Economics -- Early works to 1800; Finance -- Great Britain; Great Britain -- Economic conditions -- 18th century
Here I suppose £1,500 per annum revenue, to be settled upon the house,
which, it is very probable might be raised from the tax aforesaid. But
since an Act of Parliament is necessary to be had for the collecting this
duty, and that taxes for keeping of fools would be difficultly obtained,
while they are so much wanted for wise men, I would propose to raise the
money by voluntary charity, which would be a work that would leave more
honour to the undertakers than feasts and great shows, which our public
bodies too much diminish their stocks with.
But to pass all suppositious ways, which are easily thought of, but
hardly procured, I propose to maintain fools out of our own folly. And
whereas a great deal of money has been thrown about in lotteries, the
following proposal would very easily perfect our work.
A CHARITY-LOTTERY.
That a lottery be set up by the authority of the Lord Mayor and Court of
Aldermen, for a hundred thousand tickets, at twenty shillings each, to be
drawn by the known way and method of drawing lotteries, as the
million-lottery was drawn, in which no allowance to be made to anybody,
but the fortunate to receive the full sum of one hundred thousand pounds
put in, without discount, and yet this double advantage to follow:
1. That an immediate sum of one hundred thousand pounds shall be raised
and paid into the Exchequer for the public use.
2. A sum of above twenty thousand pounds be gained, to be put into the
hands of known trustees, to be laid out in a charity for the maintenance
of the poor.
That as soon as the money shall be come in, it shall be paid into the
Exchequer, either on some good fund, if any suitable, or on the credit of
the Exchequer; and that when the lottery is drawn, the fortunate to
receive tallies or bills from the Exchequer for their money, payable at
four years.
The Exchequer receives this money, and gives out tallies according to the
prizes, when it is drawn, all payable at four years; and the interest of
this money for four years is struck in tallies proportioned to the
maintenance; which no parish would refuse that subsisted them wholly
before.
I make no question but that if such a hospital was erected within a mile
or two of the city, one great circumstance would happen, viz., that the
common sort of people, who are very much addicted to rambling in the
fields, would make this house the customary walk, to divert themselves
with the objects to be seen there, and to make what they call sport with
the calamity of others, as is now shamefully allowed in Bedlam.
To prevent this, and that the condition of such, which deserves pity, not
contempt, might not be the more exposed by this charity, it should be
ordered: that the steward of the house be in commission of the peace
within the precincts of the house only, and authorised to punish by
limited fines or otherwise any person that shall offer any abuse to the
poor alms-people, or shall offer to make sport at their condition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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