The second thing he admonishes me to reconsider is, That I have supposed our commerce to be one cause of the loss of our fencible men. And who in the world doubts of it, but himself! Do shipwrecks, the disasters and inclemency of the sea, the scurvy, &c. beget people? But he will say, without these we could not have trade, which employs great numbers of our people; and therefore, what we lose, we may gain another way. And just so he may say of our wars, that occasion the destruction of so many of our people, that they are no loss to us; for we gain by them in their consequences, in securing of our liberties and property, and by which our trade is preserved and promoted. But notwithstanding this, can it be said, that war does not diminish our fencible men! The truth is, trade increases riches, and gives more of the conveniences of life, and brings luxury along with it; but it does not necessarily breed people: For we see in those countries where they have little trade, the people increase much faster than they do with us, as appears from the Bills of mortality in Prussia; where the general proportion of the births to the burials is greater than it is here, viz. 4 to 3; and by which the people might double in 84 years, if it were not for their losses. (Vid. Phil. Trans. vol. xxxvi.) Which great increase, by the way, easily accounts for those vast swarms of people that came from thence and the adjacent countries in former ages, and over run all Europe. And therefore it is not so terrible a paradox, as he imagines, that possibly where there is much less trade the people may increase faster; for luxury and other vices, that come with trade, do not promote an increase.
And now, as he has been so good as to give me his advice, I will return the favour, and desire him to reconsider the method of reasoning by induction; which may possibly help him to escape some paralogisms, in arguing upon these subjects. And I would likewise recommend it to him to inquire diligently, whether the number of our houses in England be increased these last sixty years; which, according to his reasoning, ought at least to be doubled: For if there is no increase of the houses, there can be none of the people.
To conclude: He adds, that my doctrine, from beginning to end, to say the best of it, is ill-timed, when we are contending with our hereditary enemy, pro aris & focis. But here his zeal hurries him on, that he does not look to the dates of my Letters. For the first three were read before the Society, and ordered to be printed, long before the war was proclaimed; and as for the last, it is only a supplement to the rest; in which I have shewn, that France, by the bad œconomy of her people, is not in an increasing state; which, I think, is a comfortable hearing. But supposing they had been all printed during the war: What then? Is a fact to be concealed that, if discovered, may be useful to prevent errors in government, and rectify our notions of the œconomy of our people? What advantage can our enemies make of such a discovery? Will it encourage them to imagine that we shall be easier subdued, when they know, by the most moderate computation, we have at least two millions of fencible men in our British islands. Enough, surely, to resist them in all their attempts! But I doubt we are not so deficient in our numbers as in public virtue, without which the greatest multitude may be easily overcome.
And thus, my Lord, I have endeavoured to answer what this Gentleman has wrote in his second Letter; for I pass over the first, as it does not seem to contain any more in opposition to me, than what I have here considered. And upon the whole I cannot see, that he has said any thing to invalidate what I have formerly advanced. If I could discover it, I should be very ready to acknowlege my error. I am sensible I have made this reply too long; but I trust your usual benevolence to all our worthy Members will excuse me, who shall always esteem it an honour to be,
My Lord,
Your Lordship's
Most obedient
and faithful Servant,
Wm. Brakenridge.
Sion-College, March 16. 1758.
End of Part I. Vol. L.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Nom. Etymol. ad Calcem. Cat. Cant. p. 43. item Hist. Plant. p. 680.
[2] Bella-donna dicitur quod imaginationes non injucundas efficiat, vel ut honeste satis Plinius, quod lusum generet. Bod. Comment. in Theophr. p. 586 quod in somnis pulchras ostendat virgines feminasque. Ibid. p. 1078.