The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser. — 1880-07-09 (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS IN ITALY.  A Naples correspondent writes in a very lucid article, shows that the ;Tr, a:1. amongst the agricifflural classes in Italy is cite .ty due to the exorbitant land taxes. It may be aseeried without exaggeration that 200 million francs tax, s are levied on the soil, which reprtsent a dneet of eight francs on each one of the twenty-live million acres (more or less) at present under cultivation in Italy. While all other industries enjoy the ad— vantage of laws facilitating the turning-over of capital, and benefit by the elasticity and mobility that characterise modern national economy, nothing is done for agriculture, which has been, and is now more than ever, embarrassed by the corn laws. Nothing has been done to render more easy the transfer of landed property, while other capital, by a thousand different forms of credit, may rapidly exchange hands. Indeed, the formalities accompanying a transfer of land necessitate much serious expense, and yet frequently fail to secure the legal acquisition Or sale of landed property. Little or nothing has been done to effect an orderly and equable didribiilion of taxes, or to improve the present very imperfect system of mortgages. At present capital avoids agriculture, because its employment in that industry affords only an interest of three or four per cwt.—about one half of that gained in other trades. A capitalist wishing to invest in land first finds it with great difficulty,- and, when found, it comes to him laden with imposts exceeding ten per efrit. The whole sum of mortgages on land in Italy amounts to no less than 12 milliards and a half of francs, which does not represent so much capital employed in the improvement of the land. but, on the contrary, an enormous burden of interests and exorbitant expenses that render the soil of Italy ever more sterile, ar.d the movement of agriculture impossible. A few statistics from the year 1878 will give a better idea of the effeet of all this. In that yenabout 77,733 Italians emigrated, the greater number being agricultural labourers. There were 1,158 suicides, of which 241 were attributable to privation; and the number of persons in the hospitals afflicted with pellagra war alarming Italy, with 28,000 millions of inhabitants, with a superficial area of 296,000 isjuare kilometres, produces about 110 million bushels of wheat, 20 million bushels of barley and oats, has 3,400,000 head of male, and 81 million sheep and goats; while England, with a superficial area of only 130,000 square kilornetfes, produces about 104 million bushels of wheat, 181 million bushels of barley and oats, has 8!, millions of cattle and 331 million sheep ; and certainly the soil of England is by far inferior in fertility to that of Italy. The .actual condition thereto of the national riches of Italy is this: Heavy imposts weighing on lam ded property, and untavourable laws small profits to both proprietor ant labourer, leading the one to employ his eapital, and the other his labour in more profitable ps:rsuits, which results in the abandonment ot agriculture, the diminution of the means of subsistence, higherpriced food, and, in xpecially hard times, in excessive emigration, a larger death rate, and the increase of the terrible disease, pellagra.