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FREE T R<^D Ex:' ' ^ 
 
 OR 
 
 AN INQUIRY 
 
 THE EXPEDIENCY OF THE PRESENT CORN LAWS ; 
 
 THE RELATIONS OF OUR FOREIGN AND COLONIAL TRADE; 
 
 THE ADVANTAGES OF OUR NAVIGATION SYSTEM ; 
 
 THE PROPRIETY OF PREVENTING COMBINATIONS AMONG WORKMEN; 
 
 AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH OCCASION A 
 DERANGEMENT OF THE CURRENCY. 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 A GENERAL INVESTIGATION OF THE ALTERATIONS LATELY ADOPTED, 
 AND STILL FURTHER MEDITATED, IN THE 
 
 COMMERCIAL POLICY OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 By ALEXANDER M DONNELL, Esa. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXXVI. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 Printed by AVILLIAM CLOH'ES, 
 
 Northumberland-Court. 
 
Mz 
 
 PKEFACE. 
 
 The principles of Free Trade form, among al- 
 most all classes of the community in the present 
 day, the leading topic of discussion. The variety 
 of interests involved in the extinction of protecting 
 duties, causes the subject to come home to the 
 nearest affairs of life, and creates an earnest desire 
 to investigate the grounds on which it is required 
 of us to deviate from a system long and beneficially 
 established. The unlooked-for scenes of distress 
 which have lately afflicted the country have greatly 
 strengthened this excitement ; and any attempt to 
 analyse the relations of commerce, both as regards 
 the past and the future, is likely to prove not un- 
 welcome to the public. 
 
 The last session of parliament was distinguished, 
 beyond precedent, for important innovations, — 
 founded, it is true, upon doctrines previously ad- 
 vanced by our most eminent statesmen, but still 
 thought to be only practicable at the end of such 
 
 ivi508318 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 a lapse of time as would have protracted their 
 adoption to a much remoter period. The protecting 
 duties on our principal manufactures have been 
 greatly reduced, and in some instances entirely 
 abolished ; the Colonial Intercourse Acts of 3 and 
 4 Geo. IV. have been extended, placing the Euro- 
 pean powers on the same footing as the United 
 States of America; and, in a word, the exclusive 
 right of trading to our foreign possessions, which 
 formed the basis of our navigation system, has 
 been virtually abandoned. 
 
 This alteration in our commercial policy is of a 
 character the most sweeping and extensive: it 
 must exercise a powerful influence, to the utmost 
 boundaries of the civilised world. We have fairly 
 reversed the nature of our political relations ; for 
 if we formerly incurred the reproach of surrounding 
 states for the closeness of our commercial monopoly, 
 we now surpass in freedom of intercourse those 
 nations which possessed the power of embracing 
 an enhghtened policy in their outset, unshackled 
 by national prejudices, and unimpeded by the 
 tedious and difficult process of retracing steps, and 
 counteracting long-established measures, with which 
 such prejudices had become absolutely identified. 
 
PREFACE. VU 
 
 Among the many reflections to which these mo- 
 mentous changes have given rise, not the least 
 important is that excited by contemplating the tone 
 of public opinion. When these new views in le- 
 gislation were developed, their liberality was almost 
 uniformly acknowledged and applauded ; occasion- 
 ally, perhaps, may have been heard the murmur of 
 some interested manufacturer, reprobating as public 
 impolicy the measure which touched his private 
 advantage ; but his ineffectual opposition has either 
 speedily given way, or been stifled in the general 
 acclamation. 
 
 The legislature has literally pursued the will of 
 the people; and a period of our history could 
 scarcely be adduced in which public measures have 
 been marked with approbation and confidence so 
 unequivocal as, at the time of their enactment, 
 attended these innovations. 
 
 It is due to the legislature to make this acknow- 
 ledgment; but it is not without diffidence that I 
 avow myself inclined to view this feeling in a light 
 somewhat differing from the popular impression. 
 The history of many public measures has taught 
 me to estimate but hghtly the fickle, not to say 
 superficial, commendation lavished too often by the 
 
VIU PREFACE. 
 
 public press; and though I ardently uphold the 
 salutary maxim, that no statesman can ever be 
 truly great who does not earnestly covet popularity, 
 yet, as an illustrious character observed, it must 
 be that popularity which follows, not that which is 
 sought ; that popularity which can keep, in some 
 degree, aloof from the vulgar, passing opinion, and 
 rather stretches the ambition onward to the plaudits 
 of posterity. 
 
 A presentiment crosses my mind that, at some 
 future day, these views may gain corroboration out 
 of the fashionable doctrine of Reciprocity. The 
 love of every thing dignified with the name of 
 liberality has, I am persuaded, induced many 
 persons to support a system, the various and 
 complicated details of which they do not fully 
 appreciate. At the same time, I am not unconscious 
 of the weighty authorities who have given the 
 impulse to this disposition. Since the light first 
 dawned on Sir Dudley North's Treatise, down to 
 the present time, the exclusive system has been 
 more and more openly denounced ; and it is the 
 general boast, that the efforts of those who ad- 
 vocated its preservation have passed to merited 
 oblivion. I am sorry to acknowledge the little 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 encouragement thus presented for a revival of the 
 exploded doctrine. Still, the opinions of eminent 
 men should never totally preclude further examina- 
 tion ; they may make us more careful, and teach 
 us to scrutinize more rigidly our grounds of dis- 
 sent ; but if, after every inquiry, we are unable to 
 embrace their conclusions, the cause of truth de- 
 mands that we should fairly and fearlessly state 
 our grounds of opposition. It is this, and not a 
 presumptuous, feeling on my part, which has led 
 me to attempt the investigation of all those great 
 branches of commercial policy which form the pre- 
 sent subject of national inquiry. They are com- 
 bined in one general system, which, properly 
 speaking, constitutes a comprehensive analysis on 
 Political Economy; and, desirous of making the 
 work as practically useful as possible, I have 
 adopted an arrangement which, I hope, may tend 
 to facilitate, not only the particular study of each 
 head set forth in the title to the volume, but to 
 show its dependence upon the general system, 
 which, when not fully comprehended, causes an 
 incessant liability to error. 
 
 In the First Part I have endeavoured to lay 
 down elementary principles ; in the Second, the 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 restrictive, is compared with a free commercial, 
 system ; and in the Third, I have ventured to offer 
 some suggestions on what I conceive to be the 
 proper line ofpoUcy to be pursued by the country. 
 
 The great changes which have taken place in 
 many departments of industry within the last few 
 months have perhaps rendered some statements in 
 the first part of the work, which were procured in 
 November last, inapplicable to existing circum- 
 stances. They will, however, be easily appre- 
 ciated ; and it may be almost unnecessary to re- 
 mark, that in all general reasoning, that state of 
 things which may be assumed as forming the pre- 
 dominant characteristic of England is implied. 
 
 In regard to the effects of Taxation, I think it 
 probable that those engaged in commercial pursuits 
 will be of opinion, that I have underrated its 
 pressure ; but it will be easy to perceive that such 
 an idea will strengthen, and not invalidate my 
 arguments. 
 
 The Currency question has been decided since 
 the following sheets went to press, in a manner 
 both different from my expectations and my views ; 
 but after bestowing the utmost attention of which 
 I am capable, upon the arguments recendy alleged. 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 I do not feel able to recall what I had previously 
 written. 
 
 It occurs to me that the retired and abstract 
 student may conceive that I may, in one or two in- 
 stances, have expressed myself less ceremoniously 
 of those whose sentiments I was opposing, than 
 may be exactly becoming towards writers of esta- 
 blished reputation. Should this really be the case, 
 I have to plead the ardour of argument as a claim 
 on their indulgence. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 Of the Principles which chiefly determine the 
 Cost of Production. 
 
 Section I. Page 
 
 Introductory Observations 1 
 
 Section II. 
 Causes of High Wages in England 10 
 
 Section III. 
 Prevailing Errors respecting the Natural Rate of Wages 29 
 
 Section IV. 
 
 Influence of the Poor-Laws considered, as atfecting the 
 foregoing Views " 51 
 
 Section V. 
 Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen 62 
 
 Section VI, 
 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth 83 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Comparative Effects of a Free anp a Restrictive 
 Commercial System. 
 
 Section I. Pap- 
 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's Theory of Profits, supposing 
 the Natural Rate of Wages different in different coun- 
 tries 133 
 
 Section II. 
 Inquiry how far a Dearness of Food tends to depress 
 Profits 1S6 
 
 Section III. 
 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests of a Free Trade 
 in Corn 221 
 
 Section IV. 
 Examination of the expected Benefits to accrue to the 
 Manufacturing Interests from a Free Trade in Corn . 240 
 
 Section V. 
 Effects of removing Protecting Duties on our principal 
 Manufactures 250 
 
 Section VI. 
 Effects of a Free Trade upon our Navigation System . 269 
 
 Section VII. 
 Circumstances which determine the Extent of Foreign 
 Commerce 288 
 
 Section VIII. 
 Effects of precipitate Innovations in deranging Foreign 
 Exchanges 306 
 
 Section IX. 
 Inquiry how far the Policy of Foreign States is influenced 
 by a Restrictive System on the part of Great Britain 352 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 PART III. 
 On the proper Policy of the Country. 
 
 Section I. Page 
 
 Currency 359 
 
 Section II. 
 
 Corn-Laws 377 
 
 Section III. 
 Colonies 417 
 
 Section IV. 
 Concluding Reflections • . . . . 458 
 
FREE TRADE. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 OF THE PRINCIPLES WHICH CHIEFLY DETERMINE 
 THE COST OF PRODUCTION. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 It may tend to prevent misunderstanding, and 
 more clearly to explain the nature of the present 
 undertaking, to trace a brief outline of the views 
 generally advanced in favour of an absolute removal 
 of restrictions upon trade. Among so many writers 
 of eminence who have sanctioned this new system 
 with their support, it is reasonable to suppose that 
 much truth must have been elicited, and numerous 
 important positions in political economy established. 
 In a subject, however, of great intricacy, the chief 
 danger to be apprehended lies in our proneness to 
 give a too ready assent to propositions not suffici- 
 ently understood, when those propositions are con- 
 nected with others which carry conviction in them- 
 selves, and add to our stock of knowledge. If 
 
2 Introductory Observations. 
 
 there be one branch of science more than another in 
 which the unquaUfied admission of general prin- 
 ciples is censurable and dangerous, it is that of 
 political economy. Every day presents us with 
 facts demonstrating the necessity of modifying prin- 
 ciples which we had been accustomed to regard as 
 universal in their application. It is this love of 
 generalizing which has been the prohfic source of so 
 many theories, and such multiplied error. It seems 
 necessary therefore to caution the reader at the out- 
 set against confounding certain corollaries in the 
 doctrine of free trade, which, taken in themselves, 
 are fully approved of by the advocates for restric- 
 tion, with those sweeping deductions which it is 
 attempted to apply indiscriminately to all cases, 
 but which in many instances can be proved falla- 
 cious. 
 
 The grand argument of the advocates for an un- 
 qualified reciprocity of commerce, it is well known 
 is founded upon the basis, that each country pos- 
 sesses certain natural advantages peculiar to itself; 
 and that to cultivate those respectively would con- 
 duce more to the augmentation of its wealth, than 
 to attempt to foster other branches of industry which 
 can be more advantageously pursued elsewhere. If, 
 for example, England, from the excellence of her ma- 
 chinery, and her abundance of fuel, possesses greater 
 facilities for the manufacture of woollens and cottons 
 than France ; and if, on the other hand, France sur- 
 passes England in her resources for the fabric of 
 
Introductory Observations. 3 
 
 silks, brocades and embroidery ; it is deemed much 
 more beneficial for the former to exchange her wool- 
 lens and cottons for the silk and embroidery of the 
 latter, than to manufacture theai herself. This rea- 
 soning, which was first illustrated at great length 
 by Adam Smith, tends to show that no government 
 should ever interfere to restrain or to extend one 
 branch of industry more than another. The fore- 
 sight and acuteness of private individuals will al- 
 ways direct them to invest their capital in that line 
 of business, which holds out the greatest proba- 
 bility of success. It is admitted, undoubtedly, that 
 the ground for establishing a perfect freedom of 
 commerce, assumes a certain equality as to the ele- 
 ments of trade to exist between those countries 
 which adopt this system. But as high praise is 
 always bestowed on British enterprise ; on the ex- 
 cellence of our harbours, our canals, and our roads ; 
 and on the great length by which generally we have 
 distanced other countries, it is thought visionary to 
 dread that we can ever suffer from competition. The 
 case, as hitherto stated, applies solely to manufac- 
 tures ; but the same reasoning is held to be equally 
 applicable to the produce of the soil. Agriculture 
 is a species of manufacture ; and it is argued that 
 it would be much more wise to exchange our mus- 
 lins and our hardware for cheap corn, than to per- 
 sist in cultivating inferior lands. 
 
 It is important to observe, that Adam Smith, and 
 many other eminent writers who have followed 
 
 B 'i 
 
4 Introductory Observations. 
 
 him, decidedly maintain, that could all classes of 
 the community appreciate their true interests, the 
 objections to the removal of every undue or partial 
 restriction upon trade would greatly diminish. The 
 interests of the labourer and of the landlord were 
 closely identified ; and as any visitation of distress 
 upon the former must inevitably reach the latter, it 
 could not be imagined that either would be so in- 
 sensible to his own advantage as to obstruct the 
 general prosperity of the country. 
 
 Of late years, however, several writers have ap- 
 peared, who draw much more deplorable conse- 
 quences from the abandonment of what they deem 
 the true system, than had been previously imagined. 
 This sect, which, for the sake of brevity, may be 
 termed the modern school, endeavours to show, that 
 the interests of the proprietors of the soil are in 
 direct opposition to those of the rest of the commu- 
 nity, as rent is determined by the expense of bring- 
 ing the worst land into cultivation. In other parts 
 of their theory it is maintained, that the cost of pro- 
 duction alone determines the value of an article ; 
 that the variations occasionally existing between 
 supply and demand are but accidental, and will in 
 time adjust themselves ; and that high wages must 
 necessarily lead to a diminution of the profits of 
 stock. The last proposition forms, beyond all com- 
 parison, the most important part of the theory, be- 
 cause it is urged that the restrictive system leads to 
 high wages, and the consequence must inevitably be 
 
Introductory Observations. 5 
 
 the banishment of capital from the country to seek 
 more profitable investment abroad. The labours of 
 this school have tended still further to increase the 
 odium against the extension to the landed proprie- 
 tors of what is called undue protection from the 
 state. All predilection in favour of agriculture is 
 severely censured, as obstructing the proper channel 
 through which capital should be distributed. There 
 is obviously a marked difference between this doc- 
 trine and the sentiments of Adam Smith. Though 
 the latter writer was a strenuous enemy to mono- 
 poly, he evinced a decided preference for agricul- 
 tural industry. In the fifth chapter of his second 
 book he has the following observation: " No equal 
 quantity of productive labour or capital employed 
 in manufactures can ever occasion so great a re- 
 production as if it were employed in agriculture. In 
 manufactures nature does nothing, man does all, 
 and the reproduction must always be in proportion 
 to the strength of the agents that occasion it." 
 
 I have considered it proper to specify the leading 
 grounds of difference between the two systems, as 
 they will be subjected to some examination in the 
 course of this work. It is at once, however, freely 
 conceded, that both theories lead, in the main, to 
 the removal of all restrictions on commerce. Any 
 defence, according to them, must be made on special 
 grounds, and the nation which has adopted an oppo- 
 site conduct ought gradually to return to a wiser 
 and more liberal policy. 
 
6 I'litroductory Observations. 
 
 It has already been stated, that in the leading 
 elements of trade, Great Britain enjoys pre-emi- 
 nent advantages. An unbounded freedom of com- 
 merce should therefore tend still further to exalt her 
 among surrounding nations, and enhance her pro- 
 sperity, whatever competition she may encounter. 
 Agreeably to the modern school, the exchangeable 
 value of commodities is determined solely by the 
 labour employed to produce them : the great evil, 
 therefore, which fetters our industry, and contracts 
 our foreign trade, is high wages ; and this evil 
 can only be produced by two causes — the dear rate 
 of living, and heavy taxation. As t o the first of 
 these causes, it cannot, it is said, be possibly taken 
 into account, for it is part of the system to abolish 
 the corn laws, so that the expense of living in 
 England will approximate to that of other countries. 
 With respect to high taxation, many statements 
 have lately been pubUshed to prove, that its effects 
 are grossly exaggerated. It can only affect wages 
 when it trenches upon the necessaries of life ; and 
 notwithstanding the enormous national debt, a con- 
 trast with the details of the revenue of rival states 
 will evince that the superior wealth of England im- 
 poses a lighter burden on the lower orders than is 
 universally suspected. " Throw open then your 
 ports to all the world," exclaim the liberalists, " and 
 unexampled prosperity shall follow — the only diffi- 
 culty to be encountered arises from the taxes, but 
 the increase of wealth which will flow in upon you, 
 
Introductory Observations. 7 
 
 will enable you to reduce this obstacle in an acce- 
 lerated ratio. But even suppose taxation consider- 
 ably to enhance the rate of wages, still it furnishes 
 no apology for the restrictive system. All branches 
 of industry must be equally affected ; and to give 
 to either the agricultural or the manufacturing in- 
 terests exclusive advantages merely aggravates the 
 grievance." 
 
