188 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1757- 



LVlll. An Answer to the Foregoirig Account of the Numbers and Increase of 

 the People of England. By the Rev. fVilliam Brakenridge, D. D., 

 F.R.S. p. 465. 



Dr. B states, that being resolved to depend only on the most sure, and ge- 

 neral observations, he applied to a public office, where he thought he might 

 possibly get at the number of houses. And he there found, that from the last 

 survey that was made since the year 1750, there were 690,700 houses in Eng- 

 land and Wales that paid the window-tax, and the 2 shilling duty on houses ; 

 besides cottages that paid nothing. By cottages are understood those which 

 neither pay to church or poor, and are, by act of parliament in 1747, in con- 

 sideration of the poverty of the people, declared to be exempted both from the 

 tax and the 2 shillings duty ; and these only remain not accurately known, to 

 ascertain the whole number of houses. However, they are so far known, that 

 from all the accounts that are hitherto given in, they do not appear to be so 

 many as 300,000 : and from what Dr. B. saw in the books of that office, he 

 thinks they were not much above 200,000. And therefore, if there are not 

 300,000 cottages, there cannot be a million of houses in the whole in England 

 and Wales ; and the rated houses are to the cottages more than 2 to one ; of 

 both which, according to the returns made, there is now about one in 17, or 

 58,800 empty throughout the kingdom. But if we were to allow that there are 

 a million of houses in the whole ; which is more than the gentlemen in the 

 above mentioned office believe, and then deduct those that are empty, there 

 could not be above 94 1 ,200 inhabited houses ; and consequently supposing 6 to 

 a house, about 5,647,200 people, or near about 5 millions and a half; which 

 at the utmost, is what he insists on to be the real number. 



But now the gentleman who objects to these calculations, thinks that Dr. B. 

 has made the number of houses too few, and that in the whole there are above 

 1,400,000 houses, of which he imagines there are more than 700,000 cottages ; 

 for he supposes them to be more than the rated houses ; and thence he infers, 

 that there are about 7 millions and a half of people in England and Wales. 

 But Dr. B. is so far from thinking that he has under-rated them, that he sus- 

 pects he has rather made them more than they are. However, this controversy 

 will soon be determined he says, there being now orders given to all the officers 

 concerned in the window-tax, to make an exact return of all the cottages, as well 

 as the rated houses, in each of their several districts. 



Dr. B. then examines the means and process by which Mr. F. computes, in 

 making the number of persons in England to amount to about 74 millions; and 

 these says Dr. B. are too imperfect and too small to authorize such a conclusion. 



And as to what the gentleman mentions concerning the militia, he seems, says 



