Page:Life of Sir William Petty 1623 – 1687.djvu/218

 To these he adds the fear of wars, aggressive, defensive, and civil: the first of which he traces to mistaken notions of national greatness; the second to want of adequate preparation, 'wherefore to be always in a position of war at home, is the cheapest way to keep off war from abroad;' and the third largely to the persecution of the heterodox in religion. In connection with these 'aggravations' he proposes a large redistribution of the revenues of the Church, and suggests a return to a celibate clergy, and the abolition of the mass of unnecessary officials, lawyers, doctors, and professional men, who make unnecessary business or fatten in idleness at the expense of the taxpayer. 'If registers,' he says, 'were kept of all men's estates in lands, and of all the conveyances and engagements upon them; and withall, if publick loan banks, lombards, or banks of credit upon deposited money, plate, jewels, cloth, wool, silk, leather, linen, metals and other durable commodities were erected,' he cannot but 'apprehend how there could be above one tenth part of the law suits and writings, as now there are.' He desires that the State should find work for the unemployed. 'The permitting of any to beg,' he says, 'is a more chargeable way of maintaining them whom the law of nature will not suffer to starve, when food may possibly be had.' He contemplates a large system of public works, especially in connection with his favourite object, the improved communications by road of the different parts of the country. The 'supernumeraries' of the State, as he terms them, should 'neither be starved, nor hanged, nor given away.' That they will either beg, or starve, or steal, is certain, and there are grave objections to each and all of these three courses. It would even be better 'to let them build a useless pyramid on Salisbury plain, or bring the stones at Stonehenge to Tower hill,' than leave them in absolute idleness.

He then passes to the discussion of taxation, or, in other words, what the public charges ought to be in a well-regulated State, and suggests that one-twenty-fifth part of the value