40.—The Landed Interest oppose a Land Tax.

The landed interest, having succeeded since 1660 in throwing off entirely the old feudal burdens of the State from their own shoulders, were determined to use every exertion to keep those or any similar burdens from being laid on them in lieu thereof; they procured an instruction to the Committee of Supply that no money should be raised upon land without the special leave of the House ⁱ; but notwithstanding the government persisted in the measure.

On the 31st of March, 1690, the House went into a Grand Committee on the Supply.—Upon Sir W. Strickland's motion (April 2), "that the Supply be not raised upon land tax," Mr. Swynfin said, "as to the arguments against land tax, I have been here the best part of twenty years, and all the projects would never do; the way of our ancestors has always been upon land, and they abhorred excise and all other projects. I wish we prove wiser than they. We had a war with the Dutch, as now we have with the French, and it was carried on no other way but by land tax. I am not for saving our lands to enslave our persons by excise" ^j; and King William, in his speech to both Houses on the 25th Nov. of the same year, intimated something very much to the same effect as the above. "It is high time," observed his Majesty, "to put you in mind of making some provision for the expense of the Civil Government, which has no funds for its support since the excise, which was designed for that service, and also the other branches of the revenue have been applied to other public uses; and therefore I earnestly recommend it to your speedy consideration" ^k. Again, in his speech on opening the Session of 1695, his Majesty said, "The funds which have been given have proved very deficient. The condition of the Civil List is such that it will not be possible for me to subsist unless that matter be taken into your care" ^l. And pursuant to this part of the King's speech, the Commons settled funds for the supply of the deficiency alluded to by his Majesty, of which funds the principal was a land tax of 4s. in the pound ^m.