young’s TRAVELS IN FRANCE.

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payments made by proprietors, who have paid at different periods certain fums, to beexempted forever from this tax; a fingular circnmftance, and which marks no incon-fiderable degree of confidence in the government. That part of this tax which is paidto the communities for roads, Sec. is not thus redeemable; and, without any breach offaith, the tax has received additions; it amounts to more than one-tenth of the net rent.A capitation from if livre to 4livres per head (the livre is 8fd. Englifh). Every bodypays this tax in the country, except children under three years of age; and all towns,except Florence, Pifa, Siena, and Leghorn , which are exempted, becaufe they payentrees. Nothing is paid on cattle. Butchers in the country pay a tax of i f per pound(fomething under fd. per pound Englifh); in a diflrict of feven miles long by four orfive broad, the butcher pays 500 feudi per annum to the prince; as this tax implies amonopoly, it is fo far a mifehievous one; and even a countryman cannot kill his own hogwithout paying 5 Iivres or 6 livres if fold. Bakers pay none. Cuftoms on imports,and fome on exports, are paid at all the ports and frontiers ; and the entrees at theabove-mentioned towns are on moll kinds of merchandize and objects of confumption.Houles pay a dixme on their rents. Stamped paper is neceffary for many tranfactions.The transfer of land and houfes, by fale or collateral fucceffion, pays 7 per cent, and le-gacies of money and marriage portions the fame—a very heavy and impolitic tax. Thereis a gabclle upon fait, which however the Grand Duke funk fix months ago from 4 to2 gras ; he at the fame time made Empoly the only emporium, but as that occafionedmuch expence of carriage, he augmented the land-tax enough to pay the lofs, by fellingit to the poor only at 2 gras ; the rich pay the fame, but with the addition of carriage.Tobacco was alfo a revenue, and with fait, paid 1 livre per head on all the population ofthe Dutchy, or one million. The entrees above-mentioned are not inconfiderable; acalf pays 6 livres ; a hog, 5 livres per one hundred pounds; grain nothing ; flour, 1 ofoldi (there are 20 foldi in 1 livre) ; beans, 2 f.\ a load of hay, of three thoufand pounds,4 livres; of ftraw, under two thoufand pounds, 2 livres. Houfes are alfo fubjected toan annual tax ; Florence pays 2 2,000 feudi a-year to it: it may be fuppofed to be leviedpretty firictly, as the Grand Duke ordered all his palaces, the famous gallery, See. to bevalued, 'tmd he pays for them to the communities. What a wife and refined policy ; andhow contrary to the exemptions known in England ! When the capitation was increafedin France, in a bad period, Louis XIV . ordered the Dauphin himfelf, and all the princesof the blood to be rated to it, that the nobility might not claim exemptions. Lotteries,to my great furprife, I found eftabiifhed here. The domains of the fovereign were con-fiderable. It was always a part of the policy of Leopold, to fell all the farms that couldbe difpofed of advantageouflyhe fold many ; but there are yet many not difpofed of.I found it a queilion at Florence, whether this were good policy or not ? A gentlemanof confiderable ability contended againft thefe fales, judging the pofleflion of land to bea good mode of raifing a public revenue. The opinion 1 think ill founded ; if it be car-ried to any extent (and if capable of being fo, there is an end of the quefiion), the lol-sby fuch pofleflions muff be great: every ellate is ill managed, and unprofitably, andutually badly cultivated, in proportion to the extent. — And when this evil extends to fuchimmenfe pofleflions, as are neceflary to conftitute a public revenue, the inquiry is de-cided in a moment; and it mud on all hands be agreed, that there cannot be a more ex-p on five mode of lupporting the fovereign.

From the preceding catalogue of taxes, which isveryfar from being complete, it mayea-fily be concluded, that Monf.delaLandewas not perfectly accurate.in faying, ^ Le projet duvoimsernement eft de reduire toutes les taxes dans la Tofcane a an impot unique, qui fe per-cevra fur le produit net des terres.” This is the old aflertion of the aconomfes ; but if

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