806

IMF. NATUIIK A\L> C'AUSKS OF

wine, being the same upon all retailers, must necessarily givesome advantage to the great, and occasion some oppressionto the small dealers. The former must find it more easy toget back the tax in the price of their goods than the latter.The moderation of the tax, however, renders this inequalityof less importance, and it may to many people appear not im-proper to give some discouragement to the multiplication oflittle ale-houses. The tax upon shops, it was intended, shouldbe the same upon all shops. It could not have well beenotherwise. It would hove been impossible to proportion withtolerable exactness the tax upon a shop to the extent of thetrade carried on in it, without such an inquisition as wouldhave been altogether insupportable in a free country. If thetax had been considerable, it would have oppressed the small,and forced almost the whole retail trade into the hands of thegreat dealers. The competition of the former being takenaway, the latter would have enjoyed a monopoly of thetrade ; and like all other monopolists would soon have com-bined to raise their profits much beyond what was necessaryfor the payment of the tax. The final payment, instead offalling upon the shopkeeper, would have fallen upon theconsumer, with a considerable overcharge to the profit of theshopkeeper. For these reasons, the project of a tax uponshops was laid aside, and in the room of it was substitutedthe subsidy 1759.

What in France is called the personal taille is, perhaps,the most important tax upon the profits of stock employed inagriculture that is levied in any part of Europe .

In the disorderly state of Europe during the prevalenceof the feudal government, the sovereign was obliged to con-tent himself with taxing those who were too weak to refuse topay taxes. The great lords, though willing to assist him uponparticular emergencies, refused to subject themselves to anyconstant tax, and he was not strong enough to force them.The occupiers of land all over Europe were, the greater partof them, originally bond-men. Through the greater part ofEurope they were gradually emancipated. Some of them ac-quired the property of landed estates which they held bysome base or ignoble tenure, sometimes under the king, andsometimes under some other great lord, like the ancient copy-holders of England. Others, without acquiring the property,Obtained leases for terms of years, of the lands which theyoccupied under their lord, and thus became less dependent