A catalogue of New Books, with remarks and extracts, continued. [603.] Reflections on the domestic policy proper to be obferved on the conclufion of a peace. [602.] EXTRACT. THE population of Britain has been declining for feveral years. Upon the ratification of the peace, the foldiers, failors, and carpenters, difcharged from the public fervice, will probably be no fewer than 40,000 foldiers, 40,000 failors, and 4000 carpenters and labourers, in all 84,000 men. If we fuppofe 16,000 women and children to depend upon thefe, the number of thole deprived of a livelihood will amount to 100,000. In all probability we shall have no hostile difputes in America for many years, but what may be decided by the ftrength of the colonies; which, if the tranquilliy of the inhabitants be fecured, will of hemselves multiply fufficiently.. If the propriety of fettling the troops at home be allowed, we ought next to think of difpofing of them in the most advantageous manner. By multiplying our fettlements on the fea-coafts, and on the banks of navigable rivers, we at the fame time form nurseries for future navies, and render it more easy for great numbers of men to procure a fubfiftence. Were the banks of all the navigable rivers in G. Britain lined with fettlements, it may eafily be conceived what an immenfe population this fruitful island could admit of. Numbers of people are so far from diftreffing one another by their vicinity, that, if they are induftrious, they are mutual helps to each other. If land can be procured cheap in America, fo can it alfo be in Britain. By the confeflion of a gentleman who had a grant of lands at Halifax, the clearing of one acre cot him between forty and fifty pounds; and when it was cleared, it was hardly of any fervice, the foil being of a light, fandy, barren nature. The expences of the fettlement of Nova Scotia for the ten years following the first establishment of it, exclufive of the guards and garrisons in that country, amounted to 582,270 l. and the charge of the outpenfioners in Chellea, during the fame number of years, was 478.4481.; and both united make the fum of 1,060,7181. If the fame plan for providing for the troops be obferved at the following peace, the lanie expences VOL, XXIV. will be incurred during the ten following years. But let us fuppofe the 40,000 foldiers (for we thall fpeak of the carpenters and failors by themselves) to be fettled in twenty establishments, of 2000 nien each, in different parts of Britain, upon lakes or navigable rivers, or places adjoining to the fea, each man having an houfe and an acre of land affigned him, free for ten years, and to be upon the Chellea outpenfion for the first year after the forming of the establishment. There are ma ny places in Britain where the land is ftill lying uncultivated and defolate, and doubtles fome fuck tracts could be found near the sea, or on the banks of the Severn, the Trent, the Oule, the Tyne, the Forth, the Tay, the Clyde, or on the lakes of Scotland; and the rent of fuch, in their prefent condition, cannot be above a fhilling an acre; which makes the rent of the whole for ten years 20,000). Gentlemen who have wide eftates, with fome corners of them un→ cultivated, would even find it for their advantage to give the ground, for fuch fettlements, for ten years, gratis; as at the end of that term they would have 2000 additional tenants, who would be in a capacity of paying rent both for their land and houfes. Houfes built in hutfashion could not exceed ten pounds each, exclusive of the soldiers own labour in erecting them. Those only that are married, who may be reckoned one fifth of the whole number, ought to have houses to themfelves; and the others, who are bachelors, might very well be lodged four in one houfe, till they fhould marry. The number of houfes would then be 16,000, and the expence of erecting them 160,000l. The laft article to be mentioned is the outpenfion for 40,000 men, making the fum of 304,3331. and this added to the two former articles amounts to 484,333 1. which is the whole charge of the fettlements, and is not above two thirds of the expences of the colony at Nova Scotia. The King of Pruflia, before the prefent war, established no lefs than fixty new villages in Pomerania. It may be alledged, that the allowance of one acre to one man is not fufficient, as three acres are generally computed to be requifite for the fubfiftence of one perfon. But it is not intended, either that the fettlers thould draw all their fubftine 4 R cially as in thofe parts the fishery is na temporary employment of a few week Let but might be carried gongding differe -branches, almost the whole year round. fubfiftence from the ground, or that the government thould furnish the whole of it. The cultivation of the land ought to be the employment of only a few; and all of them having a thare in its produce, ought to expect the remaining part of their fubfiftence from their application to fome trade or handicraft. Though they could not at first apply to work with alliduity, yet the application of fix hours a-day mign be expected from them; which would at leaft be worth fix-pence; fo that their fubfiftence in time of peace would not fall short of what it had been in time of war. Their houfes fhould be built contiguous; and all thofe of one trade fhould live together. The foil in Switzerland is even more rugged, and the winter more rigorous, than in the