Money Answers All Things [11]
Plagues: Therefore, the Quantity of Land, which every Year should be taken in and cultivated, must be at least a 360th Part of the Quantity at present in Cultivation. Now if England be 320 Miles long, and 290 Miles wide, it must, supposing its Length and Breadth to be every where alike, contain 92800 square Miles: But as England is not so regular a Figure, I suppose it will be needful to deduct a Third of its Content for its Irregularity, Towns and Rivers; and then there will be about 62000 square Miles contain'd in it. Now suppose that at present, but about half, that is, 31000 square Miles are cultivated, a 360th Part of that, viz. 86 square Miles at least, should every Year be further added, and taken into Cultivation, to hold Proportion to the natural Increase of Mankind: And if a greater Part of England be already improv'd than I have supposed, or if Mankind increase much faster than Sir William Pettis above asserts, then the Addition every Year must be greater too in such Proportion. But as nothing like this hath hitherto been done, it's evident to Demonstration, That hence all Trades, Occupations, Manufactures and Profession, are overstock'd with Numbers, and embarrassed. and hence Rents have been advanced by the Demand the Increase of People hath occasion'd for Land; and hence Living is become much more chargeable than formerly, and the People less able to support themselves; besides, the inhancing the Price of Necessaries hath either advanced our Commodities, or made them so much worse, that our Neighbour Nations have not taken so many of them as they would otherwise have done, and we probably must have taken more Commodities of them for this Reason. And thus, I doubt not, the Ballance of Trade is against us, that is, the Gold and Silver this Nation have by this Means been really diminished; and the prodigious Exportation of Gold and Silver of late Years is a strong Indication of it, whatever Pretences may be advanced concerning it to the contrary. Beside that the Exchange, especially for Holland, hath of late Years been considerably below the Value of our Coin, as the Exchange with every Nation will always be, whenever they have the Ballance upon us.(3*) And though this may be some small Encouragement to the Exportation of our Commodities, because they come so much cheaper to the Markets
abroad,yet if our Trade goes on so, we shall certainly have very little Cash left. But if, to prevent this dreadful Evil, we do as fast as possible put a very great Quantity of Land into Use, more than at present is cultivated, our Poor will be employ'd, the empty Houses soon filled, and our Manufactures become much cheaper and better; and this will both increase our Exportations to the Nations we now trade with, and give Rise to other foreign Markets to vend our Goods at, and prevent the excessive Importation of foreign Goods amongst ourselves; and thus the Ballance of Trade will become in our Favour, and increase the Cash of the Nation, or Money will certainly by this Method become plentiful enough amongst the People in general. But there is no other Way in Nature to compass this End, or recover the Trade of the Nation: For those Nations that can work cheapest, must have the Money, as sure as they always will have the Trade; to which I add, that the People will always flow into those Nations that get the Money (i.e. have the Ballance of Trade in their Favour) because Trade, which is the Means of getting the Money, is that which employs and subsists them. But before I dismiss this Point, I can't help taking Notice of an Article inserted in the Daily Courant of January 3, 1731 from Berlin, where, it seems, an exact Register is kept of the Births, Deaths, and Marriages; by which it appears, 3331 Persons were born, and 2691 died; so that the Increase is 641 Persons that Year in that City. Now I have tried the Par of human Life from our Bills of Mortality, which doth not amount to 25 Years, one with another: But, however, multiply the Deaths by 25, the Product will be 67275 Persons in that City, which divided by
abroad,yet if our Trade goes on so, we shall certainly have very little Cash left. But if, to prevent this dreadful Evil, we do as fast as possible put a very great Quantity of Land into Use, more than at present is cultivated, our Poor will be employ'd, the empty Houses soon filled, and our Manufactures become much cheaper and better; and this will both increase our Exportations to the Nations we now trade with, and give Rise to other foreign Markets to vend our Goods at, and prevent the excessive Importation of foreign Goods amongst ourselves; and thus the Ballance of Trade will become in our Favour, and increase the Cash of the Nation, or Money will certainly by this Method become plentiful enough amongst the People in general. But there is no other Way in Nature to compass this End, or recover the Trade of the Nation: For those Nations that can work cheapest, must have the Money, as sure as they always will have the Trade; to which I add, that the People will always flow into those Nations that get the Money (i.e. have the Ballance of Trade in their Favour) because Trade, which is the Means of getting the Money, is that which employs and subsists them. But before I dismiss this Point, I can't help taking Notice of an Article inserted in the Daily Courant of January 3, 1731 from Berlin, where, it seems, an exact Register is kept of the Births, Deaths, and Marriages; by which it appears, 3331 Persons were born, and 2691 died; so that the Increase is 641 Persons that Year in that City. Now I have tried the Par of human Life from our Bills of Mortality, which doth not amount to 25 Years, one with another: But, however, multiply the Deaths by 25, the Product will be 67275 Persons in that City, which divided by