REASONS Against the Taxing and Prohibiting New Foundations.  
First, A Years Tax on New Buildings will be very burdensome and grievous to the ruin of many Families; for they which Live on those Rents will have nothing to maintain them that Year, and must starve if they cannot borrow, which will be very difficult for those that have only Estates for Lives; besides the trouble of getting the Money to pay the other Assessments already laid on such Houses. Now, It has been the usual method of Parliaments, to make their Taxes easy, and to take that part of every Man's Estate towards the Support of the Government, which he could spare; not that which is all their maintenance.  

II. Therefore if such a Tax should be laid, it must be accounted a Fine, and the Buildings an offence; which must be either an offence against a Law already made, or else such an offence that there ought to be a Law made against it.  
If the New Buildings are an offence against a Law already made, That Law hath declared the punishment, and the Builders ought not to be punished any other way, since they are willing to abide the Trial and punishment of that Law; especially at this time when they hope they are delivered from Judges and Lawyers that would strain and wrest the words of a Statute quite contrary to the genuine Sense and plain meaning of it.  
But suppose the Builders had offended against the Law made against Cottages, That Law was made for all England; why therefore should those that have Built within the Bill of Mortality, be Fined and forced to commute their punishment, more than those that have Built at Bristol, and other Towns which have greatly increased, if not in equal proportion: Or in other places in the Country who are probably more within the Words of the Statute, and not saved by the exceptions?   
III. If New Buildings are such an offence, that there ought to be a Law made against it, (there being no Law already against them, as the Lord Chancellor Nottingham declared in his Speech to the Parliament;) then the Builders ought not to be punished for an offence committed before the Law made.  
iv Such a Tax would be very partial and unequal; For it will fall upon a great many that never committed the supposed offence of Building; Such as have purchased and have given the full value of the Improvement; and therefore will think it very unreasonable they should pay a Years purchase more; besides, many of them are Orphans and Widows, and unable it being their whole maintenance, and there may seem as much reason that those have lent Money upon the New Building should be Taxed, as those that have purchased, and somewhat greater; for were it not for their Money, the Houses had not been Built.  

V Such a Tax will produce very little Money; For the Revenue of all the Ground Rents that have been Built upon since 1660, taking in the great Houses that been altered and Built into Tenements, do not amount to much more than Twenty one Thousand Pounds per Annum, as may appear by this particular.  

An Estimate of the Ground-Rents since 1660.   l. s. d. ESssex Buildings, 1100 00 00 Norfolk Buildings, 1200 00 00 Salisbury Buildings, 0300 00 00 Beauford Buildings, 1100 00 00 York Buildings, 1500 00 00 Hungerford-Market, 0400 00 00 downing's Buildings, 0300 00 00 Albemarle and Arlington-street, 1000 00 00 St. James'- square and Streets adjoining, 1200 00 00 Some Ground-Rent in St. Giles, 0350 00 00 Leceister-Fields and Streets adjoining, 0600 00 00 So-Ho-Square and the Street adjoining, 1300 00 00 Exeter Buildings, 0600 00 00 Southampton-Square and the Streets adjoining, 1500 00 00 Red-Lion-Fields, 1100 00 00 Brownlowe-Street, 0150 00 00 Brook Buildings, 0650 00 00 Hatton-Garden, 0600 00 00 Suffolk-Street, 0250 00 00 Newport-Ground, 0900 00 00 Rupert and Gerrard-street, 0600 00 00 As for the Ground-Rents about Wapping, White-Chappel, Southwark, and that End of the Town, tho' there are a great many Houses, yet do not amount to a fourth part of the value of the West-end of the Town, tho' it be agreed that the Town hath equally increased at both ends.— 4500 00 00 in all 21200 00 00  
Now the Houses of Essex-Buildings, Norfolk-Buildings, York-Buildings, Beauford-Buildings, Exeter, Salisbury, Hungerford-Buildings, etc. do amount in the Account, to above Six thousand Pound per Annum: Now, if all these Houses ought to be excepted out of the Tax, yet so much Ground of them as was Built before, aught to be excepted, or at least, as many Houses as was Built before: As all those fronting the Strand, belonging to Essex, Norfolk, York, Beauford, Exeter, Salisbury, etc. so that taking the whole Account, with these just Exceptions, the Ground-Rents will not amount to much more than Fifteen thousand Pound per Annum, and allowing three parts more for the Improv'd-Rents, the Total will amount to Threescore thousand Pounds of Ground-Rent and Improv'd-Rent; which when the Loss and Charge in Collecting is deducted, will produce but a little Sum in the Exchequer.   
VI Such a Tax will be very tedious, chargeable, and uncertain in the Collecting: Many Houses are empty, unfinished, mortgaged for more than they are worth, and the Owners poor. From the smaller Houses the Tenants will remove, for they are not able to raise a years Tax. Several Houses have Settlements and Remainders upon them, which will require time to proportion what the several Interests shall pay; so that such a Tax may create several Offices, which may be beneficial to several private Persons, but will avail little to the Public, as will appear, if the Accounts of the Exchequer be Examined, about the same Tax raised in oliver's Days; It was a Years Tax upon Houses, which were as numerous as the Houses built since 1660, yet the whole Account that was brought in the Exchequer, was but Twenty seven thousand odd Hundred Pounds. It was Four years in Collecting, and Seven thousand Pound was allowed for the Charge, which was above a fourth part of the Money.   

