25 JULY 1863, Page 3

There are just 519,971 houses in. England and Wales assessed

to the house duty over 20/. a year, of which 375,448 are not above 601. a year, 101,948 between that and 100/. a year, and the remainder, 42,595, above 1001. a year. This gives us a fair notion of the number of the opulent families and of the well-to-do middle class families. Of the former there must be somewhere about 50,000 in England and Wales—for their income in houses of 1001. a year and upwards must vary from 1,000/. a year upwards; of the latter, with incomes varying, say from 500/. to 1,000/. a year, there must be just double the number of families—about 100,000. The lower middle class (in wealth), with incomes between 2001. a year and 5001., number again much more than double both the others.