C 885 ] 
fencible men will not be much more than 14,000 : 
Which number feems to be exhaufted during thefe 
laft 66 years, in her frequent wars, her ordinary 
commerce at Sea, and emigrations to her Colonies. 
For all the annual increments put together, in that 
time, will not make above a million, and the Ioffes 
cannot be computed at much lefs. And this is fome 
comfort to us in Britain, that our neighbours, who 
are rivals to us in trade and power, are not better 
oeconomifts of their people than we are ; and that 
their fcheme of Government andfuperftition will never 
fuffer them to increafe, fo much as they might rea- 
fonably do. 
We may in general likewife obferve, that in all 
Europe the annual increafe of people muff be much 
lefs than it was in fome former ages. For the ad- 
vancement of trade in the maritime countries, muff 
greatly augment the lofs of their fencible men. In 
Britain there is one- third of the increafe of them 
deftroyed by our concerns at Sea, and in Holland 
perhaps the whole of it ; and this added to the fu- 
perftitious celibacy of other nations, muff diminifli 
much the increafe of people. 
The above method of fhewing our want of in- 
creafe, from the Ioffes of our fencible men; which 
are always in proportion to the whole body of the 
people, feems to me to be clear and demonftrative : 
But the fame thing may likewife be conjectured, from 
the exportation of our corn. For there is as much 
now fent abroad as was forty years ago, or perhaps 
more; befides a great deal of it diftilled, which was 
not formerly done. And if there is the fame quan- 
tity exported, there muff be nearly the fame con- 
Vol. 4<?. 5 U fumption 
