and the happy period of all thy calamities. Long have thy true patriots wished to see thee engaged fingly in a war with France, which, from thy natural fuperiority, must always be attended with glory and fuccefs: long haft thou groaned under the oppreffions of mercenary allies abroad, and rapacious ministers at home: but at last the time the happy time is arrived, when our wishes are all fulfilled, and our misfortunes wiped away; when we are in full poffeffion of fuch a glorious war, without any allies, or any administration at all. quod optanti nemo promittere Divum Auderet, volvenda Dies en attulit ultro! VOL. II. M THOUGHTS THOUGHTS ON THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE PRESENT HIGH PRICE OF PROVISIONS. Privatus illis cenfus erat brevis Commune magnum. TH HE high price of provifions, and all the neceffaries of life, is an evil fo inconvenient to all conditions of men, and fo intolerable to fome, that it is not furprising that all fhould fuffer it with much difcontent, and many be drove by it into defpair, or into riot, rapine, and all kinds of diforders. The latter, indeed, we cannot but expect, if we confider, that the enemies of all government and subordination, M 2 dination, fo numerous in this country, will not fail to avail themselves of this favourable opportunity, to fpread universal difatisfaction, and inflame the minds of the people to feck redrefs by fuch infamous and dangerous methods. This they endeavour, too fuccessfully, to effect, by daily reprefenting in the public papers, that this calamity arifes from the artifices of monopolizers, regraters, foreftallers, and engroffers, encouraged, or at least connived at, by minifters defirous of oppreffing the people, and parliaments unattentive to their complaints. It is hard to fay, whether the ignorance of these writers, or their malevolence, is fuperior; or, whether the abfurdity of their principles, or the mifchief of them, is the greatest: but one may venture to affirm, that our people, notwithstanding the prefent fcarcity, are ftill better fed than taught, This undoubtedly makes it neceffary, at this time, that the true caufes of this evil fhould be explained to them; which, if it leffens пос not their wants, may in fome measure abate their ill-founded indignation. To this end I fhall endeavour to fhew, as concifely as poffible, that the present high price of provifions arifes principally from two fources; the increase of our national debts, and the increase of our riches; that is, from the poverty of the public, and the wealth of private individuals. From what causes thefe have been increased, and what have been the effects of that increase, shall be the fubject of the few following pages. It will furely be unneceffary to enquire into the causes of the late immenfe increase of our national debt; whoever remembers the many millions annually borrowed, funded, and expended, during the last war, can be under no difficulty to account for its increase. To pay interest for thefe new funds, new taxes were every year impofed, and additional burthens laid on every comfort, and almost every neceffary of life, by former taxes, occafioned |