once, but I affure you that you muft not think of repeating it, for it will not do again.

The poet coldly anfwered, that he knew it could not be repeated, and foon afterwards made interest to a particular friend, and borrowed a guinea, and fo got rid of this weighty obligation.

These are fome of the many mortifications to which perfons of literature and fenfibility are liable, when forced by diftrefs to publifh by fubfcription and brings it to a moot point, whether it is not better to starve with Otway in filence, than to live upon the precarious bounty of a subscriber.

A GENTEEL BEGGAR.

Confiderations upon the tempers of the people of Ireland and England.

RELAND now complains of multitudes of Papifts, and Parliaments that never have an end but with the life of the Prince who calls them. It is, however, true, that Ireland breeds and nurfes the calamities the complains of. She refufes an union with Britain, and by that refufal denies to herself that aid against Papists, which she so much wants, and those improvements in her conftitution, which ours has attained to. Would the Irish look at the Scots, they would fee in them the extensive benefits of an incorporating union with England. Would they take only a curfory view of Scotland, they would fee in that country the infinite advantages attendant on union with fo important a kingdom as that of Britain. Would Dublin caft her eyes on Edinburgh, fhe would be fenfible how illgrounded her fears are of devaftation from a ceffation of her parliament. What was Scotland in the year 1707? What was Edinburgh then? What is Scotland now? and in what an improved state are all her cities, towns and villages?

1

Will not Ireland be convinced by rational arguments? Will the not yield to the conviction arifing from indifputable tacts? I fear fhe will not. If fhe would advert to truth with the fmalleft degree of attention, fhe would not fo obftinately refuse the best present that can be offered to her acceptance. She cries out moft irrationally, that British taxes and the national debt terrify her from an union with a kingdom fo much hampered with large annual burdens. Has he not as yet learnt, that taxes paid to an internal government are no lofs to the kingdom? These taxes cause a circulation of cafh, but drain us not of our money. Would not this reafoning hold good with Irish taxes, if Ireland was united with Britain? Moft certainly it would: for, in that cafe, the taxes gathered in Ireland would, with ours, circulate all over the united kingdom, and flow back to the most diftant county of Ireland, in the fame manner as the blood from the heart replenishes the most distant arteries in all animal bodies. In like manner our national debt, fo far as it is due to fubjects can neither impoverish nor diftrefs the kingdom.

But, has Ireland ever taken a comparative view of our debts and our opulence? If he had acted fo prudent a part, our national debt would not appear fuch a bugbear in her eyes: fhe would have understood, that our national debt, was it all due to foreigners, is a mere trifle to the great opulence out of which it is to be paid.

Our land tax, at the rate of four fhillings in the pound, is not in fact a tax to the extent of eighteen-pence in the pound, yet it produces to our Treasury two millions by the year. From hence we learn the grofs amount of all the rents in England, and are with pleasure afcertained, that the foil of our country produces to its owners the small fum of twenty five millions by the year: and fince it is agreed on all hands, that the rent is but

the

the third part of the fruits of the ground, the land of England annually gives us out of its bowels feventy-five millions of money at least; and this is ftill an encreasing fund. Is this large fum all we have, by the year, from the labours of our poor? Nothing is lefs true. Our manufacturers and failors produce us, from their toils, another harvest; fo far as these are employed in fishing and working for foreign confumption, their labours are an additional revenue to the nation. We have, I believe, a million of hands at fea, whose wages, at an average amount to thirty fhillings by the month, including commanders and other officers. And fince it is by nobody denied, that we gain on the whole as much as we lofe by foreign commerce, including all our expences on the ocean, it is evident that these wages are paid by other nations, and afford to this kingdom an additional article of fupport, amounting to eighteen millions by the year. For the fame reafon, I might alfo compute as a part of our annual estate, the wages of warehousemen, clerks, and others, employed at our keys, and in the carriage and care of foreign commodities; but I fhall overlook that part of our income, and proceed to confider the annual gains arifing from our manufactures for home and foreign fervice, which, for many reafons, may be fet down to be worth as much as the rents, of our lands. Thus the working part of our people bring us in yearly, by the cultivation of our lands, manufactures, fifhing, and failing, one hundred and fixteen millions by the year; and if we add to this our mercantile gains, we have then the whole of our yearly revenue, or all that is applicable to our yearly fupport as a nation, or an independant kingdom. We have, however, alfo all the valuable commodities in the kingdom, over and above what our merchants owe to foreigners; that is, all the jewels, gold and filver, coined and uncoined, fhips and

apparel;

apparel; and, in fine, all the pelf and cattle actually in the nation, of which no man can, with any propriety, pretend to make an estimate.

Now, you fee the extenfive fund out of which we must pay our national debt: let us fuppofe that one man was poffeffed of all this riches, with eight million of heads and hands employed for ever in his fervice, and owed one hundred and thirty millions of debts only, at an intereft of three and a half and four per cent. would we call this man RICH OF POOR? Would any man have reafon to apprehend any misfortune, from entering into a partnership in trade with a man poffeffed of fo great an eftate, although his debts amounted to one hundred and thirty millions of money? I cannot reckon him a man of fenfe, who would fuffer fo chimerical a fear to harbour in his bofom.

But, the debt we owe to our own fubjects cannot hurt us as a nation: when we pay the interest we are never the poorer, nor will the nation be either the richer or the poorer when the nationalcreditor, who is our fubject, receives his whole debt: and as to foreigners, we pay them indeed to our own lofs: but as the fum due to foreigners amounts to two-fifths only of one hundred and thirty millions, it is only a burden, or a small part of our national eftate: and, if we may believe fome of our state empirics, we gain by our foreign debts: for, fay they, if the foreigner gets intereft for his money, we have his money; and that money circulating in a commercial kingdom, is to be efteemed as fo much laid out in trade, and confequently, as yielding to us ten or twelve per cent. while we only pay for it to our foreign creditor four per cent. However, my argument requires no fuch fubterfuge: our nation, notwithstanding that finall quantity of foreign debt, is the richeft and most powerful kingdom in Europe, has the greateft re

fources

fources for itself, and the beft provisions for its fubjects. The Spanish trade yields us more gains than are fufficient to pay the intereft of our foreign debt: and of confequence, all our plantation and other foreign trade is annually encreasing our general capital in trade, or otherwife enriching a kingdom already incredibly opulent.

It is indeed true, that whenever a new tax is laid on, an universal murmur is bandied through the kingdom: but these murmurs arife not from poverty, as in France: they are confequent of the temper of the people, always jealous of their liberties. They minded not the additional tax upon the cyder; it was the mode of levying that tax which gave them pain. The encreafing tax on wheel carriages is a proof what little regard they have for their pockets, in cafe you will keep excife officers out of their houses.

This is their humour, and government must muft give way to it, or fit on thorns. But, otherwife, it must be acknowledged that the English people are opulent, and free enough of their money, when they are not ill ufed. Nor is there any reafon to fuppofe that the national debts, great as they are, will ever diftrefs a country whofe funds are fo immeasurably great, and whofe genius is fo enterprizing. HIBERNICUS.

E

Propofal for an OFFICE of INSPECTION.

VERY propofal relative to commerce highly merits the attention of the public; and, I have obferved a plan of the greatest importance to the real interefts and true honour of this mercantile kingdom; I mean that fo modeftly proposed to the public for establishing an Office of Inspection, under the management of Commiffioners of known probity, where all our manufactures, intended for exportation, fhould be carefully examined and

marked