The purpose of this article is to make clear the historical factors, the contents, and the historical significance of the reform of the death duties of 1894. The conclusions the author could draw are summed up as follows. First, the reform of the death duties of 1894 was proposed in order to solve the urban housing-problem which had been caused by the existing systems of urban rates and death duties, and also to meet the expanding naval expenditure since the mid 1880's. Second, so far landed property, unlike personalty, was altogether exempted from the probate duty, and charged only upon the value of life-interest of successor therein with the succession duty, on the ground that under a system of settlement the owner of the land had only a life estate and no power to dispose of the land in fee simple. Therefore, after the enactment of the Settled Land Act of 1882 which conferred a tenant for life all the powers that an owner in fee simple could execuse, the reform of the death duties of 1894 was accomplished. Third, the reform of the death duties of 1894 concretized the new principle of taxation that all property passing at death, whether real or personal, and whether settled or not settled, should be taxed upon it's principal value at graduated rates. The new principle was gradually realized since the early 1880's. Fourth, the reform of the death duties of 1894 implys a change in the composition of classes of the British capitalism. Namely, by the reform of 1894 landed classes were for the first time taxed to the same extent as capital classes, which means that interests of the capital classes (and working classes) were able to be carried through at the sacrifice of the landed classes that had restricted the development of the former classes because of their acquisition of the "unearned increment" of land. Fifth, and last, though the land taxers had demanded not only a new death duty on real property but also a special rate on land, the reform of 1894 realized only the new death duty and not the special rate, which came to be realized eventually as the Land Value Duties in the "People's Budget" of 1910.

View full abstract

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the weight and role of the products marketing conducted by the Organized Agricultural Association (Keito Nokai) through the reorganization process of market structure after World War I, when the Japanese capitalism reached its monopoly stage. The products marketing seems to have played a significant role in the time when the agricultural structure changed itself into a more commercialized form. This question has been discussed almost always in connection with its nature of rule, and its functions have not been clarified enough. Therefore, I examined the function and weight played by the products marketing for the distribution of agricultural products through its development. Then a consideration of its role has been made in regard to the market question and policies after World War I. The Keito Nokai became leading supplier of agricultural products to cities after World War I, mostly through the products marketing offices (Hanbai Assen-jo) in major municipalities. The Keito Nokai also organized small peasants in marketing co-operatives, thus promoting the formation of chief porducing districts of vegetables and fruits. It has been revealed that the administration needed to adjust market structure to the monopolized economy. A persistent demand of the 'Ishiguro's Agricultural Administration (Ishiguro nosei)' intended to promote market reorganization by means of co-operative marketing of first-hand producers. The development of these things resulted in an excess trend of supply of agricultural products in the latter half of the 1920s. Consequently, with the centralization of products marketing office network by the Imperial Agricultural Association (Teikoku Nokai) in 1929 as a momentum, priority of products marketing by Keito Nokai shifted to the supply-demand controlling function of vegetables and fruits. With the Depression and its aftermath as a turning-point, the focus of reorganization of market structure shifted to the rice and cocoon market through the enlargement of industrial co-operative (Sangyo Kumiai). Throughout this period, the products marketing of Keito Nokai remained closely related to the commercialized agriculture as the small peasants' side business, which was growing under the depression.

View full abstract

The commercial treaty concluded between England and France in 1860 stipulated the following contents regarding manufactured goods: (1) England to abolish import duties on French manufactured goods. (2) France would abolish the prohibition and diminish import duties on English manufactured goods to less than 30% (25% after 1864) ad valorem. Import duties on bar iron used in railroads, however, should be imposed at specific duty of 70 franc per ton. Accordingly, to discuss the historical significance of this treaty, it is indispensable to appreciate the range of diminution of import duties on manufactured goods by France. From this point of view, the purpose of this paper is, through examining "Enquete de 1860" (Enquete. Traite de commerce avec l'Angletene), to-make clear the differences between English and French production costs of manufactured goods in three industries - cotton, machinery and iron industries - which occupied the important position in French national economy at that time and which were obviously supposed to suffer from the severe competition with English manufactured goods. Through our analysis, it is evident that there was an interlinkage of interests among these three industries concerning the tariff reduction. In the cotton industry, one of the most important factors of high production costs in France was the higher prices of machinery than in England. Similarly, in the machine and mechanical equipment industry, the main factor of high production costs was the higher prices of pig iron and iron. And so, in the iron industry, the primary cause of high production costs in France was the high costs of transportation of ore and fuel (coal and coke). Consequently, the fact is that in France the problem of high costs of transportation in the iron industry was the main point of the issue regarding the reduction of French production costs in all these three industries. High-priced iron in France, however, was the obstacle to the solution of transportation costs because iron was the major railway material and its high price obstructed reduction of transport fees and the building of a new railway network. We can consider, therefore, that the reduction of import duties on iron was expected to afford the solution to this dilemma of high-priced iron and the problem of transportation. This solution was that of the big ironmasters and railway executives, since it would arrouse demand for iron (for railway construction) to lower the production costs of iron. The moderate reduction of tariffs on iron looked towards diminishing production costs of iron in France. Thus, these three industries could cut a path to diminishing the differences of production costs between England and France by means of the impact of the reduction of import duties on iron by means of the commercial treaty of 1860.

View full abstract