and his own family will not, perhaps, wear of those countries should be particularly atout six pairs. Unless, therefore, he has the tentive to the interests of agriculture, upon custom of, at least, 50 such families as his the prosperity or declension of which immeown, he cannot dispose of the whole produce diately depended the yearly increase or dimiof his own labour. The most numerous nution of their own revenue. class of artificers will seldom, in a large coun- The policy of the ancient republics of try, make more than one in 50, or one in a Greece, and that of Rome, though it honour. 100, of the whole number of families con- ed agriculture more than manufactures or tained in it. But in such large countries, as foreign trade, yet seems rather to have disFrance and England, the number of people couraged the latter employments, than to employed in agriculture has, by some authors, have given any direct or intentional encou been computed at a half, by others at a third, ragement to the former. In several of the and by no author that I know of, at less than ancient states of Greece, foreign trade was a fifth of the whole inhabitants of the country. prohibited altogether; and in several others, But as the produce of the agriculture of both the employments of artificers and manufacFrance and England is, the far greater part turers were considered as hurtful to the of it, consumed at home, each person employ-strength and agility of the human body, as ed in it must, according to these computa-rendering it incapable of those habits which tions, require little more than the custom of their military and gymnastic exercises endeaone, two, or, at most, of four such families as voured to form in it, and as thereby disquahis own, in order to dispose of the whole pro- lifying it, more or less, for undergoing the duce of his own labour. Agriculture, there- fatigues and encountering the dangers of war. fore, can support itself under the discourage- Such occupations were considered as fit only ment of a confined market much better than for slaves, and the free citizens of the states manufactures. In both ancient Egypt and were prohibited from exercising them. Even Indostan, indeed, the confinement of the in those states where no such prohibition took foreign market was in some measure com- place, as in Rome and Athens, the great body pensated by the conveniency of many inland of the people were in effect excluded from navigations, which opened, in the most ad- all the trades which are now commonly exervantageous manner, the whole extent of the cised by the lower sort of the inhabitants of home market to every part of the produce of towns. Such trades were, at Athens and every different district of those countries. Rome, all occupied by the slaves of the rich, The great extent of Indostan, too, rendered who exercised them for the benefit of their the home market of that country very great, masters, whose wealth, power, and protection, and sufficient to support a great variety of made it almost impossible for a poor freeman manufactures. But the small extent of an- to find a market for his work, when it came cient Egypt, which was never equal to Eng- into competition with that of the slaves of the land, must at all times, have rendered the rich. Slaves, however, are very seldom inhome market of that country too narrow for ventive; and all the most important improve. supporting any great variety of manufactures. ments, either in machinery, or in the arBengal accordingly, the province of Indostan rangement and distribution of work, which which commonly exports the greatest quantity facilitate and abridge labour have been the of rice, has always been more remarkable for discoveries of freemen. Should a slave pro the exportation of a great variety of manu- pose any improvement of this kind, his masfactures, than for that of its grain. Ancient ter would be very apt to consider the proEgypt, on the contrary, though it exported posal as the suggestion of laziness, and of a some manufactures, fine linen in particular, desire to save his own labour at the master's as well as some other goods, was always most expense. The poor slave, instead of reward distinguished for its great exportation of would probably meet with much abuse, pergrain. It was long the granary of the Ro-haps with some punishment. In the manuman empire. factures carried on by slaves, therefore, more The sovereigns of China, of ancient Egypt, labour must generally have been employed and of the different kindoms into which In- to execute the same quantity of work, than dostan has, at different times, been divided, in those carried on by freemen. The work have always derived the whole, or by far the of the former must, upon that account, genemost considerable part, of their revenue, from rally have been dearer than that of the latter. some sort of land tax or land rent. This The Hungarian mines, it is remarked by Mr. land tax, or land rent, like the tithe in Eu- Montesquieu, though not richer, have always rope, consisted in a certain proportion, a fifth, been wrought with less expense, and therefore it is said, of the produce of the land, which with more profit, than the Turkish mines in was either delivered in kind, or paid in mo- their neighbourhood. The Turkish mines ney, according to a certain valuation, and are wrought by slaves; and the arms of those which, therefore, varied from year to year, slaves are the only machines which the Turks according to all the variations of the produce. have ever thought of employing. The HunIt was natural, therefore, that the sovereigns garian mines are wrought by freemen, who employ a great deal of machinery, by which great. The rich, not being able to distinthey facilitate and abridge their own labour. guish themselves by