Number of SHIPS, specifying their TONNAGE, which have entered the Port of London, in the Years 1823, 24, 25, 26, and 1827. Number of VESSELS Built and Registered in the British Empire, in the Years ending 5th January, 1826, 1827, and 1828. NOTE. From 1814 to 1827, 272 Steam Vessels were built and registered. Number of Gallons of SPIRITS manufactured in the United Kingdom, for Home Consumption, with the amount of duty thereon, for the three Years preceding the 5th January, 1828. Total Amount of Duty for the United Kingdom, for 1827-8, £4,187,442. PART V. STATISTICAL AND OTHER INTELLIGENCE RESPECTING THE UNITED STATES. XXXIV. COLONIAL STATISTICS. LITTLE is known of the Statistics of the English colonies in America before the Revolution. No regular census was ever taken, nor was the population numbered, except, perhaps, in particular towns and districts for the purpose of apportioning the soldiers, that were to be raised in the wars with the Indians. No account was kept of the articles of produce, or of the state of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce. The valuation of property for taxation was imperfect, as the people were thinly scattered over a wide space, and occupied in subduing the forests and procuring the immediate means of subsistence. As there was no concert among the colonies in regard to commerce, the custom-house records were not published, nor do they appear to have been preserved in many places. The only information to be obtained on this subject is from the custom-house books in England. Mr. Pitkin and Dr. Holmes have collected a few particulars, in regard to the colonial statistics, which give some insight into the progress of the population and commerce before the Revolution. The following statements and tables are taken chiefly from these authors. 1. POPULATION OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES IN 1701. |