1. That the province of Holland hath as many people as the other six
united provinces together, and as the whole kingdom of England, and
double to the city of Paris and its suburbs; that is to say, 2,000,000
souls. 2. He says that in London and Amsterdam, and other trading
cities, there are ten heads to every family, and that in Amsterdam there
are not 22,000 families. 3. He excepteth against the register alleged
by Monsieur Auzout, which makes 23,223 houses and above 80,000 families
to be in Paris; as also against the register alleged by Petty, making
105,315 houses to be in London, with a tenth part of the same to be of
families more than houses; and probably will except against the register
of 1,163 houses to be in all England, that number giving, at six and
one-third heads to each family, about 7,000,000 people, upon all which we
remark as follows, viz.:—
1. That if Paris doth contain but 488,000 souls, that then all Holland
containeth but the double of that number, or 976,000, wherefore London,
containing 696,000 souls, hath above two-thirds of all Holland by 46,000.
2. If Paris containeth half as many people as there are in all England,
it must contain 3,500,000 souls, or above seven times 488,000; and
because there do not die 20,000 per annum out of Paris, there must die
but one out of 175; whereas Monsieur Auzout thinks that there dies one
out of 25, and there must live 149 heads in every house of Paris
mentioned in the register, but there must be scarce two heads in every
house of England, all which we think fit to be reconsidered.
I must, as an Englishman, take notice of one point more, which is, that
these assertions do reflect upon the empire of England, for that it is
said that England hath but 2,000,000 inhabitants, and it might as well
have been added, that Scotland and Ireland, with the Islands of Man,
Jersey, and Guernsey, have but two-fifths of the same number, or 800,000
more, or that all the King of England’s subjects in Europe are but
2,800,000 souls, whereas he saith that the subjects of the seven united
provinces are 4,000,000. To which we answer that the subjects of the
said seven provinces are, by this objector’s own showing, but the
quadruple of Paris, or 1,932,000 souls, Paris containing but 488,000, as
afore hath been proved, and we do here affirm that England hath 7,000,000
people, and that Scotland, Ireland, with the Islands of Man, Jersey, and
Guernsey, hath two-fifths of the said number, or 2,800,000 more, in all
9,800,000; whereas by the objector’s doctrine, if the seven provinces
have 1,932,000 people, the King of England’s territories should have but
seven-tenths of the same number, viz., 1,351,000, whereas we say
9,800,000, as aforesaid, which difference is so gross as that it deserves
to be thus reflected upon.
To conclude, we expect from the concerned critics of the world that they
would prove—
1. That Holland, and West Frisia, and the twenty-eight towns and cities
thereof, hath more people than London alone.
2. That any three of the best cities of France, any two of all
Christendom, or any one of the world, hath the same, or better housing,
and more foreign trade than London, even in the year that King James the
Second came to the empire thereof.