THE TAP-ROOT OF POVERTY. Delving After itjn the Foundations of Our Economic System. MATU RE'S LAWS ALL RIGHT, lit ftm Whi Tiul.U Thw Ned Not Hop* ti Kstapc iht Penalty. Ill* I I.I I ng Hoi.Ttj T ., K 1 1, J. f Idle *he I l/tt.r M>ii(lc> ilnorcr Bad Ht-llaniv Hie. K4K>I Kvll-Wha* U ' I'r.pri I, - <>.. r.li i |, ,1 Juilro Ueaaaaded-Th* Kenedj Ot>- JeeltOM Mfk. The following i* from a recent addreit delivered in Hamilton, by Mr. John Carnok. and preeent* statement of the Claims of ihoM who advocate Land Nalijn lixatton or the Bingle Tex : In these days few observing men eeoape struggle with tbe problem offered by Ib* (JiMium I poverty. It waylay i the dkinkar ml tue street corner*, peeri *l him (ram broken window* end s.jusli.l lens- sneais, and the pinobed faces of it* ohild VictiMS vnti him in hii dream i and wisti'iii > plead for iti eolation. It f<>llowi hint like au animated interrogation point, nd U proportion to the broadness of hit asiad and tbi goodness of hii hi \rt he feeoomee anxione to dieoover why it is that la a Ian., i plenty, with bursting gr*aeries ad itorebotuei to fall of good* that the faotoriee are periodically abat down to redaoe the lapply, thoaiandi able tu work and eager to give their labor in exchange for those very products ebould be debarred be opportanity and doomed to want ; why tt it tbat while thodnende upon thousands toil day after day, year after year, wita oarctly a break in the monotony of trained exertion, yet are (even if fortu- ate puoagh to obtain oonetail employ- Blent) barely able to eapport the loved ooei dependent open them, there ehoald be others Who though never adding a dollar to the world s wealth nor doing an honr'e ueefal labor, eat, drink, wear and u te the ohoioett product* of the labor of other* ; and who, trange to lay, althoogh rioting in luxury, continue to accumulate wealth and the power to utilise the productive capacities of their (allowe. He aeke himeelt why it le that diseased pablio opinion award* aBVlVTAOIM, THI U9HOU AMU till BJUFIOT to tbe enooeeefil idle, while the idler wh doee not en well laoaeed in living upon hi fellowi, bat who may even be anxioae live by bis own exertions, is termed tramp and hounded down by law. If he ii given to close i tbe doge reasoning h nay even wonder at the inooniieteno wbioh eende to j%il the paoper who bege lew penntee fiem the ooropa**iooat*. whil it look* op with respect to him who at intlu-noee legielation at to divert to hi Own pocket a proportion ot th earning* o otbert without their ooncent. He will BO And it an aaty matter to eqoare tbe reealt of hie observation* with flrel prlnoiplee bat he will readily conclude that the oon dition which present* itself U not thereto! of obedience to nataral lawt, bat rather oi their violation , that, therefore, the evil* we deplore are not irremediable, and that the nrst duly ol the eoonomitt U to die cover wherein we have tranigretted thoae lawt in order tbat we may, with at maoh expedition ei poeeible, get oar oar baok Into the grooves of the oeleitial wheel*. TU (jIBSTIOSI 01 TBI BAT. Tbe Qoeetion of poverty ekxolnla am: relative it pre-eminently the problem ol the day. Altrattt and egoUt, from diiTar at bat diitenlly allied motivee, etady il It it felt to b a i|Qetion of primt import anoe, not only to material bat at well to mental, moral and religione progreet. Men dielike poverty at they ditlike anything that caueea p*in to tb*m*elv* or thoae they love. Rev. Washington Gladden affects to view poverty at a bleating, bat 1 have notloed tbat few eane people etrive after it; and I oan bat marvel at the oner aclemttion of any condition at a " bleat Ing" whioh, eooordmg to the aame writer, le brought about by " laiineet, Intffioienoy, waete, mitmanagnment and injurioui in dolgenoe." Now, were poverty reoogniHed M a binding, the philosopher or eoonomiet who woold teek to aboliih It and in at teadanl eorrow aad anflering wonld prop arly be viewed at an