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FORTIA’s TRAVELS IN SWEDEN. 523
The taxes confit 1. of a perfonal tax; 2. of an impoft on appointments, revenues,
and funds producing income; 3.:a tax on windows, luxury, horfes, and carriages, fu-
perfluous fervants, filk furniture, gilding, and watches, (thefe latter taxes were laid on
by the diet of 1789, and the others at the fame time encreafed;) 4. on filk * drefles,
fnuff, and tobacco, for the maintenance of the King’s different palaces, the parliaments,
and the fund of the college of phyficians.
There exifts a book on the impofts, granted by the ftates at the diet of 1789; they
were granted until the next feflions, without fixing any time. We are ignorant if that
held at Gefle in 1792 has occafioned any change.
/
Cuap. XX.—Population. — Commerce.
SWEDEN and Finland fill a large {pace of country ; neverthelefs, they contain no
more than three millions of people. The nature of the foil frequently’ unfit for culti-.
vation; its numerous forefts, and the feverity of the climate in its northern parts, all
concur to the want of population in Sweden. ‘The frequent ufe of brandy, which we
before have noticed, is another caufe of diminifhing the number of its inhabitants, from
the great number of victims who die before they reach maturity, or who, if they live,
remain in confequence unfit for procreation. But this is a misfortune which we muft
be fatisfied to lament; we confider this fhocking habit too deeply rooted to allow of
eradication ; it is too inveterate among the nations of the north. We have witnefled
the diforders of which the populace were guilty, upon the King’s prohibiting the peafan-
try from diftilling their own brandy ; nobody can deny that his motive was good, or
that in a country in want of grain, it is abfurd to confume a part thereof in brandy ; ne-
verthelefs he could not fucceed, and has felt himfelf obliged to leave the abufe uncor-
rected. /
The commerce of Sweden is very inconfiderable, and for fome years back has been in
its dis-favour, Its articles of merchandize are iron, (the moft important,) copper,.deals,
pitch, herrings, allum, &c. The following tables will give a perfect idea of the ftate
of its trade.
Its annual importation of raw and clayed fugars, amounts to from two to three mil-
lion pounds weight; the price regulated by the markets at Bourdeaux, as well as the
the price of refined fugar by that of Hamburgh.
One great abufe exiftsin this country, which is the facility that bad-intentioned men
have of becoming bankrupts; his account once rendered, the infolvent gives himfelf
no more uneafinefs ; it will readily be feen how difcouraging this muft be to a certain
elafs of men, and for our parts we are at lofs to conceive how an abufe of fuch magni-
tude can be fuffered any longer to exift.
* The fumptuary laws forbid the wearing of coloured filk, and are obferved. ‘The common drefs in filk
is black, with, in acourt drefs, an addition of flame-coloured filk banks. The fumptuary laws, with re-
fpe& to the number of difhes allowed to be ferved up at table, are lefs rigoroufly regarded. We have,
however, been prefent at entertainments at which they were obferved.
A general
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