4 Allowance on Stamps. . °° 
true rule for writing and fpeaking, every - 
perfon well-verfed in the beft authors of 
his own country ought to be fully capa- 
le of acquiring the accurate and elegant 
ufe of his language. The French, who 
have taken fo much laudable pains with 
their tongue, admit this fact.. That we 
hold a contrary opinion, is owing to that 
claffical pride and pedantry which ftill 
infeéts us. Much might be faid on this 
topic, but I conclude for the prefent. 
Your's, &c. 
=a 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
“SIR, 
AVING derived pleafure and infor- 
BR mation from Dr. Leitfom’s commu- 
nications to the Monthly Magazine, and 
fincerely withing that the beneficial influ- 
ence of charitable inftitutions may be 
found as great as he has repre(fented it ; 
nothing but a conviction of the importance 
of endeavouring to afcertain the truth on 
all fubjeéts, could induce me to cbjeé& to 
the evidence he has brought forward in 
fupport of his opinion on this head. _ His 
conclufions are chiefly drawn from a com- 
parifon of the London bills of. morfality 
for fifteen years, ending 1786, with the 
fifteen years ending 1801. I beg leave to 
ftate the totals, with the addition of two 
preceding periods of fifteen years. - 
15 Years ending. Chriftened. Buried, 
4756 220,049 347,672 
1771 236,396 334:500 
173 260,066 307,632 
1801 279,570 294,008 
From thefe numbers it plainly appears, 
that during the laft fifteen years, in which 
the improvements in hofpitals, as well as 
thofe of the city, end the eftablifhment of 
difpenfaries have taken place, the increafe 
of births, and the diminution of deaths, 
has been /e/s thin in the preceding fifteen 
years 5 confequently the apparent improve- 
mest of London in this refpeét mutt have 
arifen principally from other caufes than 
that which has been affigned. In faét, 
the numbers of the repiftcred births and 
deaths have been gradually approaching to 
an «quality fiace about the year 174.0, as 
will be evident trom the following table, 
which fhews the proportion of#burials to 
roo chriftentngs, on an average of every 
five year's to the prefent time : 
1745 175 1775-128 
PSS 74. 1780 129 
7 Ae EL 1785 109 
ok og 510 aaah ie 1790 106 
i his tale 1795 107 
E97, °439 1800 102 
NeN. 
ftamp. 
[Feb. qT; 
It is far from my intention to deny 
that the charitable inftitutions of the me- 
tropolis have rendered effential fervices to 
the poorer-part of its inhabitants ; but if 
their influence on the ftate of the popula- 
tion cannot be dated further back than the 
year 1786, it will not by any means ac: 
count for the whole improvement in this 
refpect fince that time, unlefS the cauies 
which produced a much greater diminu- 
tion of burials, and increafe of births, 
prior to that period, can be fhewn to have 
ceafed to operate. jr JoGs 
8th Fanuary, 1893. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SiR, 
OUR Magazine haviag a large cir- 
culation, the letter in the laf Num- 
ber, figned ‘* S. H.’’ relative to the allow- 
ance on ftamps, may miflead many gentle- 
men in the mercantile world. s 
TI have to inform you, that, inftead of the 
difccunt being fixteen per cent. on ftamps 
for receipts, and ten per cent. on itamps 
for bills of exchange, on ftamping to the 
value of ten pounds, as ftated by “* S.HL”” 
the only allowance the Commiffioners 
of Stamps are authorifed to make to the 
Stationers is by aét 42. Geo. 3. cap. 99. 
claufe 6, 26 June, 1802, of which the fol- 
lowing is an abftraét: “* That from the 
sth July, 1302, inftead of all former al- 
lowances, it fhall be lawful for the Com- 
miffioners of Stamps to allow to every per- 
fon who fhall at one time bring to be 
ftamped paper or parchment, the duties on 
which fhall amount to thirty pounds, the 
fum of nine fhillings, and no more, and 
the further fum of one fhilling and fix- 
pence on every five pounds above thirty 
pounds.” 
Previous to which the allowance or 
difcount, by aéts 5 Geo. 3. cap. 46. and 
7 Geo. 3. Cap. 44. was two pound per 
cent. on flamping to the value of ten 
pounds, or, in the words of the att, « Four 
pound per cent. per annum for fix months.” 
When the duty on receipts was levied, it 
was agreed by the Commiffioners of Stamps 
and the Stationers, that on the Stationers 
receiving an additional allowance of feven 
and half per cent. they would not charge 
the public more than the value of the 
On ftamps for bills of exchange, 
as the Stationer cnly receives one and half 
per cent. difcount, the ufual charge to the 
public is, on ftamps cf the value of twa 
fhillings and under, one penny 5; and eg 
ftamps above the value of two fhillings, 
‘one penuy halfpenny, On all other ftamps 
exeept 
