and of this commentary, seems to be confirmed by a law of Henry VII. ; * which recites, That where, in some towns, two hundred persons lived, by their lawful labours, now they are occupied by two or three herdsmen, and the residue fall into idleness: And, from the foregoing facts, we may surely infer, that there must have been a great paucity of people, in England, during those good old times; at least, towards the conclufion of the celebrated reign of Edward III. From incontrovertible evidence, we can now establish the whole number of inhabitants, at that epoch, with sufficient exactness, to answer all the practical purposes of the statesman, and even to satisfy all the scrupulous doubts of the sceptic. A poll-tax of four-pence, having been imposed by the Parliament of the 51st of Edward III. (1377), on every lay person, as well male, as female, of fourteen years, and upwards, real mendicants only excepted, an official return remains of the persons who paid the tax, in each county, city, and town, which has been happily preserved. + And, from this * 4th Henry VII. ch. 19; which is published, in the Appendix to Pickering's Statutes, vol. xxiii. This record, so instructive as to the state of England at the demise of Edward III., was laid before the Antiquary Society, in December 1784, by the late Mr Topham of the PaperOffice; a gentleman, whose curious research, with regard to the jurisprudence, and history of his country, as well as communicative disposition, merits commendation. Mr Topham observed, that the sum collected, in consequence of the sub sidy Subsidy-roll it appears, that the lay persons, who paid the before mentioned poll-tax, amounted 1,367,239. to When we have ascertained what proportion the persons paying bore to the whole, we shall be able to form a sufficient estimate of the total popula tion. It appears from the table formed by Doctor Halley, according to the Breslaw births and burials; from the Northampton Table; from the Norwich Table; and from the London Table, constructed by Mr Simpson; as these Tables were published by the late Dr Price; That the persons, at any time, living under fourteen years of age, are a good deal fewer than one-third of the co-existing lives. And the lay persons, who paid the tax, in 1377, must consequently have been a good deal more than two-thirds of the whole. But, since there may have been omis sions of the persons paying, amount ing to Add a half to that amount 1,367,239 683,619 2,050,858 sidy of 1377, being 22,6071. 2s. 8d., contained only 1,356,428 groats, which ought to have been the amount of those, whe were fourteen years of age, and upwards: But, I have chosen to state the number of persons, who are mentioned in the roll as having paid, in each county and town, amounting to 1,367,239, though the total, mistakingly added on the record, is 1,376,442. * Observ. on Revers. Payments, vol. ii. p. 35-6, 39-40. Brought over Add the number of beneficed clergy paying the tax And the non-beneficed clergy But, Wales, not being included in this The second with Northumberland, at The whole people of England and 2,050,858 15,229 13,932 2,080,019 196,560 51,411 25,213 * From Dr Davenant's Table (in his Essay on Ways and Means, p. 76.) it appears, that Wales paid a much smaller sum to the poll-tax of the 1st of William and Mary, to the quarterly poll, and indeed to every other tax, and contained a much lower number of houses, according to the hearthbooks of Lady-day 1690, than Yorkshire. It was giving a very large allowance to Wales, when this country was placed on an equality with Yorkshire, which paid in 1377, for 131,040 lay persons. The population of Cheshire, and Durham, was settled upon similar principles; and is equally stated in the text at a medium rather too high: So that, as far as we can credit this authentic record, in respect to the whole number of lay persons upwards of fourteen years of age, we must believe, that this kingdom contained, at the demise of Edward III., about TWO MILLIONS, three hundred and fifty-three thousand souls; making a reasonable allowance, for the usual omissions of taxable persons. We can now build upon a rock; having before us proofs, which are almost equal in certainty to actual enumerations. Yet, what a picture of public misrule, and private misery, does the foregoing statement display, during an unhappy period of three hundred years! We here behold the powerful operation of those causes of depoluation, which Doctor Campbell collected, in order to support his hypothesis of a decreasing population, in feudal times. But, were we to admit, that one half of the people had been carried off by the desolating plague of 1349, as Doctor Mead supposes; or even onethird, as Mr Hume represents with greater probability; we should find abundant reason to admire the solidity of Lord Hale's argument, in favour of a progressive population; because this circumstance would alone evince, that there had been, in that long effluxion of time, a considerable increase of numbers, during various years of healthiness, and in different ages of tranquillity. We may now cry out with Daniel : And MEMORIE, preserv'resse of all things done, in ages past: How causes, counsels, and events did runne, So long as those unhappy times did last, I verifie the troth; not poetize. CHAP. II. The Population in the principal Towns of England, during 1377.—Reflections.-The Populousness, Commerce, Policy, and Power of England, from that Epoch to the Accession of Elizabeth. THE truth of Lord Hale's conclusion, with regard to a progressive increase of people, would ap pear still more evident, if we were to form a comparison between the notices of Domesday Book, and the statements of the Subsidy-roll before-mentioned, which would show a much inferior populousness, soon after the Conquest, in 1077, than at the demise of Edward, in 1377. We shall, certainly, find additional proofs, and, perhaps, some amusement, from taking a view of the population of our principal towns, as they were found, and are represented, by the tax-gatherers, in 1377, and in 1801 : |