 I have dwelt thus on the arguments of the 
 new school, lest I should come under the charge of 
 partial representation. It must immediately be 
 perceived, that an analysis of all that relates to 
 wages forms the chief topic for inquiry, since on the 
 cost of production mainly depends the extent of 
 foreign trade. 
 
 Though many highly eminent economists, Adam 
 Smith, Dr. Buchanan, M. Say, and also Mr. Mal- 
 thus, differ with regard to the theory of profits as laid 
 down by Mr. Ricardo and Mr. M'Culloch, the 
 founders of the new school, still they are unanimous 
 in depicting the injury inflicted on the commerce of 
 the country when the wages of our artisans are 
 higher than those of foreigners. Common obser- 
 vation leads us to conclude, that it is impossible to 
 compete with rivals who greatly excel us in so 
 essential an advantage as cheapness of labour. It 
 is not then, in reaUty, necessary to dwell further on 
 the distinguishing tenets of those writers, who, at 
 the present moment, occupy the public attention on 
 this important subject. High wages are on all sides 
 
8 Introductory Obseniatiom. 
 
 denounced as an evil, and the advocates for free 
 trade uniformly take it for granted, that they spring 
 from dearness of food and heavy taxation. It is on 
 this account that so loud a clamour nov^ disturbs 
 the country against the corn law^s. They are viewed 
 as a huge incubus that v^eighs down the energies of 
 the manufacturers, and so oppresses those of the 
 rest of the mercantile system, as to require counter- 
 restrictions to place all classes of the community 
 upon an equal footing. That wages are extremely 
 high in England, it is by no means intended to dis- 
 pute ; but the conclusions drawn from the fact by 
 modern writers appear to me, at the same time, to 
 be superficial, precipitate, and essentially errone- 
 ous. It is here, I conceive, that one of the primary 
 and leading errors of the liberaHsts commences. 
 Perceiving that a working man in this country 
 obtains wages which nearly double the amount 
 of those earned upon the continent, it is instantly 
 pronounced that the difference can only originate in 
 dear corn, or heavy taxes. Now it shall, in the 
 first place, be my great object to prove, that these 
 are not always the sole causes ; but that other cir- 
 cumstances operate, which may tend to a perma- 
 nently high rate of wages, even in a country where 
 taxation is low, and the produce of the soil com- 
 paratively cheap. It is moreover to be observed, 
 that these circumstances to which I have alluded, 
 are of a nature diametrically opposite to those of 
 dear food and high taxes ; for while it is certainly 
 
Introductory Observations. 9 
 
 desirable to diminish the pressure of these last, the 
 former, on the contrary, should be zealously en- 
 couraged. If this point can be established, its 
 effects, remote as well as immediate, must be of 
 vital importance ; they will not only show that high 
 wages, instead of being injurious, may be emi- 
 nently beneficial; but the deductions consequent 
 on this position, to which it will lead in the course 
 of this work, will effectually disprove many of the 
 favourite dogmas of the Ricardo theory. 
 
10 
 
 Section II. 
 
 CAUSES OF HIGH WAGES IN ENGLAND. 
 
 No remark is more common, than that the habits 
 of countries differ. Now, true as this is, it is not a 
 little singular that a circumstance, pregnant with 
 such weighty results, should be no further noticed 
 in treatises professedly investigating the distribution 
 of wealth, than as a mere cursory admission. In 
 my estimation it constitutes the very essence of po- 
 litical science ; and, as the labouring classes far 
 outnumber the other orders of society, so, in a pro- 
 portionate degree, should their habits engage the 
 chief research and contemplation of the statesman. 
 No person of any observation, who has travelled 
 on the continent, can have failed to remark the 
 inferior condition of the foreign artisan compared 
 with that of the British, as regards the quality of his 
 food, his clothing, and the furniture and other com- 
 forts of his dwelling. In many of the foreign 
 districts, and those most distinguished for their in- 
 dustry, a variety of articles held indispensable to 
 the comfort of an English workman, are scarcely 
 known. Perhaps I shall best illustrate this point 
 by giving a statement of the component parts of the 
 average expenditure of a London and a Parisian 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 11 
 
 mechanic, as they have been furnished to me by 
 persons thoroughly experienced in this species of 
 detail. It will be perceived that the scale is above 
 the rate of ordinary labour : the chief object, how- 
 ever, is to point out the difference in habits ; and the 
 relative rank of the two families has been taken as 
 nearly as possible from the same level. In pro- 
 vincial towns the disparity exists to a still greater 
 extent; in many parts of France the food of the 
 lower orders is literally three-fourths bread and 
 vegetables ; indeed it is here that the superiority 
 of England is mainly apparent. 
 
 Annual Expenditure of a London 
 Mechanic, tcith wife and four chil- 
 dren, supposed to earn 30s. a week, 
 or 781. a year- 
 
 Bread and vegetables 
 Meat, butter, cheese 
 Milk, beer, spirits . 
 Tea and sugar . . 
 Soap, candles, coals 
 Clothing .... 
 Rent, furniture . . 
 Medicine, contingencies 
 
 I. s. 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 6 10 
 
 5 10 
 
 5 
 11 
 10 
 
 6 
 78 
 
 Annual Expenditure of a Parisian 
 Mechanic, with wife and four chil- 
 dren, supposed to earn 2 1 fra7ics a 
 week, or 451. 10s., English money , 
 a year. 
 
 I. s. 
 
 Bread, fruit, and vegetables . 19 
 
 Meat, liquor, & articles of 1 
 
 home growth .... J 
 
 Imported articles .... 3 
 
 Fuel, candles, &c 3 
 
 Clothing 4 
 
 Rent 2 10 
 
 Contingencies, amusements , 3 
 
 45 10 
 
 The individual in Paris from whom these details 
 are obtained, states, that a much greater diversity 
 of wages prevails in Paris than in London. In the 
 former the women also work more, which cannot 
 fail to exercise an influence on the expenditure of 
 a family. 
 
12 
 
 Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 This table presents many fruitful subjects for 
 inquiry. Notwithstanding the cheapness of food 
 in France, it appears that the excess of wages in 
 England is absorbed by the superiority of the fare, 
 and the enjoyment of greater comforts. It would 
 therefore be exceedingly fallacious to suppose, that 
 if the taxes of the two countries were equalized, 
 and the price of corn adjusted to a corresponding 
 level, the expenditure of the two mechanics would 
 assimilate. That of the Englishman, from his habits, 
 long established and confirmed, would necessarily 
 range much higher, even supposing the demand for 
 labour to continue relatively the same. 
 
 By throwing the table into another form, and 
 showing the proportion which the various parts of 
 the expenditure bear to the whole, this conclusion 
 will be rendered still more manifest. 
 
 English Mechanic. 
 
 Bread and vegetables , 
 Meat, butter, and cheese 
 Beer and spirits 
 Tea and sugar . . 
 Soap, candles, coals 
 Clothing .... 
 Rent, furniture . ■ 
 Contingencies . . 
 
 27 
 17 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6^ 
 14 
 13 
 
 _!i 
 
 100 
 
 French Mechanic. 
 
 Paris of 100. 
 
 Bread, fruit, vegetables . . 42 
 
 Meat, liquor, home articles . 24 
 
 Imported articles .... 6^ 
 
 Fuel, candles 6J 
 
 Clothing 9^ 
 
 Rent 5 
 
 Contingencies 6i 
 
 100 
 
 To furnish some idea of the expenditure of ordi- 
 nary labourers, I subjoin the following statements: 
 the English one obtained from a labouring family 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 13 
 
 in Hampshire, the French from a traveller who 
 recently visited the province of Normandy. 
 English Family of six Persons. 
 
 Bread 
 
 Weekly. 
 
 Ss. Od. 
 
 Yearly. 
 £7 16 
 
 Bacon 
 
 1 6 
 
 3 18 
 
 Beer . . . . 
 
 1 2 
 
 3 8 
 
 Butter \s. Cheese 9d. 
 
 1 9 
 
 4 11 
 
 Soap 7d. Candles Sd. 
 
 10 
 
 2 3 4 
 
 Tea and Sugar 
 Milk 
 
 2 
 1 
 
 5 4 
 
 4 4 
 
 Fuel . . . . 
 
 5 
 10 9 
 
 1 1 8 
 
 
 27 19 
 
 Clothing 
 
 . 
 
 4 18 
 
 Medicine 
 
 • 
 
 6 
 
 £33 3 
 
 In this table there is nothing charged for Rent, the cottage 
 being provided by the farmer by whom the man is employed ; 
 and the family grow all their vegetables, as well as bake and 
 brew at home. 
 
 Yearly 
 
 The wages of the labourer himself are here taken'^^ 
 at 9s. a week ...... J 
 
 His wife may be said on the average to earn 1^. 9d. a 
 week throughout the year ; in harvest she will earn 
 as much as 4^., but in the winter considei'ably less : 
 she then gets occasional employment at needle- 
 Avork, in which she is assisted by the girls when old 
 enough 
 
 The other children go out leasing, keeping birds, 1 
 tending pigs and other stock; the earnings of all I 
 the four may be averaged at 2s. throughout the 
 year ........ 
 
 4 11 
 
 5 4 
 
 £33 3 
 
14 
 
 Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 1 am aware that many statements have been 
 published, rating the wages of the English labourer 
 as low as Is. a week ; but from every information 
 I can gain, this is only partially the case, and in 
 districts which are exclusively agricultural, having 
 no vent for their superfluous hands by the vicinity 
 of manufacturing employments. 
 
 We now come to the expenditure of a labouring 
 
 French Family of five Persons. 
 
 Bread 41 lbs, per day 
 Beans, vegetable soup 
 Eggs, Butter 
 Salad 
 
 Wine, water . 
 Fuel . 
 
 Francs weekly. 
 
 2 12 
 1 15 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 1 5 
 15 
 
 English money 
 yearly. 
 
 £.5 12 8 
 
 3 15 10 
 
 1 12 6 
 
 1 1 S 
 
 2 14 2 
 1 12 6 
 
 Soap and candles (not given, but supposed at) 
 Clothing (do.) . ., . 
 
 Rent (do.) . 
 
 16 9 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 1 IS 
 
 
 
 1 2 
 
 
 
 ^19 16 4 
 
 The general rate of labourers' wages in France] 
 
 may be pretty accurately stated at 7 fr. {5s. lOd.) ^£\5 3 4 
 a week ....... J 
 
 But the women work considerably more in agricul-- 
 tural concerns in France than they do in England. 
 The deficiency of the man's income is therefore > 4 13 
 fully made up to the expenditure we have ex- 
 hibited, by the earnings of the wife 
 
 £\0 16 4 
 
 The article of clothing is very cheap in France. 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 15 
 
 A good strong jacket for a farmer's workman, made 
 of coarse woollen, sells for about 7^. ; but their 
 general wearing apparel consists of cast-ofF, or 
 second-hand clothes, a great quantity of which the 
 French, as well as the rest of the continent, import 
 from England. 
 
 I now proceed, after thus exhibiting the mode of 
 expenditure in the two cases, to contrast the earn- 
 ings of common handicrafts in Manchester, with 
 those of Lyons, the two principal manufacturing 
 towns of the respective countries. 
 
 In England. 
 
 
 In France. 
 
 English 
 money 
 
 
 s. d. 
 
 
 S. d. 
 
 Cotton weaver 
 
 12 
 
 Ouvrier en coton 
 
 6 
 
 Do. 1 cambrics, fancy 
 goods, &c. 
 
 S 15 
 
 „ Indienne 
 
 7 
 
 Woollen weaver (Leec 
 
 s) 13 6 
 
 „ laine 
 
 8 
 
 Silk Aveaver 
 
 16 
 
 „ sole . 
 
 16 
 
 Dyer and dresser 
 
 . 17 
 
 Teindrier 
 
 21 
 
 Hatter 
 
 27 
 
 Chapelier 
 
 20 
 
 Tailor 
 
 
 18 6 
 
 Tailleur . 
 
 8 6 
 
 Shoemaker 
 
 
 16 
 
 Cordonnier 
 
 S 
 
 Iron- founder 
 
 
 31 6 
 
 Fondeur de fer 
 
 . 16 
 
 Sa\vyer 
 
 
 . 30 
 
 Scieur de long 
 
 . 10 
 
 Carpenter 
 
 
 25 
 
 Charpentier 
 
 15 6 
 
 Mason 
 
 
 22 
 
 Mafon de pierre 
 
 . 12 
 
 Bricklayer 
 
 
 . 22 6 
 
 Ma^on 
 
 12 
 
 Painter 
 
 
 . 21 
 
 Peintre 
 
 8 
 
 Slater 
 
 
 22 
 
 Ardoisier 
 
 . 15 6 
 
 Cutler (Sheffiel( 
 
 
 
 15 6 
 
 Coutelier . 
 
 . 14 6 
 
 The first circumstance which strikes the attention 
 
16 Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 on examining the preceding scale, is the great di- 
 versity in the rate of wages existing in France. In 
 some employments there is a difference of more than 
 one-half from others requiring the same degree of 
 skill, and the same time to acquire. This proceeds 
 from the jealousy with which each trade in France 
 protects itself from the intrusion of others. Our own 
 apprenticeship system has greatly relaxed. An 
 English workman may now change his employment 
 without the risk of personal injury, and the cer- 
 tainty of insult and hindrance A^ich he formerly 
 met with on attempting to embrace a new one. To 
 this is to be attributed the almost universal equality 
 of labour at present prevailing throughout the coun- 
 try. Not so in France. It is, there, next to im- 
 possible for a man to gain admission to an em- 
 ployment to which he has not been regularly bred. 
 The confederation of the workmen would be carried 
 to open violence, and could only be appeased by the 
 expulsion of the intruder. When, therefore, a stag- 
 nation occurs in any particular trade, the workmen 
 are much distressed ; and, on the other hand, when 
 activity prevails, the rate of wages becomes high. 
 
 In that particular business which now occupies 
 so much of the public attention, the silk manufac- 
 ture, this result is strikingly exhibited. 
 
 From the very great demand in France, the rate 
 of wages is precisely equal to that in England. 
 The manufacturers at Lyons are extending this 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 17 
 
 branch of business with great alacrity, and repeated 
 accounts from thence have stated, that sufficient 
 hands cannot be procured to meet the demand. 
 The ordinary rate of wages may safely be assumed 
 to be several shillings lower than at present; at 
 least, it was certainly, some years back, as low as 
 10*. or \\s. 
 
 The only trade of which the wages are higher in 
 France, is the teindrier, or dyer, which exceeds 
 the English by 4.sr. This may perhaps be ac- 
 counted for by supposing in that employment a 
 superior class of persons in France, exercising 
 greater skill, for it is in this department that their 
 rivalry is most successful. 
 
 On the whole, the excess of wages in England is 
 rather greater than that displayed in the other ex- 
 ample of the London and Parisian mechanics ; but 
 as it is better rather to fall short of, than to over- 
 step the medium, the items of expenditure there 
 -detailed may be presumed to exhibit a fair average. 
 The comparison has been drawn with France, 
 because that country is generally considered as our 
 most formidable rival, and as, next to ourselves, the 
 furthest advanced in civilization. But in other parts 
 of the continent, if we investigate the mode of 
 living of the lower orders, the contrast with this coun- 
 try will be still more apparent. In Silesia, and the 
 northern part of Germany, where extensive manu- 
 factures are established, the consumption of articles 
 apart from food docs not amount to the one-fourth 
 
 c; 
 
18 Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 of that indulged by an English artisan. In the 
 Netherlands we witness* a nearer approach to the 
 habits of this country ; but still, in the appearance 
 of a mechanic and his family there, it must be 
 allowed that there is not that anxious solicitude to 
 make some display in attire which forms the cha- 
 acteristic pride of our working classes. 
 
 In inquiries of this kind, it is obvious that we 
 should direct the attention chiefly to those districts 
 where commodities are wrought up for foreign com- 
 merce. A too exclusive consideration is in general 
 devoted to the agricultural labourer, where, I ac- 
 knowledge, our superiority may not be so strik- 
 ingly apparent. But as regards all those whose 
 earnings affect the manufacturer, I feel confident, 
 that the more extensively inquiries are instituted, 
 the further will the argument receive corroboration. 
 
 Assuming, then, for data the first of the Tables 
 given, the primary object is to endeavour to ascer- 
 tain, how much of the higher wages in England is 
 to be attributed to taxation, what proportion to dear 
 corn, and what quantity is to be assigned to what 
 we denominate superior habits. 
 
