Mr. Gedge introduced the question of a national rate at many meetings of the court of guardians in 1846. He showed that the poor rates then collected annually amounted to about five millions. Nearly the same sum was raised by the property and income tax; and it followed that if only those were rated who paid the latter tax, the charge throughout England and Wales for the support of the poor would not amount to more than sevenpence in the pound. But including all the parties not then chargeable to the property and income tax, and who would be fairly liable to the poor rates, the annual rate would not amount to more than half that sum. This would be a most important difference to the great mass of the rate-payers, whose payments to the relief of the poor would be greatly diminished, whilst they would have the pleasure of knowing that the poor would be better cared for, and that those comforts which they had a right to expect, as producers of wealth, would be placed more immediately within their reach. Mr. Gedge explained that, as all the parishes in the city were incorporated in regard to the relief of the poor, a general rate being raised from all those parishes for that purpose, his proposition was that this general mode of rating should be extended over the whole country, and that a general rate should be raised to be applied for the relief of the poor wherever they were located. He showed that if each parish in this city supported its own poor, the rating would be very unequal, and some of the richest parishes would pay least, while the poorest and more populous would pay most. To prevent this inequality, all the parishes had been incorporated. This had been found to be a great improvement, and it should be further extended. Many persons, fund-holders and others, living in lodgings, were exempted from poor rates. Many large establishments in Cheapside and the middle of London paid no poor rates, because the poor did not live in those localities. Many persons living in fashionable towns also escaped poor rates, for the same reason, while the industrious and the middle classes had to bear the burden. He therefore maintained that there should be a national rate. Most of the members of the court of guardians concurred with these views, and ultimately a petition to Parliament was adopted in favour of a national rate. The petition was duly presented in the House of Commons.