E 
N G L A N D. 
£07 
Ways and Means to provide for the fane. 
Malt Duty. 
Duty on Penfions, Offices, &c. 
Surplus, Ways and Means, 1803. 
War Taxes, to April 5, 1805. 
Cuftoms and Excife ...... £ 8,200,000 
Propei ty Tax. 7,000,000 
35,200,000 
Deduct, wanting to complete 
Grants, 1803. 760,000 
14,440,000 
Additional War Taxes, on Wine, 
Imports, Stamps ...... 1,000,000 
Surplus Confolidated Fund, to April 5, 1805 
Lottery. 
Yote of Credit . 
Loan. 
36,510,000 
That fuch fums fhotild be fo eafily raifed, and (o little 
felt, by the bulk of the people, can only be accounted 
for from the unbounded extent of the Britilh commerce, 
and the increafing population of the country. Hence the 
population of England, as in molt other countries, be¬ 
comes the bed criterion of its profperity and power. It 
has generally been eftimated at eight millions; but fome 
writers raifte it to a much greater amount. That of the 
city of London has been dwelled to a million, though re¬ 
duced by more precife calculations to about feven hun¬ 
dred thoufand. 
The cuftoms and manners of the people of England, 
have always been remarked and admired for their frank- 
siefs and fnnplicity. The plainnefs and neatnefs of their 
drefs, devoid of ermin, furbelow, and gold lace, avoided 
by every gentleman, except on court-days and extraordi¬ 
nary occafions, is no lefs furpriftng to the gaudy foreigner, 
than the fplendid plainnefs of the mufiin dreffes of the 
ladies, who have long abandoned the tight unnatural 
form, fo prejudicial to health, and have alfumed much 
of the Grecian eafe and elegance. 
The fimplicity of the Englifh cookery, alfo ftrikes 
foreigners as much as that of the drefs. A Frenchman 
drinks his wine during dinner; but the late Mr. Gibbon 
has juftly remarked, that the luxury of a daily table in 
England, permits a gentleman to tafte half a dozen forts 
of wine during dinner, and to drink his bottle of claret 
afterwards. The red wine of Portugal is, however, a 
greater favourite than that of France, as its aftringent and 
antifeptic qualities, are found highly falutary in a moift 
climate. The houfes in England are peculiarly commo¬ 
dious, neat, and cleanly ; and domeftic architecture, as 
well as the grand and magnificent, feems to have arrived 
.at the higheft pitch of penettion. 
The amufements of the theatre and of the field, and 
-various games of fki 11 or chance, are common here, as in 
moll other refined nations. Prior to the middle of the 
fixteenth century, the Englifh and French were alike re¬ 
garded asbarbarous nations by the more poliftied Italians. 
But though the Englifh literature was at that period con- 
feffedly in a rude and unpolifhed ftate, yet Englifh in¬ 
tegrity was even then confidered as a genuine attribute 
of the people, and which has carried their credit and 
commerce to an extent before unknown in the hiftory of 
■nations. 
The conftrudfion of the Englifh language is peculiar, 
and renders the ftudy of it very difficult to foreigners. 
The German, and other Gothic dialefts, prefent declen- 
fions of nouns, and other correfpondencies with the Latin; 
.while in the Englifh all fuch objects are accomplifhed by 
prefixes. — See the articles Grammar, and Language. 
Anomalies alfo abound, and are too deeply rooted ever 
to be eradicated by grammatical rules j yet Englifh litera¬ 
£ 750,000 
2,000,000 
1,370,000 
15,440,000 
5,000,000 
250,000 
1,700,000 
30 , 000,000 
ture is now become a vaftnnd inviting fource of informa¬ 
tion, amufement, and delight. 
The prefent ftate of the arts in England, is highly wor¬ 
thy of fo opulent and refined a country, and the progrefs 
has been rapid beyond example. The late Horace Wal¬ 
pole, earl of Orford, has delineated, from the papers ot 
the induftrious Vertue, a pleafing and animated picture of 
the hiftory of the arts in this country, to which we feel 
great pleafure'in referring the inquifitive reader. Edu¬ 
cation, too, forms one of the moll important objects of an 
enlightened people; and it has been attended 10 accord¬ 
ingly, as the efience and well-being of the community. 
The education of the lower daffies in England, had be¬ 
come extremely negledted, before the benevolent inftitu- 
tion of the fun^lay fchools. There can be no doubt that 
where the common people are the beft inftrufted, there 
they will be found the mod contented, orderly, and virtu¬ 
ous ; as they feel a confcious felf-refpeft, are accuftonred 
to be treated with regard by each other, and will cheer¬ 
fully extend the fame reverential conduct towards their 
fuperiors. A practical eftimate of the advantages of ge¬ 
neral education, may be formed by comparing the neglect¬ 
ed peafantry of Ireland, with the peaceable and induf¬ 
trious Highlanders of Scotland, where public fchools 
exift in every parilh. The middle and higher ranks of 
Englifh, much to their praife, fpare no expence in the 
education of their children. The moft eminent public 
fchools, are thofe of St. Paul’s, Weftminfter, Eton, and 
Winchefter; and from them have arifen fome of the moft 
diftinguiftied ornaments of this country. The fcholars 
in due time proceed to the univerfities of Oxford and 
Cambridge, foundations of an extent and grandeur that 
imprefs deferved veneration.—See the article Educa¬ 
tion, in this volume. 
The climate of England, though perhaps more variable 
than that of any other country on the globe, occafioned 
by the drying winds of the eaflern continent oppofing fo 
vehemently the vapours cf the Atlantic Ocean ; yet its 
vegetable productions, from the great improvements 
made in horticulture and hulbandry, are more than ample 
for all the demands of home confumption, and are excel¬ 
lent in their kinds. The tender wall-fruits, however, 
are very fubjedl to fail, from the great prevalence of that 
moft undefinable of evils, called tiie blight-, for the fup- 
pofed caufes of which fee vol. iii. p. 310.—The humidity 
of the climate, indeed, clothes the face of the country 
with a rich and luxuriant verdure ; but it is injurious to 
the health of the inhabitants, by caufing colds and ca¬ 
tarrhs, the frequent fources of confumptions, which are 
fatal to many of the Englifh in the prime of youth.. The 
moift and foggy climate alfo confpires with the great ufe 
of animal food, to produce that melancholic referve 
which is efteemed by foreigners a national charadteriftic. 
In confequence of the mutability of the climate, the fea- 
fons too are always more or lefs uncertain. Many ob- 
fervers, endowed with philofophical (kill and candid 
judgment, have agreed, that fince the year 177^, a confi- 
derable change feems to have taken place in the tempera¬ 
ture of the feafons both in Great Britain and Ireland. 
The winters in general have been more moift and mild, 
and the fummers more humid and more cold, than will 
be found on an average of preceding years. What is 
called the fpring, dawns in April, commonly indeed a 
mild month ; but the eaftern winds Hill prevalent in 
May, feem commiflioned to ruin the efforts of reviving 
nature, and nip the tender buds and fruits. June, July, 
Auguft, and September, are ufually warm fummer months; 
but a night of ffoft is not unknown even in Auguft, and 
fometimes a cold eaft wind will then blow for feveral 
days together; nor of late years are fummers unknown 
of almoft conftant rain. The winter may be faid to com¬ 
mence with the beginning of Odfober, at which time 
domeftic fires become neceffiary ; but there is feldom any 
fevere froft till Chrifrmas, and January is the moft ftern 
month of the year. Yet, as our fummers often produce 
• x fpecimens 
