The Online Library of Liberty

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• Preface
• Introduction
• Note On the “treatise of Taxes.”
• The Preface.
• Chap. I.: Of the Several Sorts of Publick Charges.
• Chap. II.: Of the Causes Which Encrease and Aggravate the Several Sorts of Publick Charges.
• Chap. III.: How the Causes of the Unquiet Bearing of Taxes May Be Lessened.
• Chap. IV.: Of the Several Wayes of Taxe, and First, of Setting a Part, a Proportion of the Whole Territory For Publick Uses, In the Nature of Crown Lands; and Secondly, By Way of Assessement, Or Land-taxe.
• Chap. V.: Of Usury.
• Chap. VI.: Of Customs and Free Ports.
• Chap. VII.: Of Poll-money.
• Chap. VIII.: Of Lotteries.
• Chap. IX.: Of Benevolence.
• Chap. X.: Of Penalties.
• Chap. XI.: Of Monopolies and Offices.
• Chap. XII.: Of Tythes.
• Chap. XIII.: Of Several Smaller Wayes of Levying Money.
• Chap. XIV.: Of Raising, Depressing, Or Embasing of Money.
• Chap. XV.: Of Excize.
• Verbum Sapienti.
• Note On the Verbum Sapienti.
• The Introduction.
• Chap. I.: Containing Several Computations of the Wealth of the Kingdom.
• Chap. II.: Of the Value of the People
• Chap. III.: Of the Several Expences of the Kingdom, and Its Revenues.
• Chap. IV.: Of the Method of Apportioning Taxes.
• Chap. V.: Of Money, and How Much Is Necessary to Drive the Trade of the Nation.
• Chap. VI.: The Causes of Irregular Taxing.
• Chap. VII.: The Collateral Advantages of These Taxes.
• Chap. VIII.: Of the Expence of the Navy, Army, and Garisons.
• Chap. IX.: Motives to the Quiet Bearing of Extraordinary Taxes.
• Chap. X.: How to Employ the People, and the End Thereof.
• Note On the “political Anatomy of Ireland.”
• To His Grace the Duke of Ormand 1 .
• To the Right Honourable Thomas, Lord Parker 1 , Baron of Macclesfield In the County of Chester. Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.
• The Author's Preface.
• Advertisement 1
• The Contents of the Political Anatomy of Ireland 1 .
• The Political Anatomy of Ireland. 1672 1 .
• [chapter I.] 2: Of the Lands of Ireland.
• [chapter II.]: Of People, Houses, and Smoaks; Their Number, Differences, and Values.
• [chapter Iii]: of the Church and Benefices.
• [chapter Iv]: Concerning the Late Rebellion.
• [chapter V]: of the Future Settlement of Ireland, Prorogation of Rebellions, and Its Union With England.
• [chapter Vi]: of the Government of Ireland.
• [chapter Vii]: of the Militia and Defence of Ireland.
• [chapter Viii]: of the Cœlum and Solum of Ireland.
• [chapter Ix]: of the Proportion In Value, Which the Several Counties In Ireland Do Bear to Each Other , Viz.
• [chapter X]: of the Money of Ireland.
• [chapter Xi]: of the Trade of Ireland.
• [chapter Xii]: of the Religion, Diet, Cloaths, Language, Manners, and Interest of the Several Present Inhabitants of Ireland.
• [chapter XIII.]: Several Miscellany Remarks and Intimations Concerning Ireland, and the Several Matters Aforementioned.
• Report From the Council of Trade 1676.
• Political Arithmetick, Or a Discourse Concerning,
• Note On the “political Arithmetick.”
• To the King's Most Excellent Majesty 1 .
• Preface 1 .
• The Principal Conclusions 1 of This Treatise Are,
• Errata.
• Chap. I.: That a Small Country and Few People, By Its Situation, Trade, and Policy, May Be Equivalent In Wealth and Strength, to a Far Greater People and Territory: and Particularly That Conveniencies For Shipping and Water-carriage, Do Most E
• Chap. II.: That Some Kind of Taxes and Publick Levies, May Rather Increase Than Diminish the Wealth of the Kingdom .
• Chap. III.: That France Cannot By Reason of Natural, and Perpetual Impediments, Be More Powerful At Sea, Than the English, Or Hollanders 1 Now Are, Or May Be .
• Chap. IV.: That the People and Territories of the King of England, Are Naturally Near 1 As Considerable For Wealth and Strength, As Those of France.
• Chap. V.: That the Impediments of Englands Greatness, Are But Contingent and Removable .
• Chap. VI.: That the Power and Wealth of England Hath Increased This Last Forty Years .
• Chap. VII.: That One Tenth Part of the Whole Expence, of the King of England's Subjects, Is Sufficient to Maintain Ten Thousand 1 Foot, Forty Thousand Horse, and Forty Thousand Men At Sea; and Defray All Other Charges of the Government Both Ordina
• Chap. VIII.: That There Are Spare Hands Enough Among the King of England 's Subjects, to Earn Two Millions Per Annum More Than They Now Do; and That There Are Also Employments, Ready, Prope, and Sufficient, For That Purpose .
• Chap. IX.: That There Is Mony Sufficient to Drive the Trade of the Nation.
• Chap. X.: That the King of England's Subjects, Have Stock Competent and Convenient, to Drive the Trade of the Whole Commercial World.

