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great. The rich, not being able to distinguish themselves by the expense of any ore dress, will naturally endeavour to do so by the multitude and variety of their dresses.

employ a great deal of machinery, by which they facilitate and abridge their own labour. From the very little that is known about the price of manufactures in the times of the 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 beindeed, 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 manufacit, and the expense of this labour again could tured produce. The dearer the latter, therearise 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. duce; the smaller the encouragement which This high price, indeed, seems to have been either the landlord has to increase its quantity principally owing to the dye. But had not by improving, or the farmer by cultivating the cloths themselves been much dearer than the land. Whatever, besides, tends to dimi any which are made in the present times, so nish in any country the number of artificers very expensive a dye would not probably have and manufacturers, tends to diminish the been bestowed upon them. The dispropor-home market, the most important of all tion would have been too great between the markets, for the rude produce of the land, value of the accessory and that of the princi- | and thereby still further to discourage agripal. The price mentioned by the same au- culture. thor, of some triclinaria, a sort of woollen pillows or cushions made use of to lean upon as they reclined upon their couches at table, passes all credibility; some of them being said to have cost more than L.30,000, others more than L.300,000. This high price, too, is not said to have arisen from the dye. In the dress of the people of fashion of both sexes, there seems to have been much less variety, it is observed by Dr. Arbuthnot, in ancient than in modern times; and the very little variety which we find in that of the ancient statues, confirms his observation. He infers from this, that their dress must, upon the whole, have been cheaper than ours; but the

conclusion does not seem to follow. When the expense of fashionable dress is very great, the variety must be very small. But when, by the improvements in the productive powers of manufacturing art and industry, the expense of any one dress comes to be very moderate, the variety will naturally be very

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Those systems, therefore, which preferring agriculture to all other employments, in order to promote it, impose restraints upon manufactures and foreign trade, act contrary to the very end which they propose, and indirectly discourage that very species of industry which they mean to promote. They are so far, perhaps, more inconsistent than even the mercantile system. That system, by encouraging manufactures and foreign trade more than agriculture, turns a certain portion of the capital of the society, from supporting a more advantageous, to support a less advantageous species of industry. But still it really, and in the end, encourages that species of industry which it means to promote. Those agricultural systems, on the contrary, really, and in the end, discourage their own favourite species of industry.

It is thus that every system which endeavours, 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 administraa particular species of industry some share of tion of justice; and, thirdly, the duty of erectthe capital which would otherwise be employ-ug and maintaining certain public works, ed in it, is, in reality, subversive of the great purpose which it means to promote It retards, instead of accelerating the progress of the society towards real wealth and greatness; and diminishes, instead of increasing, the real value of the annual produce of its land and labour.

and certain public institutions, which it can never be for the interest of any individual, or small number of individuals to erect and maintain; because the profit could never repay the expense to any individual, or small number of individuals, though it may fe quently do much more than repay it to a great society.

All systems, either of preference or of restraint, therefore, being thus completely taken The proper performance of those several 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 to innumerable delusions, and for the proper performance of which, no human wisdom or knowledge could ever be sufficient; the duty of superintending the industry of private people, and of directing it towards the employments most suitable to the interests of the society. According to the system of natural liberty, the sovereign has only three duties to attend to; three duties of great importance, indeed, but plain and intelligible to common understandings: first, the duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies; secondly, the duty of protecting, as far as possible, every member of the society from the injustice or oppression of every other member of it, or

of some particular part only, or of some particular members of the society: secondly, what are the different methods in which the whole society may be made to contribute towards defraying the expenses incumbent on the whole society; and what are the principal advantages and inconveniencies of each of those methods: and thirdly, what are the reasons and causes which have induced almost all modern governments to mortgage some part of this revenue, or to contract debts; and what have been the effects of those debts upon the real wealth, the annual produce of the land and labour of the society. The following book, therefore, will naturally be divided into three chapters.

APPENDIX.

THE two following accounts are subjoined, in order to illustrate and confirm what is said ir 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 eleven Years, with the Number of empty Barrels 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.

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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-Sd deducted, 126,115 the bounty to ........ L.0 12 33

Barrels fully

packed,

252,231

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 14 113 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 ...................

.......... 0 12 6

..........L.1 7 53

If the herrings are cured with British salt, it will stand thus, viz. Bounty, as before,.........

.........L.0 14 11

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............................

030

LO 17 11

LO 12 S

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 1s. 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.
Bounty on each barrel brought in by the busses, as above........
From which deduct the Is a-barrel, paid at the time they are entered for home
consumption........

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.

010

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LO 14

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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.

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It is to be observed, that the bushel of foreign salt weighs 48lb. that of British salt, 56!h.

only.

BOOK V.

OF THE REVENUE OF THE SOVEREIGN OR COMMONWEALTH.

CHAP. I.

accidents. When its herds and flocks have consumed the forage of one part of the

OF THE EXPENSES OF THE SOVEREIGN OR COM- country, it removes to another, and from

MONWEALTH.

PART I.

Of the Expense of Defence.

THE first duty of the sovereign, that of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies, can be performed only by means of a military force. But the expense both of preparing this military force in time of peace, and of employing it in time of war, is very different | in the different states of society, in the different periods of improvement.

Among nations of hunters, the lowest and rudest state of society, such as we find it among the native tribes of North America, every man is a warrior, as well as a hunter. When he goes to war, either to defend his society, or to revenge the injuries which have been done to it by other societies, he maintains himself by his own labour, in the same manner as when he lives at home. His society (for in this state of things there is pro. perly neither sovereign nor commonwealth) is at no sort of expense, either to prepare him for the field, or to maintain him while he is in it.

the war

that to a third In the dry season, it comes down to the banks of the rivers; in the wet season, it retires to the upper country. When such a nation goes to war, riors will not trust their herds and flocks to the feeble defence of their old men, their women and children; and their old men, their women and children, will not be left behind without defence, and without subsistence. The whole nation, besides, being accustomed to a wandering life, even in time of peace, easily takes the field in time of war. Whether it marches as an army, or moves about as a company of herdsmen, the way of life is nearly the same, though the object proposed by it be very different. They all go to war together, therefore, and every one does as well as he can. Among the Tartars, even the women have been frequently known to engage in battle. If they conquer, whatever belongs to the hostile tribe is the recompence of the victory; but if they are vanquished, all is lost; and not only their herds and flocks, but their women and children, become the booty of the conqueror. the greater part of those who survive the action are obliged to submit to him for the sake of immediate subsistence. The rest are commonly dissipated and dispersed in the desert.

Even

The ordinary life, the ordinary exercise of Among nations of shepherds, a more ad- a Tartar or Arab, prepare him sufficiently vanced state of society, such as we find it for war. Running, wrestling, cudgel-playamong the Tartars and Arabs, every man is, ing, throwing the javelin, drawing the bow, in the same manner, a warrior. Such nations &c. are the common pastimes of those who have commonly no fixed habitation, but live live in the open air, and are all of them the either in tents, or in a sort of covered wag-images of war. When a Tartar or Arab gons, which are easily transported from place to place. The whole tribe, or nation, changes its situation according to the different seasons of the year, as well as according to other

actually goes to war, he is maintained by his own herds and flocks, which he carries with him, in the same manner as in peace. His chief or sovereign (for those nations have all

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