Note 95 — XVII. PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SERVICES.

“Public contributions, even when they are consented to by the nation, are a violation of property, seeing they can be levied only on values which have been produced by the land, capital, and industry of individuals. Thus, whenever they exceed the amount indispensable for the preservation of society, we must regard them as spoliation.”—J. B. Say. Traité d’Économie Politique, liv. iii. chap. 9.

Here, again, the subsequent qualification corrects the too absolute judgment previously pronounced. The doctrine that services are exchanged for services, simplifies much both the problem and its solution.