 In this inquiry, it is evident that much must 
 depend upon supposition. The first and second 
 causes are ramified through a number of combined 
 circumstances, reacting upon each other, and thus 
 indirectly enhancing the value of labour. With 
 regard to direct taxation, the amount levied is easily 
 ascertained. In tea, sugar, beer, spirits, and soap 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 19 
 
 the amount paid by the Enghshman is very con- 
 siderable ; but on referring to the Table, it appears 
 that these articles form but a comparatively small 
 portion of the total expenditure. In France the 
 consumption of these articles is trifling, and care is 
 required to separate what belongs to taxes from 
 v^rhat should be ranged under superior habits. In- 
 direct taxation presents greater difficulties. Much 
 stress is in general laid upon the large amount of 
 our tithes, poor-rates, and other imposts, which 
 augment the expense of living, and pervade with 
 pernicious influence every department of industry. 
 
 That these are serious evils is freely conceded ; 
 but it should be remembered that we have not to 
 consider absolute but relative expense. The ques 
 tion is not, whether our land-tax, tithes, poor-rates, 
 and other more general taxes, are large in them- 
 selves, but whether they greatly exceed those of 
 that country with which I have instituted the com- 
 parison. In this particular, much error prevails. 
 When we examine the large amount of the fonder 
 of France, which is a charge both upon the land- 
 lord's rent and the farmer's profit, we find that it 
 goes a great way to balance those imposts in this 
 country which more peculiarly affect the landed 
 interests. In addition there is the enregisirement, 
 which may be placed opposite the stamps required 
 for our leases and transfers of property ; and also 
 the mobilier, which is in some degree a set-off 
 against the assessed taxes. On the whole, then, 
 
 c s 
 
20 Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 the high taxation of England, operating as well 
 indirectly as directly, does not very materially 
 enhance the price of labour. I am of opinion that, 
 taking the excess of amount paid to the English 
 mechanic, it does not form more than the one-eighth 
 part : a proportion considerably below what seems 
 to be the popular impression. 
 
 In estimating the part attributable to dearness of 
 corn, it is necessary to observe, that high taxation 
 contributes to raise its value ; and the influence of 
 this indirect operation should be carefully taken into 
 account in any attempt analytically to resolve the 
 expenditure of wages into its primary elements. 
 The excess of taxation in England, so far as labour 
 is concerned, I have conceived to be not more than 
 one-eighth. Now as this appears a trifling consider- 
 ation, it might create much delusion among enquir- 
 ers on the subject. Of late years, the great reduc- 
 tion of the public burthens has induced many writers 
 to argue that we no longer labour under those dis- 
 advantages, at one time deemed an insuperable 
 obstacle to further prosperity ; and as the represen- 
 tatives of the landed interest have hitherto main- 
 tained that the high price of corn proceeded from 
 high taxes, their argument is in the present day ren- 
 dered nugatory, or at least is materially weakened; 
 Having concurred in the position, that wages 
 are not much affected by our heavy taxes, it may 
 be desirable to point out how far the admission 
 affects the argument of the agriculturists. Sup- 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 21 
 
 posing one-eighth part of the difference in wages in 
 Prance and in England to be caused by taxation, it 
 is evident that this eighth part is the proportion to 
 the whole wages of the labourers. But the agricul- 
 turist has only concern with that portion which be- 
 longs to food of home production. This, agreeably 
 to the Table laid down, is not one-half of the total 
 expenditure, and consequently, so far as taxation 
 operates, the individual interests of the agricultu- 
 rists are affected in a much greater ratio than 
 appears the case, if the entire amount of wages be 
 alone considered. 
 
 As this point will be examined hereafter, our more 
 immediate object is, for the sake of perspicuity, to en- 
 deavour to ascertain how far the high price of corn 
 enhances wages in England. We find that in the 
 first item of the expenditure of the French and En- 
 glish mechanics, there is a very trifling difference in 
 regard to the money amount. This part of the ex- 
 penditure is applied principally to the purchase of 
 bread and vegetables ; and were the position correct, 
 that dear food alone causes dear wages, the contrast 
 between the two should be most striking. The next 
 item is, meat, butter, liquor, and other articles of 
 home growth, partaking rather of the character of ex- 
 tras. There is here a considerable disparity ; but I ap- 
 prehend it will be generally granted, that the larger 
 amount on the English side proceeds not from dear- 
 ness, but because relatively a larger proportion of 
 these articles is consumed. Viewing the matter in 
 
22 Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 this light, we should be disposed to believe, that so 
 far as observation goes, dear corn by no means 
 exercises that overwhelming influence so generally- 
 imagined. As has been already observed, however, 
 viewing only the direct effect, leads to imperfect 
 conclusions. The remote operation is not confined 
 merely to articles of sustenance. Whatever raises 
 the value of labour, affects every department of 
 industry ; and it is always contended, that a 
 labourer does not consume an article, that is not 
 greatly enhanced in price from dear food having 
 first augmented the outlay for its production. The 
 woollens purchased for clothing, and the tables and 
 chairs used in his habitation, thus enter the account, 
 and exhibit the evils arising from a dear rate of 
 living in an aggravated ratio. It must, however, 
 be evident, that the extent to which these woollens, 
 tables, and chairs, are raised in price, in one coun- 
 try above that in another, through the operation of 
 dear food, depends upon the proportion of wages 
 really expended in food. If the difference between 
 the two countries in this respect be great ; if a man 
 in England spends in bread and vegetables as 30, 
 and in France only as 20, then the remote operation 
 of this circumstance upon other articles equally used 
 by him will be great, and it may be very true to 
 say, that dearness of corn is the principal cause 
 why wages are higher in England than in France. 
 But if the Table produced at all approach to cor- 
 rectness, the difference of expenditure in what 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 23 
 
 appertains to the necessaries of life is compara- 
 tively small. In a corresponding degree, a small 
 influence is exercised upon the cost of other arti- 
 cles, and dear bread by no means produces those 
 effects on wages so generally suspected. I con- 
 ceive it is here that much of the prevailing error on 
 this subject originates. Persons, neglecting details, 
 allow their imagination the fullest latitude in regard 
 to the many evils assumed to flow from the deaf- 
 ness of the primary necessaries of life in England. 
 I have endeavoured to expose this error. It is not 
 requisite to define exactly the proportion of that 
 difference between the wages of England and of 
 France, which is to be attributed to dear food ; but 
 if the Table be correct, it would not exceed one- 
 fourth. This, added to the eighth allowed under 
 the head of taxation, leaves five-eighths assignable 
 to difference of habits. 
 
 The foregoing views will receive considerable 
 corroboration, if we direct our attention to the 
 general consumption of articles more immediately 
 used by the great mass of the people. I freely ac- 
 knowledge the difficulty of arriving at accurate 
 conclusions by merely investigating the details of 
 an individual's expenditure. No matter what case 
 we take, much must rest on supposition. But when 
 we take the entire quantity of commodities apart 
 from the mere necessaries of life, supposed to be 
 consumed by the labouring classes, and find on 
 
^14* Causes of high Wages in Engla/nd. 
 
 comparing one country with another, that the rela- 
 tive proportion of the whole commodities corre- 
 sponds with the relative proportion as given in detail, 
 it is a proof that the detail is sufficiently accurate 
 for practical purposes. In commencing, then, with 
 what belongs to the mode of living, the first articles 
 which strike our observation, as proving the limited 
 consumption of France, contrasted with that of this 
 country, are tea and sugar. These must rather be 
 deemed as luxuries than as necessaries, so far as 
 the labourer is concerned ; and on estimating their 
 large amount in England, compared with the gross 
 amount of our population, no person can doubt that 
 the working orders participate in their use to a con- 
 siderable extent. The consumption of sugar in 
 Endand is more than four times that of France ; 
 and in tea the excess is much greater. In articles 
 of clothing, the chief authorities to be referred to, 
 as giving information of the direct consumption 
 of France, are MM. Costaz and Chaptal, each of 
 whom pubUshed a work on French industry, a few 
 years back. In the section devoted to manufac- 
 tures, M. Chaptal gives the total amount of the 
 woollen manufactures at 238,133,932 francs, or 
 9,525,357/.— the cottons at 191,600,000 francs, or 
 7,664,000/. : from which amounts are to be deducted 
 those of the exports. In England, Mr. Huskisson, 
 in his speech of 26th of March, 1825, stated the 
 home consumption of cotton goods to amount to 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 25 
 
 32,000,000/. : of woollens, as appears from a recent 
 statement, it was 21,000,000/., of which 6,000,000/. 
 went to defray the cost of the raw material. 
 
 An attentive observer has only to direct his atten- 
 tion to the general appearance of our population, and 
 he must be sensible that the largest proportion of 
 this is also consumed by theworking classes. But it is 
 perhaps in the more trifling articles of display that 
 we witness the chief difference in customs. Inde- 
 pendently of the bonnet, the shoes and stockings, in 
 which the wife of the English labourer is clad, but 
 which seem almost unknown to that class in France, 
 he who has ever visited the cottages of the poor, can- 
 not fail to have been struck with the bare appear- 
 ance, the paucity of culinary implements especially, 
 in that of the foreigner, compared with the ade- 
 quate supply of every such comfort to be found in 
 the dvvelUngs of the same class at home. 
 
 It may then, I think, fairly be stated, that if 
 wages are higher in England than in other coun- 
 tries, the circumstance is chiefly to be attributed 
 to the superior habits of the people. The observa- 
 tion of the traveller, and the details of the statistical 
 inquirer, alike confirm this inference. It is unne- 
 cessary to waste time in exposing the superficial 
 declamation daily reiterated, that cheap bread 
 would in itself assimilate the wages of our country- 
 men to those of foreigners. From what has been 
 stated, the least reflection must show, that bread 
 engrosses by no means the whole of the labourer's 
 
26 Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 expenditure, and that much comparative privation 
 would be endured, were an Englishman to receive 
 only the remuneration assigned to the French 
 workman. This being a fundamental position, will 
 naturally attract close investigation. I am aware 
 that many persons delight to trace a melancholy 
 picture of the sufferings and misery of an English 
 mechanic — to contrast with it the freedom from 
 care, the facility of living, the career of enjoyment 
 realized by the foreigner — and to deduce an infer- 
 ence diametrically opposite from that just assumed. 
 It is most important, therefore, to observe, that the 
 reasoning hereafter pursued does not necessarily 
 suppose a superiority in the condition of our la- 
 bourers over those of other countries. I have stated 
 that such is the fact, because 1 believe that it can be 
 borne out by the most rigid examination of all the 
 circumstances connected with the inquiry. But 
 whether correct or otherwise, the conclusions to be 
 drawn in either case remain unaltered. The ques- 
 tion is not what we do possess, but what we ought 
 to possess, to ascertain to what point it is desirable 
 to arrive. This should never be lost sight of in con- 
 sidering the subject ; it will simplify it, and save 
 useless discussion. No difference of opinion exists 
 among political writers as to the beneficial effects 
 resulting from the comfortable condition of the po- 
 pulace at large. Upon this basis there is little risk 
 in founding a superstructure. 
 
 Supposing it, however, generally admitted that 
 
Causes of high Wages in England. 27 
 
 the working classes in England do really enjoy- 
 more comforts than those abroad, it may be argued 
 that this is accidental, and its continuance cannot 
 be ensured. The circumstance arises from the de- 
 mand for labour ; masters pay their workmen more 
 liberally, and they are therefore enabled to compass 
 more' enjoyments. 
 
 It may be desirable to give here some illus- 
 tration of the subject. The market-price, and the 
 natural price, are the terms generally used to de- 
 signate the different relations under which wages 
 may be influenced. The former is described to 
 be simply that rate which is actually paid, and 
 which is plainly regulated by the proportion be- 
 tween the supply and the demand. When com- 
 merce flourishes, an abundant demand for labour 
 ensues ; employers of workmen are desirous of 
 increasing their business, and the market-price 
 of wages will then be high. On the other hand, 
 when trade is stagnant, employment is difficult 
 to be obtained : but labourers must live ; they 
 will therefore give their services for a reduced 
 remuneration, and the market-price of wages ac- 
 cordingly declines. It seems that thus there is 
 a medium, to which things will have a continual 
 tendency. This medium is termed the natural rate ; 
 all deviations from it — and these will in time ad- 
 just themselves — are deemed accidental. It is true 
 that as it takes a considerable period to rear a la- 
 bourer, so wages may continue comparatively for 
 
28 Causes of high Wages in England. 
 
 a long time, either above or below the natural rate ; 
 but to it they will still ultimately conform. In this 
 case it must be of primary importance to define 
 with accuracy the exact remuneration bestowed on 
 the labourer, when wages are at the natural level. 
 If a certain description of clothing, beyond what 
 is necessary for mere covering, be deemed super- 
 fluity, its indulgence is proof that the more essen- 
 tial articles of subsistence are adequately supplied. 
 Is, then, the remuneration given to the labourer 
 above the natural level. In England it has reached 
 a comparatively high state ; and whether it has pro- 
 ceeded from high wages, or high wages have been 
 produced from it, is an inquiry assuredly demand- 
 ing close attention. 
 
29 
 
 Section III. 
 
 PREVAILING ERRORS RESPECTING THE NATURAL RATE 
 OF WAGES. 
 
 From the progress which political economy has 
 made in this country, it might be imagined, that 
 some unanimity would be found, in regard to the 
 elementary parts of the science. Such, however, 
 is not exactly the case in the matter before us, and 
 the fact clearly evinces some imperfection and de- 
 ficiency. It may be useful to give briefly the ideas 
 of the most celebrated of our writers. Adam Smith, 
 as is well known, supposes labour, when wages are 
 at the natural level, the universal standard, the same 
 in all ages, adjusted to that simple expence of living 
 which strikes common observation. He observes, 
 " equal quantities of labour, at all times and places, 
 may be said to be of equal value to the labourers. 
 In the ordinary state of health, strength, and spirits ; 
 in the ordinary degree of his skill and dexterity, he 
 must always lay down the same portion of his ease, 
 his liberty, and his happiness. The price which he 
 pays must always be the same, whatever may be 
 the quantity of goods which he receives in return 
 for it. Of these indeed it may sometimes purchase 
 a greater and sometimes a smaller quantity ; but it 
 is their value which varies, not that of the labour 
 
30 Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 which purchases them." This may be perfectly 
 correct with regard to the quantity of work per- 
 formed ; but, if in one age or in one country a 
 labourer goes barefooted, or with but miserable 
 covering to his body, and in another with shoes and 
 stockings and a good coat, it must be apparent that 
 the remuneration will be of a very different nature, 
 totally independent of the cost of the articles in 
 which it is subsequently spent. M. Say supposes 
 the natural rate of wages to be the cost of the mere 
 necessaries of life, with the addition of such a sum, 
 under the denomination of capital, as will suffice 
 to bring up a family. Mr. Ricardo defines it to be 
 that rate, where the mode of living of the labourers 
 is such, that they will neither increase nor diminish. 
 This supposes an extremely low scale, and may 
 on the whole be pronounced to be peculiarly loose 
 and unsatisfactory. The love for simplification in 
 general terms has prompted him to adhere to this 
 definition throughout ; indeed any other would be 
 found incompatible with many of his views, and 
 productive of much embarrassment. 
 
 Mr. M'Culloch has, in his recent publication, 
 devoted some space to this inquiry. After ex- 
 plaining the manner in which the market-rate is 
 determined, he proceeds to examine those circum- 
 stances which, arising from difference of climate, 
 lead to different physical wants in the inhabitants 
 of distant countries, and observes, that, as in cold 
 climates the labourer must be warmly clad, and 
 
tlie natural Rate of Wages. 31 
 
 have his cottage well-built, and heated with a fire, 
 he will necessarily require more wages than the 
 inhabitant of a more genial latitude. The dif- 
 ference of customs is also adverted to ; and it is 
 shown that so long as this difference exists, the 
 expense of bringing up a family must also vary, 
 and therefore the same standard cannot be applied 
 to all places. Mr. M'CuUoch's observations are 
 those plain and obvious ones, which have been 
 a thousand times reiterated, and which, to lead to 
 any useful result, must be pursued much farther. 
 We all know that an Englishman lives on wheaten 
 bread, an Irishman on potatoes, a Chinese or a 
 Hindoo on rice, and that, wheaten bread being 
 dearer than rice or potatoes, the Englishman must 
 have the higher wages. But is all this independent 
 of demand ? Does this difference in the mode of 
 living indicate an inherent difference in the stand- 
 ard of the natural or necessary rate of wages ? 
 Mr. M'Culloch has in one or two places led us 
 to suppose so, but the statement stands detached, 
 and is either utterly unattended to or rejected in 
 the body of his work. In every proposition pro- 
 fessing to elucidate the distribution of industry and 
 the relations of commerce, he adopts the Ricardo 
 notion, of assuming a fixed, universal standard, 
 applicable to all countries, and permanently un- 
 influenced by the population principle. 
 
