Welsh Journals

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Between 1799 and 1853 strangers were able to purchase the tax as a fee farm rent. By 1884-5 somewhat less than half the tax had been redeemed. In 1949 the tax came to an end, with the compulsory redemption of the amount still unredeemed. In the course of time personal property largely slipped out of assessment and the main burden of the tax fell upon real estate. It was generally unpopular and the subject of much parliamen- tary and other controversy. Assessments were probably unrealistically low, and sometimes eccentric2. They were believed to be frequently influenced by the political power of land owners. As real economic indicators the documents transcribed below must therefore be treated with considerable reserve. The following assessments for Wales were made in the Act of 1702 and continued unchanged, apart from occasional small variations in the figures of pence, in every subsequent annual Act (including that of 1794) imposing the rate of 4/- in the pound. In years where the rate was lower the figures were reduced proportionately, by one quarter for each shilling reduction in the rate. The lists are in alphabetical order of counties, preceded by such of their subdivisions as are separately assessed and Monmouthshire appears among the English counties between Mid- dlesex and Norfolk. The Welsh entries below appear at the end of the lists of English counties. Isle of Anglesea £ 1633- 7-11 Borough of Brecon 177-19- 8 County of Brecon 2873-18- 4 County of Cardigan 1372-16- 2 County Borough of Carmarthen 229-18- 8 County of Carmarthen 4140- 3-11 Vi County of Carnarvon 2337- 6- 7 County of Denbigh 6800- 0- 0 County of Flint 2314-17- 0 County of Glamorgan 7906- 9-10 County of Merioneth 2432-15-10 County of Montgomery 5852-18- 4 County of Pembroke 2997-17- 81/2 County of Radnor 2692- 6- 0 Town and County of Haverford West 174-17- 4 £ 43937-13- 4 County of Monmouth 9812- 6- 51/2 [Total for Wales £ 53741-19- 91/2] The manuscript contains returns of land tax for 1794 in four sheets of paper which I have numbered in the transcript as follows: I, a double sheet, now in two pieces along the line of a vertical fold, measuring approximately 30 x 36cm, for the town of Machynlleth written on the whole of one side and half of the other, II and III each measuring approximately 30 x 16cm. 2The rate of 121/ld was presumably all that was needed to secure the sum determined by the commissioners "with Equality and Indifference" as due from Machynlleth. It may be an example of "some extremely excentric assessment practices" which Ward (op. cit. p. 143) mentions in discussing the period 1776-98. The absence of fractions of pennies in the figures for the three rural townships and the fact that there are only three figures below 4/- suggests that in them a higher rate may have been applied.