worst parts of this ifland; yet that country we find is extremely populous; and, no doubt, if attention were given to cultivate the highlands,bundance of marl; foothat, were they they would be able to fupport fix times the number of the present inhabitants. It is of ftill greater importance, to procure a fabfiftence for the difcharged failors and carpenters, and to prevent. them from going into the fervice of foreigners at the conclusion of the war. We have taken from the French all their fhipping; confequently, when a free mavigation is opened by the peace, new veffels will be put upon the flocks in all their ports, and the greatest encouragement given to flip-carpenters, who may depend upon conftant employment for a long time. If therefore the French fhould wheedle over 10,000 of our failors and fhip carpenters, who are ungratefully left to ftarve in their own country, ought we 'to be furprised to fee their thipping in a few years in as flourishing a condition as it was before the war, and their commerce as extenfive? To fave ourselves from future regrets, we ought now to make it our ftudy to find fall employment for all our failors and carpenters at home; and this can be effected by nothing fo well as establishing and encouraging an extensive herringfishery. The fmall progrefs we have hitherto made in establishing it, maft be owing either to the expentive or improper means of carrying it on, or to our lighting it from an opinion that it is not a channel of trade worthy of our attention. As the western iflands are allowed to be the very centre of the filhery, would not reafon require that they fhould also be the chief refidence of the filhermen; efpe The Situation of thofe islands is a rable, not only as the filhitsurround ali their coafts, and fill their bays and creeks, which renders large buffess unnecellary, and enables the fishermen stor fleep o fhore feveral nights of the week; but al fo as the navigation from them is foc venient, either to the Northern king doms, the Mediterranean, or the Wel Indies. Their climate is much more mil than that of the opposite continent, Tand their winters are very rarely rigores The foil, though but badly cultivated by the prefent inhabitants, is, however, fertile, that it yields in several plame 30, 60, and even fometimes 100 fold. Almost all the islands contain a great a to be cultivated to their greatest extent, they would admit of being extremely po pulous without any other fupport befides agriculture. 5 The discharged carpenters and fajku ought to be tempted, by confiderable advantages and immunities, to makethole islands the places of their habitation Thofe of them who are married, ought each of them to have fone small allowance for building an houfe; for their privat ftocks cannot be fuppofed to be large and to have a home that a perfon can cali his own, is no fmall inducement to fo briety and industry. If they should even, be freed from the payment of all taxes and duties for feven years, and their ports be left open, on conditioni forteiting this laft privilege, if they ported more than what ferved for their own confumption, the public reverr would fcarce feel any diminution. A they could not be fuppofed to have much money, they could purchase nothing from foreigners but by the fale of their o ftaple commodity; and to indulge the with the free bartering of it to supply their own confumption, would be a powerf inducement to their fettling in the iflands. This would also be a great temptati to foreigners to fettle there, if at th fame time they were allowed the full e joyment of all the privileges of nativ fubjects. The bounty ought to be li mited folely to thofe fish that are carrie to a foreign market. It would be pr dent not to aim at carrying on the fithe Dec. 1762. Domeftic policy proper to be observed on a peace. alt at once in the most extenfive manner. Let us givesour chief attention to promotelit im thofe places where the natural advantages of carrying it on are moft apparent, and no matter how fmall, or how weak, its first beginnings are; if we perfevere in cherishing a vital principle, it will increate annually, and in a fhort time diffufe itfelf widely through the whole nation. The reftricting the chief bounties and privileges to those who fhould fish in the Wettern islands, could not in the least make the undertaking the less national. Though many of the difcharged carpenters and failors fhould not agree to engage in the fishery, and fettle in the Western iflands, they ought nevertheless to be provided for by fome other establishments in Britain. Let us make an eftimate of the expences of tenders and prefs gangs, who ought to be otherwife employed, of bounties for feamen, of the increased wages of failors on board the merchant-fhips, and of the extravagant infurance paid for merchandife and hipping, the charge of all these during a war, would amount to a much higher fum than what would be required for maintaining a standing body of feamen during many 1 years of peace. If, befides the expence of thefe articles, we confider the inconvenience of not being able to profecute a war for the first two or three years to any advantage, how improvident will our paft conduct appear? 