the expense of any ore From the very little that is known about the dress, will naturally endeavour to do so by price of manufactures in the times of the the multitude and variety of their dresses. Greeks and Romans, it would appear that The greatest and most important branch of those of the finer sort were excessively dear. the commerce of every nation, it has already Silk sold for its weight in gold. It was not, been observed, is that which is carried on be. indeed, in those times an European manu- tween the inhabitants of the town and those facture; and as it was all brought from the of the country. The inhabitants of the town East Indies, the distance of the carriage may draw from the country the rude produce, in some measure account for the greatness of which constitutes both the materials of their the price. The price, however, which a work and the fund of their subsistence; and lady, it is said, would sometimes pay for a they pay for this rude produce, by sending piece of very fine linen, seems to have been back to the country a certain portion of it ma equally extravagant; and as linen was always nufactured and prepared for immediate use. either an European, or at farthest, an Egyp- The trade which is carried on between these tian manufacture, this high price can be ac- two different sets of people, consists ultimatecounted for only by the great expense of the ly in a certain quantity of rude produce exlabour which must have been employed about changed for a certain quantity of manufac it, and the expense of this labour again could tured produce. The dearer the latter, there arise from nothing but the awkwardness of fore, the cheaper the former; and whatever the machinery which is made use of. The tends in any country to raise the price of maprice of fine woollens, too, though not quite nufactured produce, tends to lower that of so extravagant, seems, however, to have been the rude produce of the land, and thereby to much above that of the present times. Some discourage agriculture. The smaller the cloths, we are told by Pliny, dyed in a par- quantity of manufactured produce, which any ticular manner, cost a hundred denarii, or given quantity of rude produce, or, what L.3 6s. 8d. the pound weight. Others, dyed comes to the same thing, which the price of in another manner, cost a thousand denarii any given quantity of rude produce, is capathe pound weight, or L.33 6s. 8d. The Ro-ble of purchasing, the smaller the exchangeman pound, it must be remembered, contain-able value of that given quantity of rude pro ed only twelve of our avoirdupois ounces. This high price, indeed, seems to have been principally owing to the dye. But had not the cloths themselves been much dearer than any which are made in the present times, so very expensive a dye would not probably have been bestowed upon them. The dispropor-home market, the most important of all tion would have been too great between the value of the accessory and that of the principal. The price mentioned by the same author t, of some triclinaria, a sort of woollen Those systems, therefore, which preferring pillows or cushions made use of to lean upon agriculture to all other employments, in order as they reclined upon their couches at table, to promote it, impose restraints upon manupasses all credibility; some of them being factures and foreign trade, act contrary to said to have cost more than L.30,000, others the very end which they propose, and indı.. more than L.300,000. This high price, too, rectly discourage that very species of industry is not said to have arisen from the dye. In which they mean to promote. They are so the dress of the people of fashion of both far, perhaps, more inconsistent than even the sexes, there seems to have been much less va- mercantile system. That system, by enriety, it is observed by Dr. Arbuthnot, in couraging manufactures and foreign trade ancient than in modern times; and the very more than agriculture, turns a certain portion little variety which we find in that of the an- of the capital of the society, from supporting cient statues, confirms his observation. He a more advantageous, to support a less advan. infers from this, that their dress must, upon tageous species of industry. But still it real. the whole, have been cheaper than ours; but ly, and in the end, encourages that species the conclusion does not seem to follow. of industry which it means to promote When the expense of fashionable dress is very Those agricultural systems, on the contrary, great, the variety must be very small. But really, and in the end, discourage their own when, by the improvements in the productive favourite species of industry. powers of manufacturing art and industry,It is thus that every system which endeathe expense of any one dress comes to be very moderate, the variety will naturally be very duce; the smaller the encouragement which either the landlord has to increase its quantity by improving, or the farmer by cultivating the land. Whatever, besides, tends to diminish in any country the number of artificers and manufacturers, tends to diminish the markets, for the rude produce of the land and thereby still further to discourage agriculture. vours, either, by extraordinary encouragements to draw towards a particular species of industry a greater share of the capital of the society than what would naturally go to it or, by extraordinary restraints, to force from the duty of establishing an exact administra a particular species of industry some share of tion of justice; and, thirdly, the duty of erect the capital which would otherwise be employ-ing and maintaining certain public works, ed in it, is, in reality, subversive of the great and certain public institutions, which it can purpose which it means to promote. It