 Mr. Malthus's ideas remain to be stated. He de- 
 scribes the natural remuneration of labour to be of 
 
^2 Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 a varying nature ; in newly-cultivated and ra- 
 pidly-rising countries, it is much beyond the cost of 
 mere subsistence ; in countries moderately peopled, 
 it preserves a medium ; but in nations long civi- 
 lized, it is associated with misery, and is de- 
 pressed to the cost of the meanest species of sus- 
 tenance. 
 
 I confess that to my mind none of these defini- 
 tions are at all satisfactory. It appears to me pre- 
 sumptuous to attempt to mete out the exact reward 
 which shall be bestowed on the lower orders ; and 
 to maintain that, while the higher classes are, through 
 the progress of civilization, enabled to compass more 
 enjoyments, the former shall be confined to an un- 
 deviating standard. I am rather disposed to main- 
 tain that there is no such thing as a natural stand- 
 ard of wages ; but that, as the higher orders of so- 
 ciety daily acquire fresh means of gratification, so 
 should the humblest individual equally extend his 
 artificial wants, and rise in the social scale. This 
 view of the case supposes the English artisan to 
 improve still further in his mode of living ; and it 
 thus differs fundamentally from the writers I have 
 quoted. For the sake of brevity, I will here only 
 advert to the two leading systems, the one sup- 
 posing an invariable standard, the other a variable 
 one. According to the former, our population is 
 now rapidly increasing, and as that increase pro- 
 ceeds from the liberal reward bestowed on the la- 
 bourer, the market-price of wages is above the 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. SS 
 
 natural price — a fall, sooner or later, may conse- 
 quently be expected. 
 
 The other goes to show, that in the present situa- 
 tion of England the market price may not be above 
 the natural price ; but that, as a redundant popu- 
 lation is the inevitable doom awaiting all nations, 
 each generation brings us nearer to that stage, when 
 the natural rate of wages will be in a proportion 
 under which the labourer must suffer great pri- 
 vations. 
 
 Though the latter is much more accurate and 
 philosophical in pronouncing that the reward of 
 labour is not exactly definable, or of the nature of 
 a thing abstractedly undeviating, but that it varies 
 according to the rising or falling state of the so- 
 ciety, still this doctrine, and that of Mr. Ricardo, 
 lead precisely to the same result. They both 
 equally go to establish, that the superior comforts 
 enjoyed by our mechanics will, in time, be abridged, 
 and gradually be reduced to the bare means of sub- 
 sistence. 
 
 If this were really true, it might indeed be use- 
 less to bolster up an artificial system, and to en- 
 courage certain habits ; because it might be argued 
 that the more you favour this artificial system, the 
 more you promote that redundancy of population by 
 which eventually the real strength of the empire, 
 instead of being improved, will be sensibly im- 
 paired. On the same principle, in enacting laws 
 affecting trade, there would be no occasion to refer 
 
 I? 
 
34 Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 to the elements of labour— the wisest plan would 
 be to allow things to take their course, because the 
 general operations of nature are uniform in every 
 country, and not controllable by legislation. This 
 supposes certain positions regarding population to 
 be indisputable ; and, as it is here that I conceive 
 the grand error in a great degree to rest, before 
 going further, I shall submit some explanation. 
 
 It is freely admitted, that the disposition of man- 
 kind to increase is in proportion to the means of 
 subsistence ; and as the territory of every country is 
 limited,the difficulty of obtaining food must gradually 
 increase. The result, supposing nothing else to 
 operate, necessarily leads to the conclusion already 
 contemplated, that of the lower orders pressing on 
 the extreme of the means of subsistence. 
 
 But I conceive that food does not solely regulate 
 the extent of population ; that in reality there are re- 
 straints not exactly associated with the word moral, 
 which act with very powerful efficacy. Such re- 
 straints are nothing less than those habits of society 
 which, always existing in a highly-civilized state, it 
 becomes discreditable to men, each in his respec- 
 tive sphere, to have ungratified. Their full effects 
 on population have, I think, been unaccountably 
 overlooked. In illustrating the point, I shall, for 
 the sake of clearness, begin with the highest de. 
 scription of persons receiving wages, and descend 
 to the lowest class of daily labourers. Bankers' 
 and merchants' clerks, then, I place at the head of the 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. 35 
 
 list. Other persons of superior rank may certainly 
 be supposed to live by wages, but in their case 
 there is an essential distinction. They enjoy the 
 opportunity to increase their earnings, either by 
 superior talents or by industry ; but clerks, gene- 
 rally speaking, are confined to a stated service, and 
 their rate of salary is adjusted to a corresponding 
 uniformity. Now our object is to inquire, what are 
 the habits of those persons — at what age do they 
 marry ? I believe it to be notorious, that the ma- 
 jority postpone it to a very late period of life, and 
 that very many never marry at all. The next in- 
 quiry naturally is, as to the cause of this. We shall 
 be told, they cannot afford it. This is a very im- 
 perfect answer. Other persons, with a much smaller 
 income, afford it, and manage to rear a family. The 
 true reason is, that mere subsistence absorbs but a 
 minor portion of their income, but custom has im- 
 peratively required of them to preserve a more re- 
 spectable appearance. A large expense is entailed 
 upon them in the article of dress. They have so 
 little, as it were, to come and go upon in what ap- 
 pertains to food merely, and any increased expense 
 on this head would so trench on what they deem 
 indispensable to their own personal appearance, 
 that marriage is regarded by them with the utmost 
 apprehension. With this class, therefore, it may 
 fairly be said, that restraints arising out of these 
 habits of society operate so strongly, as not only to 
 keep population within due limits, but effectually to 
 
 D 2 
 
36 Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 check it ; and that if other classes were similarly 
 influenced, the speedy depopulation of the country 
 would be the chief dread. 
 
 If we take an inferior class of people, warehouse- 
 men, and persons employed in printing-offices for 
 instance, we shall find the existence of a feeling 
 similar to that just described, though in diminished 
 proportion. Their work may be taken to be half 
 corporeal and half mental ; so great an outlay is 
 not required in their clothing, as in that of the for- 
 mer class, and they have therefore greater latitude 
 in what relates to food ; they, consequendy, do not 
 view the cares of married life with so much caution. 
 Still there is hesitation and delay ; and it must be 
 admitted that such restraint operates to keep down 
 population. 
 
 In a still lower order of society, that of mecha- 
 nics and working tradesmen, we observe a further 
 diminution in certain branches of their expendi- 
 ture. The single men have a considerable latitude 
 to accumulate in what relates to food, compared to 
 those who are married ; and the state is conse- 
 quently entered into freely. Even here, however, 
 some restraint exists. Any person accurately ac- 
 quainted with this truly useful branch of statistical 
 inquiry is aware, that journeymen in many trades, 
 particularly in London, are accustomed to spend a 
 good deal apart from food ; and thus, at least, to 
 delay marrying longer than is absolutely necessary 
 for them to have saved the means. This is all that 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. 3T 
 
 I wish to establish. Population is undeniably 
 checked by such delays. 
 
 I now come down to the common day-labourers, 
 and they are beyond comparison the most important 
 in the inquiry ; for any redundancy here must im- 
 mediately affect other employments. With these, 
 it is said, that the supply of food is alone to be 
 considered. I think I have shewn that, step by 
 step, the prudential measure of reviewing all the 
 consequences attendant on marriage, prevails more 
 or less according to the gradations of expence apart 
 from food, which habit has imposed upon the dif- 
 ferent classes receiving wages. I would apply 
 the reasoning to common labourers, and say, let 
 custom impose upon them the necessity of making 
 a certain display in their persons and in their 
 houses, and they will also hesitate before they make 
 that sacrifice of such comforts, which they know that 
 the expenses of wife and family inevitably demand. 
 This view of society will receive still further 
 elucidation, if we contemplate the results that would 
 probably ensue, should a great diminution of em- 
 ployment take place, or should the number of la- 
 bourers so far increase as to create unusual com- 
 petition, and thus progressively deteriorate their 
 condition. Suppose the scale of living of an ordi- 
 nary labourer to be as high as the estimate in our 
 English Table. The competition arising from the 
 supply of labourers above the demand, naturally 
 reduces wages. A reduction in that branch of the 
 
38 Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 expenditure which can best be dispensed with, cloth- 
 ing and lodging, will then take place. Let the evil 
 continue, and an encroachment must be made on 
 the tea and sugar ; a stage yet further, and butcher's 
 meat must be relinquished. During this progres- 
 sion, there is no starvation and misery, — there is 
 merely comparative privation of former comforts. 
 But, in the meantime, how are the unmarried and 
 those coming to maturity affected. Men already 
 burthened with families have no alternative — with 
 a fall of wages they must of necessity reduce their 
 scale of living. Not so the single men. If custom 
 has established, even in their lowly condition, a 
 standard of artificial wants which it would be dis- 
 creditable not to satisfy, and the neglect of which 
 would expose them perhaps to the derision of those 
 just one step above them in society, then would 
 their minds admit a strongly increased bias against 
 incurring the charge of a family. The number of 
 rising labourers would be diminished, and self- 
 gratification ultimately adjust it to the demand. 
 
 The restraint thus acting, naturally supposes food 
 not to preponderate among the articles of living. 
 It is not exactly meant to contend, that society has 
 in this or in any other country attained that state 
 when the restraint I have alluded to will act with 
 such efficacy as fully to produce the effects de- 
 scribed. The object has been to shew, that, the 
 more artificial wants are increased, the more is a 
 young man impelled, before he enters upon marriage, 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. 39 
 
 to deliberate upon its consequences. Many, cer- 
 tainly, do not give the subject this consideration. 
 This, however, arises from the absence of self-re- 
 spect — that feeling once awakened, prudence and 
 circumspection attend it as its constant companions. 
 It is not necessary to maintain that restraint could 
 ever be exercised as effectually over the lower, as 
 among the higher classes. Such is by no means 
 required. The gradations of wages, and the general 
 practice of those receiving them, have been chosen 
 to illustrate the principle, and to establish that there 
 is a point in the proportion borne by food to the other 
 articles of living, leading to that proper and salutary 
 increase of population which shall correspond with 
 the demand for labour, and not outrun it. Whether 
 the actual state of society among ourselves have 
 reached this point, or otherwise, I repeat, is not 
 the question. The thing is possible : say the ex- 
 penditure for the purchase of food bore the propor- 
 tion of sixty parts in the hundred to the total earn- 
 ings ; if, in this case, population increased faster 
 than the demand for labour, it would be less likely 
 to do so if the proportion were only fifty parts, and 
 the remainder devoted to the purchase of articles 
 rendered indispensable by custom. And again, if, 
 when only fifty parts went to food, population still 
 increased too rapidly to allow this state of society 
 to continue, a further check could be given by so 
 allotting only forty parts. By following up the 
 scale, we approach at last the point when, agreeably 
 
40 Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 to the principles developed, the increase of popu- 
 lation could be effectually restrained. Many per- 
 sons will of course differ with regard to the extent 
 to which this reasoning may be carried. I am, 
 however, morally certain, that there is a point where 
 the comfortable condition of the labourer can be 
 maintained from generation to generation, and the 
 attainment of it I do believe to be the grandest 
 achievement in legislation. 
 
 The whole of this reasoning will receive consider- 
 able corroboration, on referring to the difference of 
 customs of this country and of Ireland. Wages 
 with us are certainly much higher ; the description 
 of food is superior beyond comparison ; the mor- 
 tality among our young children is much less ; and 
 yet within the last thirty years, population has in- 
 creased in a far greater proportion in Ireland than 
 in England. Prudential restraints must therefore 
 have existed here to a very great extent, to produce 
 a state of things so much at variance with ordinary 
 conclusions. I know, indeed, no circumstance 
 which so much perverts the reasoning of political 
 economists as the supposition, that the supply of 
 labourers is solely regulated by the supply of food. 
 It is only so to the extent to which earnings are 
 distributed. When, therefore, the real and market 
 rates of wages are high, something else is to be 
 considered before we hastily conclude, that popula- 
 tion is rapidly advancing, and that a reaction may 
 speedily be anticipated. A labourer in Kentucky, 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. 41 
 
 who receives his 6^. a day, and whose thoughts 
 only extend to the enjoyment of good hving, will 
 early take a wife ; and a traveller may behold his 
 cottage crowded with a family rising in regular gra- 
 dation, one above the other, like a flight of steps, 
 and accompanied with every indication of pros- 
 perity. A workman in England, equally in receipt 
 of high wages, but who turns pale at the thought of 
 a hole in the elbow of his coat, will calculate with 
 caution the expenses of a family, and there is in the 
 mean time little fear of his contributing to over- 
 people the world. 
 
 Lest something should here cross the reader's 
 mind, that the operation of prudential restraints has 
 been sufficiently attended to in works on Political 
 Economy, and has been fully illustrated by Mr. 
 Malthus, it may be necessary to point out where 
 the foregoing views differ from those of this cele- 
 brated writer. 
 
 Mr. Malthus, as is well known, takes for the 
 grand basis of his work the principle, that the in- 
 crease of the human species is entirely regulated 
 by the supply of food ; and that the cultivation of 
 the earth can only proceed in an arithmetical, 
 while the population has a tendency to increase in 
 a geometrical, series. Proceeding on these grounds, 
 he enumerates at large the various checks which 
 keep population within due limits. These he classes 
 under the heads of positive and preventive checks. 
 The former is associated with misery ; and includes 
 
4«2 • Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 all the evils arising out of extreme poverty : epi- 
 demic diseases, plague, famine. Under the pre- 
 ventive checks, he enumerates promiscuous inter- 
 course, and all irregularities and gratifications of a 
 vicious nature ; as also that feeling which prompts 
 man to calculate distant consequences, so as to 
 avoid imprudent marriage. This last he terms 
 moral restraint ; it is the only check of a virtuous 
 tendency to which he has adverted, and it is what 
 chiefly concerns our present inquiry. Throughout 
 the whole work he regards it rather as an abstract 
 quality, awakened by the reasoning ficulties of 
 man, and operating on his conduct with the same 
 effect as that with which he views the improper in- 
 dulgence of a vicious passion. Mr. Malthus ob- 
 serves : " Natural and moral evil seem to be the 
 instruments employed by the Deity in admonishing 
 us to avoid any mode of conduct which is not suited 
 to our being, and will consequently injure our hap- 
 piness. If we be intemperate in eating and drink- 
 ing we are disordered : if w^e indulge the transports 
 of anger, we seldom fail to commit acts of which we 
 afterwards repent ; if we multiply too fast, we 
 die miserably of poverty and contagious diseases. 
 The laws of nature in all these cases are similar 
 and uniform. They indicate to us, that we have 
 followed these impulses too far, so as to trench upon 
 some other law which equally demands attention. 
 The uneasiness we feel from repletion ; the injuries 
 that we inflict on ourselves or others in anger ; and 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. 43 
 
 the inconveniences we suffer on the approach of 
 poverty, are all admonitions to us to regulate these 
 impulses better ; and if we heed not this admoni- 
 tion, we justly incur the penalty of our disobe- 
 dience, and our sufferings operate as a warning to 
 others." Vol. 2. p. 303. 
 
 Now against these views my two great objections 
 are, first, that in a civilized state of society the 
 supply of food is not the sole circumstance which 
 regulates the extent of population ; and secondly, 
 that no moral restraint could ever operate in the 
 same manner, with regard to marriage, as in the 
 control of the vicious propensities. However phi- 
 losophers may speculate, and with whatever perti- 
 nacity they may advance their lucubrations, the 
 mass of mankind will always consider that, so far as 
 moral obligation is involved, to marry early is a 
 virtuous not a vicious practice. The feelings, or 
 if the term be more appropriate, the deeply-rooted 
 prejudices, of almost all classes, lead them to 
 believe, that a man who gives to it an increase of 
 citizens is a benefactor to the state. 
 
