Besides the middle sort of Houses in the streets of Covent-Garden, Long-Acre, Clare-Market, Old-Southampton Buildings, and other places have equall’d both the number and value of Leicester-Fields, Bloomesbury, York-Buildings, Essex-Buildings and the rest. And the number of the small houses at four and five pounds per Annum since 1656 are much greater.
So that upon enquiry it is plain that the Houses that were built before 1656 were equal in value to what have been built since. And therefore it is not probable that a Tax upon the New foundation can raise above Fifty Thousand Pound, which considered with the charge of collecting it, and the loss of His Majesties customes upon Timber, Boards, Wainscot and Iron, being not less than Ten Thousand pound per annum, which will be occasioned by the discouraging of Building will not bring in Thirty Thousand pounds clear into the Exchequer, if it were possible to make the Law so that all might be collected.
But not to mention how hard the purchasers of New Houses will believe such a Law to be, having paid a valuable consideration for them and offended no Law.
Nor how severe the Workmen Builders will think they are dealt with, to be punished for exercising their lawful Trades.
Nor how partial it will be to those that build since 1656, that have already paid a year’s value. Not to mention what the owners of the great houses that have been altered think, not being allowed the £500 a year which their Houses yielded before: since they pay for improvement by the building of their Gardens.
Nor what is general all those sufferers will think, who believe they have done good service to the nation by Building. The Law will have this peculiar disadvantage, it will be impossible so to word it, or to comprize all men’s interests, so as to raise that money as shall be designed by it. For after the Commissioners of Oliver’s Act had set four years, they did pay in Twenty Thousand pounds into the Exchequer of the £70,000 that was returned upon the Duplicates.”
APPENDIX VII
GARDENS
“The garden played a large part in the recreation of the citizens. A contemporary account of the principal London gardens is here subjoined:—
Chelsea Physick Garden has a great variety of plants both in and out of greenhouses. Their perennial green hedges and rows of different coloured herbs are very pretty, and so are their banks set with shades of herbs in the Irish stitchway, but many plants of the garden were not in so good order as might be expected, and as would have been answerable to other things in it. After I had been there, I heard that Mr. Watts, the keeper of it, was blamed for his neglect and that he would be removed.