownel
does is to sit still and watch The
land grow.
Therefore, said Lloyd George, see
ing that the community makes thi!
land valuable when it is sold We vii
take twenty per cent of the price To-
the needs of the community.
The second provision is an annua
tax equal to one cent for every dol
lar of the value of undeveloped land
except that agricultural land is ex
empt from this tax. This trivial tal
is put on land because many land
lords who have sufficient income TO
their needs will hold land in cities III
till it increases considerably in value
although this land may be urgentl,
needed for the benefit of the city ant
people, and thus may be unsightl,,
open places in the center of the bus
mess districts. The third tax relate
to the system of leaseholds which !
only very slightly practiced here. L
most cases in England you do no
own the land on which you bullC
You lease the land from the landlor
for a period Of years, pay a groun
rent every year, erect whatever builC
ings you may require, and then whei
the lease expires, everything you ha'
built on that land belongs to the lan'
lord. Of course the landlord ma
renew the lease, but 1t is a thou!
and chances to one you will have Z
nay an enormously increased groun
rent, in many cases twenty to thirt
k;-,a, ,Eha original amount as OWN