 It is erroneous, then, to expect that the conse- 
 quences of imprudent marriage would be viewed 
 by the parties themselves in the same light as they 
 contemplate disease, opprobrium, and misery, the 
 concomitants of drunkenness, and similar vices ; 
 but in a civilized community, where man has his 
 eye constantly on his fellow, when he dreads con- 
 tempt as an evil, touching as it does on a powerful 
 
44 Prevailing Errors re&pectiiig 
 
 spring of action — pride, a very different effect may 
 be produced. Self-gratification works in a different 
 direction, and independently of the commendation 
 or the censure of the moralist, leads to requisite 
 foresight in regard to marriage. It could not for a 
 moment be supposed that so acute and profound a 
 writer as Mr. Malthus would overlook the effects 
 produced on population by the varying habits of 
 the working classes, as relates to their artificial 
 wants. He has accordingly adverted to the cir- 
 cumstance in his work ; but it is incidentally, and 
 it seems to me that he has entirely omitted to push 
 the matter home, and to deduce the all- important 
 conclusions which arise out of this important branch 
 of the inquiry. What confirms this opinion is the 
 striking fact, that in all his reasoning respecting 
 the component elements in the cost of a commodity, 
 he substantially adopts the same views with other 
 writers, as to the manner in which the supply of 
 labourers is determined. It avails nothing to give 
 a few indefinite explanations, if they are lost sight 
 of when their application is required, and when 
 they should be embodied in the general system. 
 It is this distinction which I wish to point out, as 
 well as to show, that economists, no matter what 
 statements they may have made in a detached man- 
 ner, in discussing measures of commercial policy 
 between different countries, have ascribed an undue 
 degree of unity and universality to the principles of 
 population. One of the principal causes of the 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. 45 
 
 misunderstanding in assuming the cultivation of the 
 earth to be paramount, proceeds from the reflection 
 that all clothing, and almost every necessary article 
 of subsistence, is equally derived from the land. 
 The cotton and flax worked up in manufactures 
 must grow; the wool shorn from the sheep is 
 equally identified as the produce of the soil. If 
 then the land be cultivated in arithmetical propor- 
 tion, and the human species increase geometrically, 
 must not the whole produce of the land be ulti- 
 mately exhausted .' Food and clothing derive their 
 origin from the same source ; if, therefore, the one 
 cannot continue to keep pace with the demands 
 of population, neither can the other. The same 
 general reasoning applies thus to the artificial as to 
 the natural wants of men, and it is idle and super- 
 fluous to attempt to separate them. That this 
 reasoning has exercised great influence upon those 
 who have discussed this subject it is impossible to 
 doubt. It is, however, completely fallacious ; and 
 it is an essential object to point out where the 
 fallacy rests. Let a territory be supposed, entirely 
 debarred from all extraneous communication, and 
 occupied by a certain number of inhabitants. Let us 
 imagine this population to proceed unchecked, until 
 every inch of the land is fully cultivated. There can 
 now obviously be no increased supply of food ; the 
 tendency to a further increase of population must, 
 therefore, at once be repressed by a positive check. 
 But, it is contended, clothing being also originally 
 
46 Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 produced from the land, is, in some sense, in the 
 same predicament as food ; it is, in its supply, 
 governed by the same laws. It must surely then at 
 length be entirely superseded, and consequently 
 the inferences I have drawn, founded on the dis- 
 tinctions it creates in society, are entirely set at 
 rest. Such is the conception entertained at first 
 sight. The laws, however, which are similar in 
 what relates to the production of food and clothing, 
 are totally different in what relates to the consump- 
 tion of them. The one is of a definite nature, the 
 other indefinite. A certain quantity of food is ab- 
 solutely necessary for the preservation of our spe- 
 cies : it may on this account be deemed paramount 
 to every other consideration. The quantity of 
 clothing in most parts of the world, and the quality 
 in all, depends upon opinion — an influence never- 
 theless so powerful as often to control the very 
 wants of nature. 
 
 But it is plain that as the difficulty of producing 
 the latter increases, its relative value will rise ; it 
 will therefore be the more highly prized both as to 
 the degree of its quality and its quantity. The dis- 
 tinctions and peculiar feelings connected with a 
 man's appearance are thus completely preserved ; 
 and this operation can go on indefinitely, confirm- 
 ing the principles laid down, even though the 
 clothing of a man should be reduced to the scantiest 
 covering. To make this more clear, let us con- 
 ceive that, in our imagined territory, a labouring 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. 47 
 
 man spent fifty parts of his entire wages in food, 
 and the remaining fifty in articles of dress. Now, 
 under these circumstances, the land being already 
 cultivated to its uttermost particle, any further in- 
 crease of population would demand that a part of 
 what was previously allotted to produce clothing, 
 should be applied to raise the more indispensable 
 article of food. But still the fifty parts might be 
 spent in clothing, as before. Say that, to make 
 way for grain, the growth of flax were discontinued 
 — the use of shirts must then cease. But a la- 
 bourer wore a shirt not so much because that gar- 
 ment was indispensable, as because to be without 
 one was disreputable. He conformed to the esta- 
 blished fashion, and there still remains to him op- 
 portunity in other matters of display, to keep up 
 that appearance which is necessary to screen him 
 from the contempt of his neighbours. 
 
 Proceeding upon this principle, we may go to a 
 considerable length in thus surrendering articles of 
 universal use. It should nevertheless be remarked, 
 that, agreeably to our views, there would, on the 
 very first pressure, be a tendency to restrain the 
 further increase of population among the lowest 
 classes. Society being constituted in different gra- 
 dations of rank, much privation would prevail, be- 
 fore the allotment in the general production of com- 
 modities, in food as well as clothing, would be al- 
 tered. 
 
 This it is that may with more correctness be said 
 
48 Prevailing Errors respecting 
 
 to occasion the postponement of marriage. I have 
 submitted the foregoing illustration to show that, 
 no matter whether all the land be cuUivated or not, 
 there is no change in the relative nature of artificial 
 habits, and that they may still subsist for an un- 
 limited period. The grand object consists in having 
 a considerable portion of the wages of the humblest 
 individual expended in articles not belonging to 
 mere subsistence. We have not to demand whe- 
 ther or not those articles are in their nature trifling, 
 but whether or not, contrasted with the total earn- 
 ings, they are expensive. Giving due regard to 
 these qualifications, we may then freely admit that 
 the disposition of mankind to increase is greater 
 than that of the earth to afibrd subsistence. After 
 all that has been written on the subject, the propo- 
 sition must, I think, to any reflecting mind, appear 
 obvious at a glance. The land can only be taken 
 into cultivation acre by acre, but every increase 
 in each generation of men reared to maturity, gives 
 the means to propagate the species in a multiplied 
 ratio. 
 
 All the predicted and direful evils, however, 
 springing from these laws of nature, are either 
 averted, or essentially mitigated, according to the 
 theory I have laid down. Bad seasons, the devas- 
 tations of war, and every other unforeseen calamity, 
 operate not in the melancholy manner depicted by 
 Mr. Malthus, but merely act upon certain habits 
 which, speaking absolutely, may be dispensed with. 
 
the natural Rate of Wages. 4<) 
 
 Imperious custom, fashion, may open a high range 
 to these habits; and he who is acquainted with 
 the world, knows well, that many will pine on the 
 scantiest fare, rather than compromise the dictates 
 of their pride, 
 
 I hope I have succeeded in showing, that the re- 
 compense for labour may be permanently liberal ; 
 and thus have exposed the great and generally-pre- 
 vailing errors respecting the natural rate of wages, 
 I think I have demonstrated, that the cause has 
 hitherto, in great measure, been mistaken for the 
 effect. Most writers maintain, that habits are 
 solely regulated by the rate of wages, I have en- 
 deavoured, on the contrary, to prove that there is a 
 re-action ; that the population principle is in a great 
 measure influenced by this re-action; and that 
 habits materially regulate wages. I deem it super- 
 fluous to notice the puerile objection sometimes 
 urged, that to attempt by any means to restrain the 
 increase of our species is to arraign the wisdom of 
 providence. Whatever charges may be brought 
 against other writers on the grounds of inhumanity, 
 I trust no such imputation can attach to the views 
 here exhibited. My object is to exalt, not to de- 
 grade. If we can by any effort banish from among 
 us the ills of poverty and want — that neglect of 
 the offspring of the poor which approaches to in- 
 fanticide — and the dark catalogue of suffering 
 and of crime which stains society, who will 
 presume to say we violate the ordinances of 
 
 E 
 
50 Errors respecting the Rate of Wages. 
 
 our Maker? Man's reasoning faculties are never 
 more nobly exercised than when exerted on this 
 subject. Acquiescing in the great truth, that in 
 this world we fill a state of moral discipline and 
 probation, we recognise the implied admonition to 
 rouse our utmost energies in conquering the diffi- 
 culties opposed to us. There is none more weighty 
 in itself or in its consequences than that before us. 
 
51 
 
 Section IV. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF THE POOR-LAWS CONSIDERED AS AFFECT- 
 ING THE FOREGOING VIEWS. 
 
 In any inquiry concerning labour, it would be 
 most improper to omit so important a consi- 
 deration as the system adopted in this country to 
 provide for the poor. A very large expenditure 
 being devoted to the maintenance of those unable 
 to procure work, it may be urged, that labourers, 
 notwithstanding the superiority of living in Eng- 
 land, are too numerous for the demand, and that, 
 therefore, it is idle to declaim on the influence of 
 comforts, or that any restraints can operate on the 
 lower orders to prevent imprudent marriage. I 
 believe, however, that accurate reflection on this 
 subject will rather confirm, than invalidate, my 
 arguments. That the general principle of render- 
 ing relief to a pauper, who, in distress, has pro- 
 bably to blame his own improvidence, tends to 
 destroy his feelings of independence, no political 
 writer would presume to doubt ; but, fortunately, 
 many circumstances have hitherto contributed to 
 moderate the evil. Ever since the passing of the 
 well-known Act of Elizabeth, by which each parish 
 was compelled to maintain its inhabitants, this 
 country has been in a progressive state of improve- 
 ment — extensive wastes have been brought into 
 
 E 2 
 
52 Influence of the Poor Laws considered 
 
 cultivation, commerce has extended itself to the 
 farthest extremities of the earth, and the continued 
 march of civilization has led to new objects of gra- 
 tification, engendering innumerable excitements to 
 industry. The demand for labour has accordingly 
 nearly kept pace with the increase of population. 
 In many points, too, the condition of the lower 
 classes has materially improved. Numberless arti- 
 cles of consumption are now held indispensable to 
 their comfort, which, to their ancestors, were un- 
 known. 
 
 In Sir F. M. Eden's work on the Poor, which 
 gives such a luminous insight into their history, it 
 appears that, in former times, the food of a working 
 man consisted almost exclusively of the raw pro- 
 duce of the soil; his clothing and his dwelling, 
 too, were altogether incapable of comparison with 
 present times. It is in these last particulars that 
 the improvement principally consists. Perhaps, 
 however, no circumstance is more decisive as to 
 this fact, than a comparison of the annual pro- 
 portion of deaths with the total population, tak^n at 
 different periods. 
 
 In the early part of last century, so far as we 
 can judge from the imperfect documents of which 
 w^e are in possession, it was — 
 
 1 in 37 
 
 agreeably to the statements of Mr. Malthus, it was, 
 
 In 17S0, 1 in 40 
 1810, 1 „ 53 
 1820, 1 „ 58 
 
as affecting ike foregoing Views. 53 
 
 The difference is principally to be ascribed to a 
 diminution of epidemic diseases amongst the poor, 
 and to increased care in rearing their offspring — 
 both circumstances decisively evincing improve- 
 ment in their condition. From the details given in 
 Sir F. M. Eden's work, it would appear that the 
 agricultural labourers have continued much more 
 stationary than the mechanics. At present, the 
 contrast is most striking. Whatever may be said 
 as to the difficulty of procuring a living among the 
 fiormer, no such assumption holds good with the 
 latter. 
 
 This may, perhaps, be easily accounted for : a 
 mechanic engaged in any particular manufacture 
 possesses resources which are completely denied 
 to the agricultural labourer ; when that individual 
 branch of business happens to stagnate in which the 
 former has been employed, the manual dexterity he 
 has acquired, enables him to avail himself of other 
 employments, the peculiarities of which he finds 
 little difficulty in acquiring. The weaver who has 
 been accustomed to work in cottons, has not a great 
 deal to learn, to commence the weaving of woollens. 
 The same applies to almost all our great manu- 
 factures. But a labourer employed in farming, can 
 do nothing else than follow the avocation in which he 
 has been bred : he is precluded from resorting to 
 other means of earning a livelihood : — when difficulty 
 and distress visit the farmer, he becomes entirely 
 destitute, and has no alternative but to throw himself 
 upon the parish. This sufficiently explains why 
 
54 Influence of the Poor-Laws coiisidered 
 
 poor-rates are principally absorbed by agricultural 
 labourers, as also why their condition is, in the 
 aggregate, inferior to that of operative mechanics- 
 The means for their employment are limited, and 
 bounded by the extent of the land ; as population 
 increases, their only chance for earning subsistence 
 is, to seek some other employment ; but all cannot 
 be done at once ; some delay necessarily ensues, 
 and they follow but slowly in participating the 
 prosperity of the manufacturing classes. 
 
 Having thus reconciled the apparent contra- 
 diction, that our artisans had improved in their 
 mode of living, and were much superior to those 
 abroad, while, at the same time, many agricultural 
 labourers were requiring parish relief, it is proper 
 to revert to the Poor-laws, and to point out how 
 far their existence affects the previously developed 
 views on population. 
 
 Without attempting any unnecessary disquisi- 
 tion, I shall briefly observe, that, in my opinion, 
 the expediency of establishing poor's-rates should 
 have reference to the state of the society. In many 
 parts of the empire, not densely peopled, they are 
 a great evil ; they chill the kindlier feelings and 
 charities of life, and prevent the amiable and the 
 virtuous from extending to the unfortunate that 
 beneficence, which is so easily and so advantage- 
 ously exercised in districts where every individual 
 is, in some degree, known to his neighbours. But 
 when civilization and wealth are far advanced, 
 quaUties of a more sordid nature unavoidably pre- 
 
as affecting the foregoing Views. 55 
 
 dominate, and a dependance upon private charity 
 becomes impracticable. It would be taxing the 
 humane, that the selfish should escape. A compul- 
 sory contribution then becomes necessary ; and the 
 difficulty consists in its mode of distribution. To 
 uphold in the labourer the feeling of self-respect, and 
 to prevent population outrunning the means of sub- 
 sistence, it should be a fundamental principle, that 
 the maintenance of a man thrown upon the parish 
 be of inferior description. Contentment in life is 
 altogether comparative ; and to let the labourer 
 view the inferior condition of the pauper with dread, 
 would go a great way to make him prudent before 
 he ventured on the charge of a family. Nor is 
 there, in this, any thing harsh. Supposing the 
 condition of the British labourer superior to that of 
 the same class in other countries, and still capable 
 of great improvement, the unfortunate, or the idle 
 and the profligate, receiving relief sufficient for sub- 
 sistence, would find his condition enviable, when 
 contrasted with the starvation and misery prevail- 
 ing abroad; and yet by his own fellow-labourers 
 at home, who are in employment, he would seem 
 to suffer much privation. It is upon this basis that 
 all plans for the relief of the poor should be 
 grounded: any other course, it is to be feared, 
 will aggravate the evil so long complained of in 
 this country. 
 
 It is obvious that this reasoning applies chiefly 
 to those who are able to work. Some distinction 
 
56 Influence of the Poor Laws considered 
 
 should of course be made between them and the 
 aged or infirm ; as well as in extreme cases merit- 
 ing peculiar compassion. A discretionary power 
 must be vested in visiting magistrates ; much de- 
 pending on their discrimination, independently of 
 proper attention to the description of food, mode of 
 treatment, and all the minutiae of the case. At the 
 same time, it must not be denied that in he exa- 
 minations before the Committees both of the Com- 
 mons and the Lords, when this subject occupied 
 the chief attention of the legislature, very erroneous 
 notions were exposed on the part of the magistrates 
 in many districts. It appeared in evidence, that 
 frequently the situation of the pauper was prefer- 
 able to that of the labourer supporting himself on 
 his own earnings. What a bitter addition to the 
 sufferings of the latter, struggling with honest pride 
 to maintain the noblest attribute of our social na- 
 ture, independence ! It further unequivocally ap- 
 peared, by the testimony of many witnesses, that 
 the treatment in particular workhouses was of so 
 alluring a description, that artifice, perjury, and 
 even bribery, were resorted to for the object of 
 gaining admission to certain parishes. In this state 
 of things, it is plain, if the system were bad in 
 principle, it may be rendered doubly injurious by 
 improper administration. But by laying down a 
 general rule, the proper line of conduct for the ma- 
 gistrate and the officers is greatly simplified. To 
 confine the maintenance of the pauper decidedly 
 
as affecting the foregoing Views. 57 
 
 within the limits of what is attained by the lowest 
 description of labour in actual employment in the 
 neighbourhood, is clear and definite. If a common 
 labourer spend lOs. a week in subsistence, then 
 that of the pauper should be limited to 7s. or Ss. 
 If the one partake of such comforts as tea and su- 
 gar, the efficient pauper should participate in no 
 such enjoyment. Even if the reward for labour 
 should be permanently so low as to allow only very 
 mean subsistence, we may lay claim to an enlarged 
 humanity and still maintain that that given to the 
 pauper should be of a still meaner description. 
 
 In unison with this position, I do believe that 
 considerable amendment could be eflfected in the 
 system of the Poor-laws, without any of those ab- 
 rupt transitions which wise legislation so stre- 
 nuously condemns. Notwithstanding the diminu- 
 tion in parochial assessments within these few 
 years past, the amount levied is still very great ; 
 and, what is more to the purpose, it is greater than 
 the demand for labour in the different departments 
 of industry in any degree justifies. Let an investi- 
 gation then take place into the expenditure of com- 
 mon labour, and a scale inferior to it be adopted in 
 workhouses. Let greater discrimination and a se- 
 verer vigilance prevail, and the pressure, as well as 
 the pernicious example, will sensibly diminish. It 
 is well said, by an able writer, that as inexorable 
 severity of punishment is not the best adapted for 
 the prevention of crime, so neither is the sudden 
 fall from comparative comfort to hopeless penury the 
 
58 Influence of the Poor-Laics considei'ed 
 
 wisest mode to check improvidence. Moderation 
 is one of the wisest elements of government ; agree- 
 ably to its dictates, the present state of society en- 
 joins the extension of leniency to the lowest classes. 
 To suppress the importunities of beggars, to abolish 
 vagrancy, to lessen the incentives to vice, are great 
 objects ; and if they can be accomplished without 
 even remotely visiting injurious consequences on 
 the general relations of society, an immense benefit 
 is unquestionably attained. 
 