nadeeirable oiiUen. Rev. Dr. lloward Oroeby, in an article in the " Forum," referring to tho*e> who demy thai tbe Creator i* to blame for the wide- spread poverty of the day and who teek to tiring about a better oondition, aeye : " It Ii not the faot of poverty thai trouble* theae people, but ebere envy " ; and to hit own tatitfaotlon h* trace* all poverty to Liqooa, hAxiMM* aac furaoviauci. The rev. gentleman'* opinion It frank almost to brutality, but the eoonomiet ie ondiitorbed ; be it content to deal with fao'e and reaeone, knowing that in the recall of hi* work lie* hit justification. He oan' (fiord to have charily. Bat allowing all that thonld fairly be conceded to incompetence, tloth, prodigal- ity and intemperance and I am prepared to make large ooooeaeioni there mil re main the hard faola thai Ihoaeaodt npon thoneandt who would willingly avert poverty by laboring fail to get employment, and thai mllllont who labor Heedily and Indottrloaaly hev*. A Lira uiKii nicuuui to keep the wolf from the door , a ttrnggle reodernd morn tad by tbe knowledge that In event of their death er incapacity their loved ooei will be thrown opon the oherily of the wot Id. No wonder then that think- ing men of bamane impulat* should ttrlve to diumver and extirpate the root of the evil. The oaate it not to be foand In the aiggardlin*** of nature. Tbe earth pro- dnoatenooHb aad to *parf, and modern method* of transportation, etoraye and dielribolion provide mtaoi of eapplying aeoliooel or temporary eborlag*. Moreover, were the Idle employed the abundance wonld be Innreaead. Why, then, It II that II heve not plenty T Why il il thai with the vastly Inureeaed oapaolliee for prod no- tion arming; from the advaaoe In inlelli Kenoe and invention we havn yet want among Ih* producer*, the opportunity to labor regarded at a Ii .on, and the wedge of plutocrat and proletariat olateee T The cue elate numerically weak hot etrong in wealth from whence 7 and earned by whom T ; the other numerically at etroiiK a* il it financially week, feeling that it euffer* a grievoui wrong, bat nuable to dieoover and apply the remedy, groping after light, socking protection in organize- tione wbioh sometimes good, often bad, in their retail* at lea*! indicate clearly enough the keen venue of injustice and the deeire to improve. The eitoation i* a grave one ; it would be a dangerous oue were u not for the growth of education, a liberal franohiee whioh give* tbe worker tbe knowledge that he hae a voice in making tbe lawt, and the more important faot that at heart Ih* mat*** are not to deprived a* they are eometimee depleted. A remedy it urgently rtquired, and in tpit* of the sneereof the ihi-uuhilett and the innaendoet of the iateretted the number of it* *e*ktri maltiply. OBOBOI AK'U BLLAMT. Among tboie intererted in economic* perhapt no >urj ->MH to-day receive more attention than >iiu- of the Nationalization of Ltnd, of which Mr. Henry George i* the chief exponent, and tbe State Socialitm of tbe Edward Bellamy xobcol. It U not my purpose here to enter upon a ditonttlon of air. Bellamy ' theory. I only wieh to ay in passm* that the two propotiiiont are eittntially different irreoonoilably anlago nitlic in principle having nothing in oom- mon lave tbe with of tbe promoter! to bentiii their fellow*. Mr. Bellamy't oontemplatei tbe extinction of the indi- vidual in the Slate, and the attamplion by the Bute of all the fanotiont of ownerthip, management and employment. Il viewe competition an an evil to be got rid of, and exalte the representative* of the people (the Government) to enoh a degree of in- fallibility ae to make them incapable of the errore whioh prevent eaooete even under the timnli of self interest and competition. The advocate* of Land Nationalization, or the Single Ttx, on the contrary, tee in competition OBBAT RATDBAL LAW operativa n every department of tbe creation, and, when not interfered with by human enactment!, operating to