The rent was originally 180_l._, which was raised to 200_l._ when the lease was renewed in 1892; _i.e._ the rent was originally 1_l._ 5_s._ per square yard, and is now 1_l._ 8_s._ per square yard. 'The rateable value' has been gradually pushed up from 150_l._ to 184_l._, and the gross value has lately been set down at 220_l._, or 10 per cent. more than the rent (because the tenant undertakes to do the repairs). The changes other than rent have been as follows:— +----------------------+------------+------------+ | | 1873 | 1896 | +----------------------+------------+------------+ | | £ _s._ _d._| £ _s._ _d._| |Income Tax } | | | |Inhabited House Duty} | 9 15 0 |14 18 4 | |Parochial Rates |30 0 0 |55 19 4 | |Water | 6 8 0 | 7 10 6 | | +------------+------------+ | Total | 46 3 0 | 78 8 2 | |Rent |180 0 0 |200 0 0 | | +------------+------------+ | Grand total |226 3 0 |278 8 2 | +----------------------+------------+------------+ Thus it will be seen that the cost of this house (which has not been enlarged in any way) has been increased by 23 per cent. The rent has increased 11 per cent., or 20_l._ a year. The rates have increased by nearly 87 per cent., or very nearly 26_l._ a year. The imperial taxes have increased nearly 53 per cent., or 5_l._ 3_s._ 4_d._ per year, and the water by nearly 18 per cent., or 1_l._ 2_s._ 6_d._ per year. It will be noted that while the tenant in this case submitted to an increase of 11 per cent., the charges over which the tenant has practically no control have increased in a much higher ratio, and now amount to 78_l._ 8_s._ 2_d._, or more than 10_s._ 6_d._ per square yard of occupied land, the total cost of the house being 1_l._ 18_s._ 6_d._ per square yard, or, including repairs, more than 2_l._ per square yard. The total obligatory charges (rent, rates, taxes, and water), which in 1873 were 226_l._, had risen in 1896 to 278_l._ In the same time the interest on 100_l._ invested in Consols has fallen from 3_l._ 5_s._ to 2_l._ 10_s._ In 1893 a sum of 7,000_l._ invested in Consols would have paid the obligatory charges on this house. In 1896 these charges could only be met by a sum of 11,000_l._ invested in Consols. Looked at in this way, the cost of the dwelling has risen 57 per cent. in 23 years, the size of the dwelling remaining constant. The charge for water has been included because no house is habitable without it, and in this case the tenant cannot sink a well, because the house is totally without curtilage of any kind, and the rain-water having fallen through the London air is so foully dirty as to be unusable.