Volume 1

The economic writings of Sir William Petty together with the Observations upon the bills of mortality, more probably by Captain John Graunt / edited by Charles Henry Hull.

  • Petty, William, Sir, 1623-1687.
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The economic writings of Sir William Petty together with the Observations upon the bills of mortality, more probably by Captain John Graunt / edited by Charles Henry Hull. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    Subjects, is an advantage equivalent to Sixty Thousand Husbandmen1. There are in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and all other the King of England's Territories2 Six Hundred3 thousand Tun of Shipping, worth about four Millions and a of Money; and the annual charge of maintaining the Shipping of England, by new Buildings and Reparations, is about J6 part of the || same summ ; which is the Wages of one Hundred and Fifty [78] thousand6 Husbandmen, but is not the Wages of above \ part of so many Artisans as are employed, upon Shipping of all sorts; viz. Shfrights, Calkers, Joyners, Carvers, Painters, Block-makers, Rope-makers, Mast-makers, Smiths of several sorts; Flag-makers, Compass-makers, Brewers, Bakers, and all other sort of Victuallers ; all sorts of Tradesmen relating to Guns, and Gunners Stores. Wherefore there being four times more of these Artisans in England, &c. than in France', they further add to the account of the King of England's Subjedls, the equivalent of Eighty Thousand Husbandmen more. The Sea-line of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the adjacent Islands, is about Three thousand Eight hundred Miles; according to which length, and the whole content of Acres, the said Land would be an Oblong, or Parallelogram Figure of Three thousand Eight hundred Miles long, and about Twenty four Miles broad ; and consequently, every part of England, Scotland, and Ireland, is one with another, but twelve Miles from the Sea: Whereas France containing, but about one Thousand || Miles of Sea line, is by the like [79] method or computation, about Sixty Five Miles from the Sea side; and considering the paucity of Ports, in comparison of what are in the King of England's Dominions, as good as Seventy Miles distant from a Port: Upon which grounds it is clear, that England can be supplied, with all gross and bulkey commodities of Foreign growth and Manufadlure, at 1 S, R, ‘Subjects the equivalent of 90000 husbandmen,’ in S ‘is an advantage’ is substituted for ‘the’ cancelled, and ‘90000’ is altered to ‘60000.’ G, ‘ 90,500000.’ 2 S, ‘and all other ye King of England’s Teritoryes’ inserted. 3 G omits ‘ Hundred.’ 4 S, R, G, ‘ ^.’ 5 1691 ed., *£.’ e G omits ‘ thousand.’ The K. of England's Territo- ries are in effect but 12 Miles from Na- vigable Water, the King of France's 65.