HKB
Now if the price of corn were 4l. per quarter, the money rent of No. 1 would be 80l., and that of No. 2, 40l.
Suppose a tax of 8s. per quarter to be imposed on corn; then the price would rise to 4l. 8s.; and if the landlords obtained the same corn rent as before, the rent of No. 1 would be 88l., and that of No. 2, 44l. But they would not obtain the same corn rent; the tax would fall heavier on No. 1 than on No. 2, and on No. 2 than on No. 3, because it would be levied on a greater quantity of corn. It is the difficulty of production on No. 3 which regulates price; and corn rises to 4l. 8s., that the profits of the capital employed on No. 3 may be on a level with the general profits of stock.
The produce and tax on the three qualities of land will be as follows:
No. 1, yielding 180 qrs. at 4l. 8s. per qr. £792 Deduct the value of 16.3 or 8s. per qr. on 180 qrs. 72 ----- ---- Net corn produce 163.7 Net money produce £720 ----- ----
No. 2, yielding 170 qrs. at 4l. 8s. per qr. £748 Deduct the value of 15.4 {qrs. at 4l. 8s. or 8s. per} { qr. on 170 qrs. } 68 ----- ---- Net corn produce 154.6 Net money produce of £680 ----- ----
No. 3, 160 qrs. at 4l. 8s. £704 Deduct the value of 14.5 {qrs. at 4l. 8s. or 8s. per} { qr. on 160 } 64 ----- ---- Net corn produce 145.5 Net money produce £640 ----- ----
The money rent of No. 1 would continue to be 80l., or the difference between 640 and 720l.; and that of No. 2, 40l., or the difference between 640l. and 680l., precisely the same as before; but the corn rent will be reduced from 20 quarters on No. 1 to 18.2 quarters, and that on No. 2 from 10 to 9.1 quarters.
A tax on corn, then, would fall on the consumers of corn, and would raise its value as compared with all other commodities, in a degree proportioned to the tax. In proportion as raw produce entered into the composition of other commodities, would their value also be raised, unless the tax were countervailed by other causes. They would in fact be indirectly taxed, and their value would rise in proportion to the tax.
A tax, however, on raw produce, and on the necessaries of the labourer, would have another effect--it would raise wages. From the effect of the principle of population on the increase of mankind, wages of the lowest kind never continue much above that rate which nature and habit demand for the support of the labourers. This class is never able to bear any considerable portion of taxation; and, consequently, if they had to pay 8s. per quarter in addition for wheat, and in some smaller proportion for other necessaries, they would not be able to subsist on the same wages as before, and to keep up the race of labourers. Wages would inevitably and necessarily rise; and in proportion as they rose, profits would fall. Government would receive a tax of 8s. per quarter on all the corn consumed in the country, a part of which would be paid directly by the consumers of corn; the other part would be paid indirectly by those who employed labour, and would affect profits in the same manner as if wages had been raised from the increased demand for labour compared with the supply, or from an increasing difficulty of obtaining the food and necessaries required by the labourer.