 These considerations prove, that a material dis- 
 tinction exists between the Poor-laws as generally 
 administered, and the system taken abstractedly, 
 and properly modified. In many parts of the 
 country, I fear, the condition of a man accidentally 
 thrown out of work, and seeking assistance, would 
 be deplorable indeed. In Scotland surprise has 
 been expressed that an attempt has been made in 
 some districts to establish compulsory contributions. 
 But in reality, a correct view of human nature would 
 account for the alleged impolicy of the design. 
 With the rapid diffusion of wealth, the more selfish 
 feelings, which I have already traced, gain ground ; 
 the benevolent feel that in alleviating distress, more 
 or less prevalent in the most prosperous society, 
 they are contributing more than their proportion ; 
 and thus, for the sake of justice, a call is made, and 
 attempted to be enforced, on those who seek to es- 
 cape. It would, nevertheless, be exceedingly inju- 
 dicious to make the rule universal, and apply it to 
 all cases indiscriminately. In other parts, the de- 
 
as affecting the foregoing Views. 59 
 
 sire to assuage the sufferings of the unfortunate 
 may be an universal impulse. The same feeling 
 which prompts to the lavish entertainments of the 
 social board is equally open to the calls of v^ant. 
 Hospitality and Charity dwell together : they are 
 twin sisters, and inseparably accompany the early 
 period of a people's career ; though, as society ad- 
 vances, their influence is impaired. This reflection 
 must not, however, engross all our admiration for 
 the primitive ages, and what is termed their unso- 
 phisticated virtue. Civilization rouses the most 
 shining faculties of the mind ; and he who would 
 sympathize with Goldsmith in deploring the dege- 
 neracy of his Deserted Village, merely entertains 
 the wish that society should stand still, and that the 
 spur to exertion provided in the inequality of ranks 
 should cease to operate. 
 
 Enough has now been advanced to illustrate this 
 branch of the subject, as far as it is immediately 
 requisite. From all that has been stated, it must, 
 I think, be apparent, that the higher the artificial 
 wants of a working man are raised, the greater will 
 be his dread of a workhouse, and consequently his 
 efforts to avoid it. A resource of this kind must 
 always present much that is repulsive : such as so- 
 litude, rigorous subjection, privation of all amuse- 
 ment, possible association with vice, and certain 
 ignominy. These evils are all calculated to sti- 
 mulate a man to the preservation of his indepen- 
 dence. 
 
60 Injl.uence of the Poor Laws considered 
 
 On this account, I am fully confirmed in opinion 
 that, notwithstanding the loud outcry against the 
 evidence of the Poor-laws, the natural rate of wages 
 may be preserved permanently high. We may in- 
 deed even go further, and assert that their influence 
 has not as yet prevented the progressive advance- 
 ment of our labouring classes. To those, however, 
 who doubt this latter point, it is only necessary 
 again to repeat, that it is in reality of inferior con- 
 sequence. Our great object at present is rather to 
 prove the possibility of keeping up that salutary 
 supply of labourers w^hich will not outrun the de- 
 mand for them. 
 
 This, I conceive, has been satisfactorily esta- 
 blished. Much assistance towards the attainment 
 of so great an end may certainly result from a judi- 
 cious reformation in many parts of the present sys- 
 tem, principally in what relates to the law of settle- 
 ment, as also the well-intended, but really short- 
 sighted, practice of giving assistance to a man 
 merely because he has a family. If this reforma- 
 tion could by degrees be accomplished, the condi- 
 tion of the great body of agricultural labourers 
 would certainly improve. There is, from the de- 
 mand in all our leading manufactures, abundance 
 of work for our entire population ; but it may with 
 truth be asserted, that the prospect of receiving 
 parish reUef prevents farmers' labourers from exert- 
 ing themselves so much as they ought to do, to 
 bring up a part of their families to other employ- 
 
as affecting the foregoing Views. 61 
 
 ments. With regard to the operative mechanics, 
 they have not only hitherto surpassed foreigners in 
 their general intelligence and their mode of living, 
 but they decidedly possess the opportunity still 
 further to elevate their condition. 
 
 Abundant scope presents itself to enlarge, were 
 I so disposed, on the immense national advantages 
 springing from a high scale of artificial wants among 
 the lower orders in society. By those writers who 
 have chiefly engaged the public attention to this 
 inquiry, the subject has been at best inaccurately 
 considered, and various modifications under which 
 wages may be influenced in consequence, have been 
 almost entirely overlooked. The supposition that 
 a difference of habits must be comparatively insig- 
 nificant, can only account for the neglect of a consi- 
 deration so important. This seems the obvious 
 conclusion. The expenditure and the operations of 
 commerce incidental to the middle and higher 
 classes are palpable, imposing in appearance, and 
 command at once investigation of their extent. The 
 few and trifling articles required by the labourer 
 are viewed with indifference, if not contempt ; and it 
 is considered as unimportant, whether their amount 
 be great or little. It is only on reflecting that the 
 distribution applies to thousands in the former case, 
 and in the latter to miUions, that we correct our 
 error, and perceive that, even in matters of trade, 
 it is the great mass of the people that demands the 
 chief attention of the legislator. 
 
G2 
 
 Section V. 
 
 ORIGIN OF COMBINATIONS AMONGST WORKMEN. 
 
 Whatever may be written in favour of high wages, 
 master-manufacturers continually exclaim that the 
 principle is fallacious, and can only obtain among 
 speculative theorists. Experience, and a practical 
 acquaintance with the details of labour, have con- 
 firmed them in the opinion, that, to ensure indus- 
 trious habits among workmen, they must be pinched 
 in their means of subsistence. The idleness and 
 the turbulence which have disgraced the manu- 
 facturing districts for the last twelve months, are 
 produced as unanswerable proofs of the fact. 
 There is in this a good deal of truth ; but as prac- 
 tical men of business are not accustomed to take 
 the most enlarged view of such things, there is, 
 also, a great deal of error. It is very true that 
 combinations principally arise when provisions are 
 cheap, or when there is a great demand for labour. 
 When the reverse prevails, men's thoughts and 
 time are otherwise occupied than in attendance on 
 public-house meetings, and in the framing of lofty 
 resolutions ; but it would be very unfair to deduce 
 from this that workmen should be scantily paid. 
 Their conduct, in times of prosperity, should be 
 viewed relatively, and not abstractedly. They 
 
Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. ()3 
 
 combine when they can easily satisfy those wants 
 which they have uniformly been in the habit of 
 indulging ; but if, by any means, those wants 
 could be enhanced, and it became scandalous not 
 to have them gratified, then a greater application 
 to labour would ensue, and the evil speedily abate. 
 Supposing things in their ordinary state, the 
 mechanics of a remote part of the empire, were they 
 suddenly transferred to London, would cease to 
 work with their accustomed assiduity, because they 
 would find their earnings amount to more than their 
 ordinary habits prompted them to spend. On the 
 same principle, if we refer to some descriptions of 
 work, for which the wages are high, but the nature 
 of which does not much admit of cleanliness, or a 
 generally reputable mode of living, we find that 
 there is no desire for accumulation evinced, but 
 that, on the contrary, one-half the week is spent in 
 uniform idleness and debauchery. In several of 
 the coal- works in the north, it is stated, that a work- 
 man receives so high wages as from 1*. 3f/. to 
 1*. Qd. the hour. Now, making every allowance 
 for the severity of the labour, there is here the 
 most obvious opportunity for large savings ; but 
 the statements of all impartial persons who have 
 visited those districts fully prove, that the men work 
 little more than two days in the week, and while 
 their families exhibit a melancholy picture of 
 neglect, the remainder of their time own is spent 
 in sloth and drunkenness. 
 
64 Origin of CombinatioJis amo7}gst Worlanon. 
 
 It is unnecessary to enlarge upon this head — 
 both the evidence of the parliamentary investi- 
 gations on the Poor-laws, and the personal ob- 
 servation of every individual at all conversant with 
 business, corroborate these facts. When, there- 
 fore, we hear of wages being high, before we 
 assume it to be beneficial, we have first to inquire 
 what are the habits of the workmen ? are they of a 
 proportionably liberal description? Has established 
 custom made it imperative that their homes shall 
 be comfortably furnished, the attire of their fami- 
 lies decent, and their own appearance reputable ? 
 If such be found to be the case, we may, unhe- 
 sitatingly, pronounce high wages to be greatly 
 beneficial. But should the contrary appear, we 
 must, I apprehend, draw very different conclusions. 
 The assertions of the master-manufacturer are thus, 
 in one respect, strictly correct. A profuse reward 
 for labour may, in certain states of society, be truly 
 pernicious, and lead to a total disregard of order 
 and just subordination : but, in this situation, to 
 counteract such evils, and recall the workman to his 
 former sober and industrious habits, the desi- 
 deratum, so far as the nation is concerned, be- 
 comes, not to lower wages, but to elevate the 
 scale in which they are to be expended. Many 
 persons, conspicuous for their benevolence, imagine 
 that an improved mode of living is the necessary 
 and direct consequence of an increase in the remu- 
 neration assigned to the labourer. Here it is that 
 
Origi7i of Combinations amongst IVorkmen. 65 
 
 I conceive much delusion to have originated. It is 
 freely admitted, that a man who lives on potatoes 
 and water, will gladly, should the opportunity be 
 offered, exert himself to add meat to his fare; and 
 this will, doubtless, apply still farther as regards 
 the actual necessaries of life. But when we come to 
 matters of a less indispensable nature, such as 
 clothing and furniture, the impulse to exertion is 
 greatly relaxed, and, as daily observation proves, 
 a portion only of the workman's time, a few days in 
 the week, are given to labour. 
 
 To guard against the least misunderstanding on 
 tliis essential point, it is proper to observe, that 
 the present reasoning simply implies, that sup- 
 posing the reward for labour very scanty, when- 
 ever an improvement returns, a man may be dis- 
 posed at once to work up to his fullest powers, in 
 order that he may better his mode of living ; but 
 when the remuneration is moderately liberal, and 
 an improvement in it then takes place, a man will 
 not at once work up to his fullest powers — the dis- 
 position to indolence will predominate over the 
 desire to compass enjoyments hitherto regarded as 
 superfluities. It is very true that, in time, those 
 superfluities may acquire the character of neces- 
 saries, and here the distinction rests. It is gene- 
 rally said, let a mechanic's earnings be increased, 
 and he will immediateli/ be disposed to wear a 
 better coat, on the same principle as he would 
 prefer white bread to brown. This conclusion is 
 
C6 Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. 
 
 completely negatived by experience. To make a 
 greater display in appearance, is dependent on 
 custom or fashion, a material change in which is so 
 slow in establishing itself in a country, as never to 
 obtain in a single generation of labourers. This 
 point involving some very important considera- 
 tions, I shall endeavour to illustrate it in the suc- 
 ceeding Section, explaining the gradual manner in 
 which mechanics, as well as all other classes, pro- 
 ceed to advance the scale of their artificial wants. 
 The primary impulse, it need only be here ob- 
 served, is almost totally unconnected with the re- 
 muneration given for labour, so much so, that cases 
 could be pointed out, where the mode of living of 
 the lower orders has improved, while wages have 
 been stationary, or even have declined — the im- 
 provement being accomplished by increased as- 
 siduity and greater bodily exertion. 
 
 I hope that the full extent of the distinction 
 between the market and the natural rate of wages 
 is now sufficiently exemplified. The market-rate 
 being high, may frequently, I unhesitatingly de- 
 clare, be very pernicious — occasioning idleness, 
 debauchery, and riot. It is even very question- 
 able, as has been already stated, whether the cir- 
 cumstance in itself could ever lead to a high natural 
 rate. On the contrary, a high natural rate once 
 established, is the greatest benefit a country can 
 possess ; it is its surest means to riches and pre- 
 eminence. It has been shown that Great Britain 
 
Origin of Comhinatio7U amovgst Workmen. 67 
 
 far surpasses other countries in this essential par- 
 ticular. It has also appeared, that the assuming 
 it to be of an unvarying nature, has occasioned 
 the grossest misconceptions on the part of political 
 writers. 
 
 Our purpose is now to point out the relations 
 affecting the market rate of wages, and to prove 
 that the reasoning of Mr. Ricardo and of Mr. M'Cul- 
 loch is here, also, most incomplete, as the causes 
 which lead it to vary are much more numerous than 
 they have supposed. I retain and use the terms 
 natural and market rate, because they are those 
 hitherto employed, and will, therefore, be the more 
 clearly understood. Assuming for granted, that 
 the natural rate of wages may be higher in one 
 country than in another, so may also the market- 
 rate in that country be higher than the natural rate, 
 England, I conceive, to have lately been in this pre- 
 dicament. In all our leading manufactures, I was 
 assured, by the most competent authority, that there 
 existed a brisk demand for labour ; and I believe 
 this circumstance to be the original and chief cause 
 of the late prevaihng and extensive combinations. 
 It will, no doubt, appear somewhat paradoxical, to 
 persons not intimately acquainted with this branch 
 of political economy, that artisans should be unruly 
 and clamorous, when they can procure abundance 
 of work. Such, however, will be found their natural 
 propensity, I fear — at least until the standard of 
 living among them is considerably exalted ; but 
 
 F 2 
 
68 Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. 
 
 this, it cannot be too often repeated, is affected by 
 causes totally dissimilar. 
 
 In the first place, a little reflection teaches us, 
 that there are two leading descriptions of labour : 
 what is paid by the day or the week, and what is 
 paid according to the quantity of work performed. 
 In conformity with the first, a man has only to dis- 
 charge a prescribed task, definite in its nature, and 
 regulated by his employer ; it is no matter to him- 
 self whether he use greater or less exertion— he 
 has only to preserve his place, his earnings being 
 still the same. In the second case, a man is very 
 differently circumstanced : to a certain degree, he 
 is much more independent, and can, accordingly as 
 his personal gratification influences him, augment 
 or diminish his earnings at pleasure. The effects 
 arising from this distinction are very material, and 
 in all reasoning connected with the demand and 
 supply of labourers, they lead frequently to oppo- 
 site conclusions. 
 
 The arguments of political economists are uni- 
 formly grounded upon the first of these two cases : 
 the parliamentary committee which investigated 
 the Poor Laws, as also that which inquired last ses- 
 sion into the Combination question, proceeded on 
 the same principle ; while in reality it was to the se- 
 cond that their attention should have been directed. 
 When there is a great demand for labour, in the 
 first case, more work will be performed, and the de- 
 pendence of the labourer upon his master will con- 
 
Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. 69 
 
 tinue as before. In the second case, on the contrary, 
 when there is a great demand for labour, less 
 labour will be performed, and the dependence of 
 the workman on his employer will sensibly dimi- 
 nish. This is simply accounted for, by reflecting 
 that a man is not disposed to work beyond the 
 means of satisfying the wants which he has been 
 accustomed to gratify ; and as the brisk demand 
 creates competition in the masters, and prompts 
 them to give higher payment for the yard or for the 
 piece, as the case may be, a man can gratify these 
 established wants with less labour, and therefore 
 less labour is performed. In this juncture, the em- 
 ployer's anxiety to get his orders executed natu- 
 rally puts him into the power of his workmen, and 
 the latter as naturally take their advantage of it. 
 Precisely as it is between two men making a bar- 
 gain : the one keeps aloof and maintains an exor- 
 bitant demand in the precise proportion in which 
 the other betrays an eagerness to obtain the object. 
 It is by these means that dependence and subordi- 
 nation are weakened ; and instead of so pernicious 
 a state of things having a tendency, as has been 
 superficially and absurdly contended by many 
 writers in the periodical press, to correct itself, the 
 evil is really calculated to increase, and that in an 
 accelerated degree. From the abridged quantity of 
 work to which it leads, the masters find unexecuted 
 orders accumulate upon their hands : an extra de- 
 mand was the chief impulse in the first instance ; 
 
70 Origin of Combinations amojigsl Workmen, 
 
 it thus acquires new strength, and the masters be- 
 come more and more dependent on their workmen. 
 