1 ·659 vantage arifing from his traffick, namely, by the balance of money that they bring in to us, affirm, that Guadalupe is of more importance to the nation than Canada; and that if we are to restore one of them at the peace, it ought to be the latter, as all the commodities that can be imported from thence are not a third of the value of thofe which Guadalupe can furnish us with. But to thole who think peace, fecurity, and fuch an union of territory as doubles the ftrength of the whole, to be the most confiderable national advantages, Canada and its dependencies will appear of more import.. ance to us than the most wealthy of the French. Weft-India iflands. England draws ten times as much money from Portugal as from Scotland, yet its union with the latter is of infinitely more importance to it than its connection with the former kingdom. The retaining of Canada, in all probability, will fave this nation the expence of many millions, by cutting off any occafion of a rupture in thofe parts, and will foon double our strength on the continent of America: but we can hardly reap any advantage from the poffeflion of Guadalupe that we could not acquire by cultivating the neutral islands in its neighbourhood. Most of our writers on national affairs, both ancient and modern, feem to have almost wholly overlooked the great advantages of population and internal traffick, but have enlarged without cealing on the benefit of foreign trade; and the fame partial and mercenary fpirit seems in times paft to have even infected our national councils. For one act in favour of agriculture, we have twenty in favour of commerce, and almost every year there are proposals canvaffed for cultivating fome new branch of foreign trade. Suppofe the whole ifland of Britain contained double the number of its prefent inhabitants, and the cultivation of its lands was alfo doubled, it could not be long before its foreign commerce would be greatly enlarged, without one new act of parliament in its favour, and the state would be twice as powerful as it now is, even though it were not fo rich. The wealth acquired by commerce is confidered by writers on trade as the fummum bonum of a ftate; and that channel which brings in moft money is by them judged most, proSome who erroneously estimate the na- fitable, though it perhaps prevents us tional advantages arifing from our con- from pursuing another which would give quefts, as the merchant computes the ad-employment to twice the number of people; Now allo is the time for making the neceflary works at Milford haven [xx. 516.] to fit that place for a royal dock yard. But care ought to be taken to form it upon a lefs wafteful plan than that of the other yards. More particularly, a reform ought abfolutely to be made in two material articles; I mean the tap house and the chips. The porter is allowed the privilege of keeping an open beer-boufe in the middle of the yard, which ferves as a lounging-place for fots and idle workmen. The chips that fall from the axe are the perquifite of the carpenters, but this pretended privilege is fhamefully abufed by many workmen, who make up their bundle of chips by cutting useful wood to pieces, by which it may be easily demonstrated, that, in time of war, the government lofes more than 100,000l. annually. 4 R 2 but no but in their opinion atter how few quantity of beer and all other excifeable people, provided the of trade be large. "If a perfon at home earns annually forty pounds, fpends forty pounds, the nation (they affirm) is nothing the better for him; but one perlon employed in commerce will, from the bar lance of the trade carried on by him, bring annually five pounds into the nation; confequently it is the trader alone that advantages the ftate." But let us fuppofe the perfon ftaying at home, and fending all that he earns, to beget four children, he will in that view be as valuable a member of the commonwealth as the other, if he has no other merit to plead than that of adding five pounds yearly to the national ftock. Our WeftIndia planters, in the valuation of their properties, rate the negro children at eight or ten pounds a head; is it not then reafonable, that free-born children, in eftimating the national stock, fhould be vaJued at twice as much as négroes, as the arts and trades followed by them are of more importance to a state than the manual labour of flaves? Suppofe we thould double our commerce, without the acquifition of new people,(which might be done, if all who are idle in the nation were fet to work, and new machines were invented, for fhortening labour); yet, even on this fuppofition, the public revenue would thereby be but very little augmented. But were the number of fubjects to be doubled, though our commerce were hardly of greater extent than at prefent, either the public revenue would be doubled, or the taxes would be lowered half." It is allowed that there is not act on abundance of money in France as in this ifland, and that the people here in general are much richer than the French. How comes it then that their revenue is fo very confidérable? The answer is plain, namely, that they have more than twice the number of fubjects that we have to raile it upon. Eighteen millions of people paying ten fhillings a-bead, will raie a greater revenue than eight millions of people who are able to pay fifteen fhillings each. If there were double the prefent inhabitants in this ifland, there would be double the number of houfes, and the, value of land would also be doubled;, confequently the land tax would amount to a fum twice as large as at fuppofition there would be double the b. On the fame 3 commodities