By the time a horse has passed through twenty different hands, the Government has pocketed as much as the breeder.

When I say the Government, I am wrong; the horse-tax is not included in the Budget.

It is an ecclesiastical prebend.

Cardinal della Dateria throws it in with general episcopal revenues.
"The good shepherd should shear, and not flay his sheep." These are the words of an Emperor, not a Pope, of Rome.
And now I dare not ask of the Holy Father certain protective measures which could not fail to double the revenue of his crown and the number of his subjects.
According to the statistical returns of 1857, the territorial wealth of the Romans is estimated at L104,400,000.

The gross produce of this capital does not reach more than L116,563.