young’s travels in prance.

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amounting to three-fourths of the property; and if, to avoid this cruelty, the proprietor beallowed, as in the cafe of the vingtiemes in France , to tax the mortgagee, either the re-gulation is evaded by private agreements, or money is no longer lent for the mod; ufefulof all purpofes. Laflly, land is vifible, and cannot be concealed ; whereas fortunes inmoney are invifible, and will ever flip away from taxation of every kind, except fromthole on confumption. Thus land taxes, viewed in what light foever, are totally une-qual, oppreflive, and ruinous. On the contrary, taxes upon confumption are, of allothers, the molt equal, and the molt fair ; for they are itudioufly and correctly propor-tioned to the quantity of every man’s confumption *, which may with truth generallybe fuppofed to be commenfurate to his income; at lead it may be afferted fafely, thatthere is no other method, equally fure of eflimating income, as by that of confumption.There are, it is true, mifers who poffefs much, and confume little ; but it is utteYly im-pofllbleto reach fuch men in taxation, without tyranny : nor is it of much confequence,for a fuccefiion of mifers is not to be expected,—and the more the father faved, themore the fon confumes ; fo that upon the revolution of a given period, the thing ba-lances itl'elf, and the flate lofes nothing. But there is alfo the greatefl jufhiefs in theequality of thefe taxes for they meafure themfelves by a man’s voluntary expences ; ifhe fpend his income advantageoufly to the national induftry and'improvement, he paysvery light, or no taxes ; but it he confume largely and luxurioufly, his contribution tothe flate rifes with his expences ; advantages pofleffed by no other fpeciesof tax. Equa-lity reigns fo completely in thefe taxes, that from the poor man, who, confuming no-thing, pays nothing ; to the next clafs, which, confuming little, pays little ; and to themoil wealthy, which, confuming much, pays much, all is regulated on the mofl perfectfcale of contribution. It is needlefs to obierve, that excifes and cufloms equally poflefsthis advantage; that damps have the fame, and even greater; and that entrees and oc-trois have a like merit, fo far as cities are concerned, but are inferior in not being equal-ly laid on all perfons, wherever they may rehde : a benefit in the eyes of thofe who thinktowns an evil. It muff: be fufliciently obvious, that all perfonal taxes are, to the highefldegree unequal, from the impoffibility of varying them properly with the conditions oflife : monopolies are equal or not, in proportion to the whole fociety being equally fub-je&ed to them ; the poft-office is one of the bed of taxes, and the mod equal.

2. Facility of payment .—In this great point, there is only one fort of tax which has realmerit, namely, that on confumption. Here the tax is blended with the price of thecommodity, ancTthe confumer pays without knowing it. He knows the price of a bot-tle of wine or brandy, a pack of cards, a coach-wheel, a pound of candles, tea, fnuff,or fait—and he buys as he can afford ; it is the fame to him, whether the fum he paysbe the original expence of production, the dealer’s profit, or the national tax; he hasnothing to do with calculating them feparately, and pays them blended in the price.

* The objection of the committee of imports, that the produdl of fuch taxes is uncertain, is one of thefureft proofs of their merit. Would you have a certain tax from an uncertain income? To demand it istytanny, Rapport du Comite de I’Impofition concernant Its Lois Conf itutionelles des Fitiancts, 20th December,1790. 8vo. p. 19. I know of no objedtions to taxes on confumption, that do not bear in a greater degreeon thofe upon property. It is faid, that excifes raife the prices of manufadtures, and impede foreign tradeand domertic confumption, which has certainly truth in it ; but it is alfo true, that England is, in fpite ofthem, the moil manufadtuving and commercial nation upon earth, even with many very bad excifes, andwhich ought to be changed ; they are faid to affect the confumption of the poor particularly, which iamerely objedting to the alufe, and not to the nature of the tax ; certainly the height to which taxation ofevery kind is carried in England, is cruel, fhameful, and tyrannical. Moderate excife3, properly laid,would have no other ill effedts than fuch as flow of neceffity from the nature of all taxation ; as to immo-derate taxes, and improperly laid, they mult be mifchievous, whether on property or on confumption.

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