The poor-rates alone are now equal in

and nothing more. National prosperity | in the supposed community of ten men, shows itself in very different ways: in where it is shown, that, by taking the the plentiful meal, the comfortable produce of labour from the proprietors dwelling, the decent furniture and of it, and giving it to those who do dress, the healthy and happy counte-not labour and do not give the proprienances, and the good morals of the tors of such produce anything in return, labouring classes of the people. These poverty, or at least, a less degree of ease are the ways in which national prospe- and enjoyment, must be the consequence. rity shows itself; and whatever is not attended with these signs, is not na-amount to the whole of the national expentional prosperity. Need I ask you, then, if heavy taxation be calculated to produce these effects? Have our labourers a plentiful meal of food fit for man? Do they taste meat once in a day? Are they decently clothed? Have they the means of obtaining firing? Are they and their children healthy and happy? I put these questions to you, Gentlemen, who have the means of knowing the facts, and who must, I am afraid, answer them all in the negative.

But, why need we here leave anything to conjecture, when we have the undeniable proof before us, in the accounts, laid before Parliament, of the amount of the poor-rates, at two different periods, and, of course, at two different stages in our taxation; namely, in the year 1784, and in the year 1803? At the former period, the taxes of the year, as we have seen above, amounted to 13,300,9217; and then the poor-rates amounted to 2,105,6231. At the latter period, the taxes of the year (as will be seen from the official statement in Register, vol. iv. page 1471) amounted to 41,931,7471.; and the poor-rates had then risen to 5,246,5061. What must they, then, amount to at this day, when the year's taxes amount to upwards of 70 millions of pounds?

Here then, we have a pretty good proof, that taxation and pauperism, go hand in hand. We have seen what was produced by the ANTI-JACOBIN WAR. The taxes continued nearly the same from 1784 to 1793, the year in which PITT began that war; so that, by the ANTI-JACOBIN WAR, alone the poor-rates were augmented, in nominal amount, from 2,105,6237. to 5,246,5067.; at which we shall not be surprised, if we apply to this case the principle above illustrated

diture, including the interest of the debt when the late King came to the throne; and the charges of managing the taxes; that is to say, the wages, salaries, or allowances, to the tax-gatherers of various descriptions; the bare charge which we pay on this account, amounts to very little short of as much as the whole of the taxes amounted to when King William was crowned.

This charge; that is to say, what we pay to the tax-gatherers, in one shape or another, is stated in the account laid before Parliament for the last year, at 2,886,2017., a sum equal to a year's wages of 92,500 labourers at twelve shillings a week, which may, I suppose, be looked upon as the average wages of labourers, take all the kingdom through. Is this no evil? Are we to be persuaded, that, to take the means of supporting 92,500 families, consisting, upon the usual computation (5 to a family), of 461,000 souls; that to take away the means of supporting all these, and giving those means to support others, whose business it is to tax the rest, instead of adding to the stock of the community by their labour; are we to be persuaded that this is no evil; and that, too, though we see the poor-rates grown from 2 millions to 5 millions in the space of 10 years? are we to be persuaded to believe this? Verily, if we are, it is a great shame for us to pretend to laugh at the Mahomedans.

Having now taken a view of the progress of the National Debt together with that of the national expenses and taxes; and having (by stepping a little aside for a noment) seen something of their effect upon national prosperity, we will, in the next letter, agreeably to the intention before expressed, inquire into the schemes for arresting this fearful pro

gress; or, as they are generally denominated, plans for paying off, or reducing the National Debt; a subject of very great importance, because, as we must now be satisfied, the bank-notes have increased with the debt, and, of course, the reducing of the debt would, if it were accomplished, tend to the reduction of the quantity of bank-notes, by the excess of which it is, as the bullion committee have declared, that the gold coin has been driven from circulation.

I rejoice to know that we have such a man as Mr. Black, a writer for the public, the editor of the Morning Chronicle, with his honest heart, clear head, and brilliant abilities, which are daily devoted to the instruction of mankind. We have the editor of the True Sun, with his noble efforts in behalf of the people; we have the Ballot, with the extraordinary endowments of nature bestowed upon its editor, cultivated by art, and perfected by experience; and have we not the Examiner, at once the Juvenal and Calliope of the weekly press; and have we not you, whom the unthinking public patronize as the Plutus of newsmen, when, in fact, you deserve no more respect than a Thersites or a Caliban.

