Page:William Petty - Economic Writings (1899) vol 1.djvu/349

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Shipping of Europe
251

Flax, Turneps, Clover-grass, Madder, &c. will easily yield 10l. per Acre; so as the Territories of Holland and Zealand, should by his account yield at least Ten Millions per annum, yet I do not believe the same to be so much, nor France so The Buildings of Amsterdam are about half in value to those at Paris. little as abovesaid, but rather, that one bears to the other as about 7, or 8 to 1.

The People of Amsterdam, are one third of those in Paris or London, which two Cities differ not in People a twentieth part from each other, as hath appeared by the Bills of Burials and Christnings for each[1]. But the value of the Buildings in Amsterdam, may well be half that of Paris, by reason of the Foundations, Grafts, and Bridges, which |[5]| in Amsterdam are more numerous and chargeable than at Paris. Moreover the The Housing in France above five times the value of those in Holland and Zealand. Habitations of the poorest People in Holland and Zealand are twice or thrice as good as those of France; but the People of the one to the People of the other, being but as thirteen to one, the value of the housing must be as about five to one.

The value of the Shipping of Europe, being about two Millions of Tuns, I suppose the English have Five Hundred Thousand, the Dutch Nine Hundred Thousand, the French an Hundred Thousand, the Hamburgers, and the Subjects of Denmark, Sweden, and the Town of Dansick two Hundred The Shipping of Holland 9 times that of France. and Fifty Thousand, and Spain, Portugal, Italy, &c. two Hundred and Fifty Thousand; so as the Shipping in our case of France to that of Holland and Zealand, is about one to nine, which reckoned as great and small, new and old, one with another at 8[2]l. per Tun, makes the worth to be as Eight Hundred Thousand Pounds, to Seven Millions, and Two The Comparison of Holl. and France in the India's. Hundred Thousand Pounds. The Hollanders Capital in the

    left by a Gentleman to his Sons for the Improvement of barren and heathy Land, 1670, are much involved. They appear to be all substantially the same book. Cf. A biographical Memoir of Hartlib with bibliographical Notices of Works published by him. By H. Dircks (1865), p. 62—87.

  1. The Paris bills began in 1670 (see note on the subject near the end of Graunt's Observations, post) and from that time to 1676 the births in the two cities always differed more than a twentieth, and the burials differed by more than a twentieth each year save in 1672.
  2. S, '9,' altered to '8' by Petty; R, '8.'