tithes (a fubject which feems to have led all the agents of the Board of Agriculture out of their depth) is detected and corrected in the author's confideration of Mr. Pitt's estimate.

"In the third article of this estimate, the income derived from tithes is eftimated at 5,000,000l. on the authority of Mr. A. Young; who, more than twenty years ago, ftated this as their annual produce.

"

By what conjectures, or computations, Mr. Arthur Young was induced to affert that the annual produce of tithes amounted to 5,000,000l. I confess I am utterly at a loss to imagine; and the more fo, because I fhall bring proofs little fhort of demonftration, that, even now, the gross income derived from them by both clergy and lay impropriators is not at most more than 2,850,000l.*; and that, after deducting taxes, and other disbursements, the clear income scarcely exceeds one half of Mr. A. Young's very exaggerated estimate."

The grofs exaggerations and extreme ignorance of Mr. Middleton, as difplayed in his " View of the Agriculture of Middlesex," are next exposed, and holden up to that mixture of indignation and contempt which they are fo well calculated to excite. We are truly concerned to be reduced to the neceffity of reminding so refpectable a fociety as the Board of Agriculture of the old admonition-Ne futor ultra Crepidam; but really when they bestow gold medals on fuch writers as Mr. Middleton, fuch an admonition is highly requifite. Mr. Middleton had estimated the income, derived by landlords from their lands, at no less than 42,000,000l.; Mr. Beeke fhews the grofs abfurdity of this eftimation, and reduces the fum to 20,000,000l. which is certainly much nearer the truth. Mr. M. had eftimated the whole of England and Wales at 46,916,000 acres, whereas Mr. B. clearly fhews that they contain no more than 38,500,000. Again Mr. M. rates the population of London and Middlesex at 650,000 fouls; but Mr. B. ftates it at 1,000,000; and we much question whether even this estimate is not too low. In fhort, never did

This income is almost equally divided between the clergy and laity; for, on an investigation of various facts refpecting the fate of this property, I find it very probable that the parochial clergy derive at prefent from tithes, ftill payable, an income of about 1,350,000l.; that lay impropriators receive about 1,200,000l.; and the leffees of tithes belonging to the fuperior clergy and the univerfities, about 300,000l. a year, of which they pay for referved rents, and fines to the leffors, about a third part; that is, 100,000 a year. Deductions must be made for taxes, poor-rates, and other affeifments, which collectively will take off at least 12 per cent."

we

we meet with a more inaccurate writer than this felf-fufficient land-furveyor; never was a man more confident in assertion, nor more deficient in proof!

On the fubject of population Mr. Beeke appears to have bestowed very great attention, and the refult of his enquiries is highly fatisfactory. He concludes that England and Wales contained no lefs than 220,000 labouring families, or 1,100,000 individuals, more, in the period from 1794 to 1798 than in the period from 1779 to 1783; and he conceives, that our population in England and Wales is at prefent encreasing at the rate of about 120,000 annually fubject to no other abatement than a proportion of the military and feafaring loss, which, both together, fo far as they affect this kingdom only, cannot have exceeded ten or fifteen thousand a year. But on this interesting topic we fhall fuffer the author to speak for himself.

"In attempting to calculate from data, which had never before been made ufe of, I could not hope to escape fome errors, which fuller information and repeated confideration of the fubject have enabled me to detect. But it is no fmall gratification to me to be able to say that I was not betrayed into any exaggeration. I have fince collected a confiderable body of evidence, which, when properly examined, uniformly confirms my affertion, that the population of England and Wales is really not much lefs than 11,000,000; and fhows that a greater portion of it is agricultural than I even ventured to fuppofe; and that it has been, and fill is, increafing with a rapidity which far exceeds the opinions that are generally entertained refpecting it.

"I fhall not detain the reader from the immediate object of inquiry by any minute detail of the facts on which thefe affertions are founded; because I hope that a fhort time will enable me to offer to the public, a " View of the Progrefs and prefent State of the Population of England and Wales," which will contain authentic documents that confirm all I have faid on this fubject in its fullest extent.

"From thefe documents, it will appear probable that the population of England and Wales (which is generally admitted to haye been about 6,500,000 in the year 1700, and which rather diminifhed till after the peace of Utrecht), had, in the year 1757, when the militia was first raised by ballot, increased to rather more than eight millions. From that time to the end of the American war, the increase amounted to about one million; and fince the conclufion of that war, has amounted to almoft two millions more, making the present number between 10,500,000 and 11,000,000. It is also probable that this increase is now continuing at the rate of confiderably more than 100,000 annually, after deducting all commercial and military wafte.

"The caufes of this rapid increafe are not at all difficult to ex

plain; and the proofs of it reft on the militia lifts and others of a fimilar kind; en parochial regifters; on the proportion of houses affeffed to the whole number; on the diftribution and employments of the people; and on a comparison of those documents with actual enumerations.

"If it had occurred to Dr. Price to refer to the militia lifts, or even only to ftate his argument from affeffed houses, by separate counties, instead of reafoning from the aggregate number, there can be little doubt but that he would immediately have discovered the causes of his mistake, in calculating the population at littlé more than half the true number when he wrote; and the general prejudices on this subject would long fince have been removed.

"In the premises on which he founded his calculation of the population of Middlesex and London, there are three very important and demonftrable mistakes, by which the number depending on that calculation is reduced more than one-fifth.

"London and Middlesex increased very rapidly during the early part of the present century, but diminithed for a confiderable fpace of time after the ruinous South Sea year, and have again very remarkably increased fince 1770.