the benefit of the race. Thy eee in natural competi- tion a law a* invariable a* that of gravita- tion, ae neoeetary to tbe mundane econ- omy, and, which, like it, oan only be retieted at great oott. They do not pro- pote In reiitt it. What they do propote inttead of more paternal legislation it lee* interference with the liberty of tbe in- dividual. Oar law*, not tboat of the Creator, are at faalt. They atk that competition be rretore 1 to a nataral batlt ; that the advaolagtt given to tome by man- made lawt be reetored to mankind a* a wholt ; that within the individual iphere w> ehall lay to corporate power : " liande qff I" In thort that the right of the people to the nataral opportanitiee ehall be re ttored to them. They a*k, why ihoald the peopl* be deprived of their birthright and Iben be taxed to give effect to the depriva- tion 1 Wby eboold they who produce in abundance not reap abundantly ? Why huuld men willing to work need alme T Wboee ii tbe earth tbe Lord'* or the landlord*' T TBI KOOT f II.. Let at for a moment forget tbe com- plexity of the lawe wilb wbioh we have enrroonded ourtelvtt, and torn oar oon- eideration to nret principle*. When the 9 man baa to decide upon a ooune or an action be triee il by the canon* of Kight. I ownerebip by reaeonof production exoludee all other titiet; and if prod action give* the producer ezolueive title, then it follow* that no one oan own that wbioh he hat not pro dued or procured from the holder of the title. Man did not create the earth ; no man oan tbow a produoer'e title to a foot of it ; no man oan convey a higher title than that whioh be himself poeaseee* ; therefore all claim* to atwolnte ownership of land are lucoLiietunt with nret principle*. In thit oonneotion it would be interesting to trace the gradual progre** of the alienation of the right* of the whole people in the toil, but time forbidt. The Brehon oode, hav- ing reference to tbe neoettily of aooee* to the land, declared : " Land I* perpetual man." Fisher **) : " II may not be out of plaee here to allude to tbe u*e of tbe word irojMrfy with reference to laud ; fnipfrly from yroprium, my own U leejeatblug penaiolDff Ui LUH. I have a prop- erty In in > -elf. I have tbe right to be frit. All thai proceed* from mjMlI, uj tbougbu, my writing*, uiy worn, are property ; but DO man made Uud. ad Iherelore land 11 not property." There ii no reaaon that oan be urged, beyond the purely physical one, why the water and the air ol the placet tboold not have been parcelled out and made the pri- vate properly of tbe few wilh a* much of right and jutioa a* oan be adduced to txoote the prevalent idea ot private owner- tbip of tbe mil. TITLE! TO THI SOIL. I cannot diverge to-night to deal with the various kinde of title* under which the world'* landt ar* held. II it enough if yoo admit tbat all of Ood'i children are entitled to life and are equal before Hi* law, to etamp all title* to exclaeive ownenhip of tbe toil at spurious At a fact, however, they are all founded in ditoovery, foroe or fraud. Title by discovery is th- only one for whioh a defence, on principle, i* attempted. But discovery by whom 7 and of how much ? Did tbe title to Ameiioa vt-et in th* Mound Builder* ? Or in the North American Indian* ? Or in tbe Nortemen ? Or in whom did it veil T Did Colambae' discovery invalidate that title? How much territory doe* duoovery entitle to T an acre 7 a hundred aoree f a county 7 a province 7 a continent 7 If Cratoe't leland had been half a million square mile* in extent would he have been entitled to tribute, a* land-owner, from all- oomen, and to transmit the title to hit beire 7 Itn't It absurd I Ownership of tha land, I have said, MIAI* OWBEBBHir OF TBI MEH, of necessity live on the land, it it but another already miaturably the older and more In all oaeee il uivee ho In the ultimate form of slavery, realised in aora* of popnloo* ooonlrie*. atk you now to bury ideal of temporary expediency, or