At a Medium

The husbands are aged

43 years apiece, which, at

17¼ per cent., makes

742 years.

The wives

40

17¼

690

The widowers

56

1½

84

The widows

60

4½

270

The children

12

45

540

The servants

27

10½

284

The sojourners

35

4

140

At a medium

27½

100

2,750

Vide Scheme D.

Mr. King’s modesty has been so far overruled as to suffer us to communicate these his excellent computations, which we can the more safely commend, having examined them very carefully, tried them by some little operations of our own upon the same subject, and compared them with the schemes of other persons, who take pleasure in the like studies.

What he says concerning the number of the people to be 5,500,000 is no positive assertion, nor shall we pretend anywhere to determine in that matter; what he lays down is by way of hypothesis, that supposing the inhabitants of England to have been, A.D. 1300, 2,860,000 heads, by the orderly series of increase allowed of by all writers they may probably be about A.D. 1700, 5,500,000 heads; but if they were A.D. 1300 either less or more, the case must proportionably alter; for as to his allowances for plagues, great mortalities, civil wars, the sea, and the plantations, they seem very reasonable, and not well to be controverted.

Upon these schemes of Mr. King we shall make several remarks, though the text deserves much a better comment.

SCHEME D.—A SCHEME OF THE INCOME AND EXPENSE OF THE SEVERAL FAMILIES OF ENGLAND, CALCULATED FOR THE YEAR 1688. [148]

Number of Families. Ranks, Degrees, Titles, and Qualifications. Heads per Family.
160 Temporal Lords 40
26 Spiritual Lords 20
800 Baronets 16
600 Knights 13
3,000 Esquires 10
12,000 Gentlemen 8
5,000 Persons in greater offices and places 8
5,000 Persons in lesser offices and places 6
2,000 Eminent merchants and traders by sea 8
8,000 Lesser merchants and traders by sea 6
10,000 Persons in the law 7
2,000 Eminent clergymen 6
8,000 Lesser clergymen 5
40,000 Freeholders of the better sort 7
120,000 Freeholders of the lesser sort 5½
150,000 Farmers 5
15,000 Persons in liberal arts and sciences 5
50,000 Shopkeepers and tradesmen 4½
60,000 Artisans and handicrafts 4
5,000 Naval officers 4
4,000 Military officers 4
500,586 5⅓
50,000 Common seamen 3
364,000 Labouring people and out-servants 3½
400,000 Cottagers and paupers 3¼
35,000 Common soldiers 2
849,000 Vagrants, as gipsies, thieves, beggars, &c. 3¼
500,586 Increasing the wealth of the kingdom 5⅓
849,000 Decreasing the wealth of the kingdom 3¼
1,349,586 Net totals 4 1/13

Number ofPersons.

Yearly Income per. Family.

Yearly Income ingeneral.

Yearly Income per.Hd.

Yearly Expense perHd.

Yearly Increase per. Hd.

Yearly Incr. in General.

£

s.

£

£

s.

£

s.

d.

£

s.

d.

£

6,400

3,200

0

512,000

80

0

70

0

0

10

0

0

64,000

520

1,300

0

33,800

65

0

45

0

0

20

0

0

10,400

12,800

880

0

704,000

55

0

49

0

0

6

0

0

76,800

7,800

650

0

390,000

50

0

45

0

0

5

0

0

39,000

30,000

450

0

1,200,000

45

0

41

0

0

4

0

0

120,000

96,000

280

0

2,880,000

35

0

32

0

0

3

0

0

288,000

40,000

240

0

1,200,000

30

0

26

0

0

4

0

0

160,000

30,000

120

0

600,000

20

0

17

0

0

3

0

0

90,000

16,000

400

0

800,000

50

0

37

0

0

13

0

0

208,000

48,000

198

0

1,600,000

33

0

27

0

0

6

0

0

288,000

70,000

154

0

1,540,000

22

0

18

0

0

4

0

0

280,000

12,000

72

0

144,000

12

0

10

0

0

2

0

0

24,000

40,000

50

0

400,000

10

0

9

4

0

0

16

0

32,000

280,000

91

0

3,640,000

13

0

11

15

0

1

5

0

350,000

660,000

55

0

6,600,000

10

0

9

10

0

0

10

0

330,000

750,000

42

10

6,375,000

8

10

8

5

0

0

5

0

187,500

75,000

60

0

900,000

12

0

11

0

0

1

0

0

75,000

225,000

45

0

2,250,000

10

0

9

0

0

1

0

0

225,000

240,000

38

0

2,280,000

9

10

9

0

0

0

10

0

120,000

20,000

80

0

400,000

20

0

18

0

0

2

0

0

40,000

16,000

60

0

240,000

15

0

14

0

0

1

0

0

16,000

2,675,520

68

18

34,488,800

12

18

11

15

4

1

2

8

3,023,700

Decrease.

Decrease.

150,000

20

0

1,000,000

7

0

7

10

0

0

10

0

75,000

1,275,000

15

0

5,460,000

4

10

4

12

0

0

2

0

127,500

1,300,000

6

10

2,000,000

2

0

2

5

0

0

5

0

325,000

70,000

14

0

490,000

7

0

7

10

0

0

10

0

35,000

2,795,000

10

10

8,950,000

3

5

3

9

0

0

4

0

562,500

30,000

60,000

2

0

4

0

0

2

0

0

60,000

So the General Account is

2,675,520

68

18

34,488,800

12

18

11

15

4

1

2

8

3,023,700

2,825,000

10

10

9,010,000

3

3

3

7

6

0

4

6

622,500

5,500,520

32

5

43,491,800

7

18

7

9

3

0

8

9

2,401,200

The people being the first matter of power and wealth, by whose labour and industry a nation must be gainers in the balance, their increase or decrease must be carefully observed by any government that designs to thrive; that is, their increase must be promoted by good conduct and wholesome laws, and if they have been decreased by war, or any other accident, the breach is to be made up as soon as possible, for it is a maim in the body politic affecting all its parts.

Almost all countries in the world have been more or less populous, as liberty and property have been there well or ill secured. The first constitution of Rome was no ill-founded government, a kingly power limited by laws; and the people increased so fast, that, from a small beginning, in the reign of their sixth king were they able to send out an army of 80,000 men. And in the time of the commonwealth, in that invasion which the Gauls made upon Italy, not long before Hannibal came thither, they were grown so numerous, as that their troops consisted of 700,000 foot and 70,000 horse; it is true their allies were comprehended in this number, but the ordinary people fit to bear arms being mustered in Rome and Campania, amounted to 250,000 foot and 23,000 horse.