introduction in 1853 of a duty on land and settled property parallel to the legacy duty on free personality. Apart from certain minor alterations, the really vital change was the extension in 1894 of the old probate duty into a comprehensive impost applicable to all the possessions of a deceased person. This Inheritance Tax (to give it its scientific title) operates as a complementary property tax, and is thus an addition to the contribution from incomes derived from large properties. By graduation the charges on large estates in 1908-1909 (before the proposal for further increase in 1909–1910) came to 10% on £1,000,000, and reached the maximum of 15% at £3,500,000. From the several forms of the inheritance taxes the national revenue gained £14,500,000, with £4 million as a supplementary yield for local finance. The expansion of direct taxation is evident on comparing 1840 with 1908. In the former year the probate and legacy duties brought in about one million pounds; the other direct taxes; even including the house duty, did not raise the total to £3,000,000. In 1908 the direct taxation of property and income supplied £51,500,000, or one-third of the total receipts as against less than one-twentieth in 1840. But though this wider employment of direct taxation a characteristic of European finance generally reduced the relative position of the taxation of commodities, there was a growth in the absolute amount obtained from this category of duties. There were also considerable alterations, the result of changes in the views respecting fiscal policy. At the close of World War I the excise duties were at first retained, and even in some cases increased. After some years, reforms began. The following articles amongst others were freed from charge: salt (1825); leather and candles (1830); glass (1845); soap (1853); and paper (1860). The guiding principles were: The removal of raw materials from the list of goods liable to excise The limitation of the excise to a small number of productive articles The placing of the greater part (practically nearly the whole) of this form of taxation on alcoholic drinks Apart from breweries and distilleries, the excise had little field for its work. The large revenue of £35,700,000 in 1907-1908 was derived one-half from spirits (£17,700,000), over one-third from beer, while most of the remainder was obtained from business taxation in the form of licences, the raising of which was one of the features