rather whil* we view tbeee mailer* to bear in mind that what i* right I always expedient. Underlying thie whole qaietion, we who dvooale the Mingle Tax contend, i* the evil of deprivation of natural opportunities pri- rate properly in land. We contend thai I il not only inexpedient but contrary to ivery principle of joetioe thai Nature's lounty to all men the element* ihould become Ibe txolueive property of toy man or aet of men ; that to [ive to one das* tbe land of Ib* rth, wbioh i* neoetaary to tbe life of tbe mot, I* to handicap the other* in the competition whioh Nature ineiete upon ; hat in the nature of thing* land it not iroperly, and that even if we who live o day were to alienate oar birthright in be natural opportunities we would have right to disinherit poelerily. We con- tend that to take from the individual hi* igbt to the eoil i* to compel him to par- bate the right to live and labor wilh a wrlion ot hie earnings, and ii to tbat xtent an aim rllon of ownerehip of man by man, lete obtrudont bat no more admie- able than lh principle of chattel slavery. iel a* glance at TBI MATBU OF LAND. 1 ii limited in extent ; uncreated by man , noapable of being by hi* effort* materially noreaaed or diminished ; neot esary to oman exiitenoe. Man oan no more live without aooee* to land than he oan live without air, because land ii the ultimate pon which labor ii exerted and from whioh laitenance it derived. Ownership f land involve* ownership of men. Had lobinaon Crueoe been able to enforce land awi each a* we respect to-day ha wonld ave been a* truly mailer of Friday a* ver Louieiana Planter wae of Nivro (lave. live a ftw men the land of the Nation and >e ability to enforce the land law* and lay, far all praolioal purposes, become a* much the owner* of the reel ae if th*y had id them off the auction block , wilb the dded advantage that wherea* the Halle] slave owner stood to loee y under-feeding, overwork and abuse, >e landlord* face no inch oontinuenoy. noreaee of population miani more demand or their land*, lower wage* if they hire ; oororopt mean higher prioei for them and lighter meal for the laborer ; even war meani to them higher rents. Land is toeeearv to life ; te deprive a ohild ot hie ite reel In Ihe land ii to rob him of hi* irlhright. To contend otherwise ii to teert that all are not eqaal before Ood'i aw and that acme com* into the world ith a bitter right to Hit bounlie* than then. LAND MOT raOPIITT. I have Mid tbat in the nature of thing* mi la not property. All idea* of properly epring from tbe righlot a man to hlmeelf from liberty. Ae a man Ii owner of him self h* Ii naturally owner ot all that he prodaoei by Ihe a** ol hi* own faonltlee All title* to ownership are derived from tbl* Bret principle, Ihe title of a man to himself, and Ihe recognition of any other the power to absorb Ihe earning* of Ihe maaeee who labor. In Britain, at tbi* day, a nns.ll proportion of tbe population aboat 30.000 have tbe legal right to turn five sixths of the people of the kingdom upon Ihe streets (which do belong to all), and th* owner* of the coal land* oan lay to the worker*. " That coal i* oars. Com* to oar term* as to wage* and hour* of labor or not a ponnd shall be mined. While yoa etarvu in i tleneee a coal famine will bant fit u in the higher price* il ensure*." The few own tbe earth , the many have only air and water. The experience! of the oiler countries ooghl to be a leaaon to n* while reform U yet t a*y. Here the spare neei of population hat hitherto masked the taxation U distinctively favorable to Ih* peculator a* againal th* producer. I need not go outside of tbe oily for ei -tuple* ; you have all met with them. Oo to on* ot oar land speculators who hold* valuable property or rather property of varying value, low when aaeeued, high when yoa bay aad secure e email lot. Il may havt been in very bad snap;. Yoa drain it, level it, enclose it, oreol a house on il aud ID other way* add