the Peace of 1763.-Various Laws for promoting domeftic Improvements.-Satisfactory Proofs of our Commercial Profperity, at the Epoch of the Colo- nial Revolt.-Yet, were our Trade and Shipping The Colonial Revolt.-The State of the Nation:- Her Finances, Trade, and Shipping.—Her military Power.-The Loffes of Trade from the War.- The Revival of Trade on the Re-establishment of Peace. Remarks thereon.-Financial Operations. CHAP. XII. A Review of the foregoing Documents propofed.-A Supplemental Proof from a Chronological Account of Commerce.-A Commentary thereon.-The fucceffive Epochs from 1660 to 1793.-The Tonnage of Shipping.-The Value of exported Cargoes.-The Balance of Trade. - The Nett Customs. The Amount of the Coinage in that long Period.-The Conclufion of this Review, which reflects a flattering Profpect of our future Profperity. CHAP. XIII. Page 234-268 The Profperity of Great Britain from 1783 to 1793. -The Caufes affigned.-The East India Trade.The Fisheries encouraged.-The New Navigation Act-Foreign Treaties.-Manufactories promoted. -Agriculture encouraged.-A thousand Laws for local Improvements. - Revenue Acts.-Financial Operations.-Their falutary Confequences. CHAP. XIV. Page 269-282 Unprovoked Hoftilities produce a new War.-The Strength of Britain from her Populousness from from ber Trade-from the Numbers of her Shipping and Sailors—from the Magnitude of the Royal Navy-from her Revenue.-The Conclufion.-There is no Caufe for defpairing of the Commonwealth. 283-289 AN General Obfervations upon the Causes, phyfical and moral, which influence Population, in every Country.-The Populoufness, Commerce, and Power, of England, prior to the Demife of Edward III.-The Number of People, 1377.-Reflections. OF F the exifting numbers of mankind, in fucceffive ages of the world, various writers have given diffimilar accounts, because they did not always acknowledge the fame facts, nor often adopt the fame principles, in their moft ingenious difqui*fitions. The Lord Chief Juftice Hale* formerly, and Sit James Stuart †, and the Count de Buffon, lately *In his Primitive Origination of Mankind Confd. In his Political Oeconomy. confidered men, as urged, like other animals, by natural instincts; as directed, like them,, by the fame motives of propagation; and as fubfifted afterwards, or destroyed, by fimilar means. It is instinct, then, which, according to those illuftrious authors, is the caufe of procreation; but it is food, that keeps population full, and accumulates numbers. The force of the first principle, we behold in the multitudes, whether of the fish of the fea, the fowls of the air, or the beasts of the field, which are yearly produced: we perceive, however, the effential consequence of the last, from the vast numbers, that annually perish for want. Experience indeed evinces, to what an immense extent domestic animals may be multiplied, by providing abundance of food. In the fame manner, mankind have been found to exift, and increase, in every condition, and in every age, according to the standard of their subsistence, and to the measure of their comforts. Hence Mr. Hume justly concludes*, that if we would bring to fome determination the queftion concerning the populoufnefs of ancient, and modern, times, it will be requifite to compare the domeftic and political fituations of the two periods, in order to judge of the facts by their moral causes; becaufe, if every thing elfe be equal, it feems reafonable to expect, that where there are the wifeft In his Effays, Vol. I. Effay xi. On the Populoufness of Ancient Nations. 6 inftitu |