Chap. VI. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 277 



48 years. If this were truly the cafe, our minifters and leglflators 

 need not give themfelves any trouble about that moft important 

 article of the politic^il fyftem, — the numbers of people; which, accor- 

 ding to Mr Howlet's fyftem, is, of itfelf, going on at fo great a 

 rate. This hypothefis, however, of Mr Howlet, is founded on no better 

 ground than the increafe of people which he has obferved in two or 

 three parifhcs in his neighbourhood. 'But fuppofing that he had kept 

 a very exad account of their numbers from the year 1740 to 1788, 

 which can hardly be fuppofed, yet, if the recount had been kept 

 v;ith the greateft exadnefs, he cannot, from thence, infer, that the 

 whole peopfe of a nation are increafed in thai proportion, or are in- 

 creafed at all ; for I do not believe, that there is any example of depo- 

 pulation going on fo fail in any nation, as to be univerfal in every part 

 of it fo that, in every the leaft part of it, there was no increafe of 

 the people; for that may be in particular places, for particular reafons, 

 which cannot affed the population of the country in general. 



The other opinion, upcn this fubjed, is pubUfhed by Dr Price in 

 1788, in a pamphlet, entituled ' An Eflay on the Population of Eng- 

 * land from the Revolution to the prefent time ' In this pamphlet, 

 the Dodor maintains, that fmce the revolution, depopulation in hng- 

 land has been going on, and ftill continues to go on : And what 

 gives his opinion much more the appearance of truth, than the opi- 

 nion of Mr Howlet, is, that he has affigned caufes for this depopu- 

 lation ; v^hereas, Mr Howlet has affigned no caufes for fo extraor- 

 dinary an iacrcate of people as he fuppofes in 48 years ; greater, I 

 believe, than ever was in any country in the fame time. The caufes 

 affigned by Dr Price, for the depopulation of England, are : The 

 increafe of our navy and army, and tlie conllant fupply of men nc- 

 cefTary to keep them up;- A devouring capital ^oo large for the bo- 

 dy that fiipports it ;— The three long and deftrudive continental 



war?, 



