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Sir William Petty
A Treatise of Taxes and Contributions Shewing the nature and measures of crown-lands, assessements, customs, poll-moneys, lotteries, benevolence, penalties, monopolies, offices, tythes, raising of coins, harth-money, excize, &c.; with several intersperst discourses and digressions concerning warres, the church, universities, rents & purchases, usury & exchange, banks & lombards, registries for conveyances, beggars, ensurance, exportation of money [&] wool, free-ports, coins, housing, liberty of conscience, &c.; the same being frequently applied to the present state and affairs of Ireland.

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A Treatise of Taxes and Contributions Shewing the nature and measures of crown-lands, assessements, customs, poll-moneys, lotteries, benevolence, penalties, monopolies, offices, tythes, raising of coins, harth-money, excize, &c.; with several intersperst discourses and digressions concerning warres, the church, universities, rents & purchases, usury & exchange, banks & lombards, registries for conveyances, beggars, ensurance, exportation of money [&] wool, free-ports, coins, housing, liberty of conscience, &c.; the same being frequently applied to the present state and affairs of Ireland.

by Sir William Petty

EN·~3 hours·20 chapters

Chapters

20 total

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

0:55

A TREATISE OF Taxes & Contributions.

1:00

The Preface.

6:54

The Index.

14:49

Of the several sorts of Publick Charges.

5:22

Of the Causes which encrease and aggravate the several sorts of Publick Charges.

21:38

How the Causes of the unquiet bearing of Taxes may be lessened.

12:00

Of the several wayes of Taxe, and first, of setting a part, a proportion of the whole Territory for Publick uses, in the nature of Crown Lands; and secondly, by way of Assessement, or Land-taxe.

19:05

Of Usury.

13:33

Of Customs and Free Ports.

15:19

Description

A sweeping 17th‑century manual, this treatise unpacks the many ways a crown raises and manages revenue. From crown lands and assessments to customs, poll‑moneys, lotteries and the finer points of coin‑raising, the author walks the reader through the math and logic behind each levy. Interwoven with practical advice on monopolies, offices, tithes and penalties, the work offers a clear picture of how early modern governments financed armies, infrastructure and public projects.

Beyond pure finance, the text branches into the social and political issues tied to taxation. It reflects on the burden of a standing army in Ireland, the role of beggars in road‑building, and the impact of church, universities and banking on public finance. Readers gain insight into contemporary debates over usury, export policy and liberty of conscience, making the volume a valuable snapshot of fiscal thought at a pivotal moment in Irish and English history.

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Full title

A Treatise of Taxes and Contributions Shewing the nature and measures of crown-lands, assessements, customs, poll-moneys, lotteries, benevolence, penalties, monopolies, offices, tythes, raising of coins, harth-money, excize, &c.; with several intersperst discourses and digressions concerning warres, the church, universities, rents & purchases, usury & exchange, banks & lombards, registries for conveyances, beggars, ensurance, exportation of money [&] wool, free-ports, coins, housing, liberty of conscience, &c.; the same being frequently applied to the present state and affairs of Ireland. Shewing the nature and measures of crown-lands, assessements, customs, poll-moneys, lotteries, benevolence, penalties, monopolies, offices, tythes, raising of coins, harth-money, excize, &c.; with several intersperst discourses and digressions concerning warres, the church, universities, rents & purchases, usury & exchange, banks & lombards, registries for conveyances, beggars, ensurance, exportation of money [&] wool, free-ports, coins, housing, liberty of conscience, &c.; the same being frequently applied to the present state and affairs of Ireland.

Language

Duration

~3 hours (177K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

Release date

2020-03-09

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

Source

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61588

Subjects

Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1660-1688 Finance -- Great Britain -- Early works to 1800 Taxation -- Great Britain -- Early works to 1800 HJ

About the author

Sir William Petty

1623–1687

A restless 17th-century thinker who moved easily between medicine, science, surveying, and economics, he helped turn numbers into a tool for understanding society. Best known for his early work in political arithmetic, he wrote about taxes, trade, population, and the wealth of nations long before economics became a formal discipline.

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