III. The effects of mifconduct are often the fame C HA P. as thofe of prodigality. Every injudicious and unfuccefsful project in agriculture, mines, fisheries, trade, or manufactures, 'tends in the fame manner to diminish the funds deftined for the maintenance of productive labour. In every fuch project, though the capital is confumed by productive hands only, yet, as by the injudicious manner in which they are employed, they do not reproduce the full value of their confumption, there must always be fome diminution in what would otherwife have been the productive funds of the fociety. It can feldom happen, indeed, that the circumstances of a great nation can be much affected either by the prodigality or mifconduct of individuals; the profufion or imprudence of fome, being always more than compenfated by the frugality and good conduct of others. With regard to profufion, the principle which prompts to expence, is the paflion for prefent enjoyment; which, though fometimes violent and very difficult to be restrained, is in general only momentary and occafional. But the principle which prompts to fave, is the defire of bettering our condition, a defire which, though generally calm and difpaffionate, comes with us from · the womb, and never leaves us till we go into the grave. In the whole interval which feparates those two moments, there is fcarce perhaps a fingle inftance in which any man is fo fectly and completely fatisfied with his fituation, as to be without any wifh of alteration or improvement C 2 per II. BOOK provement of any kind. An augmentation of fortune is the means by which the greater part of men propofe and wish to better their condition. It is the means the moft vulgar and the moft obvious; and the most likely way of augmenting their fortune, is to fave and accumulate fome part of what they acquire, either regularly and annually, or upon fome extraordinary occafions. Though the principle of expence, therefore, prevails in almost all men upon fome occafions, and in fome men upon almost all occafions, yet in the greater part of men, taking the whole courfe of their life at an average, the principle of frugality feems not only to predominate; but to predominate very greatly. With regard to misconduct, the number of prudent and fuccefsful undertakings is everywhere much greater than that of injudicious and unfuccefsful ones. After all our complaints of the frequency of bankruptcies, the unhappy men who fall into this misfortune make but a very small part of the whole number engaged in trade, and all other forts of bufinefs; not much more perhaps than one in a thousand. Bankruptcy is perhaps the greatest and most humiliating calamity which can befal an innocent man. The greater part of men, therefore, are fufficiently careful to avoid it. Some, indeed, do not avoid it; as fome do not avoid the gallows. Great nations are never impoverished by private, though they fometimes are by public prodigality and mifconduct. The whole, or almost the whole, public revenue, is in most countries III. countries employed in maintaining unproductive CHAP. hands. Such are the people who compofe a numerous and fplendid court, a great ecclefiaftical establishment, great fleets and armies, who in time of peace produce nothing, and in time of war acquire nothing which can compenfate the expence of maintaining them, even while the war lafts. Such people, as they themselves produce nothing, are all maintained by the produce of other men's labour. When multiplied, there fore, to an unneceffary number, they may in a particular year confume fo great a fhare of this produce, as not to leave a fufficiency for maintaining the productive labourers, who should reproduce it next year. The next year's produce, therefore, will be lefs than that of the foregoing, and if the fame diforder fhould continue, that of the third year will be ftill lefs than that of the fecond. Thofe unproductive hands, who should be maintained by a part only of the fpare revenue of the people, may confume fo great a share of their whole revenue, and thereby oblige fo great a number to encroach upon their capitals, upon the funds deftined for the maintenance of productive labour, that all the frugality and good conduct of individuals may not be able to compenfate the wafte and degradation of produce occafioned by this violent and forced encroachment. This frugality and good conduct, however, is upon moft occafions, it appears from experience, fufficient to compenfate, not only the private prodigality and mifconduct of indivi II. BOOK duals, but the public extravagance of govern ment. The uniform, conftant, and uninterrupted effort of every man to better his condition, the principle from which public and national, as well as private opulence is originally derived, is frequently powerful enough to maintain the natural progrefs of things toward improvement, in fpite both of the extravagance of government, and of the greateft errors of administration. Like the unknown principle of ani, mal life, it frequently reftores health and vigour to the conftitution, in fpite, not only of the difeafe, but of the abfurd prefcriptions of the doctor. The annual produce of the land and labour of any nation can be increased in its value by no other means, but by increafing either the number of its productive labourers, or the productive powers of thofe labourers who had before been employed. The number of its productive labourers, it is evident, can never be much increafed, but in confequence of an increafe of capital, or of the funds destined for maintaining them. The productive powers of the fame number of labourers cannot be increafed, but in confequence either of fome addition and improvement to thofe machines and inftruments which facilitate and abridge labour; or of a more proper divifion and diftribution of employment. In either cafe an additional capital is almoft always required. It is by means of an additional capital only, that the undertaker of any work can either provide his workmen with better machinery, or make III. make a more proper diftribution of employment C H A P. among them. When the work to be done confifts of a number of parts, to keep every man conftantly employed in one way, requires a much greater capital than where every man is occafionally employed in every different part of the work. When we compare, therefore, the ftate of a nation at two different periods, and find, that the annual produce of its land and labour is evidently greater at the latter than at the former, that its lands are better cultivated, its manufactures more numerous and more flourishing, and its trade more extenfive, we may be affured that its capital must have increafed during the interval between those two periods, and that more muft have been added to it by the good conduct of fome, than had been taken from it either by the private misconduct of others, or by the public extravagance of government. But we fhall find this to have been the cafe of almost all nations, in all tolerably quiet and peaceable times, even of thofe who have not enjoyed the most prudent and parfimonious governments. To form a right judgment of it, indeed, we must compare the ftate of the country at periods fomewhat diftant from one another. The progrefs is frequently fo gradual, that, at near periods, the improve ment is not only not fenfible, but from the declenfion either of certain branches of induftry, or of certain diftricts of the country, things which fometimes happen though the country in general be in great profperity, there frequently arifes a fufpicion, € 4 |