where it ought not, the more the nation is involved in debts, the more fecure will the prefent establishment be rendered: whereas the very contrary of this appears to my plain understanding; for certain it is that the increase of the public debts ⚫ and taxes create clamours, difcontent and heartburnings amongst the people; which, at length, terminate in a spirit of difloyalty; and those who are, by principle, diffaffected to the ⚫ present government, take advantage of those discontents, and leave no arts unpractifed to fpread their difaffection as univerfally as poffible. Nor is there any thing that gives the 'enemies of our happy establishment greater uncafiness than • measures that tend to the diminution of our public incumbrances, and the benefit of the public credit.' In the fourth letter we meet with further confiderations on the nature of public credit. He obferves, that, The use ⚫ which the state makes of its credit may be detrimental to the fubject's credit; whereas the multiplied credit of the subjects, if not carried too great lengths in point of time, can never be otherwise than useful to the credit of the state. The ufe which the ftate makes of its credit, may hurt the fubject several ways. ift, By the load of charges it accumulates or perpetuates : whence it is reasonable to conclude, that all alienation of the public revenues is a greater burden to the people, than an increase of impofts only temporary. 2dly, Ways of fubfifting without work, and in reality at the expence of the rest of the community, are introduced by the means of public loans. The confequence is, that the culture of the lands is neglected; money goes out of trade, ⚫ which dwindles, and at last falls, and with it perish manufactories, navigation, agriculture, the facility of collecting the public revenues; and in short, those revenues themselves by degrees. If, however, the decline of commerce be fufpended by local circumstances, or a number of uncommon facilities concurring, the progrefs of the disorder will be flow, but ftill it will be felt by degrees. 3dly, From their being lefs trade and more wants in the ftate, it follows; that the number of borrowers will be greater than that of lenders. The intereft of money will therefore 'keep keep up higher than is confiftent with the plenty of it; and 'that inconvenience becomes a new obftacle to the increase of 'commerce and agriculture. 4thly, The high intereft of money induces foreigners to • remit theirs in order to become creditors of the ftate. I shall "not dwell on the puerile prejudice of those who call the acquifi❝tion of that money an advantage: unlefs where the commer'cial intereft of states are mutually connected. The rivals of a nation unconnected in their trading-interefts, have not a 'more certain way to ruin its commerce and enrich themselves, than by being concerned in its public debts. เ 5thly, Public debts are attended with extraordinary means ' or impofts, whereby immenfe fortunes are made very foon and without risk. Other ways of gaining are, on the con< trary, flow and uncertain: for which reafon men and money ' will fly from other profeffions. The circulation of fuch commodities as are of moft general ufe is interrupted by that dif proportion, and is not compenfated by the increase of the ' luxury of a few. < 6thly, To let those public debts become money, is adding a voluntary abuse to a neceffary one. The effect of those 'multiplied representations of specie will be the fame as that of an increase of its mafs: commodities will be represented by a greater quantity of metals, which will leffen the fale of them abroad. We have feen, in fits of confidence, before 6 the fecret of those representations was known, the use of 'them give fuch life to general credit, that the rate of interest < has reduced itself naturally: that reduction made fome amends for the inconvenience of the too great rife of the price of things relatively to other nations who paid a higher interest, It would be unwife to expect it now; and all forced reductions are contrary to the principles of public credit.' In the next letter he gives us the substance of a treatise intitled, Negotiant Anglais,to fhew the opinion that fome foreigners entertain of the national debts, and the public credit of the kingdom: The plenty or fcarcity of money, (fays he) is indifferent in a country abstractedly from its political concerns with its neighbours : Sir William Petty and Mr. Davenant have thus calculated the quantity of money neceffary for circulation, Ff 3 Half Half of the revenue of the lands in 1698, A quarter of the revenue of 1,300,000 houses in ditto One week's expence of the people, ditto Mr. Davenant adds to it one fourth of the value of manufacturers £. 