Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-17
THE
BRITISH
CRISIS

LONDON. July Half Of all the
land in England is owned by two
thousand persons, and more than half Of
all the fifty-six million acres of Eng
land, Wales. Scotland and Ireland is
owned by Ave thousand persons. Two
thirds of all the land in the entire
kingdom is owned by fewer than ten
thousand persons OF the population
OF forty-hve million people. only sixty
one thousand farmers cultivate land
which they own.
Twenty dukes own more than
five million acres. the Duke of Suther-
land alone possessing 1.350.0oo acres.
The dukes own approximately one-tenth
of all the land In Great Britain. The
farmers who own their own land are
few indeed. and Of the sixty-one thou
sand, fewer than fifteen thousand own
more than fifty acres, the great majority
possessing holdings Of less than nVe
acres in extent. And, according TO
British government statistics, One-thfrd
stantly on the verge of starvation.
The landlords own the country. ana
until now they have ruled the country
with no one to dispute their will. Ihey
have never paid any taxes on their lana.
The land laws and the revenue laws nave
been framed always by the landlords IN
the interest of the landlords. Every po-
litical and social agency for centuries
has been operating to increase the size
of Individual holdings of land. and to
make it more and more difficult for lana
to be sold or for estates to be divided
The Lloyd-George budget was the first
nolitical attempt to interfere seriously
with the priv
First Attempt ileses OF the
Regarded as Mild. It's provisions
would be regarded in any other country
as being mild almost to the point OF fu-
tility But the astonished landlords rose
en- masse and declared that Lloyd-George
was a socialist: that his budget was con-
iscatory, and that it's operations would
destroy the British empire and send its
old nobility to the demniti0n bow-wows
That the owner Of land should be forced
to pay a tax upon 1t was notion so
novel. proposition so pfeposterous, a
crime SO constituencies, that it seemed
to be altogether Impossible. But the
budget passed the commons. was rejected
by the lords was made the chief issue in
a general election. was approved at the
polls. and now is the law Of England.
In the United States. where direct tax
on the value of land is generally &C.
cepted and approved method of raising
taxes by and for the severalstates, it is
difficult to understand the British quarrel
between landlords and people. In the
first place England never has taxed land
values. The revenue derived from real
estate known as 1.-The rates" is calcu-
lated at SO much per cent on the annual
rent produced by the land. Practically
all land is occupied by tenants. but in the
few instances where the proprietor oc-
cupies his own land he pays rates upon
fictitious annual rent, generally repre-
senting an infinitesimal fraction of the
true rent value. In the case Of the Car
diff tailor shop. made famous in the
recent campaign, it was shown that a
tailor. occupying, 500 square yards Of land
paid rates on a rental valuation of 1895
while the Marquis of Butte, who occupied
Carddf Castle. in the immediate neigh
borhOod, paid for 500, 600 square yards on
a rental valuation Of sos.
Because Lloyd-George called attention
to this enormous discrepancy he was ac
cused by the conservative press of
"calumny" and of sandering the noble
Marquis Of Butte. His effrontery in re-
ferring to this tailor shop was denounced
all over the country as proving his ut
ter unfitness for his high position as
chancellor of the exchequer
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