 It is thus that combinations originate ; when 
 workmen discover that they have so much in their 
 own power, some designing and influential indivi- 
 dual among them steps forward, inflames the pas- 
 sions of his fellows, quotes the authority of Mr. 
 Brougham, that none should dare prescribe hmits 
 to the wages of the mechanic, and succeeds in eli- 
 citing spirited resolutions, by which their employers 
 are placed absolutely in their power. To accom- 
 plish this end, idleness is one of the best means 
 they can adopt; and this circumstance requires, 
 beyond all comparison, the chief attention of the 
 legislature in any investigation relating to the com- 
 bination laws. That it should have been over- 
 looked, certainly appears to me surprising, for it 
 has assuredly been the real cause and the prolific 
 source of all the turbulence witnessed in the ma- 
 nufacturing districts. 
 
 As too much attention cannot be devoted to this 
 part of the subject, to make the reasoning more clear, 
 let it be supposed that up to the year 1823 there was 
 a demand for a certain quantity of woollens and cot- 
 tons, such a demand as about preserved the market- 
 rate of wages on a par with the natural rate. Now 
 say, that, from the recognition of Columbian inde- 
 pendence, a large vent opens itself to our commerce 
 in the South American markets. This would ob- 
 viously occasion a greatly-increased demand for our 
 
Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. 71 
 
 manufactures. What then would be its first effect ? 
 As orders poured in, competition would be created 
 among the manufacturers : they would employ more 
 hands ; and in order to show a prompt attention to 
 the commands of their customers, they would be 
 disposed to give a higher rate per yard for weaving, 
 as well as for other branches of the manufacturing 
 process. How would this affect the operatives ? 
 It has been shown that they are not disposed to 
 work beyond what the natural standard of living 
 requires : if their employers now pay them a higher 
 rate, they can earn the same sum by less work ; 
 they will therefore weave a diminished quantity. 
 The employers endeavour to hold out increased in- 
 ducement, but this very attempt heightens the evil 
 in a magnified proportion, as step by step the ope- 
 ratives find their own power increase. It proceeds 
 at length so far as to cause the infraction of all 
 proper authority. The operatives coalesce, and 
 while they are working only half the week, they 
 denounce their employers as tyrannical task-mas- 
 ters, and describe their own lot as one of unparal- 
 leled privation. It is unnecessary to observe, that 
 an extra demand in but one of our leading manu- 
 factures will naturally influence all the rest, and 
 occasion, throughout the whole, results similar to 
 those just described. On the same principle, per- 
 sons paid a regular stated sum by the week, will 
 ultimately be influenced in their rate of wages. If 
 men paid for the quantity of work they perform are 
 
72 Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. 
 
 realizing superior enjoyments over those paid by 
 the week, the latter will soon be disposed to change 
 their employment ; and their situations are equal- 
 ized. It is true, that this will require the lapse of 
 time ; but when we view the immense extent of 
 our manufactures, we must be convinced that all 
 descriptions of labour will, sooner or later, conform 
 to this principle. It is abundantly plain, therefore, 
 that the parliamentary committees should have 
 given their attention to the details of labour paid 
 for by the quantity, and not that paid accord- 
 ing to time. From the necessary effect of ab- 
 staining from work, there was, for some time, 
 a seemingly brisk demand for labour. But this 
 is often an appearance more pernicious than sa- 
 lutary. Should we be overtaken by any serious 
 calamity, should any great market be shut against 
 us, woe betide the operatives of this country. All 
 our reasoning will then apply with inverse effect. 
 In vain will they look to their present resources. 
 Distress will advance upon them with rapid strides 
 and gigantic pressure — as they are heedless and 
 imprudent in prosperity, so will they find their suf- 
 ferings in adversity awfully severe. 
 
 It being most important that no doubt should 
 prevail as to the fact, that the operatives could not, 
 a little time back, complain of the rate of wages or 
 the dearness of provisions, I might, in addition to 
 the evidence already adduced, quote the authority 
 of their leaders themselves. Statements not ob- 
 
Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen, 73 
 
 tained from the masters, who might be presumed to 
 be biassed by their own interests, but from those 
 in some degree in opposition, seem to obviate every 
 objection. Ample details have in almost every 
 instance been made public, showing to what length 
 of time the various associations could hold out, or 
 persist in their abstinence from work. In one 
 instance a speaker at a public meeting gave in a 
 statement, shewing that six weeks must elapse, 
 before any distress could reach them. At another 
 it appeared that there were sufficient funds to pro- 
 vide each member a reasonable support for several 
 months. If this be deemed all idle boasting, adopted 
 to intimidate the masters, let us look at facts. A 
 discontinuance of work for a very long period did 
 virtually ensue ; and did the conduct of the opera- 
 tives thus corroborate or contradict their argument ? 
 If their wages were so miserably small for a long 
 time previous, how did they manage to save out of 
 them as much as for many n:onths supported them 
 in absolute idleness. Thus it matters little to which 
 side we look for evidence — either way the proof 
 seems decisive. 
 
 All that precious declamation about the harmo- 
 nious adjustment of the employer's interests with 
 those of his workmen, and the natural tendency of 
 things to correct themselves, and to find their own 
 level, is reducible to one plain operation, that the 
 evil is corrected, not by a willing beneficial com- 
 promise of interests, in the manner maintained, but 
 
74 Origin of Combinations amongst Workrnen. 
 
 by the visitation of distress upon the country. Is 
 this then a policy proper to be advocated ? When a 
 manufacturer has orders accumulating on his hands 
 which he cannot execute, it is not to be supposed 
 that his customers will quietly submit to the delay ; 
 on the contrary, they will apply to other quarters. 
 This result, if applicable to individuals, will equally 
 extend to nations. 
 
 Under these circumstances there will be a con- 
 stant transition from prosperity to adversity. What, 
 at this moment, is the conduct of the operatives ? 
 They are tranquil and submissive ; not a murmur 
 is heard ; in place of turbulence and dissipation 
 they are now sedulously seeking employment. This 
 alteration proceeds not from the satisfaction of their 
 demands for increase of wages, but from the exact 
 reverse : it is the distress which has overtaken their 
 masters, and which, whether proceeding from the 
 derangement of the currency, or from loss of cus- 
 tomers occasioned by the long neglect of orders, in 
 either case establishes our position. 
 
 I have endeavoured explicitly to trace out the 
 origin of combinations, because it was unequivocally 
 asserted that their spirit militated not against the 
 principle of the repeal of the Combination Laws. I 
 confidently believe they could be traced to the dawn- 
 ing of the late prosperity upon our trade. During the 
 war, it is notorious that some such associations pre- 
 vailed to a considerable extent. But it is neverthe- 
 less manifest, that the repeal of the statutes prolii- 
 
Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. 75 
 
 biting combination, created a wonderful excitement, 
 and prodigiously promoted the insubordination, ob- 
 stinacy, and boldness of the workmen. If ever there 
 was an act of the British Legislature savouring of the 
 precipitate and sweeping measures of the French 
 revolutionary decrees, assuredly it was this. Not 
 only were the obligations between manufacturer and 
 artisan loosened, but the old relations subsisting 
 between master and servant, closely identified with 
 the practice of our Common Law, were absolutely 
 annihilated. It is unnecessary to enlarge upon this 
 theme, because I believe all parties concur in re- 
 probating the precipitancy and the injurious ten- 
 dency of the measure. As, however, many argu- 
 ments are still advanced against a return to the old 
 system, it may be useful to examine them. 
 
 It is generally stated by those who affect to be 
 liberalists, that the masters are as much to blame 
 as the men. Give the former, they say, their own 
 way, and they will stint the latter. This has been 
 so often reiterated, being backed also by the au- 
 thority of Adam Smith, that many benevolent and 
 impartial persons have adopted the opinion. An 
 error, however, has originated here also, from over- 
 looking the important distinction between wages 
 paid by the day or week, and labour paid by 
 quantity. It is evident, that a manufacturer will 
 curtail or extend his business according to the vent 
 ho finds for his goods, and in a corresponding 
 ratio arc his workmen's services in demand. Over 
 
76 Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. 
 
 this vent he cannot possibly exert any control ; he 
 finds it dependent on extraneous causes : he has to 
 follow, not to give, the impulse. Now, what applies to 
 one manufacturer, applies to all. It promotes not their 
 interest to overstock the market ; a stagnation is the 
 inevitable consequence, and they suffer by the de- 
 pression of prices. Let us suppose, then, that the 
 masters in any great manufacture were to combine, 
 and make an engagement to pay but one halfpenny 
 a yard for weaving, where they had before given a 
 penny : to what extent would they benefit by this 
 reduction? Were wages in the first instance at a 
 fair and natural rate, the workmen, to live as they 
 had been accustomed, would use more bodily exer- 
 tion ; they would weave, perhaps, not double the 
 quantity, but certainly a great deal more. A much 
 larger stock of goods would thus be accumulated 
 than could be advantageously disposed of, it being 
 presumable that previously to the reduction in the 
 rate of wages, the supply was equal to the demand. 
 A vast glut must then be the natural result ; prices 
 would fall, and the masters discover that through 
 their short-sighted cupidity,- at their workmen's 
 expense, distress recoiled upon themselves with 
 perhaps augmented pressure. It should, on the 
 other hand, be observed, that this attempt at re- 
 duction would cause a tendency on the part of 
 the men to seek more profitable employ ; and even- 
 tually create such a diminution of hands, as to- re- 
 store the balance in favour of the men, and compel 
 
Origin of Combinations amongst lyorhnen. 77 
 
 the masters to concede an equitable scale of wages. 
 Thus it is scarcely possible for any very injurious 
 combination to arise on the part of masters, preju- 
 dicial to the just interests of their men. They may 
 combine against the public, but not against their 
 own workmen. To do the latter, all the leading 
 trades must coalesce ; and it has been shewn that 
 then the natural effect would be to injure them- 
 selves, since it would increase production to such a 
 degree as to lessen profits. 
 
 From this brief exposition of the case, we may 
 judge of the solidity of those arguments, employed 
 unfortunately with too much success, to sever the 
 ties of connexion between the employer and the 
 employed. The interests of the former are certainly 
 in the main congenial to, and if left to themselves 
 will promote, national prosperity. The inclinations 
 of the latter, if we grant the assumption that extent 
 of labour is the foundation of wealth and commer- 
 cial greatness, operate, I apprehend, in a very 
 opposite direction. It may be argued, that as these 
 views are not likely to be fully understood in all 
 their bearings by mere practical men of business, 
 injurious consequences may arise from their own 
 short-sightedness in endeavouring, on a false basis, 
 to increase their profits, unless they are deprived of 
 all their old means of controul over their workmen. 
 The simple reply to this is, first, that being better 
 educated, there is less probability that they will 
 act on erroneous principles than the latter ; and 
 
78 Origin of Combinatio7is amongst Workmen. 
 
 secondly, and chiefly, that should they be so dis- 
 posed, then there is a tendency for things to correct 
 themselves, while the very reverse is the case in 
 combinations among workmen. 
 
 There remains another argument to be reviewed, 
 in judging of the propriety of the late repeal of the 
 Combination Laws. It was strenuously contended, 
 that to bind down an artisan by any enactments 
 touching his industry, was a direct violation of civil 
 liberty. This appears a most imposing and a 
 weighty objection; but even supposing it valid, 
 many countervailing circumstances will be found to 
 exist. Throughout the evidence obtained by the 
 parliamentary committee last session, one leading 
 particular attracts the attention. It appeared uni- 
 formly, that such individuals as refuse to join any 
 confederacy, or union, as it is termed, are " put in 
 Coventry" — denounced with violent menaces, and 
 often openly and wantonly assaulted. Every 
 method is adopted to procure their abstinence from 
 work, and ultimately, no matter how peaceably dis- 
 posed, they are forced into compliance. The his- 
 tory of their proceedings, and the evidence of every 
 public meeting, confirm this fact. In reality, the 
 great extent to which the evil has proceeded, is 
 attributable chiefly to this cause. In all the clubs 
 or societies, there are bad and designing men, pos- 
 sessing great activity, and using incessant exertion 
 to foment disturbances, who probably have some- 
 thing else in their thoughts than the mere regulation 
 
Origin of Combinations amojigst Workmen. 79 
 
 of wages. These men absolutely frighten the in- 
 dustrious. Parliament has endeavoured, in the last 
 bill, to provide against so great an evil ; but a 
 closer scrutiny of all the circumstances would have 
 shown that the means adopted, as compared to the 
 object, are most inadequate. Men do not like to 
 live on ill terms with their fellows ; exposure to 
 constant insult is not agreeable ; and above all, his 
 feelings of industry and subordination must be 
 strongly planted, indeed, who can resist the alluring 
 bait for ever held out to him, that to strike work is 
 to get higher wages. 
 
 For these reasons, I am of opinion, that the law, 
 as it now stands, will prove inadequate to protect 
 the well-disposed, or to recall to peaceful industry 
 the idle and the turbulent. If so, how are the lower 
 orders benefited in the aggregate? Is order an 
 ingredient in civil liberty ? The factious and the 
 overbearing may boast of his enlarged freedom to 
 tyrannize with impunity over his fellow, but the 
 industrious is sensibly a sufferer. Upon these 
 grounds, I ai!irm with confidence, that, granting the 
 necessity for some amendment in minute particulars, 
 the general tenour of the old laws was strictly sound 
 and accurate. 
 
 Legislation on this subject, in all probability, is 
 not yet at an end. I will venture to predict, that 
 the state of trade, when it again greatly revives, 
 will force itself upon the attention of parliament. 
 The entire quantity of work performed throughout 
 
80 Ongi?i of Combinations amongst Workmen. 
 
 the country will fall off, in many departments, fully 
 one-fourth. What an extent of injury has thus been 
 visited upon the nation by presumptuous empirics 
 in legislation ! When the subject comes again 
 under investigation, the grand object must be to 
 ascertain, not the earnings of a weaver by the 
 week, but what he gets per yard. How many 
 yards can he weave? How many yards does he 
 weave, under adverse circumstances, how many under 
 prosperous? Correct answers to these interroga- 
 tories will give some essential insight into the prac- 
 tical details. The great disparity between the 
 labour which a man performs in a year of pro- 
 sperity, and one of adversity, will, from all I can 
 learn, excite great astonishment in the casual in- 
 quirer. It will militate against much of the favourite 
 theory of Mr. Ricardo and Mr. M'Culloch, relative 
 to the supply of labour ; and exhibit the danger of 
 creneralizing in such a science as Political Economy. 
 Lest the reader should deem the views developed 
 in this section in compliance with the imperative 
 demands of truth, to be at variance with those of 
 humanity, for which every man desires to have 
 credit, I conjure him to pause and weigh all the 
 facts of the inquiry. If there be one thing which 
 should most of all excite our indignation, it is the 
 audacious effrontery of those turbulent demagogues, 
 who, whilst they trumpet forth their own liberality, 
 are deluding the operative classes with the most 
 dangerous temptations, and inflicting lasting detri- 
 
Origin of Combinatiuns amongst Workmen. 81 
 
 ment upon the country. To substantiate the claim 
 to liberality, between such men and the advocates 
 of opinions here maintained, a very short statement 
 will suffice. And, first, let it be remembered, that 
 the entire basis of this work is grounded on the 
 immense advantages resulting to a country from 
 the comfortable condition of its lower orders. 
 Wholesome fare, reputable clothing, convenient 
 habitation, and general education of the rising 
 generation — these are the substantial benefits I 
 have advocated as the grand desiderata to esta- 
 blish among a people. But a high market rate of 
 wages is not the means for attainment of this end. 
 It leaves habits as they were, and merely dimi- 
 nishes labour. Create, on the other hand, agree- 
 ably to my views, a high scale of living, and 
 exertion on the part of the labourer will inevitably 
 follow. This is the direct converse of the propo- 
 sition ; and it may be once more observed, that a 
 high scale of living is created by causes totally un- 
 connected with the rate of wages. 
 
 In the second place, in vindication of my opinion, 
 that workmen should remain strictly subordinate to 
 their employers, I would, on motives of humanity 
 merely, wish a disinterested inquirer to examine 
 accurately the evidence given before the parliamen- 
 tary committee, and he will assuredly find that the 
 peaceable, and that means the most deserving, por- 
 tion of the operatives, have been real sufferers by 
 the repeal of the Combination Laws. Could a 
 
 G 
 
82 Origin of Combinations amongst Workmen. 
 
 talismanic glass be held to the eyes of the deluded, 
 by aid of which they were enabled to see their 
 future condition, if they persisted in their present 
 conduct, those men whom they now applaud as their 
 friends, they would hasten to denounce as their 
 fellest enemies. 
 
 Lasdy, if it be contended that my reasoning tends 
 to absorb a man's whole time in labour, and that 
 such a proposal is both cruel and unjust, I answer, 
 I have advocated no extreme. Could we recall that 
 pastoral age, the scenes of which are, by classical 
 association, identified in our thoughts as the hap- 
 piest periods of society, far indeed would it be from 
 any wish of mine to trench upon the poor man's 
 leisure, or to check the buoyant fruits of relaxation. 
 But for the village green of former periods, we con- 
 template now the crowded city. Civilization has 
 advanced ; and he who views the allurements it has 
 on all sides brought with it, must admit that blame- 
 less amusement would too soon degenerate into fatal 
 profligcicy. 
 