to the appearance ol that part ol tbe oily. How i* yoar labor and expenditure appreciated? Compare yoar tax bill with the last one paid by tbs eptoo- tor aod yoa will eee t Next year you soa your front, plant some trees, add a fountain, and presto again cr oo TOD TAXI*, Until you almost feel that yoar improve lueute are in the nature ol au cfleuct again*! the community and wish f on had let your money lie in tbe bat k and rented. All thii time the neignoonog lot* held by Mr. Speculator remain unimproved, bat when a buyer oomen along he u asked a bigber price for them because of tbe labor and money yoa have expended upon yoar lot and for whiob yoa are no heavily taxed I Yoa do tbe work and expend the money ; yoa are heavily taxed. Tbe (peculator take* the profit* on th* sale of your lot, and pay* low text*, yet pockets Ihe benefit retailing from yoar investment and labor, in the increased priest wbioh be demandt for the neighboring loll upon which be hat neither toiled an boor nor spent a shilling. Wby do speoolatoia often bind purchasers of lute to build houses of a specified character ? To secure a good olass of booses for the city 1 Oh, no I Not at all I Every good house erected enhanoci Ibe value ol the neighboring lott , and thit value, which he dew* not creel*, our land aod tax lawn enable him to divert to bit own nee. A LAW AOAIKBT IxrBOVKUZNTS. There are lots in this city to-day of great value, carry ing mere rcokeries, but assessed comparatively low and paying their owner* a good income. Some of Ibe owners would gladly erect belter and more creditable attuatarts, bat upon making a prospective estimate they dieoover that the iolereet on tbe necessary outlay, plus tbe annual tax whioh the city woald compel them to pay on a fine new building, would leave them BO better off than at preeenl. The system of taxing a man according to what be own* or rather according to hit industry and productiveness, tend* to repre** prodnotion and to discourage improvement. I am glad to see Ibat following Ihe statutory ex-nip lion of farm stock tbe city ha* decided to txempt manufacturing plant. This 1s a step in tbe right direction, but the distinction cleaving aeonder eooiety into "' would dailroy Ihii one. Th* right of vil, bat it i* growing daily. JISTICI tiurr ii DOIB. " Bat,' 1 yoa eey, bow are yoa (going to remedy the evil ? Yoa cannot with justice take the land from ill prevent bolder* and parcel it oat in equal snares to all." No, nor woald each a ooorae b* dtiirabl* were il practicable. But it is impracticable to do jusiici by any kind of arbitrary divi ion. Any scheme of amelioration must be one capable of constant adjustment, without disturbance to holders of land, to Ihe ever changing circumstances of popu- lation. Every child born into Ih* world ha* a* maoh right to th* eoil a* ha* the Duke ol Westminster or Jay Ooald, or Vanderbill ; but every one doee not work land, and an equitable distribution, were such possible, wonld he destroyed every lime a ohild was bora into the world. Fixity of possession i* a desideratum, a* conducing to prodaoliven*** and improve menl, and the sacred neat of tbe righle of Ihe holder to all that he own* must be respected. This we propose to secure while restoring to the people their birth rinhl in the soil, without dispossessing anybody, without any shook to society, and without any wore* result than Ihe opening up of many opportunities to labor, and enforcing on Ihe drone* Ihe too long laspended sentence : " He that workoth not neither shall he eat." TBI BBsJBDT rBOrOUD. And how is il to be done T We propose to do it by taxation. Ws propoee thai instead of taxes on land, home*, good* and chattels, poll tax, income tax, customs aod excise taxe*, a simple tax on land value* be levied, taking for the benefit of the community that value which ii added to the land. Irrespective ol improvement*, by the preeenoe ot Ihe population. We propose that the unearned