"The population of both together was

in 1700 about 620,000

In eftimating the falaries and fees of individuals employed by Government, he introduces the following very pertinent remark, which we ftrenuously recommend to all the admirers of the French Revolution, and of Thomas Paine's "cheap form of government."

"In almost every other country but Great Britain a far greater fum, in proportion to the general income, ought to be allowed for thofe perfonal fervices than is neceffary in the present compu

tation.

"How much these expences would be increased, by adopting the principle of general political equality, may be judged by the following inftance. Among other popular measures of the confular government of France, there is one which has been very recently adopted, and by which there will be a great faving of the public money. In lieu of an enormous departmental establishment, which for nine or ten years has wafted the wealth of France, the old fyftem of Intendants is restored under the new name of Prefects; who, together with Sub-prefects, &c. &c. transact the principal bufinefs with refpect to public works, &c. and act as commiffioners for directing the affeffment of taxes, and hearing appeals respecting them. All this bufinefs is, hereafter, to coft the French nation no more than the comparatively moderate fum of about one milhon ferling annually. In Great Britain the whole of this fervice is

done

done by perfons of the higher claffes: and, in almoft every inftance, is done without any pecuniary recompence at all-without even an indemnification for their neceffary expences."

Towards the conclufion of this tract, there are fome very judicious remarks on the unequal operation of the income tax, arifing from the rate of payment not being duly proportioned to the ability to pay. It always appeared to us that the exaction of the tenth part of a man's income who had lefs than 400 or 5òol. per annum, muft fubject him to greater inconvenience than any to which the exaction of a fimilar proportion of the higher rates of income could poffibly fubject their poffeffors. We always, too, were of opinion, that no individual in the kingdom fhould be exempted from fome contribution (however trifling) to the public exigencies, in order that he might feel that he had an interest in the country, and a duty to difcharge towards her. So far, then, we agree with Mr. B. " that as the scale begins too late, so it ftops too foon;" though with him we are aware of the extreme difficulty of providing a remedy for such inequalities.

"For obvious reafons, refulting from these remarks, the progreffion of the scale, in point of common equity, ought to be more equable than it now is. A family of 1051. a year income, is probably not fo well able to pay the fame fum to this tax as one of 901. a year, if the former keep a maid-fervant, and the latter do not keep one; a difference which generally exifts between their ways of living. And for many fimilar reafons, on a fair analysis of the expenditure of different claffes, it will be found that even if the tax were equally levied from its commencement, there would no families on whom it would bear fo heavily as those between 3 and 4ool. a year, because there are none whose incomes are fo inadequate to their stations and general habits of life.

I could therefore very much with that the scale should be extended from 50 to 5001. a year; and, if the progreffion of it were altered, this might not only be done without diminution of the total produce; but the fcale would become more equitable, and far more produttive.

"It appears to me that by fome inadvertence, or misapprehenfion, the prefent progreflion of the fcale is exactly the reverse of what in theory it ought to be. The principle of an abatement is, I prefume, adopted upon an idea, that in proportion as the incomes are fmaller, there is lefs ability to pay. In that cafe the rate of abatement, inftead of being greatest at the point where it commences, that is, between 200 and 1951. a year, ought, beyond a doubt, to be leaft there; and to increafe as the incomes diminish, inftead of being in its prefent form.

"But if the rate of increase in the fcale, inftead of being reverfed, were only made equal through its whole prefent extent,

ther

then the fame income which now pays only 1,857,000l. would pay no less than 2,814,000; and if the fcale were reverfed, it would pay almost 5,000,000l. which if added to the 4,690,000l. paid by those who are affeffed at full 10 per cent. would be about 9,650,0001. *, subject to expences of collection. But a more equable fcale, though lefs productive, would for many reafons be far more eligible."

We shall finish our account of this highly useful and meritorious work with fome of the author's concluding reflections, which will prove him to be as loyal a subject, as the extracts which we have made have fhown him to be an able writer. After stating that having, with the aid of the fame data and the fame reafoning, as he has now employed, been enabled to predict the refult of the triple affeffment; and having been equally fuccefsful in fome other calculations of a fimilar nature, he was emboldened to stand forward with fmoe confidence on the present occafion.

:

"In both inftances the chief caufe of the mistake has been precifely the fame in both it has originated in very exaggerated notions of the wealth and incomes of the higher claffes, when compared with thofe of the whole community. Such mistakes are at all times mifchievous, because in the best times they have a tendency to introduce political regulations, founded on an erroneous hypothefis; but they must be peculiarly mischievous fo long as the fpirit of fpeculative anarchy retains any portion of its recent activity, and endeavours to exert its malignant influence over the, minds of the populace.

"A part of the first edition of this pamphlet was printed before Mr. Pitt's fpeech in June 1799, in which he took credit for the produce at 7,500,0001. By that speech I was confirmed in my own calculations on this fubject, and the event has proved that they were not greatly erroneous. If my opinion had been founded on any circumstances tending to deprefs the national spirit; to reprefent us as exhaufted, enfeebled, impoverished, and unable to perfevere in the glorious firuggle which we have hitherto made with fo much energy, for our own political existence, and for the general liberty of Europe; if it were not, on the contrary, founded on a conviction that we have been chiefly involved in this conteft from the general ignorance on the continent of our real strength; from a belief that our fyftem of finance was founded on a bafis

*

"It is, I think, very evident that the produce of the tax would not have fallen much below Mr. Pitt's original statement, if the scale of abatement had not decreafed fo rapidly in the upper part of it, and if the modifications refpecting timber, affeffed taxes, agricultural incomes, and children, had not been fubfequently introduced."