Page:Manual of Political Economy.djvu/46

Rh Contents, xxxv class that can be permanently benefited by protective duties ; the value of the natural monopoly which they possess may be artificially increased by protection — Protective duties cannot, in the long run, increase the profits of any class of traders, because the competition of capital equalises profits in different trades — The Com Laws benefited the landowners, not the tenant-farmers — The increased prosperity of the country compensates landowners for the abolition of protective duties ; this illustrated by the rise in the rent of land in this country since the passing of free trade — An industry artificially fostered by protection may be destroyed by free trade ; but this cannot be ultimately a loss to a nation — A strong party in Australia are in favour of imposing protective import duties — They have supported this policy by a remark in Mr. MilFs Political Economy, in reference to an apparent exception which he makes in favour of protective duties in certain branches of industry in a young colony — Reasons against imposing protective duties, even as a temporary expedient — A comparison between direct and indirect taxation useless— Each system has its peculiar disadvantages ; hence equality of taxation is Mst secured by raising the revenue, partly by direct, and partly by indirect taxes pagbs 564—591 Chapter IV. On the Land-tax. The chief part of the revenue of India is raised by a land-tax — A land-tax is simply rent — When land is not cultivated by its owner a land-tax neither diminishes the profits of cultivation nor increases the price of agricultural produce— If a land-tax exceeds a rack-rent in amount, the price of agricultural produce must rise, and therefore the consumers of this produce will be virtually taxed — The impor- tation of produce will be encouraged if the land-tax exceeds a rack-rent; hence land will be thrown out of cultivation, and the land-tax will yield a smaller revenue— The land-tax in this country is small, because commuted at a fixed money payment — The tax- payers would have been benefited if the land-tax had not been thus commuted, but had been fixed at a certain definite proportion of the value of the land — A tithe may be regarded as a rent-charge, and tithes neither diminish the profits of the cultivator nor affect the price of agricultural produce — The Tithe Commutation Act was not quite fair to tithe-proprietors, because tithes are not affected by a rise in the price of stock — Agricultural improvements may be impeded if tithes are not commuted 592 — 597 Chapter V. The Poor Law and its Influence on Pauperism. An historical sketch of poor law legislation — The stringent laws against begging and vagrancy in the reign of Richard II. — Further legisla- tion imperatively required in the time of Henry VIII. in consequence of the suppression of monasteries, which had been centres of alms- giving — Various Acts, endeavouring to discriminate between volun- tary and involuntary pauperism and to control private charity, were passed. The experience gained of their working led to the passing Digitized by Google