104 
THE ABCOF TAXATION 
let there be heard the voice of the Christian Church, 
as found in the doctrine of St. Thomas Aquinas when 
he says: 
Human law is law only in virtue of its accordance with right 
reason, and it is thus manifest that it flows from the eternal 
law. And in so far as it deviates from right reason it is called 
an unjust law. In such case it is not law at all, but rather a 
species of violence. 
This is reiterated in the teachings of the Catholic 
Church, notably in the Encyclical of Pope Leo XI11. 
on the Condition of Labour, and is referred to in the 
following quotation from a prominent Catholic priest: 
As to all property, land included, the Pope lays down the 
law of the Church in this comprehensive sentence; “The right 
to possess property is from nature, not from man; and the State 
has only the right to regulate its use in the interests of the public 
good, but by no means to abolish the right to possess it altogether. 
The State is, therefore, unjust and cruel, if in the name of 
taxation, it deprives the private owner of more than is just.” 
It follows from this declaration that if the single tax theory 
as presented by its advocates aims at no more than to “regulate” 
the right of property in land “in the interests of the public 
good,” and not “to abolish it altogether,” or to take away 
from the private owner of land, “in the name of taxation,” more 
than is just,* surely such a proposal is not condemnable on 
ethical grounds. 
Now, if 1 understand the aims and claims of the Single Tax 
League, it clearly recognises the right of private or individual 
ownership of land. It proposes only to levy such a tax upon 
land as will support the government; thus throwing the burden 
of taxation on that part of the value of the land which is not the 
result of the owner’s foresight, intelligence, or labour, but is the 
result of the collective labour, growth, and development of the 
whole community. 
* Henry George, in his Open Letter to the Pope, apparently did not advert to 
these words, “more than is just,” and hence his reasoning is open to the 
charge of lacking that complete justice which was his highest aim.