I am, Sir,

Your obedient servant,
MICHAEL SCALES.

To the Editor of the Times.

GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.

nearest Market Town, and with the Population, and other interesting particulars relating to each; besides which there are

MAPS ;

First, one of the whole country, showing the local situation of the Counties relatively to each other; and, then, each County is also preceded by a Map, showing, in the same manner, the local situation of the Cities, Boroughs, and Market Towns.

FOUR TABLES

Are added; first, a Statistical Table of all the Counties, and then three Tables, showing the new Divisions and Distributions enacted by the Reform-Law of 4th June, 1832.

EXPLANATORY PREFACE.

THAT space and time, which, in prefaces, are usually employed in setting forth the objects and the utility of the work, I shall here employ in describing THIS book is now published, and is the contents of this work, and in exfor sale at Bolt-court, and at the book-plaining certain parts of it, which, I shops in general. So large and ex- think, may stand in need of explanation; pensive a book, including forty-three in doing which, I shall proceed in the maps, never was sold for less than twice order in which the matters lie before the price before. Here all the new me. divisions of counties, and everything else relating to the new parliamentary distribution, is to be found in the smallest compass, and in an arrangement the most commodious. I here again insert THE TITLE and the explanatory preface. The reader will be astonished at the mass of matter; and when he sees the book, he will think that we are got into cheap times indeed, when such a book can be sold for twelve shillings. But it was my desire to bring it within the compass of book-clubs of the working people.

I. The book begins with a GENERAL AccoUNT of England and Wales; FIRST, stating the geographical situation, the boundaries, the extent, and the population of the whole country; SECOND, showing how the country is divided into COUNTIES, and into their subdivisions, this part being accompanied with a map, showing how the counties are locally situated relatively to each other; THIRD, showing how the counties are distributed into CIRCUITS, and pointing out the assize-towns in the several circuits; FOURTH, showing how the counties, or parts of counties, are distributed into DIOCESES; and, FIFTH, showing how the counties are now divided for PARLIAMENTARY PURPOSES.

II. After this comes an INDEX TO THE DICTIONARY, containing the names, in alphabetical order, of the cities, boroughs, market-towns, villages, hamlets, and tithings, in all the counties, and having, against the name of each, the name of the county, under which the particulars relating to each place will be found.

III. THE DICTIONARY. Here the English counties, in alphabetical order, come first; and then the Welsh counties,

in the same order. Then, under each action at Tilford, how are we to know county, come the names of all the cities, where TILFORD is, and what sort of a boroughs, market-towns, villages, ham- place it is? We might, from some cirlets and tithings in that county. Imme-cumstance, learn that it was in the diately preceding the name of each county of SURREY; but one should not county there is a map, describing the know whether it were a town or village, boundaries of the county, and pointing or what it was, nor in what part of the out the local situation of its cities, bo- county it lay. My book, in the Index, roughs, and market-towns. Under the tells us that it is in SURREY; in the name of each county there is an account Dictionary, it tells us, that it is a TITHof its soil, extent, products, population, ING, that it is in the parish of FARNrental, poor-rates, and of all other the HAM, and that Farnham is a MARKETinteresting particulars belonging to it; Town, distant therefrom in a NW. diunder the name of each city and other rection, that is, at 39 miles distance principal place, there is a history of it from London; and the county-map as far as regards matters of general in- shows us, that this market-town lies terest or of great curiosity; and, where- at the WESTERN EXTREMITY OF THE ever there was formerly a monastic es- COUNTY. In many cases it was unnetablishment, the nature and value of it cessary to state the distances of hamlets are mentioned under the name of the and tithings from any other place; but place, whether that place be a city in all such cases the parish (being city, or hamlet. The distance from Lon- borough, town, or village) is made don is stated, in the case of cities, known; which makes our knowledge boroughs, and market-towns. And, in on the subject quite minute enough. For the case of the villages, hamlets, and instance, in the county of SURREY, Bagtithings, their distances, and also their shot is a hamlet, the distance of which bearings, from the nearest city, borough, from CHERTSEY, the nearest town, is not or market-town, are stated; and in all stated; but the book tells us, that it is cases the population is stated. In places in the village and parish of WINDLEwhere there are markets or fairs, the SHAM, and that that village is 7 miles days for holding them are stated, and from CHERTSEY; so that here is mention is made of the commodities nothing wanting. There now remain dealt in at the fairs. With regard to to be explained some things; which, if localities, it is not the great and well-left unexplained, might lead to error. known places, but the small and obscure FIRST, under the name, in the Dictionplaces, of which we want a knowledge. ary, of each county, is given the numHow many scores of places have I re-ber of parishes it contains. This freceived letters from, and there being no quently leaves out townships, a great post-mark, or it being illegible, and it many of which have separate parochial not being named in the date of the letter, have been unable to send an answer with any chance of its reaching its destination! Of how many places do we daily read in the newspapers, and in pamphlets and books, of which places we never before heard, of the local situation of which we know nothing; and yet, with regard to which, we, for some reason or other, wish to possess a knowledge! It was from the great and almost constant inconvenience which I experienced as to this matter, that induced me to undertake this most laborious work. For instance, if we were to read or hear something of a trans