confumed, which would al fo double the revenue in that branch. But befides the increase of revenue, our commerce could not fail of being enlarged, which would augment the number of our failors, and the state would also be able to raile armies twice as numerous as the pre fent, without diftreffing our manufactures. The power and greatness of the kingdom then depends much more upon numbers of people, if they are but fo employed as to prevent the nation from losing by its fo reign traffick, than upon the balance of trade, however confiderable it may be As numbers of people are of the great eft importance to a state, and it is gene rally acknowledged that there is a great deficiency of population in this ifland, ought not we to encourage foreign Proteftants to fettle among us? The filing of rents, while money is every day finking in its value, is but a mere imaginary augmentation of an eftate; but by increa fing the number of occupiers and confumers, both land and motley would rile in value, and an estate might in that cafe be reckoned really improved. ad gun Let us, as I before obferved, confider Britain as the centre of a vast empire, and the trunk that fuftains many large and wide-fpreading branches, it will be evident that foreign commerce needs no longer be our principal concern; but that we ought to give our chief attention to the peopling of this fertile land to the remoteft corners of it, that it may be able from itfelf to protect its diftant fettlements, afford them manufactures at an caly rate, and alio fupply them occafionally with new fettlers, as emigrations thither will now probably be more frequent than they have been for fome time paft. G. Britain could never fo eafily fubfift without foreign commerce as s at prefent, for the productions of all foils and all chimates may now be found in British temitories. Au extenfive state, if it is at the fame time very populous, could not fail of being rich and powerful, though the whole of its manufactures were contumed within itself. The Chinefe have but little foreign trade, yet their domeftic and internal traffick maintains upwards of ninety millions of inhabitants. The foreign commerce of the Turks is but very inconfiderable; yet no body will deny but The Rulians, though their country is that they are a very formidable power. Dec.1762. 012 A catalogue of New Books. Poetry. 1 thinly peopled, and they are far from ap waved bounding in wealth, mare nevertheless a potent nation, and capable of defending themicives again it any fate, an extensive state If thefes nations, who have territory are formidable without foreign commerce; loayBritain, if we maintain our fuperiority at fea, and turn sour attention to the further peopling of this inland and the territories belonging to it. Not that I would with the least decay in our foreign trade on the contrary, the augmenting the number of people in this ifland would not only increase our power, but would be the truest and easiest way of enlarging our commerce. I only mean, that, confidering the extent of the British dominions, both in Europe and America, it is a narrow view to regard this nation merely as a commercial state; and the groffeft abfurdity, voluntarily to wish ourfelves in the fame fituation with the Dutch, as to extent of territory, for the fake of having a large balance of wealth, flowing in to us from all our neighbours. The improving of our natural advantages, that is, the peopling our wide dominions, but more particularly the inland of Britain, with multitudes of industrious inhabitants, would render us both powerful and wealthy, without the support of foreign trade, which feems every day becoming more and more precarious, from the fuccefsful rivalship of many of our eighbouring states. 1 101 BOL ONDO N. 1 - 3.2 12! POLITICA L. An impartial inquiry into the right of the French King to the territory west of the Mislifippi, not ceded by the preliminaries. 1's. Ni coll 1 An historical account of the naval power of France, from its foundation to the prefent time. I s. Payne By J. Maffic. One more letter to the people of England. 1 s. Not S's. An incohe6 d. Pridden. rent rhapsody. M. Reasons why Lord *** fhould be made a public example. 1 S. Burnet, Irony wielded with dexterity and fuccefs. C. A full, clear, and fuccinct difcuffion of the preliminaries. Is. Williams.mentary o --- A dull com- A view of the prefent state of public affairs, in Caste in favour of LB, MI valvąThe reßt of the books are deferred.]??! ELEGT on the death of a LADY. buno. - eines By Mr MASON. 1/ THE mithight clock has foll'd; and, hark, Hell Of death Beats!heard ye the note profound? It paufes Yes Fling and now? with rifing knell, the hollow gale its fullen found. is dead. Attend the ftrain, Danghters of Albion! Ye that, light as air, So oft have tript in her fantaftic train, " With hearts as gay, and faces half as fair: She breathes the folemn dictates of the dead. O catch the awful notes, and lift them lond; Ip (till fmall whispers to Reflection's ear, (head; Proclaim the theme, by fage, by fool, rever'd; Hear it, ye young, ye van, ye great, ye proud z 'Tis Nature fpeaks, and Nature will be heard. Yes, ye fhall hear, and tremble as ye bear, While, high with health, your hearts exulting leap: The mental monitor (hall wake, and weep. What brighter planet on your births arofe; Ye flip the nectar of each varying bloom: To you so long a span? Alas, ye sigh: Make |