第47章

Page 24, demonstrate England or South Britain to contain 72,000square Miles, or 46,800,000 Acres; he also says, the Province of Holland is computed to contain about a Million of Acres, which is said to contain 2,400,000 Souls, so that England, to be proportionably populous, must have 110 Millions of People; but he says, to allow Room enough for Persons of all Degrees under our British Monarchy, if England were half as populous as Holland, with only 55 Millions of People, it were a good Proportion, and would be near five times our present Number; so that according to him, we must have about eleven Millions of People in England.

He further says, that to people England with this Number, viz. 55 Millions, there are sundry Ways very practicably, by which he hath computed, the present Number may be doubled in 24or 25 Years, and probably quadrupled in about 26 Years; but Ithink England is not capable to sustain double its present Number of Inhabitants, because it is undoubtedly at present above half cultivated and improved, yet I think I have made it evident, we have not near Land enough in Use to support its present Inhabitants.

Dr John Lawrence in his new System of Agriculture, Page 45, says, 'tis believed that almost one half Part of the Kingdom is Commons.

19. If we take the Rents of good Lands in England, at a Medium, to be about 10 Shillings per Acre, and the Rents of bad Lands, at a Medium, to be about two Shillings and Sixpence per Acre, and that their Quantities are near equal, then the Rents of Lands will be about 6 Shillings per Acre now at a Medium; and as far as I can learn 6 or 7 Shillings per Acre at Medium, is as much as the Lands of England are now worth; and I believe I may be bold to say, the Lands of England, at a Medium, have not let for less than one Shilling and Six-pence per Acre for four hundred Years backwards.

20. Money is the Tradesman's working Tools, without which he can't proceed in Trade at all; therefore, since the Increase of Money amongst the People will increase the Price of Things in greater Proportion than the Rents can be raised, the more Money circulates in Trade, the more must the Traders have in their Hands to carry it on; and this will necessarily raise Tradesmen so much nearer the Rank of Gentry, as the Quantity of Cash they circulate is greater in Proportion to the Rents, than it would be if the Price of Things were kept lower, the Way above suggested.

21. I would by no means have us follow their Example of burying our Money, any further, than that every Man should be his own Banker, that is, I would have no publick Banking any ways encouraged; nor any Companies ever incorporated; because, besides many Evils that necessarily adhere to all trading Corporations, their Stock and Bonds have the same Effects as Banking, viz.

operating two Ways at the same time, in their Trade, and in our Markets; so that any thing can always be bought with them, just as if such Paper were Gold and Silver; I say, I would therefore have none of these Things encouraged; and then if Property were but sufficiently diffused amongst the People in general, we might sleep very safe with large Sums under slender Fastenings; for it is Necessity which makes Thieves.

Now if every Man were his own Banker, and Trade put on so good a Foot, as to diffuse Property so effectually, that every industrious and prudent Tradesman, though his Circumstances were not great, might get Money, there would soon be Millions locked up in the Hands of the People of this Kingdom; and as this is the fit and natural Way of burying Money, so this would reduce the Price of our Goods below the Rates, which the Cash, if it were all afloat, would support them at; and which now by Banking and other artificial Moneys, i.e. Paper Effects having the Operation of Money, are certainly, vastly above the Rates which the real Specie itself, which we have now amongst us, would support them at.

But perhaps the Merchants may object, they can't do so much Business without more Hands, if there were no Banking at all; to which I answer, that such as have so much Business as to require a Hand the more on that Account, must employ one; yet I will mention a Practice in Holland well known to many of our Merchants. The Merchants in Holland, frequently make large Payments in a coarse, and therefore a bulky Sort of Specie, called Sea d'Halve, which they deliver each other in Bags unopened, containing 375 Guldens, and numbered, or ticketed without Sides so many, and also weighing so much, which they may tell over at home if they please, and if any thing is found short, the merchant that paid it, on telling him how much it fell short, immediately, without any Questions, makes it good; and if there be an overplus, they always reckon themselves obliged to carry that overplus to the Owner. This honourable Way of dealing in the valuable Article of Money, may possibly seem strange to us, who are not used to it; but I believe if we had no Banking, and our Specie were as coarse and bulky as theirs, the Merchants would soon find it convenient to introduce this Practice amongst them, and no doubt would discharge it as honourably; and then large Payments might be made almost as quick as Draughts on the Bankers with the Entries they occasion, and the necessary Settlements with the Bankers about them afterwards; besides, that the vast Damage arising by Failure of Bankers, would this Way be intirely prevented.

22. The Indians are so politick, as to take only or chiefly Silver, because it's next to impossible it should ever be so plentiful, as to reduce its Value in respect of Gold, which to be sure they know to be continually growing so plentiful in Europe, as to lower its Value in respect of Silver; besides Silver being of so much less value than Gold can't be much diminished but it will be obvious; nor is there near the Temptation to counterfeit it.

What is it therefore, which infatuates us and other Nations to such a Degree, as to carry the Indians almost all our Silver?