increment, whioh now goe* to enrich tbe land owner and (peculator, b* need to relieve labor, production, commerce and improvement of the burdens now Im- posed upon them. " Bat," the objector may say , that ii only a roundabout way of taking a man'i property by taxation." Discriminate. We would give him all he ha* produced, all be ha* in improvements in and npon the land, all he owni, free from impost, bat in lieu of all other taxe*, direot add indireot, we woald take for the common fund, in taxe* (economic rent), that value whioh ha neither did nor could produce bat which 1* a 'dad to the land by the community irrespective ot any expenditure or effort on hi* part. I* it wrong to ask tbat those who produce shall possess? Or il il unnatural thai those in Ibe enjoyment of aoearned in- come* should strenuously oppoe* th* realisation ot *aoh a maaaore of joitio* .' DOW TUB RriffLAToa IB riVOBBD. Speoolation In land U an vil beside whioh the gambling of th* (look exchange* ha* no economic significance. 1 have no natural right to hold land lor tbe purpose ol obliging another to pay me toll before I rermlt him to torn it to productive use. Economically il i* an evil beoauae it create* floliiioa* value* and divert! th* money ot the producer* to the pocket* ol thoee who add nothing to the sum ol Ih* world'* wealth but play dog in the manner to those I who improve and produce. Our system of go*J must be the exemption of all improvn. m- ins, whether tbe pUnt of the manufac- turer or tbe cottage of th* arliaan. Tuere will b* iio *h( rtaceif ih* ommanity o 1 leot* iM own by th tax on tbe land values. TAX iriCCLATlVI TALUKS. But it i* eaid it would be hard on tbe far m-r. It would oot. Being a lax en I he value produced by the preeenoe of tbe population il wonld fall meet heavily on the moat populous centre*. Th* rural neighborhood! woald net be materially effected, save that it woald prevent tbe looking ap of farm landi for purposes of ipeoulalion. Farms finally eligible would pay the same lax whether ono starved hie farm, ataoked hi running through nature. Let no think be can divorce cause and ccnstijnei-oe that he oan do wrontt and escape the) penalty. Tbe law* of Nature are Ihe law* God. Hi ii not mocked. It take* more than a Dominion or a Provincial Aet to re- peal this law : It will not bf contemned of any one. Who thwart* it lows, and wbo Mrves It eelae ; Ttie bidden good II p*js *lUi Maoe and bHaa. The bidden Ul with paina. It eeeta evsryu.ing and markotb all ; Do rigbt, it racoiupMisetb . do on* wrooc, Tb- equal retribution must be paid Tao' rjharma tarry long . Ii knows ooi wraib iiur pardon, otter true Its faultless balance wsigha. Timm -r amaugbi; to-iuorrow it will jadge. Or after many d .ys. Hy ibis tbe >layar*s knifs did stab himself. The unjos. judge bata lost his own defender : Tun ftlso tongue doams its 110; tbe crea, ing thief And spoiler rob to render. SQCU U lA* law tbat moves to rigbteeusneea. Which nous at last can turn aaide or stay ; Tbe heart of It U leve , the end of it Ie peaee and consummation sweet. Obev I rncACT or TU KIIUDT. I'erbap* if yoa are prepared to acknow- ledge tbe justice aud wisdom of tbe princi- ple for which I contend yon may yet ijueiiion in tffioaoy at a remedy lor the prevailing poverty. I aek you to ftnei nd consider that tbe qaeetion of poverty to-day ii not on* of production. Prod action, both actual and in proportion 10 tbe labor expended never we* more abundant ; the Earth was never more fruitful. There ie enough wealth to make all comfortable and yet leasen tod. The evil i* one ol distribution. Competition ie rendered unnatural by the fact tbat aa Ument neotisary to labor and to life i* made the property of tbe few, while the many are compelled 10 pay tribute to that few for permiesion to Isb r, and are attain taxed to maintain ^cvern mental inetitaj- liooi of a Irtqnvnliy prodigal and < xirava- gatit character. WBO EAKUD THI sricuLATOBB raorm* Every dollar