Essential Writings - Nicholas Barbon

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Thorough-fare, by the passing and repassing of the Inhabitants to these new Buildings.

      2. They are advantageous to the City, because they increase the Trade of it: The Trade of the City is either Wholesale, or Retail. Now the New Buildings of Bloomsberry, Leicester-Fields, St. James's, Spittle-Fields, &c. are like so many new Towns for the Wholesale-Trader to Traffick in. The Inhabitants of these places do eat, wear Clothes, and furnish their Houses, and whatsoever Commoditie they use, come first from the Merchants, or Wholesale-Trader. For the City is the great Mart for Goods, from whence all other places must be furnished; so that the New Buildings are beneficial to the Wholesale Trade of the City. And it appears that they are likewise advantageous to the Retail-Traders, because they can afford to give more Rent for their old Houses, than they did formerly; for otherwise none would believe that the Tenants of Bishopsgate-street, and the Minories could subsist and pay double the Rent for their Houses within this thirty years, had they not a better Trade in those places than formerly.

       Of the Effects of New Buildings as they relate to the Country.

      

      NEW Buildings are advantageous to the Country: I. By taking off the Commodities of the Country,

      The Materials of these Houses, as Stones, Bricks, Lime, Iron, Lead, Timber, &c. are all the Commodities of the Country. And whatsoever the Inhabitants of these New Houses have occasion for, either for food, Apparel, or Furniture for their Houses, are at first the growth of the Country; And the bigger the Town grows, the greater is the occasion and consumption of these Commodities, and so the greater profit to the Country.

      II. New Buildings provide an habitation and livelihood for the Supernumerary and us•¦less Inhabitants of the Country. The younger Sons of the Gentry, the Children of the Yeomen and Peasants are by these means provided with Callings, Imployments, and Habitations to exercise them in; which should they have continued in the Country, would have been burdensome, and chargeable to their Friends for want of Imployments.

      For there is always Inhabitants enough left in the Country for the imployments of the Country. For if the Country wanted people, there would be a want of their Commodities, for want of hands to provide them.

      Now there is as much Land Plowed, and all sorts of Grain sown, and reaped every year, as there is occasion for; and sometimes more: For the Crown in some years hath been at charge to Export it. And there is as much Wooll provided and made into Clothes and Stuffs, as the Market can take off, and so for all other Commodities of the Country.

      Nay there are more of all the Country Commodities every year made than formerly: There are more Stuffs, more Clothes sent up to Gerard's and Blackwell-Hall, as appears by the Entries of those Halls; and more Sheep and Oxen sent to London, and eaten, than formerly. For there are more people in the City to be fed; so that there must be more hands in the Country to provide this greater quantity of Commodities: And the Country does increase as well as the City, as hath been already observed from the Doomsday-Book.

      Therefore if the Rents of the Lands fall in the Country, it must not be ascrib'd to the New-Buildings draining their Inhabitants, but to some other occasions; Which probably may be from the great improvements that are made upon the Land in the Country, either by draining of Fens; improving of Land by Zanfoin; or other profitable Seeds; inclosing of grounds, or disparking and plowing of Parks, by which means the Markets are over stock'd and furnished at a cheaper rate than those Lands can affford, who have had no advantage from improvements: Or else the Market is removed at a greater distance, and the Lands are forced to abate in their price for the carriage; The Town perhaps is decayed, that they used to furnish, and the Trade removed to some other flourishing place at a greater distance; occasioned some times by the death or removal of some great Clothier or Trader; or some other natural obstruction of the place; as the choaking up of some Haven, and the forsaking of the Sea, which is the reason of the decay of the Cinque-Ports. These or some other occasions may make some particular mens Farms fall in value; but there is never a County in England, where the Land of the whole County doth not produce a third part more in value than it did within a 100 years, and whosoever will compare these present Rents, with what they were then, will find them generally increased. Therefore the New Buildings of this City cannot prejudice the Country, but are greatly advantageous to it.

       Of the Effects of the New Buildings, as they relate to the Government.

      1. NEW Buildings are advantageous to the King and Government. They are instrumental to the preserving and increasing of the number of the Subjects; And numbers of Subjects is the strength of a Prince: for Houses are Hives for the People to breed and swarm in, without which they cannot increase; And unless they are provided for them from time to time in proportion to their increase, they would be forced to go into the Plantations and other Countries for habitations; and so many times become the Subjects of other Princes; but at the best the Country loseth the profit of feeding them; for they that live in a City are unskilful and unfit for Country-life; and this is the reason why so many Scotch Citizens are wandring Pedlers: and that every Town in Europe hath a Scotchman for an Inhabitant.

      And that this will be the Effects will appear plainly by examining the growth of the City of London, since the Buildings have flourished, with its condition, when the Buildings were prohibited; And we cannot make a better discovery of it than by the Bills of Mortality, for it is reasonable among such a number of Mankind, such a number should die; and whether it be in such a proportion as one in three and thirty, as Mr. Grant and Sir William Petit have observed, is not not so material to this purpose; but it is a certain demonstration, That if the Burials have increased, the number of Citizens hath increased, though the proportion may be uncertain.

      Now to begin the Observation from the first Bills, that were Printed, which was in the year 1606, for the space of six and seven and twenty years, we shall find very little increase in the City, for in 1606 and 1607, there died between six and seven thousand a year; and in the years 1632 and 1633 there died betwixt eight and nine thousand; Now the reason of this was the People of England were a little before that time under the same mistake, as they are generally now, and cried out against the Builders, that the City would grow too big; and therefore in the 38 of Queen Elizabeth they made a Law to prohibit Buildings in the City of London; which though it was but a probationary Act, to continue only to the next Sessions of Parliament (which was but a short time) yet its effects were long; For it frighted the Builders, and obstructed the growth of the City; and none built for thirty years after, all King James his Reign, without his Majesties License; But for want of Houses the increase of the People went into other parts of the world; For within this space of time were those great Plantations of New England, Virginia, Mariland, and Burmudas began; and that this want of Houses was the occasion is plain; For they could not build in the Country, because of the Law against Cottages. For people may get children and so increase, that had not four Acres of ground to Build on.

      But the People of England at last were convinced of this popular error, and petitioned in Parliament his Majesties K. Charles the Martyr, that he would take his restraint from the Builders; and if the next period of seven and twenty years be examined, wherein there was a greater liberty of Building, though in this space there was a great Rebellion and Civil Wars, which is a great allay to the growth of the People, yet there appeareth a much greater increase of the City of London; For in the years 1656 and 1657, the Burials were twelve and thirteen thousand,

      But the flourishing condition of the City of Londen raised a new clamour against the Builders, and Oliver the Usurper glad of any pretence to raise a Tax, made use of this clamor, and laid it upon the new Foundations; but though it was an heavy and unjust Tax upon the Builders, yet he got little by it, for the whole Summ collected was but Twenty thousand Pounds clear of all charges, as appears by the Records of the Exchequer; however it had the same ill effects to stop the Builders, and growth of the City; for the People for want of Houses in that time began that great and flourishing Plantation of Jamaica.

      Now if the last Period since his Majesties happy Restauration be examined, wherein the Builders have had the greatest liberty, it will appear that the Inhabitants of the City have increased more than in both of the former Periods; for the yearly Bills of Mortality are now betwixt two

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