Why land is so low may in fact be explained
by the com- plicated burdens of taxation. A small example has been brought to my notice. A man bought 11 acres of very rough grass that had never been used for cultivation. It has been assessed as worth k.:.; a year ; and this is the account of a year's experience of land ownership :
Income Tea: Schedule A .. £0 15 0 PI Schedule 15 .. 1 0 0
Tithe .. 0 810
Total .. 52 3 10
He has spent as much again on fencing and the removal of fallen trees. He has had no return from the land at all. He bought in order to cultivate, but must spend a good deal more before cultivation will be possible. The tithe is levied on a bigger acreage than his If acres, since the tithe collectors refuse to recognize that some of the field had been previously sold. It is still treated as a unit, and the biggest proportion must pay for the whole meadow as originally assessed. * * • *
Previous page
