An essay upon the ways and means of supplying the war

Of Poll-Money.

THere is nothing can make it better apparent how displeas∣ing Poll-Money is to the People, than the Observation how ill it is brought in, and answered to the King. For where Taxes seem hard and oppres∣sive, in particular to the Poor, the Country Gentlemen proceed in the Levying of them with no Zeal nor Affection.

The first single Poll that was gi∣ven in this Reign, amounted to 288, 310 l. 19 s. 6 1/•• 3 with which the Quarterly Poll holds no manner of Proportion. 'Tis true, the Qualifi∣cations are taxed differently in the two Acts. Money is charged in the first, and not in the second, and Ti∣tles are put higher in one than the other. But considering how many

were brought in by the second Act, and at high Rates, which were not reach'd by the first, the Quadruple Poll might reasonably have produc'd near four times as much as the Sin∣gle, and it yielded little more than half.

Quarterly Poll.

	l.	s.	d.
London, Middlesex,and Westminster—	97,622	5	11
Rest of England—	499,896	7	1 ¼
Total—	597,518	13	0 ¼

Single Poll.

	l.	s.	d.
London, Middlesex,and Westminster—	80,280	9	4 ¼
Rest of England—	208,030	10	2
Total—	288,310	19	6 ¼
Total of the Quar∣terly Poll—	597,518	13	0 ¼
Difference—	309,207	13	5 ¾

The Houses in England, as appears by the Books of Hearth-Money, are about 1,300,000, of which 500,000 are Cottages, inhabited by the Poorer Sort; so that we may reckon there are not above 800,000 Families liable to the Payment of Poll-Money; and though, in the common Computati∣on of the whole People, there may not be above six Persons to a House, one with another, yet, in computing the 800,000 Richer Families, we may very well allow them to contain, one with another, seven Persons, which would be 5,600,000 Heads; and reck∣on but a third Part of these qualifi∣ed within the Act to pay four Shil∣lings per Head, the Poll Bill on that single Article, ought to have pro∣duced 373,333 l.

What the one Pound per Quarter upon Gentlemen and Merchants worth 300 l. and such as belong to the Law; and what the Ten Shil∣lings per Quarter upon Tradesmen,

Shopkeepers, and Vintners worth 300 l. might have yielded, is diffi∣cult to compute; but, perhaps the Commissioners Names in the Act of Parliament for the Monthly Assess∣ment, Quarto & Quinto Gulielmi & Mariae may be no ill Guide in the Matter. The Commissioners then were about Ten thousand, and we may reasonably suppose (and any Gentleman may compute for his own Country, and he will find) that, one Country with another, not an Eighth Part are named Commissioners of those Persons, who in Estate, real or personal, are worth 300 l. and if so, we may reckon there are in England 80000 Persons lyable to the Pay∣ment of one Pound per Quarter; by which Account, the King should have received on that Article 320,000 l.

When we reflect upon the great Number of Tradesmen, Shopkeepers, and Vintners that are in England, it cannot seem any extravagant Com∣putation

to reckon there are 40000 Persons, of that Sort, worth 300 l. and lyable to the Payment of Ten Shillings per Quarter; upon which Head the King should have received 80000 l. And allowing but 26667 l. for all other Persons charged by that Act, the Quarterly Poll ought to have yielded to the King.

• For the Common People at 4 s. per Head—l. 373,333
• For the Gentlemen, &c. at 4 l. per Head—l. 320,000
• For Tradesmen, &c. at 4 l. per Head—l. 80,000
• For other Persons charged by the Act—l. 26,667
• In all—l. 800,000
• But there was re∣ceiv'd only—l. 597,518 s. 13 d. 0 ¼

The principal Articles in this Com∣putation seem very much confirmed by what the first Poll yielded; for if there had not been in England about 1,867,666 Persons who paid 12 d. per Head, and about Eighty thousand of the Sort who paid one Pound per Head, that Poll could not have produced in the Country only 208,330 l. 10 s. 2 d. for Money and Titles were generally charged in London

In the Poll now in being, such are charged who are worth in Estate, real or personal, 600 l. which may make some difference in the second Article; but the third Article should now increase, considering all Per∣sons, by this Act, are to pay Ten Shillings per Quarter that are worth 300 l. in Estate real or personal, which seems to take in Stock of all kinds; whereas in the former Act, only Tradesmen, Shopkeepers, and Vintners were comprehended; so

that if the present Poll were strictly collected, it would produce about 800,000 l. and yet, as far as can be judged by the Accounts hitherto come up, it is not like to yield so much Money as the former.

When a Tax yields no more than half what in reason might be expect∣ed from it, we may plainly see it grates upon all sorts of People, and such Ways and Means of raising Mo∣ney should be rarely made use off by any Government.