After this digression let us return to our Walled Town. From the anteroom we are conducted to the state reception room, and here we are received by the Provost in his long, furred gown and his gold chain of office. He is an old man, grey-bearded, and his courtly manners indicate at once his breeding, his self-respect and his sense of the dignity and significance of his position. From him we learn that only land-holders are burgesses of the town and that no others possess a vote or may hold office; the distinction is less invidious than it might appear, for land-holding is so fundamental a principle in the Walled Towns that there are almost none who cannot qualify. Government is in the hands of the Provost and Council, with a small group of department heads who with the Provost form the executive. Any hundred burgesses may unite for the purpose of choosing one of their number to the Council, and as this particular town contains about three thousand burgesses the Council consists of thirty men who are chosen annually, while the Provost, who is elected by the Council, holds office for ten years. There would appear to be very little legislation; each year the Provost presents, with the financial budget, a programme of legislation, and until this is disposed of, private legislative bills may not be considered. A further guard against the universal curse of democracy, reckless and ill-digested legislation initiated by single individuals, is the provision that any private bill must be indorsed by one fifth of all the Councillors before it can be introduced. Taxation is almost wholly in the form of rent of land, and here the scale is fixed from the moment the land is taken over, while it varies as between arable land, forest, orchard, pasture, garden and “tenement,” _i. e._ land on which is a dwelling. If through his own industry a land-holder improves any portion of his holding, he receives a rebate on his taxes; if he allows any land to degenerate, his tax is increased. The tax revenue is supplemented by various fees, small in amount and not numerous, and by the “gate tax” imposed on those from outside who are admitted to buy or sell within the walls. Public indebtedness is prohibited by law, the revenue must always meet the annual expenditure, and no bonds secured by public credit may be issued.