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merce. Fourth, Taxes that are hurtful to manufactures and commerce, without increafing the public revenue. Fifth, Taxes that are hurtful to manufactures and commerce; and also leffen the public revenue. I proceed to inftances of each kind, drawn chiefly from British taxes.

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Our land-tax is an illuftrious inftance of the firft kind it produces a revenue to the public, levied with very little expence : and it hurts no mortal; for a landholder who pays for having himself and his estate protected, cannot be faid to be hurt. The duty on coaches is of the fame kind. Both taxes, at the fame time, are agreeable to found principles. Men ought to contribute to the public revenue, as far as they are benefited by being protected: a rich man requires protection for his poffeffions, as well as for his perfon, and therefore ought to contribute largely a poor man requires protection for his person only, and therefore ought to contribute little.

A tax on foreign luxuries is an inftance of the fecond kind. It increases the public revenue and it greatly benefits individuals not only by reftraining the confumption of foreign luxuries, but by encouraging

couraging our own manufactures. Britain enjoys a monopoly of coal exported to Holland; and the duty on exportation is agreeable to found policy, being paid by the Dutch. This duty is another inftance of the fecond kind: it raifes a confiderable revenue to the public; and it enables us to cope with the Dutch in every manufacture that employs coal, fuch as dying, diftilling, works of glafs and of iron. And thefe manufactures in Britain, by the dearness of labour, are entitled to fome aid. A tax on horfes, to prevent their increase, would be a tax of the same kind. The incredible number of horses used in coaches and other wheel-carriages, has raifed the price of labour, by doubling the price of oat-meal, the food of the labouring poor in many parts of Britain. The price of wheat is also raised by the fame means; because the vast quantity of land employed in producing oats, leffens the quantity for wheat. I would not exempt even plough-horses from the tax; because in every view it is more advantageous to ufe oxen *. So little regard is paid to

VOL. II.

3 E

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They are preferable for hufbandry in feveral

refpects.

these confiderations, that a coach, whether drawn by two horfes or by fix, pays the fame duty.

As to the third kind, our forefathers feem to have had no notion of taxes but for

refpects. They are cheaper than horfes: their food, their harnefs, their fhoes, the attendance on them, much less expensive; and their dung much better for land. Horfes are more fubject to diseases; and when diseased or old are totally useless a stock for a farm must be renewed at least every ten years; whereas a ftock of oxen may be kept entire forever without any new expence, as they will always draw a full price when fatted for food. Nor is a horfe more docile than an ox: a couple of oxen in a plough require not a driver more than a couple of horses. The Dutch at the Cape of Good Hope plough with oxen; and exercife them early to a quick pace, fo as to equal horfes both in the plough and in the waggon. The people of Malabar use no other animal for the plough nor for burdens. About Pondicherry no beafts of burden are to be seen but oxen. The Greeks and Romans anciently used no beasts in the plough but oxen. The vaft increase of horses of late years for luxury as well as for draught, makes a great consumption of oats. If in husbandry oxen only were used, which require no oats, many thousand acres would be faved for wheat and barley. But the advantages of oxen would not be confined to the farmer. Beef would be much cheaper to the manufacturer, by the vaft addition of fat oxen fent to market; and the price of leather and tallow would fall; a national benefit, as every one ufes fhoes and candles.

increafing

increasing the public revenue, without once thinking of the hurt that may be done to individuals. In the reign of Edward VI. a poll-tax was laid on fheep. And fo late as the reign of William III. marriage was taxed. I am grieved to obferve, that even to this day we have many taxes detrimental to the ftate, as being more oppreffive upon the people than gainful to the public revenue. Multiplied taxes on the neceffaries of life, candle, foap, leather, ale, falt, &c. raise the price of labour, and confequently of manufactures. If they shall have the effect to deprive us of foreign markets, which we have reafon to dread, depopulation and poverty must ensue. The falt-tax in particular is eminently detrimental. With refpect to the other taxes mentioned, the rich bear the greatest burden, being the greatest consumers; but the fhare they pay of the falt-tax is very little, because they reject falt provifions. The falt-tax is ftill more abfurd in another refpect, falt being a choice manure for land. One would be amazed to hear of a law prohibiting the use of lime as a manure : he would be ftill more amazed to hear of the prohibition being extended to falt, which is a manure much fuperior, and

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yet a heavy tax on falt, which renders it too dear for a manure, furprises no man. But the mental But the mental eye refembles that of the body: it feldom perceives ceives but what is directly before it confequences lie far out of fight. Many thoufand quarters of good wheat have been annually with-held from Britain by the falt-tax. What the treafury has gained, will not compenfate the fiftieth part of that lofs. The abfurdity of with-holding from us a manure fo profitable, has at laft been discovered; and remedied in part, by permitting English foul falt to be used for manure, on paying four-pence of duty per bufhel (a). Why was not Scotland permitmitted to taste of that bounty? Our candidates, it would appear, are more folicitous of a feat in parliament, than of ferving their country when they have obtained that honour. What pretext would there have been even for murmuring, had every one of them been rejected with indignation, in the choice of reprefentatives for a new parliament ?

The window-tax is more detrimental to the people, than advantageous to the revenue. In the first place, it promotes large farms in order to fave houses and windows;

(a) 8° Geo. III, cap. 25.

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