These expenses include clothing and accoutrements, salaries and pay, superannuation allowances, station-house charges, and all incidental expenses. I.-The Borough Police in each Borough consist of 1. A Head Constable. 2. Serjeants. 3. Constables. (Appointed by the "Watch" Committee of the Town Council.) 5. Inspectors. (Appointed by Government.) The expenses are paid partly by a Borough Rate and partly by Government. This payment by Government amounts to one-fourth of the expenses of constabulary certified as efficient, and (in boroughs) serving a population of not less than 5,000. II. The County Constabulary in each County or Parliamentary Division of a County consist of 1. A Chief Constable, (appointed by the Justices in Quarter Sessions); or two Chief Constables, if the County has been so divided as to send Members to Parliament for each Division. 2. Superintendents. 3. Serjeants. 4. Constables. (Appointed by the Chief Constable.) 5. Inspectors. (Appointed by Government.) The expenses are partly paid out of a Special County Rate and partly by Government. The Borough and County Police may be consolidated on agreement, and then the Chief Constable for the County takes supreme control, and can dismiss men belonging to the Borough Police Force, though vacancies must be filled up by the Watch Committee. If no such agreement be come to, under certain circumstances either may apply to the Secretary of State to compel consolidation. Superannuation allowances, gratuities, and grants to widows are given, after different lengths of service, to members of the Police Forces. The fund out of which they are paid is composed of a proportion of the salaries and wages, stopped for this purpose, and of certain judicial fines. III. The Metropolitan Police consists of 1. The Chief Commissioner. 2. Two Assistant Commissioners. 3. Four District Superintendents. 4. Superintendents. 5. Inspectors. 6. Serjeants. 7. Constables. (Appointed by the Home Secretary or by his subordinates.) ΤΑΧΑΤΙON AND THE REVENUE. The taxes of the United Kingdom may be classified as follows :I.-DIRECT TAXES, - that is taxes imposed upon all persons satisfying a certain description, as, for instance, having houses of a certain value, or a certain income from other sources, or having certain articles of luxury. Such taxes are (1) The Income Tax, bringing in a varying sum according to its amount. A penny on every pound of income brings in more than a million pounds revenue. All incomes under £100 a year are generally exempted from taxation. The amount generally levied under this head in time of peace is about £6,000,000. It is now fourpence in the pound. (2) House Duty and Land Tах. (3) Assessed Taxes, that is, taxes assessed or computed according to the classes of luxuries possessed by the persons paying them. These luxuries are carriages, horses, men-servants armorial bearings, and the like. II.-INDIRECT TAXES, - that is taxes computed on the value of certain things manufactured, sold, or imported, or as a payment on performing certain transactions, Such are— (1) Customs, that is, taxes upon imported commodities, varying with their quality and quantity, paid by the importer. (2) Excise, that is, taxes upon the manufacture or sale in this country of certain commodities. With respect to both these, the tax falls mostly upon the buyer of the commodities, as he has to pay a higher price, and therefore this is called Indirect Taxation. (3) Stamps, that is payments upon performing certain transactions. A stamp has to be fixed to the document which is the evidence of the transaction, and this stamp has to be purchased from officers of the Government. The price varies with the character of the transaction, and generally with the amount of the money involved. Taxes are payable on succeeding to property under a Will, or when a person dies without a Will, or upon being allowed to carry a person's Will into effect. "Legacy Duty, Succession Duty, and Probate Duty," are reckoned under this head. The rules are detailed, and constantly varying. III.-Besides the products of Taxes, the Revenue is raised from (1) The Postal and Telegraph Service. (2) The Crown Lands. (3) Certain Miscellaneous Expenses. The following is about the average product of these different The average product is a little over £72,000,000. 6,000,000 400,000 3,000,000 The cost of collection of the Revenue is about £5,000,000 The expenditure of the country is distributed under the following chief items: The general mode in which the taxes are collected is as follows:-At certain times in the year (now generally the beginning of the year) a printed paper is left, by a subordinate officer for collecting the Revenue, with everyone who he thinks is liable to pay any direct taxes. The person so charged is requested to "make a return" - that is, to give a written statement of all the objects of taxation for which he deems himself liable to be taxed. This paper has to be sent back to the officer from whom it issued, by a given day; and within a short time a fresh paper is left with the person so charged, stating the exact sum of money which he is liable to pay; and mentioning when and where it is to be paid. If the person charged has any complaint to make on account of the amount of taxes imposed, or of the principle of their "assessment," he may appeal to the Justices of the Peace for the District, sitting for the purpose, at a Special Session." If the person charged makes no return, or is proved to have made a false return, he is liable to pay a heavy fine. In the case of all incomes paid by Government, as in the case of all Dividends paid by way of interest on the National Debt, a proportionate part is deducted, or "stopped," as Income Tax. In the case of Indirect Taxes, two kinds of machinery for their collection are employed. One is that of licences; by which only those persons who have bought a permission or "licence" from Government are allowed to sell or to use the things the sale or use of which is taxed. The other method is that of inspection; by which a vast number of Government officials are appointed for the sole purpose of watching and testing processes of manufacture, and also of estimating the value of things imported. It is obvious that the latter method of indirect taxation involves the use of very severe laws for preventing evasion of the Revenue Laws, and also very complicated machinery for detecting illicit traffic and smuggling. THE METHOD OF COLLECTING GOVERNMENT The principal subjects of statistics collected by Government are : I. Population. II. Army and Navy. III. Police. IV. Inquests. V. Civil Law. VI. Prisons. VII. Births, Deaths, and Marriages. VIII. Educational. IX. Revenue. X. Religion. XI. Medical and Sanitary. XII. Emigration. XIII. Poor Law. XIV. Trades. XV. Currency. XVI. Post Office. XVII. Diplomatic, Colonial, and Indian Affairs. XVIII. Exports. The way in which the superior officers, named in the following pages, obtain these Returns will be described later on, and examples of classes of Return given. Government collects statistics of- 2. Proportion of the sexes. |