802 . TIIE NATURE ANI) CAUSES OF

country where he could either carry on his business, or en-joy his fortune more at his ease. By removing his stock hewould put an end to all the industry which it had maintainedin the country which he left. Stock cultivates land ; stockemploys labour. A tax which tended to drive away stockfrom any particular country, would so far tend to dry upevery source of revenue both to the sovereign and to the so-ciety. Not only the profits of stock, but the rent of land andthe wages of labour, would necessarily be more or less di-minished by its removal.

The nations, accordingly, who have attempted to tax therevenue arising from stock, instead of any severe inquisitionof this kind, have been obliged to content themselves withsome very loose, and, therefore, more or less arbitrary estima-tion. The extreme inequality and uncertainty of a tax as-sessed in this manner, can be compensated only by its extrememoderation, in consequence of which every man finds himselfrated so very much below’ his real revenue, that he gives him-self little disturbance though his neighbour should be ratedsomewhat lower.

By what is called the land-tax in England, it was intendedthat the stock should be taxed in the same proportion as land.When the tax upon land was at four shillings in the pound,or at one-fifth of the supposed rent, it was intended that stockshould be taxed at one-fifth of the supposed interest. Whenthe present annual land-tax was first imposed, the legal rateof interest wassix percent. Every hundred pounds stock, ac-cordingly, was supposed to be taxed at twenty-four shillings,the fifth part of six pounds. Since the legal rate of interesthas been reduced to five per cent, every hundred pound stockis supposed to be taxed at twenty shillings only. The sum tobe raised, by what is called the land-tax, was divided betweenthe country and the principal towns. The greater part of itwas laid upon the country; and of what was laid upon thetowns, the greater part was assessed upon the houses. Whatremained to be assessed upon the stock or trade of the towns(for the stock upon the land was not meant to be taxed) wasvery much below the real value of that stock or trade. What-ever inequalities, therefore, there might be in the original as-sessment, gave little disturbance. Every parish and districtstill continues to be rated for its land, its houses, and its stock,according to the original assessment; and the almost uni-versal prosperity of the country, which in most places has