3792-°> = politecal progre/s of Britain. | 169 
‘* sUBSEDIES to the emprefs queen of Hungary, the. 
“‘emprefs of Rufsia, the king of Sardinia, the 
** electors of Mentz and Bavaria, the forces of Ha. 
“ nover, AND’—the devil knows how many other 
German despots, who 4zred out their soldiers to 
fight like game cocks for the best bidder. Five bua- 
dred thousand pounds were also voted im confidence to 
his most gracious majesty, who was, for no purpose 
whatever, steeping Europe in the blood of her in- 
habitants. The continental war appears to have 
cost us, for the year 1748, about FOUR MILLIONS 
STERLING, as the above sums are entirely exclusive 
of those granted for the service of the Britith. 
navy, and for the payment of the land forces in 
garrisons and plantations. Had these and former 
subsidies been applied to the privateer service, it is 
very likely that the commerce of France and Spain 
would have been absolutely torn up by the roots; 
and we are commonly taught that such an event 
would be of infinite advantage to Britain. But sup- 
posing our neighbours reduced to universal bank- 
xuptcy, with whom are we to buy or sell? orisa 
merchant ambitious to transact businefs only with 
beggars? A {hop keeper in the high street of Edin- 
hurgh would not expect to increase the profits of his 
businefs by reducing the whole city to afhes; yet 2 
commercial nation proposes to gain universal wealth 
by spreading universal depredation. Dr Swift said 
that his countrymen had more pleasure in cheating. 
you of A SHILLING, than iw gaining FIVE POUNDS by 
fair trade. But this disposition is not peculiar to 
* Beatson vol. i. p. 360, 
TOL. ix. 7 4 
