Page:William Petty - Economic Writings (1899) vol 1.djvu/404

306 Rich Men, should be twenty times more than that of a Labourer; yet the expence of the Labourer above mentioned, may well enough stand for the Standard of the Expence, of the whole mass of Mankind.

Now if the expence of each Man, one with another, be 7l. per annum, and if the number of the Kings Subjects, be ten Millions, then the tenth part of the whole expence, will be seven Millions: but about five Millions, or a very little more, will amount to one years pay for one hundred thousand Foot, forty thousand Horse, and forty thousand Men at Sea, Winter and Summer; which can rarely be necessary. |[103]| And the ordinary charge of the Government, in times of deep and serene Peace, was not 600000l. per annum.

Where a People thrive, there the income is greater than the expence, and consequently the tenth part of the expence is not a tenth part of the income; now for Men to pay a tenth of their expence, in a time of the greatest exegency (for such it must be when so great Forces are requisite) can be no hardship, much less a deplorable condition, for to bear the tenth part, a Man needs spend but a twentieth part less, and labour a twentieth part more, or half an hour per diem extraordinary, both which within Common Experience are very tolerable; there being very few in England, who do not eat by a twentieth part more than does them good; and what misery were it, in stead of wearing Cloth of 20s. per Yard, to be contented with that of 19s. few Men having skill enough to discern the difference.

 Memorandum, That all this while I suppose, that all of these ten Millions of People, are obedient to their Sovereign, and within the reach of his power; |[104]| for as things are otherwise, so the Calculation must be varied.