The mod populous, and richefl commercial 

 nations on earth at prefent, China excepted,are 

 the Britifli and Dutch, efpecially the former ; 

 though it cannot by any means appear, that 

 they derive thofe advantages from their com- 

 merce. Indeed, from a very flight view of the 

 prefent ftate of our own nation, it muft be evi- 

 dent, that its commercial advantages for fome 

 time paft have been bought too dear. We 

 ihall not doubt, that whatever wars have been 

 entered into for fifty years paft, have been 

 for the fake of protecting and increafing the 

 commerce of the nation; neither ihall we 

 doubt that they have fully anfwered the pur- 

 pofe. But what is the confequence ? More 

 than 200 millions of national debt, befides 

 many millions expended annually to fupport 

 the war; and fuch a number of taxes to pay 

 the intereft, that the whole produce of the 

 commerce feems not fufficient to balance the 

 expence : At the fame time that our popula- 

 tion feems fo far from being on the increafe, 

 that perpetual emigrations take place to diffe- 

 rent countries ; as if our own was ftill infuf- 

 ficient to maintain thofe who are born in it. 



It is to little purpofe to enter into any de- 

 tail 



