To the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled a supplement to the Proposal for a colledge of industry, shewing a regular constant imploy for the poor, is the best foundation of trade, and the greatest improvement to the nation, and consequently support to the government ...

To the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled a supplement to the Proposal for a colledge of industry, shewing a regular constant imploy for the poor, is the best foundation of trade, and the greatest improvement to the nation, and consequently support to the government ...

Table of contents

To the LORDS and COMMONS in Parliament Assembled.

[Page]

[Page]

To the LORDS and COMMONS in Parliament Assembled.

A Supplement to the Proposal for a Colledge of Industry, Shewing a Regular Constant Imploy for the Poor, is the best Foundation of Trade, and the greatest Improvment to the Nation, and Consequently support to the Government, whilst the want of it tends to the Poor's Misery, Poverty of the Rich, and Governments Weakening.

SUpposing there are seven Millions of People in the Nation, and that one in fourteen, either will not work, or want it; That is, five Hundred Thousand Men, Women and Children.

And Reckoning they might Earn one with another Sixpence a Day, a Head, it comes to Twelve Thousand Five Hundred Pound a Day; which is Seventy-five Thousand Pound a Week.

That makes Three Millions Nine Hundred Thousand Pounds a Year, the Nation loseth by Idleness, besides our loss in Land Unimproved by it, which is no small Sum.

To which add but two pence a Head a Day, the Nation is at Charge in Parish Rates, and other Gifts to the Poor, comes to one Million Three Hundred Thousand Pound a Year; which Account in the whole makes the Loss and Charge to the Nation to be,

Five Millions Two Hundred Thousand Pound a Year. Tho' the Parish Rates be not much above eight Hundred Thousand Pound a Year for the Poor, yet the Gifts otherwise given them, make, I suppose, near as much more.

Now if one or two Millions of this may be sav'd by the Idle and Indigent, (and they better Maintained and Bred) what Profit may be further added to the Nation, by the several Millions of other Labourers that might be Imploied, in a better Method then they are? A Regular Constant Imployment, as much Excelling an Irregular Uncertain One, for Profit, as a well Disciplined Army in Order, excels in Strength and Conduct, an Ignorant Scattered Multitude.

[Page]It's the Raising more then we Spend by the Industry and Labour of the People, must strengthen the Nation to support the Government; all other ways and means mounting to no more then how to Tax them equally, and with least sense to the People.

Some Reasons for joyning Husbandry to Manufactures for imploying the Poor, as proposed for a Colledge of Industry.

1. HUsbandmen are as useful, and wanted as much as any Mechanicks, much Land wanting People to Manage it, and more People want Bread than Cloathing, and as our Food is double the Value of our Apparel, and of more necessity, (the Back may be promised, but the Belly must be fed) if we will imploy more People in Manufactures, or Cloathing, than there is need for, and want them in raising Food, our Cloath may Motheat for want of vent, whilst the Poor pine for want of Bread.

2. They will less Clog any Market with their Manufactures, some of their Hands being upon Husbandry, and also the People in Husbandry will take off a good part of their Manufactures.

3. As they will make less to Clog the Market, so they will not be under a necessity of selling to buy Bread (having Food enough of their own) nor of selling under or before a Market offers.

4. Whatever is raised or spent in the Nation, the fewer Hands it goes through between the Raiser and User, is for the Advantage of the Publick, the Raiser having the better Price, or the Spender buys it the Cheaper, or both, and it being sent abroad to Foreign Markets, it may be afforded the Cheaper, either to the keeping an Old, or gaining a New Trade with Strangers.

And tho' Idle or Lude Poor are (like a Mans Limbs out of joynt) Chargeable and Vexatious; yet when Industrious, they support the Rich, and the more we have of them, the stronger the Nation; for if a City is of more Value than a Village, London than Islington, the People cannot be too Numerous, if every imploy be but in a due Proportion one to the other, Husbandmen with other Mechanicks.

But the want of Proportioning our Labourers, is what makes the complaint against a Multitude of them, and many Industrious Poor groan, under, a dull Commodity for want of vent, especially adding the increase of Foreigners, who increase our Manufactures (and not our Husbandry) and with hard Living and cheap Working, bring our Poor [Page] Mechanicks to their rate of Working and Living (ours have not been used to) or else stand still and Beg, which makes them hate the Poor Afflicted Strangers (that Fly hither from Misery) as Eating the Bread out of our Poor's Mouths.

Whereas in this Colledge-Method I Propose (Consisting of Temperance, Industry, and a due Proportioning of all Trades and Imployments (like a due quantity of Various Materials in Building, whilst too many of one thing, and too few of another will make the Building Lame, if not useless) we may imploy and plentifully provide all Conveniences of Living, for our own Poor with Profit, and when we have seen the Experience from that Copy, with the same Improvment we may Imploy all the Foreign Poor that will come, who will be a Treasure to the Nation, if well ordered (with this advantage also, that it will leave Foreign Princes the fewer Hands to hurt us) whose Children (tho' not their Parents) will become Natives of England, many of our Nobility and Eminent Gentry, and Citizens (true English Men) being the Off spring of Strangers.

And such a Regular Imploy of our People that brings a due Proportion and Plenty of all things, will Incourage their Marriage and the coming hither of Strangers (we having Land enough to Imploy and Maintain double our Number, especially a well managed Fishery being added) and the increasing of our People, is the best Improving of our Land and Fishery, and increasing of our Trade and Seamen (Transplanting as much as may be all Foreign Growth, to grow in our own Plantations.)

Therefore I pray you will permit a Bill to be brought in to Incorporate (with other suitable Incouragments to) any Persons that shall be willing to set on Foot such a Colledge of Industry.

John Bellers.

FINIS.

Information about this book

Title statement

To the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled a supplement to the Proposal for a colledge of industry, shewing a regular constant imploy for the poor, is the best foundation of trade, and the greatest improvement to the nation, and consequently support to the government ...

Bellers, John, 1654-1725.

Edition statement

1690

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2003-09 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A27368

ID [STC]

Wing B1832

ID [STC]

ESTC R11986

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

11824769

ID [OCLC]

ocm 11824769

ID [VID]

49648

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This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal. The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

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Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A27368)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 49648)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 857:31)

Source

— To the Lords and Commons in Parliament assembled a supplement to the Proposal for a colledge of industry, shewing a regular constant imploy for the poor, is the best foundation of trade, and the greatest improvement to the nation, and consequently support to the government ..., Bellers, John, 1654-1725., Bellers, John, 1654-1725. Proposals for raising a college of industry..

Extent

3 p.

s.n.,. [London? :: 1696?]. (Reproduction of original in Huntington Library.) (Caption title.) (Signed at end: John Bellers.)

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