Add MS 72865

PETTY PAPERS. VOL. XVI (ff. 166). Essays and treatises relating to public and economic affairs in the reign of Charles II, particularly to matters of public revenue and trade; bef. 1662-1683, n.d. Petty was in England during the years 1660-1666 and 1673-1676. During this period he also wrote the Treatise on Taxes (1662) and 'Verbum Sapienti' (1665), for which no manuscripts survive in the archive, although several of the papers listed below relate to the same subjects. For further papers of the same period, see Add. 72854, ff. 133-135v, proposals for the improvement of trade, and Add. 72899, ff. 161-162v, 'The method of enquiring into the state of any country'. Former Bowood numbers are given for each item below.

Contents:

1. ff. 1-5. Two untitled papers concerning interest; bef. 1662. Autograph. Apparently preliminary to Petty's discussion of interest in his Treatise on Taxes (1662). Printed in Petty Papers, I, pp. 246-248. Vol. 1, items 41, 49.

2. ff. 6-23. 'How all persons & Things may contribute [in] proportion to their Government & defence'; [1660s?]. Autograph draft, apparently unfinished, followed (ff. 14-23) by a typescript probably made in connection with the Petty Papers (it has a label by the 6th Marquess of Lansdowne), though it is not published there. In the form of a dialogue between A and B on prices and excise, beg. 'The Wealth of a Nation is (1) the Territory thereof, which is the Mother or Matrix, (2) the daily Labour of the People, which is the father and seed of Wealth ...'. G25, G26.

3. ff. 24-28. Proposal for a proportionate taxation made by order of Charles II for presentation to the Earl of Arlington, as Secretary of State, followed by a further paper on the charge and method of gathering the necessary demographic information and a list of advantages; 1671. The proposal (ff. 24-26) endorsed, 'The original of papers presented to my Lord Arlington Sept. 3 1671', is in the hand of an amanuensis, with autograph corrections, the remainder entirely autograph. C23.

4. ff. 29-49. 'Severall observations beeing an Estimate & briefe view of the power and wealth of the Kingdomes of England, France and of the States of the Seven United Provinces compared with each other'; circa 1671. Untitled autograph draft (ff. 30-41v), preceded (f. 29) by related autograph notes on Holland, and another version in fair copy (ff. 42-49v) in the hand of the same amanuensis as item 5 below and Add. 72890, ff. 46-47, which is endorsed as being 'Mr [Samuel] Fortrey's'. The former separation of portions of the draft from one another and from the fair copy has caused confusion about this tract. It consists of 137 (135 in the copy) numbered paragraphs, of which 45-137 and the notes on Holland are printed as separate works in Petty Papers, II, pp. 226-239 and I, pp. 185-186, the former under the title 'Political Observations'. On the grounds of the handwriting of the copy, it has been suggested that the author was Samuel Fortrey; but this hand occurs frequently in Petty's papers of the period as that of an amanuensis (possibly John Rutter) and the draft in Petty's hand establishes the work as his. It covers some of the same ground and employs some of the same statistics as 'Political Arithmetick' following, and would appear to be a preliminary version of it. Vol. 1, items 50, 51 and 19, and Box E67.

5. ff. 50-92. ['Political Arithmetick']; [circa 1671-1676]. Draft, untitled, in the hand of the same amanuensis as the preceding, with an autograph insertion, although most of the numerous corrections are in the hand of the amanuensis, presumably dictated by Petty. With pencilled pagination and occasional annotations by the 6th Marquess of Lansdowne. The tract deals with issues such as the comparative wealth of England, France and the United Provinces and the reform of taxation, covered in the preceding item. It was circulated in manuscript in Petty's lifetime, printed in a pirated edition in 1683 and not officially published until 1690. Reprinted in Economic Writings, ed. Hull, I, pp. 232-313, where the dates of composition and some of the surviving manuscripts (though not the present draft) are discussed; the most authoritative of these, preserved by Southwell in a fair copy which incorporates the corrections in this draft and with further emendations by Petty in 1680, with a dedication to Charles II, is now Add. MS 21128, ff. 2-37. The present draft lacks the dedication to the King and the preliminary summary of contents. For further copies, see Sloane MS 2572 (with 'Verbum Sapienti') and Add. MS 47086 (made from Add. MS 21128). See also Keynes, Bibliography, Nos. 20, 34-36. Vol. 4, item 25.

6. ff. 93-107. Essay, in the form of a dialogue between A and B concerning 'Political Arithmetick'; circa 1675. Autograph. Printed by S. Matsukawa in Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics, XVII (1977), pp. 33-50. With a label by the 6th Marquess of Lansdowne, 'A Dialogue on Political Arithmetic &c'. H30.

7. ff. 108-115. Essay beginning with a set of economic definitions, endorsed, 'An Explication of Trade & its Increase'; [circa 1671?]. Autograph (ff. 108-111) and incomplete copy (ff. 112-115) in the same hand as items 4 and 5 above. Printed in Petty Papers, I, pp. 210-214. G16, G17.

8. ff. 116-117. Fourteen numbered paragraphs endorsed, 'Observations of England. Its No of Acres, people &c with the Trade therof'; [1660s-1670s?]. In the hand of an unidentified amanuensis. Printed in Petty Papers, I, pp. 208-210. G15.

9. ff. 118-138. Essay on the King of England's right to dominion of the seas; [circa 1674?]. Autograph. Printed in Petty Papers, I, pp. 219-241. For another incomplete copy in the hand of James Waller, corrected by Petty, see Lansdowne MS 1228, ff. 58-74v. See also Add. 72893, ff. 113-116v, for related papers. G24.

