[ 79i ] 
outmod. And therefore in our calculations we (hall 
fuppofe 2000 burials yearly, more than in the bills at 
large. And which, whether we are exad enough or 
not in the fuppofition, will by no means hinder us to 
difcover the increafe, or decreafe of the people. 
It is next to be obferved, that in the bills the bap- 
tifms are always about two-fifth parts at leaf!:, lefs 
than the burials, with the numbers added to them 
above-mentioned ; and that this difference within 
the city feems continually to increafe, fo that it is 
much greater now than it was fome years ago ; which 
appears plainly to arife from two caufes; the number 
of Diffenters of various denominations, and the mul- 
titude of people that live unmarried. But I think it 
is rather owing to the laffc : for in London and Weft- 
minder the one-half of the people at lead: live dngle, 
that are above twenty-one years of age; which muff 
prevent almod as many more births, that might be 
reafonably expected. And this is not mere conjec- 
ture ; for I have had fome proof from a particular 
detail given me of one parifh within the city; 
where the greater part of thofe that are above that 
age are fingle. In the natural date of mankind it 
feems plain, that the number of births lhould be 
greater than the burials, and I believe that in many 
parifhes in the country they are near double. I found 
it fo in the Ifle of Wight, where I lived fome time, 
and had an opportunity to fee their regiders; for there 
the births were generally near double. And even in 
London, before the great lire in 1 666, it appears, 
from fome parifh regiders, that the baptifms were 
near about equal to the burials, and never afterwards: 
the reafon of which I do not underdand, unLefs it 
be 
