Gazette Of The United States

From the (London) Gentleman's Magazine,
For August, 1790.

Mr. URBAN,

Upon the recent election of a Parliament, you may, perhaps, deem it useful information to lay before the public in general, and the new senators in particular, the following
State of the English Nation.

Population of Great Britain,
viz. England and Wales, 8,000,000
Scotland,
1,500,000
9,500,000

Number of the House of Commons,
558

Number of persons to each member of
parliament; or, in other words, each
member of parliament represents
17,025

Number of active citizens, or fighting
men between 16 and 60 years of
age, one-fourth of the whole,
2,375,000

Number of active citizens to each member
of parliament,
4,256

England and Wales contain square
miles, according to the Statistical
Tables,
54,112

Number of persons to each square mile
147 1/2

Scotland contains square miles,
25,600

Number of persons to each sq. mile,
58 1/2

Great Britain contains sq. miles,
79,712

or sq. acres,
51,015,680

Number of persons to each sq. mile,
or 5 2-5 acres per head
119 1/6

The nett produce of the taxes on the
average of three years, from the
5th April, 1787, to the 5th April,
1790,
£15,846,000

Add 8 pr. cent. for charges
of collection
1,267,680

The gross revenue of Great-Britain,
beside tythes parish and county- l. s. d.
rates, &c. &c.
17,113,580 00

So that each individual pays to
this State, on an average, out
of his income, or the produce
of his labor,
1 18 0 1/2

But, if paid by the active citizens, it is a head by the year,
7 4 1/4

The capital of the national debt,
exclusive of annuities for lives
and years, is about,
240,000,000

Upon the notion that the land
is ultimately charged to pay
the national debt, every square
mile is mortgaged for
3,010 16 9 1/2

or every square acre is mortgaged for
4 12 4 1/2

The interest of the funded debt,
including the annuities and
charges of management, is
9,260,000 00

Towards this, every
square mile
or every square acre
contributes
116 3 4 1/2
0 3 6

or every individual £ per ann.
0 1 11 3/4

Suppose the average rent of lands to be ten
shillings an acre, and that they now sell for about
30 years purchase, every acre is mortgaged for
almost one-third of its intrinsic value, and pays
more than that proportion of its annual rent to
the interest of the national debt.

I have not made these calculations to create
discontents or despondency; for I believe that
the same sort of enquiries, with regard to other
kingdoms, would show that, notwithstanding our
burdens appear heavy, we are not in a worse con-
dition than our neighbours. By this view of our
affairs, I mean only to stimulate our Ministers and
Senators to pursue the wisest measures for
strengthening this country, by thrift in the pub-
lic treasure, by care of the public's trade, and by
all the other honest and useful arts of peace.

It is not extent of territory that makes a coun-
try powerful, but numbers of men well employ-
ed, convenient ports, a good navy, and a soil pro-
ducing all sorts of commodities. The materials
for all these we have; and, to improve them to
the greatest advantage, we only want the com-
plement of men whom our land can maintain and
nourish, with as much trade as our national stock
and our knowledge of sea affairs is capable of
embracing.

A trade so extended will naturally produce a
powerful naval strength; while a large and well
directed traffic, by its balance in our favor, will
furnish such stores and wealth as will enable us
to bear our present load of debt until the plan
for the reduction of it shall have taken good root;
and then the progress of that plan will proceed
more rapidly than can easily be conceived by
those who have not been used to contemplate the
powers of compound interest.

M. W.