CHAP. I.

Containing several Computations of the Wealth of the Kingdom.

1. THERE are of Men, Women, and Children, in England and Wales, about six Millions, whose Expence at 6l. 13s. 4d. per Annum, or near 4½d. per Diem, for Food, Housing, Cloaths, and all other necessaries, amount to 40 Millions, per Annum.

2. There are in England and Wales, of Acres of Land (worth 6 l. Is. 8d. per Acre1 , and 18 years purchase) 24 Millions, that is, which yields 8 Millions per Annum Rent, and which are worth 144 Millions to be sold.

3. There be 28000 Houses within the Liberties of the City of London, worth 15l. per Annum, and twelve years purchase (viz. which yields 420,000l. per Annum, and are worth 5,040,000l. ‖

There are without the Liberties, but within the Bills of Mortality ¼ more2 in number, perhaps not of greater value, viz. 5,040,000l.

4. There is in all England and Wales near ten times as many Chimneys as within the Liberties of London, as appears by the Returns; Whereof those within the Bills are ⅕1 of the whole.

5. ‘Tis probable, that the Housing of all the Cities and Market-Towns, are double in number to those of all London, though of no more worth.

6. ‘Tis also probable, that the Housing without the Cities and Towns, are more in number than those within (London excepted) but of no more value.

7. So as the Housing of England may be estimated worth 30 Millions2 ; and that if their values be estimated by Chimneys, those of London are worth 12d. per Chimney; those of the Suburbs 10d. other Cities and Market-Towns 6 d. and those without both, about 4d.

8. The Shipping of England, &c. is about 500,000 Tuns, which at 6 d. per Tun, including their Ordnance, Apparel3 , &c. is worth three Millions. ‖

9. The Stock of Cattel on the afore-mentioned millions of Land, and the Waste thereunto belonging, is worth ¼ of the said Land, viz. 36 millions comprehending Horses, Oxen, Sheep, Swine, Deer, Fisheries, Parks and Warrens.

10. The Coined Gold and Silver of the Kingdom, is scarce worth six millions.

11. The Wares, Merchandizes, and Utensils of Plate, and Furnitures, may be estimated at 31 millions to make1 the Ships and Money 40, and the whole 250 millions.

12. The most uncertain part of this Estimate, seems to be rating personal Estates at above 30 Millions, which I make probable thus.

• (1) First it is not unlikely that what is contained in all the Shops, Warehouses, Cellars, Barns, and Graineries, together with Household Furniture, Cloaths, Ornaments, &c. should be less worth than Housing it self that contains them.
• (2) If the value of all the Cattel, viz. 36 millions, were added to the 31 personal Estates, making 67 together; both will not make up 1¾ years Provision for the whole Nation, whose Expence we estimated at 40 millions per annum; and poorer than so, we hope it is not. ‖
• (3) I find by the particular estimate of the values of all the Plate, Lead, Iron, Copper and Tin, and of all the Timber, Planks, and Woods, and of all Silks, Linnen, and Callicoes; of all Clothes, Stuffs, and Leathers; of all Grains, and Salts, and of all Wines, Oyles, and other Liquids; of all Grocery and Spicery, and Drugs; of Jewels, and Hangings, Beds, and other Ornaments, (too troublesome to particularize) that this general Account may stand.
• 2(3) The City of London being commonly esteemed and rated at the 15th part of the whole3 , which we reckon at 250 Millions, that is 16 ⅔. I think the sum may be well made up by reckoning 5 ⅙ Millions for the Housing as aforesaid, and 1½ for the Shipping (half the Shipping of the Nation belonging to London) and about the double of the value of the Housing for what is contained in them. The which upon considering many several Houses, I find not unreasonable.

(Lastly,) supposing that in the Houses within the Liberties of London (worth 5 Millions) there be 10 Millions worth of Goods; I conceive that to allow about as much more, viz. 21 Millions) to all the rest of the Houses in the Kingdom, which are ten times as many as aforesaid, will not overcharge them. ‖

13. Now if the Land worth 144 Millions, yield 8 Millions per annum, the other Estate converted into the like Species must yield 5 more; but because Money and other personal Estates yield more per annum than Land; (that is) doubles it self under 17 years purchase at 6 l. per centum, then instead of 5 , suppose it to yield 7, making the whole Annual Proceed 15.

[1]All editions have 6 l. Is. 8d. per acre. D has ‘6s 8d p acre,’ which makes Petty's calculation correct.

[2]Apparently “¼ more” should be “as many more.” This correction explains the words “not of greater value, viz. 5,040,000l.“at the end of the paragraph, and it brings the estimate of London's houses (56,000) more nearly into harmony with the 65,000 or 66,000 which Petty variously assigns to the London of 1666 in his Two Essays and in his Five Essays. Furthermore it is by some such change alone that we can justify Petty's valuation of the housing of England at 30 million pounds. His calculation, with the correction suggested, would be:

[1]S, ‘ .’

[2]1719, ‘310 Millions.’

[3]D, ‘theire ordinary apparell.’

[1]S, ‘which makes.’

[2]This and the two following paragraphs are not in S.

[3]Because London was assessed £ 4666. 13 s. 4 d. of the £ 70,000 per month to be raised in accordance with 13 Charles II., stat. 2, c. 3.