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tax and the two- Shillings duty ; and they only remain 
not accurately known, to afcertain the whole number 
of houfes. However, they are fo far known, that 
from all the accounts that are hitherto given in, they 
do not appear to be fo many as 300,000 ; and from 
what I myfelf have feen, in the books of that office, 
I fhould think they were not much above 200,000 ; 
for in fome places, that I was perfe&iy acquainted 
with, I found many of the day labourers rated to the 
two-fhillings duty, and there did not appear to be 
one houfe in ten omitted. And therefore, if there 
are not 300,000 cottages, as feems plain to me, there 
cannot be a million of houfes in the whole in England 
and Wales; and the rated houfes are to the cottages 
more than two to one ; of both which, according to 
the returns made, there is now about one in feven- 
teen or 58,800 empty throughout the kingdom. But 
if we were to allow, that there are a million of houfes 
in the whole ; which is more than the Gentlemen in 
the above mentioned office believe, and then dedudt 
thofe that are empty, there could not be above 94,1 ,200 
inhabited houfes ; and confequently fuppofing fix to 
a houfe, about y, (347,200 people, or near about five 
millions and an half; which at the utmoft, is what 
I infill on to be the real number. 
But now the Gentleman, who objects to my calcu- 
lations, thinks, that I have made the number of houfes 
too few, and that in the whole there are above 
1,400,000 houfes, of which he imagines there are 
more than 700,000 cottages ; for he fuppofes them to 
be more than the rated houfes ; and from thence he 
infers, that there are about feven millions and an half of 
people, in England and Wales.; which I wifh, with all 
Ooo 2 my 