Reasons against Stopping of New Buildings.  
First, TO stop Buildings in and about the Cities of London and Westminster, will take away the Livelihood of several Thousands of Families. Who after they have served seven years' Apprenticeship, to learn their Callings, will think it very severe, that they should not have Liberty to use their Trades, as well as other Traders, that do not belong to Building.  
II. There are but three-ways, by which the generality of all Traders are employed; In providing Food, Clothing, and Lodging for Mankind. So that to prohibit Building, is to stop one of the three great ways by which the People that have no Land are fed; which may prove of ill Consequence to the Government: It being contrary to the common reputed Interest of the Nation, which is to encourage all lawful ways whereby the People might get their Live.  
III. Stopping of Building will lessen the Value of Rents in the Country; for these many Families wanting Employ, cannot consume so much in Eating and Clothing, which is the Product of the Country; for according to the Consumption of the Growth of the Country, is the Value of the Land: And it is much better for the Country, that these Families, which belong to Building, are Fed and Clothed in London, than in the Country; for they pay for the Carriage of the Goods to London, by which, another Party of Men and Horses are maintained, which help to consume the Product of the Country; and the Builders eat as much, where they now live, and wear out more .  
Lastly. The Builders are in all Nations in the world Encouraged. The States of Holland have risen to their Greatness, chief by Encouraging the Builders to Enlarge their Cities: Therefore it were convenient that those that think it necessary to prevent the growth of the City and Buildings, might publish some Reasons to show how the Interest of this Nation differs from all the rest of Europe, which perhaps might qulet a little the minds of those many Families that are to lose their livelyhoods; when they are convinced that it is for the good of their Country, that they should be ruined; For those Reasons that the Sergeant useth, doth not satisfy them. 

First. That the Air is Stagnalized by the New Building, and the Health of their Majesty's Subjects endangered; For, the Builders by making Large Streets, Squares and Piazzas, and their making Watercourses and Dreins under ground, have contributed much to the Health of the Place, having changed many noisome Laystals into wholesome Streets; and London is now as healthy as any Metropolis in the World.  
II. The Confining of the Air of His Majesty's Palace. This was not thought a Reason by former Parliaments to Stop Building; for the Parliament in the 17th. of King Charles the First, did Petition to the King as a Grievance, that the Subject was hindered from Building upon his ; for at that time some houses in the Strand, for Building without a Licence, were pulled down upon such pretence.  
III. By the Common Law, Buildings are so far from being reckoned a Common Nuisance, that the Law takes care to preserve them; for it is waste, and a forfeiture of the Estate to demolish a House.  
iv If New Buildings do much Enhance the Price of Victuals (as the Sergeant suggests,) It is for the advantage of the Country, they having a better price for their Corn and Cattle; and therefore is a contradiction to his other Argument, That the New Buildings are the occasion of the fall of the Rent of the Lands in the Country.