10. f. 139. List of seven points relating to the reform of the government and economy of England, followed by brief notes referring to the Popish plot and Exclusion crisis; [late 1670s?]. Autograph. Vol. 1, item 45.

11. ff. 140-144. Numbered lists of proposals for reform under the headings, 'For the People', 'For the King', 'For the Citty of London', 'For the State'; [1670s?]. Autograph, with what may be a continuation sheet (f. 142), although on different paper, containing points numbered 11-15, and a differing version in the hand of an amanuensis (ff. 143-144), headed, 'An opinion of what is possible to bee done'. Some of the points elaborate those in the preceding item. E75, E60, B6.

12. ff. 145-153. 'Quantulumcunque of Mony'; 1682. Autograph draft, without the dedication to the Marquess of Halifax included in the published version. With a label by the 6th Marquess of Lansdowne. This tract was circulated in manuscript in Petty's lifetime and not published until 1695. For further copies, see Add. 72854, ff. 128-132v, and Harl. MS 1223, ff. 169-175. For contemporary publication, see Keynes, Bibliography, Nos. 43-45. Reprinted in Economic Writings, ed. Hull, II, pp. 437-448. J10.

13. ff. 154-155. '2 Councills'; 1682. Autograph. Concerning an elected council of 600 people, to called 'a Councill of Emprovement', and another of 300 to be chosen by the King. E68.

14. ff. 156-157. 'Of a grand Nationall Councill, consisting of 600 Persons ...', endorsed 'Of a Grand-Councill for Plantation and Trade'; [aft. 1682?]. In the hand of James Waller. A variant of the proposal outlined in the preceding item. Printed in Petty Papers, I, pp. 11-12, although the date suggested there of circa 1660 is not supported by the use of Waller as amanuensis or by the connection with the preceding item. E49.

15. ff. 158-159. 'The Church Militant for Peace in Religion'; 1683. Autograph. Proposals and calculations for raising an army to be paid from church revenues. E53.

16. ff. 160-161v. 'Of the Kings Revenues', endorsed 'Of the Kings Men & mony after the Reformation'; temp. Charles II [early 1680s?]. In the hand of James Waller. Calculations arising from a proposed reform of the revenue. A11.

17. ff. 162-163v. 'How to take an Exact accompt of fireplaces'; 1683. Autograph. Vol. 1, item 3.

18. f. 164. 'A Parish-Bill'; [1683?]. A printed form, with additions on the verso in the hand of James Waller. For two further copies, see

Add. 72852, ff. 219-220. A15.

19. ff. 165-166v. 'How the Number, Age, Sex, Mariages, Trades and Religion of the People of England may be obtained'; [1680s?]. In the hand of an amanuensis, with autograph endorsement. Concerning the employment of hearth tax officials to collect demographic information. A6.

Charles II of England: Papers of Sir W. Petty concerning economics, taxation and revenue in England and Ireland: bef. 1662-1683, n.d.: Partly autogr.

includes:

• ff. 1-5 Revenue: Taxes: Economics: Two papers by Sir W. Petty on interest: bef. 1662: Autogr.
• ff. 6-23 Revenue: Taxes: Economics: `How all persons & Things may contribute [in] proportion to their Government & defence', by Sir W. Petty: [1660s?]: Autogr. draft and typewritten copy.
• ff. 24-28 Revenue: Taxes: Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington: Proposals by Sir W. Petty rel. to proportionate taxation presented to Lord Arlington: 1671: Partly autogr.
• ff. 29-49 Revenue: Louis XIV of France: Taxes: Economics: Netherlands, United Provinces: `. . . an Estimate . . . of the power and wealth of the Kingdomes of England, France & of the States of the Seven United Provinces compared with each other', by Sir W. Petty: circa 1671: Autogr. draft and copy.
• ff. 50-92 Revenue: Taxes: Economics: `Political Arithmetick', by Sir W. Petty: circa 1671-1676: Partly autogr. draft.
• ff. 93-107 Revenue: Taxes: Economics: Dialogue concerning `Political Arithmetick', by Sir W. Petty: circa 1675: Autogr.
• ff. 108-115 Trade and Commerce: Economics: `An Explication of Trade & its Increase', by Sir W. Petty: circa 1671: Autogr. and copy.
• ff. 116-117 Trade and Commerce: Economics: `Observations of England . . . with the Trade therof', by Sir W. Petty: [1660s-1670s?]: Copy.
• ff. 118-138 Trade and Commerce: Navigation: Fish and Fisheries: Navy; England: Essay by Sir W. Petty on England's dominion of the seas: circa 1676: Autogr.
• ff. 139-144 Trade and Commerce: Proposals by Sir W. Petty rel. to reform of government and trade: [late 1670s?]: Autogr.
• ff. 145-153 Trade and Commerce: Economics: Coinage: `Quantulumcunque of Mony', by Sir W. Petty: 1682: Autogr. draft and copy.
• ff. 154-157 Trade and Commerce: Economics: Proposals by Sir W. Petty for councils of `improvement' and trade: 1682-[1687?]: Autogr.
• ff. 160-164 Revenue: Taxes: Proposals by Sir W. Petty for reform of the revenue: 1683, n.d.: Partly autogr. and printed.
• ff. 165-166v Population: `How the Number, Age, Sex, Mariages, Trades and Religion of the People of England may be obtained': [1680s?]: Copy.