That wearisome Compound Householder has turned up again. The vestry
clerks of several metropolitan parishes mourn him griev- ously, and have been telling the Earl of Devon and Mr. Gladstone that the parochial revenue will suffer heavily by his decease. It is extremely difficult to get the rates out of men who pay rent by the week, unless they are obtained through the landlord. Mr. Gladstone suggests that he may be appointed collector, and allowed his third ; but how if he refuses to accept a burdensome office, which makes him not only a debtor, but a trustee ? The only practical device is to bribe some one by heavy per-centages to collect the rates weekly or monthly for the next two years, and then if the system proves inconvenient, ask the new Parliament to abolish what will by that time be felt to be a perfectly useless "test." A House elected by the ratepayers is quite certain to study the ratepayers' convenience.
Previous page