jurisdiction; but it was impossible, in all cases, to come to a correct knowledge of the facts relating to this matter; and, therefore, the parishes, so called, have, in the statistical table as well as in the Dictionary, generally been taken as they stood in the official returns to Parliament. SECOND, as the Dictionary part was compiled before the Reformlaw was passed, the number of members of Parliament returned by the several counties, cities, and boroughs, stands in this part of the book, according to the rotten-borough system; but this matter is amply set to rights in the tables, which are at the close of the book, and

which it is now my business to describe.

and I believe only one, has been committed here; and that is, in the stateIV. Next after the Dictionary comes ment of the number of acres of land to a STATISTICAL TABLE (which is called each person and to each house in the No. I.); which states, against the name county of Middlesex. As I firmly beof each county in England, and against lieve, that a fiftieth part as much really that of the whole of Wales, the follow-useful information was never before ing pieces of infor nation; namely, its given in so small a compass; so am I square miles, its acres of land; its num- quite sure, that a hundredth part as ber of parishes number of market- much was never before published at a towns; number of members of Parlia-similar price. This Table, the whole of ment according to the new-law; num-which the reader sees at two openings ber of former monastic establishments; of the book, has cost me, first and last, number of public charities; number of months of labour.

parishes which have no churches; V. In TABLE No. II. we come to the number of parishes the population of new and important PARLIAMENTARY DIeach of which is under a hundred per-VISIONS AND DISTRIBUTIONS. This Table sons; number of parishes which have again ranges the counties in their alno parsonage-houses; number of pa-phabetical order, and shows, at one rishes in which the parsonage-houses are view, the distribution of the country for unfit to live in; annual amount of the the purposes connected with the eleccounty poor-rates according to return tion of members to serve in Parliament of 1818, that being the last presented; (according to the act of 1832); naming number of paupers at that time; the the counties, describing the divisions annual rental of the county at the same (where there are divisions) in the countime, no return having since been made; ties, stating the places for holding the total population of the county according election courts, stating the polling to return of 1821; number of houses places in each county or division of a in the county in 1821, no return on county, naming the cities and boroughs that subject having been made since; in the county returning members to the proportion between the poor-rates Parliament, and stating the number of and the rental of the county; the pro- members for each county, each division -portion between the number of paupers of the county, and each city and boand the number of houses in the county; rough; and, finally, the whole number the county poor-rates in 1776, by way of members returned by each county. of comparison; the number of persons to each square mile in the county; the number of acres of land to each person in the county; the number of acres of land to each house in the county; the whole of the male population in 1821, no distinction, in this respect, having been made in the last return; number of agricultural families, handicraft families, and other families, all according to the return of 1821, no information of this sort being given in the last return; number of agricultural males in the county; number of able labourers; number of acres of land in the county to each of its able labourers! In a table like this, containing such a mass of figures, it was next to impossible to avoid, either in author or printer, something in the way of error, and one,

VI. But as the cities and boroughs are, in the Table No. II. not accompanied by a statement of their population, TABLE No. III. gives them with their population in their new boundaries; and also the counties of England with their present population, separate from that of the cities and boroughs; and then the total population of each county, and the total number of members that each county is to return. WALES, for want of any return relative to it respecting these matters is given (as to its population) in this Table without the distinctions just mentioned.

VII. In order that no part of this most interesting and most memorable change, made by the Reform-law, may be left without information relative to it, and that information may be always