5,000,000 5,000,000 760,230 -1,500,000 1,000,000 9,269,230 If inftead of fifteen millions in fpecie, which were in • England in 1698, there had been only feven millions and one half, and at the fame time provifions had been at lefs than half the value, 'tis plain that inftead of 9,269,230 l. deemed neceffary for circulation, there would have been wanting but 4,634,615 7. without any prejudice to industry and commerce, the people would have been as much employed, and the relative plenty of money, would have been in the fame degree in the state, and amongst its members. For let us fuppofe a kingdom which has no foreign relation, if all the parts and different claffes of its people lend one another mutual affiftance, it will be happy, tho' it has little money. If it has a great quantity of money, the productions of art and nature will be reprefented by a greater quantity of fpecie ; but the labor will ftill be the fame, confequently the people will not be a jot the happier.' He finishes the letter with this reflection: The great end to be aimed at by any kind of regulation in our finances, is that of the fubftantial fupport of the public credit, and of the advancement of trade and commerce in confequence thereof. Tampering with the funds to answer other temporary purposes, has not only been a political amufement, but proved the means of increafing our public debts, and enhancing, inftead of leffening our taxes: whereas certain it is, the original pretence of reductions of intereft was, in order to reduce the public debts, and in confequence thereof to reduce our taxes; and till we do this, we muft lofe the commercial dominion in time of peace, however victorious we may be in time of war.' The The enfuing letter contains a number of fenfible queries, concerning the mifapplication of the finking fund; the bad confequence of lowering the intereft of money; the practicability of raifing, if not the whole, at leaft part of the fupply within the year; and the national advantage that would arife from the government's imploying the different counties to furnish what they can afford for the fervice of the public. In the feventh letter, he demonftrates that the raising the fupplies within the year must lower the price of our manufactures, and the better enable us to maintain a competition in trade with our rivals. Having explained the dangerous confequences of raifing taxes on confumption, he observes with Sir Matthew Decker that in the tax upon leather, the price of fhoes is charged with twelve augmentations, which the leather has paid; paffing fucceffively from the hands of the grazier, through thofe of the butcher, tanner, and his workmen, the leather-cutter, fhoemaker, and his workmen, &c. Here are already feven proportional augmentations • of dearness for the fhoes which themselves ufe, an expence 'which every one of them muft regain on the leather itself: then there is the augmentation of the tax itself, and four 'augmentations in proportion to the profit which must be made by the butcher, the tanner, the cutter, and the shoemaker, out of the price thus fwelled of the leather. A like tax will operate the fame effect on the manufactures of candles, foap, beer, &c. But thefe graziers, tanners, fhoemakers, &c. all confume for their own ufe, candles, beer, foap, and other the neceflary commodities that are taxed. Here then are again taxed twelve refpective augmentations on the price of fhocs, from every one of thefe articles. In like manner all do, who contribute to the fabric and commerce of cloth, or any other branch of our woolen manufacturies: for example; from the fhepherd to the wholesale merchant, all ufe fhoes; and every one of them muft charge the augmentation of the price of them upon the wool, and upon the numberlefs operations it muft undergo before it is made into cloth, &c. Thus the augmentations of the tax upon leather, and of all, and any • other Ff4 other tax on the confumption of neceffaries, will be re•peated, ad infinitum, till all these fums are ultimately paid in a lump by the laft confumer. It will not then be hard to believe, that before coming to him, the tax will have been ⚫ more than doubled: especially, if it is observed, that the tax is by every one of those who pay it, and receive it again upon the merchandize, increased at least the intereft of the • advance he has made; reckoning from the first, who pays only the naked taxes thereon. If we add to all this, the fum of the customs and excife • duties thus doubled, the fum of the other taxes, as the landtax, the poor's-rate, &c. it will be found, that the fum• total of these taxes is at least 31 per cent. of the annual expence of the whole people of England. Now, where is the nation with which we can enter into a competition of ⚫ commerce upon equal terms? And what matter is the 1 or 2 per cent, advantage we boast over fome of our rivals in the intereft of money, towards reftoring the equality between them and us ?" In the following letter he fhews how far the price of things may have arisen from the quantity of gold and filver; and how far from the increase of the public debts and taxes. The ninth letter treats of the increase and decrease of real money in a state, and of the price of commodities. Then he draws a comparison between France and this country, which is a very humbling parallel to an English reader. National turns of mind (fays he, p. 219.) have great effects on the intereft of commerce, As vanity is the general character of a Frenchman, fo it conduces to the intereft of a manufacturing people, when it luxuriates in drefs, equipage and furniture. Profufion, drunkenness and debauchery are the faulty exuberance of English eafinefs and fpirit; the latter fhortens the time of labour, and hinders the perfection of it. One half of the lives of the English common people is loft to the public; and the other must be paid for fo much the dearer, which doubles the injury to the state. Those who are absolutely idle do not prejudice the public so much as those who work but half their time; fince their being the greater * number, |