advice in doing so is a burden on those who own even the smallest landed
property and causes real hardship and injury. It discourages people from
acquiring small properties.

The only other source of additional revenue in immediate contemplation
appears to be the luxury tax. If this can be levied so as to fall on
articles which are really luxuries, i.e., things not required for full
and healthy life, the effect of such a tax should be wholly beneficial.
If, notwithstanding the tax, people go on buying such luxuries the State
will gain. If, on the other hand, the effect of the tax is to check
expenditure on luxuries it will be a gain to the country, because its
productive power and its purchasing power will be used to obtain
articles which are really valuable and do promote national welfare. The
idea that those who spend money on luxuries are helping trade, and so
benefiting others, ought to have been exploded long ago. If the industry
which has been devoted to producing articles which are really useless
were diverted to producing things of utility, the aggregate of human
happiness would be greatly increased. A difficulty in applying the tax
is that the price of an article is little criterion as to whether it is
a luxury or not.

There are two other sources from which additional revenue might be
obtained.

First, to impose again an export duty on coal. Such a duty would help
rather than hinder British industry. That industry is dependent
absolutely on the supply of coal. British Coal Measures are an asset
which enables the country to keep industries going, but it is a wasting
asset. Deeper and better mining may have upset calculations made by
Professor Jevons many years ago when he warned the country of the