made by the Itnd epecnleto* |rala, lived in a hot aed hoarded hii money, or improved hie land, built good barns and fence* and dwell in a country mansion. " Bat yoa woald destroy ipeoalative values," yoa lay. Ye*, we would crush oat peculation a* a form of gambling in natural opportunities ; we would tax the speculative value* into th* coffer* ot the community. But that would not oe a calamity. The land wonld be a* good and there wonld be at much of it ai before. It would be worth just as much for any nte- f ul purpose a* if yoa had paid twioe the price to a speculator. That eminent authority, Kietier. nays : " Nataral laws forbid middlemen, wbodo noth- ing to make tho laud productive, aad >el eub- int opon toe IS.KT of th* fruir, aod receive as reut part of tbe iTodoce of hie toil." And again : Land does net represent njpttaJ. bat the Im- provement* uiHia It da. A u.att do* nut pur chas laod. He buys tbe right of |> MS*IOQ. ID any transfer of laud tnere Is no looking op of capita,!, because one man receive* exactly the amount tbe other expends. Ta land does uot beoouia either more or lees productive by reason c-f tha transfer from one parson to another ; It Is the withdrawal of labor tbat aflecU its productiveness OIJICTIOKI KIT. I have heard it said that It the land- holder failed to pay the tax be woold be in danger of being diiposeaesed. That is true, bat il is not a valid objection. If for a certain length of time th* tax we* not paid, procedure would be taken by tax tale to make collection, and there ii no reaeon why Ihe right! ot Ihe holder to all the prooetdi of such iale, over the arrears and ooeti, should not be as fully eeonrvd under the Single Tax lyslera ai they are in the oaae ot tax aalee now. The Single Tax would be a cheap tax, because it woald tree commerce and production from many bar- den* and turn out an army ot office holding lax eaters to earn a living by productive labor. It woald b* an easy tax to collect, and would in thai way alone eave million*. Il woald take away th* premium we now pay to dishooeety, idleness and speculation, and abolish our flue* on production, improvement and exchange. It wonld be a meotincally cor- rect and honest lax, became it wonld take the share of all in tbe natural herilag* for tbe benefit of all, instead of excluding Ihe groat majority from that heritage and heavily taxing them afterward*. Again, it hae been otjnoted that in inbatilnliog the ingle lax on land values for oar present in equitable, complex and expensive system, wbioh pott a penalty on the man who make* two blade* of grate grow where only one grew before, we woald act nDjuttly in Ibat all save holder* of land woald escape taxation. Thte objection indicate* a total failure to graep the underlying principle of the theory of Land Nationalisation. If each ha* an intereet in the land, il matter* not by whom it i* held, th* taking by the State, a* representing all, of even the whole annual value of Ih* riiiht of eaoh woald be equitable and jail. Thai all do not work land ha* no relevancy to th* argument. That many should be deprived of their hare of nature'* endowment ii su/ely no reason why they ihould be forced to giv* a ooniiderable percentage of what they earn under each diiadvantegeone condition! In municipal, customs, inland revenue and other bnrdeiiaome taxe*. TB* OaiAT LAW or I'OHriSSATIOX. There n a greal law ot compensation reprcienti so much of the product cf labor. Wbo produced it ? No* tbe speculator. Fie i* to eooiety what the wolf is to tbe iheepfold. Bi* business i* to levy loll on progre** ; to prey opon the producer*. If be add* a cent's worth to the sum of tbe world'* wealth it i* in tbe capacity ol producer. Speculation never made a dol- lar tbat was not taken from some man'* earning*. Bear tbat in mind. The pro- ducer i* alwaya impoverished by exactly the sum teken by the speculator. lie i* a bole in the pocket of labor ; a constant poor relation wbo might well