THE POT AND THE KETTLE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1642, 8 January 1913, Page 7

THE POT AND THE KETTLE.

UNIONIST INQUIRY INTO ORIGIN' OF LIBERAL WEALTH. By Teloerarh-Prcea Association-OoDyrighl , London, January C. A committed of Unionist, members of the House of Commons, in retaliation for the Liberal inquiry into the ownership arid occupation of land, is openly inquiring as to tho wealth of leading Liberals," and tho soruoes from which it has been derived. . 1 BANKRUPTCY FOR DUKES. "TAX THEM OUT." Tho British Government, by means of a committee, is making a detailed and searching inquiry into questions, affecting' tho ownership and occupation of land, so 'hat it may obtain "an accurate and impartial account of social antl economic conditions in . the;- rural parts of Great Britain/' ■ In-pursuance of this, plan an exhaustive schedule, of . questions relative to local conditions betwedn landlord and tenant ,;iu each , district wag'- sent' out to persons; thought to be best able to fill, in ..tile replies.* The inquiry was a private, one, and strong exception' was taken to it by the; Unionist party and press. Last month,. at' a. meeting of Unionist members of Parliament, presided over, by Mr. George .Wyndhairi, it was decided to conduct a'cuuntei'-iiiquiry into'the adminis-•tratiott-of. the property of Ministers, of the Crown and other, wealthy Liberals. laud campaign, opened some time ago; has been of a decidedly aggressive; character.; As a : sample •of tho methods adopted, it is interesting to recall what Mr. R. L. ; Outhwaitc, Liboral M.P. for,'.Hanley,. said in the-Mid-lothian by-election . campaign: with reCto tho local land magnate there, the of Buccleuch.' After declaring that they' must put a tax on land values, and emancipate the .workers by. .compelling every'owner of land to use his land, and employ labour on it, or let the land go to somebody else who would use it, Mr. Outhwnite then went on, according to the London "Daily Mail,", to give local illustration to his argument by, references to tho-Duke of Bucclcuoh and other owners of-land at 1 Dalkeith, which is in the constituency. Look round Dalkcith> he said, and ; see how that policy would operate there—a - locked-up town' surrounded by tho estates of thoDukQ of Buccleuch, the Marquis of Lothian, and Earl .Melville. 'Walk down the main street,''and there were the'gates of Dalkeith Palace. He got,irisido tho gates, s>ut they.turned liim out; it ,\vns only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays. ' If they got taxation of land values ;he guaranteed the gates of the palace would bo thrown open,'or else tho Dulte of 'Buccleuch would have to- pay ;.the' taxes on: tho' value of-, tlio'. 2000 acres, of park which, were inside' tho wall'that ran for . nine- miles round. .. Ho stated that there ,was,a large fiold belonging to his graco in the town, near, the station, on which-only half its agricultural value 'would be paid in rates. Alongside it. they had feued (leased) a piece of; ground for a school site. It was- fouod at about JG3G a year, which gave a site value of at least XSOO an aero. The land beside it was just as valuable; thp\'e were twenty acres of it; and they suggested that his grace should pay. on £10,000 land values.;' The Duke of Buccleuch would begin to think that he had better get; rid of that land to somebody that wanted to use it. : His palace Was assessed at «C 500; in the town a : small !miir Avaa assessed at JC2GO; In the county of Dumfries his:grace owned 263,000 acres.' , .When it ivas valued it would total up to several millions, ■ of pounds, and a very small tax would ask the duke to contribute a largo sum to the needs of the oommunity. ', •Tho Bankruptcy Court. •When the Duke of Buccleuch contributed 'iC-iO.OOO a year he would not coneider that tinkering, with the problem. Provost Brown would buy :him out. Thoy wero going to take it by taxation for the benefit of the people who 'created tjio i value. ,'(Cheers.) They would : compel' him to, use his. land, or he would see the doors of. the Bankruptcy Court before him, because they .were not going to permit any. great ,monopolist to hold his land from use. •' Ho did not say his graco was an example so much of witliolding land, but there were other men withholding land from use, and' they would bo compelled to-have the land used. . The Liberal Party,. ho said* were not going to buy out tho land monopolists. They held that the land values belonged to the people,: who'were entitled to take what belonged to them without,'paying for it; A member of tho audience suggested that 'the landlords ougEt to be kicked out. "We will tax them out," Mr. Outhwaito' replied.',/ Prom 'a small and moderate beginning, he explained, the Liberal Party would, proceed step by step .with the .'..taxation of land values. 1 He scouted; the : idea of buying the landowners out. If they could even produce a. paper title to .their lands'!t would only provo that their ancestors had:been oonfiscators and robbeTS, and that the people were only coming intq tlioir own again.