iSoo. Stattfiical Account of the Par'i/Ij of Hou^am. 11 



cefTarily be both tenants and fhepherds, and a great part of 

 them without any family. He icems alfo ignorant of the re- 

 turn which a 50I. farm would make to the poflelTor, or what 

 would be the work upon it. Were the tenant upon fuch a 

 farm, under the prefent rents, not to keep his (heep himfelf, 

 he would be a Gentleman at firfl:, having otherwife little or 

 nothing to do, and a Beggar afterwards, when his ftock was 

 exhaufled, which would foon happen. 



We now offer a few remarks upon the general caufes which 

 affeft population, or occafion an increafe at fome periods, with- 

 out being followed by an increafe of trade and manufadlures. 



The number of people in any country, will, for the moft 

 part, be regulated by the price of provifions •, with this ex- 

 ception, that if there is a great demand for labour, and wages 

 rife in a proportional manner, population may progrefhvely in- 

 creafe, fo long as the workman can fupport himfelf and family 

 by his earnings. When labour falls in value, without being 

 accompanied by an equal fall in the price of provifions, it is 

 a fure fign of the decreafe of trade, in confequ^nce of which 

 a number of people are thrown out of employment. This 

 occafions emigrations from one di{lri6l to another, perhaps 

 from one country to another ; and thefe emigrants fettle in 

 fuch places as can give them employment, and where the va- 

 lue of labour is equal to what is required for the fubfiftence 

 of themfelves and families. 



If all the people born in a parifh, county, or kingdom, were 

 obliged to refide in that pariih, county, or kingdom, where 

 they drew their firft breath, it is evident the reafons above 

 afligned, as influencing population, would not operate, and 

 that an unnecefl'ary or mifchievous increafe would, in many 

 cafes, be the confequence. The furplus, whicli is conflaiitly 

 thrown off from particular diftricts, where labour is fcarce and 

 wages low, for the fupply of other diftricls, where employment 

 can be got with greater facility, or where the flourifhing ftate 

 of trade and raanufaclures have raifcd the rate of wages, ef- 

 fectually prevents fuch an increafe from taking place, and cor- 

 roborates what we have already mentioned, refpefting popu- 

 lation being at all times regulated by the cheapnefs of provi- 

 fions, or, in other words, by the means pcffcffed for procuring 

 the neceffaries of life. 



The fcale of population may alfo, at certain times, be local- 

 ly affe£led by a caufe which is feldom attended to. Let us fup- 

 pofe the whole lands in a parifii the property of one man, and 

 that they are all out of leafe at one period. The great body of 

 the people in country pariflies being made up of farmers fer- 

 vants, their number, under the above fuppofition, may be con- 

 fjderably increafed by a total, or a parciui change of ttiiants, 



B 3 when 



