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place, confider what he has laid with regard to the

increafe of our people. He fays, whether the king-
dom is really in a declining or increafing flate, is a
problem not to be folved by calculation : And yet he
himfelf can goers by appearances, that it has greatly
increafecl within there yo years. But, by his good
leave I mull tell him, that it is a problem in po-
!Rival arithmetic to be laved from fome data, as
well as others. If the number of people be nearly
found, and the general proportion of births to burials,
at an average, thro' the kingdom be known, with
the annual logics of our fencible men, at a mode-
rate computation born thefe data, I fay, any one,
who underftands numbers, will ezfily determine
whether we are increafing or decrcafing. And ac-
cord ingly, I have (hewn, that the annual increment
of our fcncible men is not much above Soon, which
number is tonfumed by our annual lobes: and there-
fore weave not in an increafing (tate. For the whole
number of people mull always be in proportion to
the fencible men: fo that, if there is no incrcafe of
them, there can be none upon the whole.
It is true, I am the firft who ventured upon a fo-
lotion of this queftion; but whcn I confider what I
have done, I cannot fee but that the principles upon
which I reafoned are right. The data are. I think,
exaa enough to dilcover our Rate. And Dr. lhlley's
rule to compute the fencible men, where our loffes
are to be reckoned, is undoubtedly MK. So that if
there is any difficulty, it is in fixing the general pro-
portion between births and burials, then' the kingdom,
viz. isa to 1 00 ; which I have taken from Dr. Der-
ham, who had collated many oblervations being
a greater

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