be dispenses! wilb. The single lax woald be death tt) bit craft, because it woald dtsiroy the) speculative values, and labor would profit by relief from the direct and in- direct impoii* which, even in thai young country, form a heavy and increasing burden. Taxation removed from production and exchange, whiob it alwaye aff-cts nstriclivt-ly, aod placed np:n land value*, would stimulate prodoo- lion, because it would not Iben be profitable to hold valuable land idle. There would be no pteuietive iucnaw in value to look forward to, and the tax wonld be ih* same) on lot* eqnilly eligible whether oovereel wilh thistles, producing abundant crop*, or aa the tits ot a factory employing ite thousands. It would vastly multiply opportunities for Ih* uliliztltoo of labor aud it would therefore tend to better wtf*. It would, in short, reform ditv tribotion. A uxrixmt usoi. Weitih the proposition: A tax on produce tend* to restrict production ; a tax oo com- merce tends to dieoourage exchange ; both lead to let* work and lower wage*. A lax on land value* tend* to bring land into nee, to increase production ami, logioally, to more employment al better >, which means more general comfort. The evil in regard to the distribution of wealth Ih*) eystem by wbioh tboee wbo produce not are enabled to posses* themeelve* of n goodly chare of Ihe promote ol tho earner*) once corrected, aud the right of eaoh to all of hi* earning* cot only admitted hot niventfleoi in practice ; and the condi- tion* whioh beve made Ibe rijibt to labor a boon, reversed, the remit* cannot out be most beneficent. Competition will then be natural ; tbe laborer worthy of hit hire, ai we now admit, will not be cheated out of a great portion of it; and it miifortnne still make calls opon oar charily we shall be the bettor able to extend it without fear cf pauperization when we have founded oar economy on Justice. Theee grow* extremes ol wealth and poverty will rapidly disappear, and U millionaire* become fewer general comfort and happiotai will increase, and ere long men will look baok and marvel that the) very association ot idleness and riohei and toil and poverty had not long ago pointed ai to a eolation of the problem. MOT A UVOLUTIOHABY FBOrOSAL, Wear* nearer tbe rtm-dy than many imagine. Did time permit I roinlit trace tbe eey stages by which in Britain duties to Ihe community attaching to tbe exclu- sive poeeeesion ot land have been by inter- ested law maker* shifted to weaker shoulders, and how Ihe idea of Ihe sacred- ness ot property in land has been propa- gated. Lot me point out to yoa. however, that co citizen under th* British Crown owm land. The ownership vests in the) Grown a* representing the whole peopl* not a few ot them. A statute of Edward III., in foroe to day, assert* : " Tbat the Kins, is the universal lord and orl*> ml proprietor of all land In bis kingdom, aud that no mau doth or can possess any part of It but what has iu-dUielyor Immediately ! domed aa a gift frern him to b held on feudal eorvioa. And Fisher, referring to this, aayi No lawyer will assert for any KnRllsb subject a hujhrr title than t[ianoi-lu feo, which baiw tbm<pr-sof hMtng and deotue the assertioai of TBI WOBLD norm. W* do not ask to invalidate any title* to th* land, or to interfere with it* sale or br<ine*l. W* limply propoee that natural condition* be restored and Ihe right ol Ibe people aa now recognised in law be made operative in praolio* ; and that the hackle* be ilrioken off and the fine* removed from labor, production and as- change. 1 1 wae to be expected that a oaaee whioh antagonize* snob vail internets a* does thai of Land Nalionaliiition woald meet with the bitterest opposition. What Wen- dell Phillips, William Lloyd Uarriaon and their handful rf abolitionist friends did for the chattel slaves of Ihe South, the George*, the UoQIynns and their daily increasing host of follower* propose to do for the world's eoonomio bondsmen, and in the