instead  of  560,000/. ;  the  remaining  term  is  worth  ten  years  and  a
quarter  instead  of  eleven  years;*  its  value  is  820,000/.  instead  of
880,000/. ;  and  the  whole  value  of  that  premium  is  1,460,000/.  instead
of  1,440,000/.  The  like  errors  are  observable  in  his  computation  on
the  additional  capital  of  three  per  cent  on  the  loan  of  that  year.  In
like  manner,  on  the  loan  of  1762,  the  author  computes  on  five  years'
payment  instead  of  six ;  and  says  in  express  terms,  that  take  5  from
19,  and  there  remain  13.  These  are  not  errors  of  the  pen  or  the
press  ;  the  several  computations  pursued  in  this  part  of  the  work  with
great  diligence  and  earnestness  prove  them  errors  upon  much  deliber-
ation. Thus  the  premiums  in  1759  are  cast  up  90,000/.  too  little,  an
error  in  the  first  rule  of  arithmetic.  "  The  annuities  borrowed  in
1756  and  1758  are,"  says  he,  "to  continue  till  redeemed  by  Parlia-
ment." He  does  not  take  notice  that  the  first  are  irredeemable  till  Feb-
ruary, 1771,  the  other  till  July,  1782.  In  this  the  amount  of  the  pre-
miums is  computed  on  the  time  which  they  have  run.  Weakly  and
ignorantly ;  for  he  might  have  added  to  this,  and  strengthened  his  ar-
gument, such  as  it  is,  by  charging  also  the  value  of  the  additional  one
per  cent  from  the  day  on  which  he  wrote,  to  at  least  that  day  on  which
these  annuities  become  redeemable.  To  make  ample  amends,  however,
he  has  added  to  the  premiums  of  15  per  cent  in  1759,  and  three  per

*  See  Smart  and  Demoivre-


310  OBSERVATIONS   ON  A  LATE  PUBLICATION

However,  for  argument,  I  am  content  to  take  his
state  of  it.  The  debt  was  and  is  enormous.  The
war  was  expensive.  The  best  economy  had  not  per-
haps been  used.  But  I  must  observe,  that  war  and
economy  are  things  not  easily  reconciled ;  and  that
the  attempt  of  leaning  towards  parsimony  in  such  a
state  may  be  the  worst  management,  and  in  the  end
the  worst  economy  in  the  world,  hazarding  the  total
loss  of  all  the  charge  incurred,  and  of  everything
along  with  it.
