A century ago the Poor-Rate was about 700,000/. ; it is now about 7,000,0001. In 1818 it was 9,320,000/. But the sums levied under the name of the Poor-Rate are expended on various purposes besides the relief of the poor.
The work published under the direc tion of the Poor-Law Commissioners con tains a chapter on the Local Taxes of Scotland written at the request of the Poor-Law Commissioners by J. Hill Burton, Advocate, Edinburgh.
The Local Taxes in Scotland are dis tributed by Mr. Burton under the follow ing heads :— I. Administration of Justice, which includes Criminal Prosecutions; Court Rooms and County Buildings, Rural Police, Town Police, Prisons. II. In ternal Transit, which includes Commu tation Roads, Turnpike Roads, Highland Roads and Bridges. III. Navigation. IV. Civic Economy, which includes, Direct Municipal Taxes, Petty Customs, Miscellaneous Burdens. V. Relief of the Poor. VI. The Church and Edu cation, which includes The Church of Scotland Education. VII. Miscella neous Taxes.
Mr. Burton observes "that the money expended on the ecclesiastical establish ment and on education, partakes, in some respects, of the nature of a tax." The amount of money annually levied by local taxation in Scotland is not accu rately known. The sum of 956,678/. is the approximate amount given by Mr. Burton.
The Local Rates levied in Ireland are distributed under the following heads in the work published under the direction of the Poor-Law Commissioners.
I. Grand Jury Cess (in all the counties, including counties of cities and towns).
II. Poor-Rates (in 130 Unions, com prising every townland and denomination of land in Ire land).
III. Lighting, Cleansing, and Watch ing Rates (in all cities, towns, and boroughs which may adopt the provisions of the statute).
IV. Borough Rates (in certain Bo roughs).
V. Pipe Water Rates (in every city and town, except Dublin, Cork, and Limerick, which gives title to a bishop or archbishop).
VI. Parish Cess (in all parishes, unions of parishes, or chapelries in Ireland).
VII. Rates for deserted children (in all parishes in Ireland, except those in the city of Cork).
VIII. Ministers' Money (in cities and Viii. Ministers' Money (in cities and towns corporate in Ireland).
1X. Board of Health Rates (in pa rishes in which the lord lieute nant shall direct officers of health to be appointed).
" Besides the above rates leviable under general acts of parliament, there are rates leviable under special acts in many places, as Dublin, Cork," &c. No ac count is given in the work here referred to of the provisions of these special acts, but the amount of the sums levied under them, which is considerable in some places, is given so far as it has been ob tained.
The rates for Ireland are given at . . . . . 1,631,818 Tolls, Dues, and Fees . . 199,469 £1,831,287 The amount of annual local taxation of Great Britain and Ireland accordingly amounts to 14,197,044/. But it is ob served that if the deficient information were supplied, it would appear to be at least 15,000,000/. a year ; and this, as already observed, does not include the local taxes raised in particular places under special acts of parliament. The sum raised by general taxation in the United Kingdom for the year ended 5th January, 1846, was 51,719,118/. The amount of the local and general taxation is accordingly about 67,000,000/. a year. The public expenditure for the year ending 5th January, 1846, was 49,061,411/., of which sum 28,253,8721. was paid on account of the Funded and Unfunded Debt. This leaves somewhat under 21,000,000/. for the rest of the general public expendi ture. Accordingly the present amount of the local taxation, 15,000,0001., is nearly equal to three-fourths of the public ex penditure after deducting the payments on account of the Funded and Unfunded Debt. It is well remarked in the work from which these facts are derived (p. 190), " when the Local Taxes are brought ander review in this collective amount. it then at once becomes manifest how really deserving of serious consideration are the modes of raising and expending them, so as to secure the most efficient and economical management of a revenue rio large and important : a revenue, in deed, which derives its importance not only from the largeness of its aggregate sum, but from the extent of the property and the number of persons affected by it, and from the numerous and diversified public objects to which it is applied." Information about the several taxes of European States will be found in the Parliamentary Paper, No. 227, of 1842, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 3rd May, 1842.