re- never be for the interest of any individual, *ards, instead of accelerating the progress of or small number of individuals to erect and the society towards real wealth and greatness; maintain; because the profit could never reand diminishes, instead of increasing, the pay the expense to any individual, or small real value of the annual produce of its land number of individuals, though it may freand labour. quently do much more than repay it to All systems, either of preference or of re- great society. E straint, therefore, being thus completely taken The proper performance of those severa away, the obvious and simple system of na-duties of the sovereign necessarily supposes a tural liberty establishes itself of its own ac- certain expense; and this expense again necord. Every man, as long as he does not cessarily requires a certain revenue to support violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly it. In the following book, therefore, I shall free to pursue his own interest his own way, endeavour to explain, first, what are the neand to bring both his industry and capital in- cessary expenses of the sovereign or commonto competition with those of any other man, wealth; and which of those expenses ought or order of men. The sovereign is complete- to be defrayed by the general contribution of ly discharged from a duty, in the attempting the whole society; and which of them, by that to perform which he must always be exposed of some particular part only, or of some parto innumerable delusions, and for the proper ticular members of the society: secondly, performance of which, no human wisdom or what are the different methods in which the knowledge could ever be sufficient; the duty whole society may be made to contribute toof superintending the industry of private peo-wards defraying the expenses incumbent on ple, and of directing it towards the employ- the whole society; and what are the principal ments most suitable to the interests of the so- advantages and inconveniencies of each of ciety. According to the system of natural those methods: and thirdly, what are the realiberty, the sovereign has only three duties to sons and causes which have induced almost all attend to; three duties of great importance, modern governments to mortgage some part indeed, but plain and intelligible to common of this revenue, or to contract debts; and understandings: first, the duty of protecting what have been the effects of those debts upon the society from the violence and invasion the real wealth, the annual produce of the of other independent societies; secondly, the land and labour of the society. The follow. duty of protecting, as far as possible, every ing book, therefore, will naturally be divided member of the society from the injustice or into three chapters. Notes 36, 37. oppression of every other member of it, or APPENDIX. THE two following accounts are subjoined, in order to illustrate and confirm what is said in the fifth chapter of the fourth book, concerning the Tonnage Bounty to the White-herring Fishery. The reader, I believe, may depend upon the accuracy of both accounts, An Account of Busses fitted out in Scotland for even Years, with the Number of empty Bur. rels carried out, and the Number of Barrels of Herrings caught; also the Bounty, at a Medium, on each Barrel of Sea-sticks, and on each Barrel when fully packed. Busses. Sea-sticks, 378,347 Bounty, at a medium, for each barrel of sea-sticks, LO 8 24 But a barrel of sea-sticks being only reckoned two thirds of a barrel fully packed, one third is to be deducted, which brings 1-3d deducted, 126,115 the bounty to ....... L.0 12 3 Barrels fully packed, 252,2314 And if the herrings are exported, there is besides, a premium of.................. LO 2 8 So that the bounty paid by government in money, for each barrel, is............ L.0 14 119 But if to this, the duty of the salt usually taken credit for as expended in curing each barrel, which, at a medium, is, of foreign, one bushel and one-fourth of a bushel, at 10s. a-bushel, be added, viz.......................... the bounty on each barrel would amount to........ 6 If the herrings are cured with British salt, it will stand thus, viz. Bounty, as before................................ But if to this bounty, the duty on two bushels of Scotch salt, at 1s. 6d. per bushel, supposed to be the quantity, at a medium, used in curing each barrel, is added, viz..... the bounty on each barrel will amount to......................... 0 3 0 L.0 17 11 And when buss herrings are entered for home consumption in Scotland, and pay the shilling a-barrel of duty, the bounty stands thus, to wit, as before From which the Is. a-barrel is to be deducted....... .......... But to that there is to be added again, the duty of the foreign salt used in curing a barrel of herrings, viz.... So that the premium allowed for each barrel of herrings entered for home consumption is...... If the herrings are cured with British salt, it will stand as follows, viz. But if to the bounty, the duty on two bushels of Scotch salt, at 1s. 6d. per bushel, supposed to be the quantity, at a medium, used in curing each barrel, is added, viz. ...... Lo 12 3 LO 14 33 the premium for each barrel entered for home consumption will be.......................... Though the loss of duties upon herrings exported cannot, perhaps, properly be considered as bounty, that upon herrings entered for home consumption certainly may. An Account of the Quantity of Foreign Salt imported into Scotland, and of Scotch Salt delivered Duty-free from the Works there, for the Fishery, from the 5th of April 1771 to the 5th of April 1782. with the Medium of both for one Year. It is to be observe, that the bushel of foreign salt weighs 481h that of British salt, 56lb. aly. |