Essential Writings. Nicholas Barbon
is sufficient to shew that a Nation cannot increase without the Metropolis be inlarged, and how dangerous a consequence it may be to obstruct its growth, and discourage the Builders. It is to banish the People, and confine the Nation to an Infant Estate, while the Neighbouring Nations grow to the full strength of Manhood, and thereby to render it an easie conquest to its enemies.
For the Metropolis is the heart of a Nation, through which the Trade and Commodities of it circulate, like the blood through the heart, which by its motion giveth life and growth to the rest of the Body; and if that declines, or be obstructed in its growth, the whole body falls into consumption: And it is the only symptome to know the health, and thriving of a Country by the inlarging of its Metropolis; for the chief City of every Nation in the world that flourisheth doth increase.
And if those Gentlemen that fancy the City to be the Head of the Nation, would but fancy it like the heart, they would never be afraid of its growing too big; For I never read of such a disease, that the Heart was too big for the Body. And if we are of Machiavel's opinion, this simile is the best, for he saith, that Citizens make no good Counsellors, for having raised their Fortunes by Parsimony and Industry, they are usually too severe in punishing of Vice, and too niggardly in rewarding of Vertue.
2. It is the interest of the Government, to incourage the Builders; not only because they preserve and increase the Subjects, but they provide an imploy for them, by which they are fed, and get their livelihood.
There are three great ways that the People in all Governments are imployed in: In provividing Food, Clothes, and Houses. Now those ways are most serviceable to the Government, that imploy most of the People; Those that are imployed in feeding of them, are the fewest in number: for ten men may provide food enough for a thousand: but to cloth, and build Houses for them, requireth many hands: And there is that peculiar advantage that ought to be ascribed to the Builder, that he provideth the place of birth for all the other Arts, as well as for man. The Cloth cannot be made without houses to work it in. Now besides the vast numbers of People that are imployed in digging and making the Materials, the Bricks, Stone, Iron, Lead, &c. all those Trades that belong to the furnishing of an house, have their sole dependencies on the Builders, as the Upholsterers, Chair-makers, &c.
But that which is the greatest advantage, they do not only provide a Livelihood to those that belong to the building, and furnishing of Houses, but for the Tenants of those New Houses: For the People being collected and living together in one Street, they serve and trade one with another: For Trade is nothing else but an exchange of one mans labour for another: as for instance, supposing an hundred men which lived at great distance before; some in Cornwall, others in Yorkshire, and so dispersed over all the Countries in England, live together in one Street; one is a Baker, the other a Brewer, a Shoo-maker, Taylor, &c. and so in one Trade or other the whole hundred are imployed; The Baker gets his living by making Bread for the other ninety, and so do all the rest of them; which while they were dispersed at distances, were useless, and could not serve one another, and were ready to starve for want of a Livelihood.
3. But they get not only a Livelihood, but grow rich: There ariseth an emulation among them to out-live and out-vye one another in Arts. This forceth them to be industrious, and by industry they grow rich.
4. The increasing of Buildings, and inlarging of Towns, preserveth the peace of a Nation; by rendring the People more easily governed. First it is the Builders interest of all sorts of men to preserve peace: Every man that buildeth an House, gives Security to the Government for his good behaviour. For War is the Builders ruin. The Countryman may expect to enjoy his Land again, though for a time it be laid wast; the Merchant may hide his Goods, or remove them; but when the Town is besieged, the Houses are fired, the place made desolate, and nothing is left to the Builder but ruins, the sad remembrance of his condition.
Besides, all Cities are more inclined to Peace, than the Country; the Citizens Estates are in Trade, and in Goods; many of which grow useless in War, and lye in other Peoples hands, and their Debters run away, and take Sanctuary under the Sword; And Citizens being usually rich, cannot endure the hardship of War. Next, great Cities are more easily Governed, because they are under the eye of the Prince, as generally the Metropolis is; or else under some Governour, who by his rewards from the Crown, is engaged to be very watchful in preserving the Peace; so that if they should grow factious, they are more easily corrected. Thus the Ottoman Power governs his Conquest by destroying Villages and lesser Towns, and driving the People into Capital Cities, which by the presence of some Basha are governed. Thus the King of France in his late Conquests in Flanders and Alsatia, burnt some hundreds of Villages; but Luxembourg, Strasbourg, and other great Towns are preserved. And the bigger the City, the more advantageous to the Government; for from thence they are on a sudden the better supplied with Men and Ammunition, to suppress any Rebellion, or oppose a Foreign Enemy.
Lastly, New Buildings increase his Majesties Revenues, not only by the Chimney-Money, which makes it a growing Revenue; but by the Customs paid for the Materials to build and furnish the Houses. Besides they being the cause of the increase of the City, all the increase of the Revenues from the Excise and Customs (since the Cities increase) must be ascribed to them: which are a fourth part more than they were five and twenty years ago. And the Excise is not only increased in the City, but it is so in the Country; which must not be ascribed solely to the good Management, but chiefly to the natural increase of the People. For if there be a third part more People in the City than there were five and twenty years ago, there must be a proportionable increase in the Country to provide Food and Clothes for them.
To conclude, It was upon these considerations, That by the building and inlarging of a City, the people are made great, rich, and easily governed: That those ancient and famous Governments, Thebes, Athens, Sparta, Carthage and Rome, began their Dominions, and inlarged them with their Cities; and of late the States of Holland have followed these Examples.
The Citizens of Amsterdam have thrice flung down their Walls to inlarge it; so that from a little Fisher-Town within less than 200 years it is become the third or fourth City of Europe: and the rest of their Cities have followed their Pattern; and made Grafts and Streets at the charge of the Government; endeavouring to outvie one another by giving Priviledges to incourage the Builders and Inhabitants. And these States have found the effects of it; for by this means they have changed their Style from the Poor Distressed States, (as they wrote to Queen Elizabeth) to the High and Mighty States of the United Provinces.
And if the City of London hath made such a Progress within this five and twenty years, as to have grown one third bigger, and become already the Metropolis of Europe, notwithstanding the Popular Error the Nation have been infected with, and the ill censures and discouragements the Builders have met with; had they been for this last hundred years encouraged by the Government, the City of London might probably have easily grown three times bigger than now it is.
And if we consider what the natural effects of so great a City must have been; To be furnished with such large Provisions for War suitable to its greatness; Such a vast number of Ships; being situate on an Island and Navigable River; filled with innumerable Inhabitants, of such natural courage as the English are; and to be so easily transported on a sudden with all things necessary for War, it would long before this time have been a Terror to all Europe; and now would have had the opportunity, under the Government of such a Martial Prince as now reigns, to be made the Metropolis of the World; to have caused England's Monarch to be acknowledged Lord of all the Navigable Cities and Sea-port-Towns in the World; to have made an Universal Monarchy over the Seas, an Empire no less glorious, and of much more profit, than of the Land; and of larger extent, than either Caesar's or Alexander's.
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