BRITAIN.
Though much smaller in extent than any of the other states of the first rank, Britain is the most wealthy and powerful of the whole. She has a mo derately_good climate, a soil less fertile in grain than that of France, but affording better pasturage; an extensive line of sea-coast with numerous harbours; a natural and well defined frontier, a good commer cial position, and the largest fields of coal in Europe. But all these advantages have contributed less to her aggrandisement than the excellence of her laws and constitution. The progress of Britain in commerce, manufactures, and agriculture, within the last cen tury, and especially within the last 40 years, has been wonderfully great The British Isles contain about 76,000,000 of acres, of which about 49,000,000 are in cultivation, and 27,000,000, or more than one-third, waste or uncultivated. About one-half of the waste-land is in Scotland, where the cultivated soil forms only 26 parts in the 100 of the whole surfhce of the country ; in England it forms 82 parts in the 100, and in Ireland 69.* The agriculture of Britain, compared with that of the Continent, is distinguished by the farms being generally larger, the plan of cultiva tion more systematic and skilful, the produce on equal soils greater, the pasture land bearing a higher proportion to the land in tillage, and the breed of animals being superior. In Scotland the pasture land forms about one-half of the land in cultivation • in England four-sevenths. The whole annual produce of grain in Britain and Ireland is estimated by Dr Colquhoun at 35,000,000 of quarters, excluding seed ; of which, wheat is sup 6e1 to form 26 parts in the 100 in quantity; bar ley 17 parts, oats 49, rye 2, pease and beans 5. The value of the annual produce of grain is computed by the same author at L.73,700,000; that of the pas ture land at L.89,200,900; and the whole gross produce of all the branches of agriculture, including gardens and cattle, at 216,000,000. But as this es timate was made in 1812, when prices were uncom monly high, a third or a.fourth should be deducted for the present value. The valued rack-rent of England and Wales, as returned to Parliament by the Commissioners of Taxes in 1810, was L.29,503,078, which gives 15s. 6d. as the average of rent of all kinds of land per acre. The rental of Scotland in 1813, according to Sir John Sinclair, was L.5,041,779, in cluding mines fisheries; and deducting L.341,000 for these, the rent of land will ,,be L.4,700,000, or 4e. per acre on an average. (Pamphleteer, X. p.
progress of Britain in manufactures has been still more rapid, within a recent period, than in agri culture; and her natural advantages for this species of industry are perhaps more exclusive. She has a good supply, within herself, of the raw material for all her staple manufactures except cotton; and her means of procuring this article are, at least, equal to those of ber neighbours. The growth of this manu facture in Britain has been unprecedently rapid. In 1767, the value of all the cotton goods manufactured did not exceed L.200,000; and, in 1812, it was estimated at L29,000,000. The produce of the woollen manufactures, in the same year, including the raw material, was estimated at L.26,000,000 ; that of leather at L.15,000,000 ; of linen at L15,000,000; and the whole produce of manu facturing industry, exclusive of the value of the raw material, at L.114,000,000. (Colquhoun, p. 91.) The commerce of Britain seems to have increased pretty regularly during the first sixty years of the last century ; but, from 1760 to 1786, it remained almost stationary. From this period to the pre-
sent time, the increase has been rapid beyond ex ample. The exports of England, about 1700, were L.6,045,000; in 1760, L.14,694,000; in 1786, L.15,885,000. (Chalmers, Hist. View, p. 315.) In 1818, the official value of the exports of the United Kingdom was L.53,559,711; of the imports, L.86,900,681, exclusive of the trade between Britain and Ireland. The mercantile tonnage in 1818 was 2,674,468, including that of the colonies, and the number of seamen 178,609. (Parliamentary Pa pers.) The annual produce of foreign commerce, or the sums derived from it by all classes concerned in it, were estimated, in 1812, at L.46,373,478 ; the gains from inland trade at L.81,500,000; and the whole annual produce of industry, ftom all sources, at L.480,000,000. (Colquhoun, p. 96-100.) The growing wealth of Britain has had to sustain an increasing weight of public burdens. The public revenue of England, at the Union in 1709, was L.5,691,803; of Scotland, L.160,000. In 1763 (a year of peace) the nett revenue was L.9,100,000; in 1790, L.I5,986,068 ; and, in 1812, it was L.64,979,960, of which England furnished L.55,995,128, Scotland L.4,155,599, and Ireland L.4,882,264. (Colquhoun, p. 262.) In the year ending 5th January 1819, the nett revenue was L.55,741,098, which was collected at an expence of L.8, Ss. 4d. per cent. The nominal amount of the national funded debt, at 5th January 1819, was L.802,296,265, including about L.7,000,000 of loans to Austria and Portugal ; the unfunded debt was L.51,992,095. The interest on the funded debt was L.27,999,389; adding to this L.2,500,000 for inter. est on unfunded debt, we have L.80,500,000 ; and, assuming the true rate of interest to be 5 per cent., the capital of the national debt may be valued at L.610,000,000. The army, on the 25th January 1819, was 104,869 men. The navy consisted of 173 ships of the line, and 448 of inferior size, includ ing ships building, with 20,000 seamen. (Portia. mentary Papers; Navy List.) The population of England appears to have doubled in the 100 years ending 1811; that of Scotland appears to have increased one-half in the same' period; that of Ireland is supposed to have doubled within the short space of 46 years. (Col. quhoun, p. 10.) In the period between 1801 and 1811, the rate of increase, in England and Scot. land, was such as would have doubled the popula tion in 52 years. (Milne, Ann. p. 112.) This ra pid increase of numbers appears not to have been accompanied with any deterioration of condition, at least in the people of England and Scotland. In the five, years ending 1784, the annual mortality in England and Wales was 1 in 37 ; in the five years ending 1810, it was 1 in 47.86. The average num ber of poor relieved in these 10 years was 1 in 8, 9, or nearly one-ninth of the inhabitants. (Milne, p. 437-442.) Of the population of Britain and Ireland, about 35 families in the 100 are employed in agricul ture, 45 in trades, manufactures, and handicrafts, and 20 in other occupations. The total population of Bri. tain and Ireland, in 1819, according to the rate of in. crease indicated by the returns for 1801 and 1811, should be about 18,740,000. To these must be add. ed about 875,000 British subjects in the various co lonies, and about 45,000,000 of native inhabitants and negroes, making a total of 64,615,000 persona. (Colquhoun, P. 7.)