PAPERS ON SUBJECTS OF GENERAL POLITICS. N. B. All the Papers under this divifion are diftinguished by the letters G. P. placed in the running title at the head of each leaf. OBSERVATIONS concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, &c. T ABLES of the proportion of marriages to births, of deaths to births, of marriages to the number of inhabitants, &c. formed on obfervations made upon the bills of mortality, christenings, &c. of populous cities, will not fuit countries; nor will tables formed on obfervations made on full-fettled old countries, as Europe, fuit new countries, as America. 2. For people increase in proportion to the number of marriages, and that is greater in proportion to the eafe and convenience of fupporting a family. When families can be eafily fupported, more perfons marry, and earlier in life. [This and the following paper only, have appeared in the English Edition of Dr. Franklin's Works. E.] 3. In cities, where all trades, occupations, and offices are full, many delay marrying, till they can fee how to bear the charges of a family; which charges are greater in cities, as luxury is more common: many live fingle during life, and continue fervants to families, journeymen to traders, &c. Hence cities do not, by natural generation, fupply themselves with inhabitants: the deaths are more than the births. 4. In countries full fettled, the cafe must be nearly the fame; all lands being occupied and improved to the heighth, those who cannot get land, muft labour for others that have it; when labourers are plenty, their wages will be low; by low wages a family is fupported with difficulty; this difficulty deters many from marriage, who, therefore, long continue fervants and fingle.Only as the cities take fupplies of people from the country, and thereby make a little more room in the country, marriage is a little more encouraged there, and the births exceed the deaths. 5. Great part of Europe is full fettled with hufbandmen, manufacturers, &c. and therefore cannot now much encreafe in people. America is chiefly occupied by Indians, who fubfift mostly by hunting. But as the hunter, of all men, requires the greateft quantity of land from whence to draw his fubfiftence, (the hufbandman fubfifting on much lefs, the gardener on ftill lefs, and the manufacturer requiring least of all) the Europeans found America as fully fettled as it well could could be by hunters; yet these having large tracts, were easily prevailed on to part with portions of territory to the new comers, who did not much interfere with the natives in hunting, and furnished them with many things they wanted. 6. Land being thus plenty in America, and fo cheap as that a labouring man that understands husbandry, can, in a fhort time, fave money enough to purchase a piece of new land, fufficient for a plantation, whereon he may fubfift a family; fuch are not afraid to marry; for if they even look far enough forward to confider how their children, when grown up, are to be provided for, they fee that more land is to be had at rates equally eafy, all circumstances confidered. 7. Hence marriages in America are more general, and more generally early than in Europe. And if it is reckoned there that there is but one marriage per Annum among 100 perfons, perhaps we may here reckon two; and if in Europe they have but four births to a marriage, (many of their marriages being late) we may here reckon eight; of which, if one half grow up, and our marriages are made, reckoning one with another, at twenty years of age, our people muft at least be doubled every twenty years. 8. But notwithstanding this increafe, fo vaft is the territory of North America, that it will require many ages to fettle it fully; and till it is fully settled, labour will never be cheap here, where no man continues long a labourer for others, but gets a plantation of his own; no man continues B 2 long long a journeyman to a trade, but goes among those new fettlers, and fets up for himself, &c. Hence labour is no cheaper now, in Penfylvania, than it was thirty years ago, though fo many thousand labouring people have been imported from Germany and Ireland. 9. The danger, therefore, of these colonies interfering with their mother country in trades that depend on labour, manufactures, &c. is too remote to require the attention of Great Britain. 10. But in proportion to the increase of the colonies, a vast demand is growing for British manufactures; a glorious market, wholly in the power of Britain, in which foreigners cannot interfere, which will increase, in a fhort time, even beyond her power of supplying, though her whole trade should be to her colonies * * 12. It is an ill-grounded opinion, that by the labour of flaves, America may poffibly vie in cheapnefs of manufactures with Britain. The labour of flaves can never be fo cheap here, as the labour of working men is in Britain. Any one may compute it. Intereft of money is in the colonies from 6 to 10 per cent. Slaves, one with another, coft 30/. fterling per head. Reckon then the intereft of the first purchase of a flave, the infurance or rifque on his life, his cloathing and diet, expences in his fickness, and lofs of time, lofs by his neglect of bufinefs, (neglect is natural to the man who is not to be benefited by his own care or diligence) expence of a driver to keep him at work, and his pilfering from time 19 |