&3 
 
 Section VI. 
 
 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PROGRESS OF WEALTH. 
 
 Perhaps there is no branch of Political Economy 
 which has been so imperfectly investigated as that 
 which forms the subject of the present section. 
 Writers in general have adopted one invariable 
 maxim relative to the propensities of the human 
 mind, and have proceeded to reason upon it as if it 
 were unsusceptible of modification. That man's de- 
 sire to accumulate, and to advance his condition in 
 society, is inherent, and acts with an all-powerful 
 efficacy, will not for a moment be disputed. Give 
 to the humble their own choice of the means of 
 happiness, and wealth will be their instantaneous 
 selection — its imposing attributes present them- 
 selves to their fancy with resistless attraction, and 
 its possession seems to hold out to them a career 
 of uninterrupted enjoyment. This passion is not 
 exclusively theirs — it reaches to, and animates, the 
 very loftiest ranks — contentment is as little known 
 there as in inferior circles ; it is even perhaps less 
 so, the desire of riches too often increasing in pro- 
 portion to the quantity possessed. It is doubtless 
 the truth of this which has led writers to imagine, 
 that it is with the mass of mankind the insatiable 
 impulse, under all circumstances, to embark in 
 
 G 2 
 
84 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 industry. But there is a most material difference 
 'between the desire to enjoy riches and the means 
 taken to possess them. All will alike take plea- 
 sure in advancement, but the irksomeness and the 
 difficulty presented to its attainment not unfre- 
 quently deter from the pursuit. The nature and 
 the operation of these obstructions are what we 
 have chiefly now to consider; to ascertain their 
 causes and effects ; to discover how far they in- 
 fluence the varied intercourse of society ; and to 
 what extent they act on national prosperity. Wealth 
 consisting, not in gold or silver, a notion long since 
 exploded, but in the aggregate of products useful to 
 man, and possessing exchangeable value, inquiry 
 into its progress must necessarily elucidate the in- 
 troduction of those artificial habits, an extensive 
 participation in which tends so materially to ag- 
 grandise a people. It is to the great bulk of a po- 
 pulation to whom we have to direct the attention, 
 when we seek to discover the degree of a nation's 
 eminence in arts, in civilization, and in power; and 
 the statesman may boast of having made no small 
 attainment in political knowledge, when he has 
 once discovered the true mode by which this auspi- 
 cious progression is primarily impelled. Much 
 error has sprung from treating the condition of the 
 lower classes in a detached point of view, rather 
 than as indissolubly linked with that of their supe- 
 riors. How generally do we hear the benevolent 
 admonished to cultivate the minds merely of the 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 85 
 
 poor, and then they will instantly betake themselves 
 to industry. If the agricultural labourer had simply 
 to take his implements in hand, and proceed to cul- 
 tivate vv^hat land he pleased, or if the British ar- 
 tizan were situated like the Indian Sudra, possessed 
 of a loom and the power of working it to an extent 
 indefinite but by his own option, then indeed might 
 we expect that our lower orders, aided only by 
 proper counsel, would accomplish every thing by 
 themselves. But in the present state of society in 
 England, capital enters so largely into the pro- 
 duction of every article, that it is in vain for a 
 working man to strike out a path for himself; he 
 is strictly dependent on the funds devoted to the 
 support of industry. But one mode presents itself 
 to elevate his condition — to diminish the number of 
 his competitors, or, more properly speaking, through 
 a wider range of expenditure, to increase the cost 
 of rearing labourers. 
 
 Since then we thus perceive, that the extent of 
 production depends upon the ideas and opinions of 
 those capable of becoming proprietors or master- 
 manufacturers, the first object is to consider the cir- 
 cumstances under which their conduct is influenced, 
 and then we shall the more correctly be enabled to 
 draw the necessary deductions regarding the dis- 
 tribution and diffusion of wealth generally through- 
 out the community. 
 
 When we direct the attention to different coun- 
 tries, we cannot fail to be struck forcibly with the 
 
86 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 diversity of tastes, prevailing not in manners merely, 
 but in those more important and weighty concerns 
 of life, where, unconscious of our own prejudices, 
 we often dogmatically assume that there can be 
 but one opinion. That unity of opinion, however, 
 does not exist, even in the momentous considera- 
 tions of wealth, there is abundant proof. 
 
 Announce to the gay Frenchman, or the Italian 
 cognoscente, absorbed in the pursuit of pleasure, 
 the possessions of some English merchant immured 
 within the gloomy regions of Lombard-street, and 
 demand if he, possessed of such wealth, would de- 
 vote his existence to the irksome and laborious 
 pursuit of business. There is little doubt of the 
 reply ; either of them would deem the assiduity of 
 our countryman approaching to infatuation, and re- 
 ject the idea of postponing enjoyment till, as they 
 would suppose, it had lost its reUsh. This great 
 contrast in sentiment and propensity has been ac- 
 customed to be admitted as a mere dissimilarity of 
 habits, and then dismissed without further inquiry 
 by the politician. So long as the diversity ob- 
 servable in various countries confines itself to exte- 
 rior manners, this may be allowable ; but when it 
 extends to effect a difference in the estimation in 
 which they hold wealth, and in consequence con- 
 trols the degree of energy exerted in the powers of 
 production, it imperatively demands the closest in- 
 vestigation. Man is found to be so entirely the 
 creature of custom, as to adapt himself insensibly. 
 
Consideratiom on the Progress of Wealth. 87 
 
 but invariably, to that prevalent habitude which he 
 sees around him, and which thus becomes in his 
 estimation the natural fitness of things. This ope- 
 ration has been traced to that enlarged elucidation 
 of circumstances through which certain impressions 
 become indelibly imprinted in the character, which 
 grow with our growth, and at length assume a force 
 equal to that of nature. Every individual, indeed, 
 who has ever turned his thoughts inward, as it were, 
 upon their source, is sensible how much his conduct 
 in life has been influenced by peculiar incidents, by 
 the tone of the society in which he has early min- 
 gled, by the principles and the standard by which 
 merit or demerit, praise or dispraise, has been 
 awarded in the estimating of the characters of his 
 associates. The train of thought or contemplation 
 thus actuating the conduct, has been denominated 
 sequences, and accordingly as they incline to good or 
 evil, will the condition of the community improve or 
 deteriorate. The rising generation naturally imbibe 
 the sentiments of those in active life ; and regard- 
 ing the aspect of the times, their ideas become gra- 
 dually moulded to an approval of that state of things, 
 not such as is absolutely best in itself, but such as 
 is by those around held in the highest estimation. 
 To illustrate, practically, the mode in which these 
 sequences of thought occur to the mind, let us fancy 
 a young man who is just entering upon trade, to be 
 transported to a splendid mansion, the villa of some 
 successful merchant ; when he beholds its uniform 
 
88 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 splendour, and reflects upon the means of enjoyment 
 it presents, the respect, consideration, and privilege 
 which await its proprietor, the train of thought 
 irresistibly arising in his breast must be dependent 
 upon the impression to which his mind has become 
 habituated. According to the company he has fre- 
 quented, according to the tenour of conversation to 
 which he has been familiar, according, in a word, 
 as wealth has been prized by those with whom he 
 has associated, will be the intensity of his feelings 
 in regard to the fortunate trader whose opulence he 
 is contemplating. Here is the commencement. The 
 next thought that arises, will be as to the means 
 by which all was acquired : say it was by a skilful 
 union of enterprize with close assiduity. Imme- 
 diately then will follow the question, — Might not I, 
 by similar means, attain to so enviable a condition ? 
 He is thus eventually impelled to prosecute his 
 employment with redoubled ardour, his imagina- 
 tion presenting in its brightest colours the boon for 
 which he labours, as a constant and increasing 
 stimulus to perseverance. Mr. Kelly, in his re- 
 cently published Reminiscences, avows his own 
 advancement in life to be owing to an accidental 
 occurrence of this express nature. It was the envy 
 excited at seeing a brother musician, who had at- 
 tained to eminence and fortune, put into his mouth 
 a luscious-looking peach, which stimulated him to 
 such close and determined attention to his profes- 
 sion, as should one day put similar luxuries within 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 89 
 
 his own reach. Would every man who has ad- 
 vanced his fortune in Hfe as ingenuously declare the 
 nature of his early impulse to exertion, we should 
 often discover incentives of a parallel character ac- 
 tuating his conduct, if not in the very outset, yet not 
 far from the commencement of his prosperous career. 
 It is, indeed, on grounds such as these that philoso- 
 phers, in analyzing the springs of action, have 
 assigned the senses of pleasure and of pain as the 
 motives of man's conduct. Hobbes, who has en- 
 larged upon this theme, points out the mode in 
 which impressions of ideas succeed to each other, 
 showing, eventually, the dependence of custom in 
 what primarily pertains to the senses. But vaguely 
 to resolve our motives of action into the impulses of 
 pleasure or of pain, and there to stop, would bring 
 us to conclusions highly imperfect. All men would 
 seek the one, and avoid the other ; and on such 
 grounds it is reasonable to infer, that all would, 
 with equal intensity, apply themselves to industry, 
 as the mean of accomplishing this double object. 
 That such is not the case, society every where 
 proves — and we are, therefore, compelled to reject 
 reasoning proceeding on a general rule, wanting 
 the corroboration both of proof and of the actual 
 condition of things. 
 
 It appears to me, that the half only of the ques- 
 tion is decided, and that is the obvious and easy 
 one lying in the affirmation, that men engage in 
 industry that they may obtain command over gra- 
 
90 Co?ii;i derations on the Progress of IJecdt/i. 
 
 tification. By far the most difficult task remains, 
 that of ascertaining how this gratification is viewed 
 under different circumstances, varying in their abi- 
 lity to be defined, and to what extent the means 
 adopted to obtain it, may not partake occasionally 
 of the opposite quality of irksomeness or pain. 
 These terms, taken abstractedly, are easily under- 
 stood ; but in the affairs of life sensations are so 
 mixed, that before we can pronounce a certain 
 object agreeable or otherwise, a point only deter- 
 minable by the voluntary action of the agent, we 
 have to refer to previous impressions. Not only 
 do individuals differ in their respective estimation 
 of particular ends, and of the means required, to 
 attain them, but whole communities, as it has been 
 stated, maintain opposite sentiments, and if called 
 upon to define the nature of pleasure, would vary as 
 widely as in name or language. 
 
 All men are sensible of their predominant feeling 
 at any particular period ; yet even when it assumes 
 a character of unpleasantness, there is an innate 
 impulse of action secretly at work which checks the 
 rising murmur of complaint, supplies the aid of 
 patient endurance, and exerts over the whole con- 
 duct a controlling power. If we view the country 
 gentleman, blessed with the means of ease and 
 independence, yet plunging into the agitated 
 stream of politics — or if we contemplate the law- 
 student, possessing a moderate competency, pining 
 over the midnight lamp, and wasting his frame in 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 91 
 
 study — or if we mark the commercial aspirant, 
 devoting his days to dull and monotonous routine, 
 partaking but of occasional recreation by stealth — 
 what, we demand, is the impelling motive which 
 thus sacrifices actual ease to dubious success ? Can 
 the love of enjoyment, correctly speaking, be pro- 
 nounced to be the motive ? I apprehend not. But 
 a feeling lurks within which buoys up the spirits 
 under the pressure of privation, and this derives its 
 character from the peculiar texture of the society. 
 Its degree of efficacy depends upon the degree of 
 intensity with which certain conclusions in the train 
 of thought operate upon the mind. If consideration 
 and respect be awarded solely in proportion to the 
 amount of worldly substance — if, in a word, wealth 
 be thus all-powerful, men will, indeed, bear incon- 
 venience, and forbear from present enjoyments, to 
 reach the alluring goal. But it is surely evident, 
 that this operation is, in its essence, very different 
 from the generally-received notion regarding the 
 springs of industry. In point of fact, much irk- 
 someness, and this is pain, must be endured, in 
 order to arrive at a reasonable chance of success, 
 where there is a crowd of competitors to contend 
 with. That there will be such must naturally re- 
 sult from the cause itself exhibited, or from the 
 avidity with which the object sought is coveted. 
 Across the imagination of those thus absorbed in 
 toil glances occasionally the alluring idea of realiz- 
 ing the charms of leisure — of contemplating the 
 beauties of nature — of revelling in mental ecstacy 
 
92 Considerations on the. Progress of Wealth. 
 
 through galleries rich in the choicest productions 
 of art ; and a melancholy sigh of regret too fre- 
 quently escapes at the present exclusion from what 
 appears the true enjoyment of pleasure. Now, this 
 exclusion very often proceeds, not from any great 
 or intrinsic obstacle, but from the force of opinion, 
 from the dread of violating or neglecting that line 
 of conduct which their education and habits have 
 erected into the standard of propriety. 
 
 I hope that these reflections will not be pro- 
 nounced to savour of unnecessary refinement. If 
 man be a free-agent, pursuing the gratification of his 
 will at pleasure, and if for the greater part of his life 
 he submit to what, under ordinary impressions, we 
 deem inconvenience or disagreeableness, while he 
 has the ability to avoid them, we have proof at once 
 of the great preliminary proposition in this inquiry, 
 that men's ideas of enjoyment differ, and that the 
 diflference proceeds from the diversified conclu- 
 sions arrived at by sequences of thought in the mass 
 of the population of any country. 
 
 The next object naturally is, to attempt to dis- 
 cover the fundamental causes which lead to those 
 differences. We shall then, perhaps, detect some 
 superficial reasoning among those state-doctors who 
 so much delight to expatiate on the means by which 
 a people may become rich. 
 
 It has been truly said, that our species is more 
 distinguished from the rest of the creation, by the 
 social feeling, than by any other of its attributes. 
 We are inextricably dependent upon each other. 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 93 
 
 and it is this very intimate relation which gives 
 rise to one of the strongest and highest of our sen- 
 sations, that of sympathy. Little investigation is 
 required to show how it operates — bearing with 
 greatest force upon our own families — next, our 
 friends — then casual acquaintances — then our coun- 
 trymen — and last of all, and with least intensity, as 
 forming the extremity of the sphere of its influence, 
 our fellow-men in distant regions. In every state 
 of civilization, this gradation obtains. Indeed, as 
 society advances, its influence tends rather to di' 
 minish than keep pace with the progress of refine- 
 ment. In large cities, presenting the opportunity 
 of widening his connexion, a man is found to con- 
 fine his sympathies the closer to his family, and a 
 few select friends. Agreeably, therefore, to the 
 intensity of this feeling towards another, is the im- 
 pression excited in the former by whatever cir- 
 cumstances afi'ect the latter. That event which, 
 occurring in our own family, would engage the 
 deepest of our feelings, excites, when occurring to 
 a friend, considerable interest only ; whilst, as the 
 subject of it recedes from the confined sphere of 
 which we are ourselves the centre, the self-same 
 occurrence commands casual observation, or, per- 
 haps, is received with utter indifference. 
 
 To make an application of our views, let us sup- 
 pose a man to acquire a large fortune, and to rise far 
 above his original condition. Such an event oc- 
 curring to one with whom we are in daily inter- 
 
94 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 course, strikes our attention with extraordinary vi- 
 vidness — it engrosses our thoughts, and haunts our 
 very dreams — and we eagerly resign ourselves to 
 the contemplation of every advantage of which it 
 appears to confer the possession. But if the fortu- 
 nate individual be one removed from our frequent 
 observation, though his success may awaken our 
 grave reflections, yet they are transient, and are 
 speedily dismissed from the mind, as having no 
 personal interest for ourselves. Our sympathies are 
 still further circumscribed in regard to those whose 
 condition is on a level with our own. The affairs 
 of those beneath us are scarcely thought of; and 
 though the manners of our superiors engage much of 
 our contemplation, still we do not sincerely sympa- 
 thise in their feelings, nor does any casualty of good 
 or ill, experienced by them, present itself as a lesson 
 for our own guidance. We are, for these reasons, 
 confined to a narrow sphere in tracing the motives of 
 action. In regulating the affairs of life, man's obser- 
 vation is contracted; his conduct is influenced chiefly 
 by those who are known to him, and who stand in the 
 same scale of society with himself It is, therefore, 
 here, and here alone, that any operation must com- 
 mence, which determines him to supineness or ex- 
 ertion ; and his estimate of what is called happiness 
 in life will be modelled upon the standard which 
 prevails around him, and by the practice of others 
 will he shape the means of its attainment. 
 
 Instances are not uncommon where, certain bar- 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 95 
 
 riers being prescribed between different classes in 
 the community, a particular operation may be pro- 
 duced in one class, while the reverse is perceptible 
 in another. Too many of the states of Europe are 
 arbitrarily divided into the three classes of nobles, 
 traders, and peasantry. Let any improvement in 
 the condition of an individual take place in either of 
 these respectively, and still the example produces 
 little or no effect upon the rest. Were the members 
 of the first class to experience an accession of for- 
 tune, or otherwise elevate their condition, the second 
 might notice the fact, but it would produce no effect 
 upon their own character. Should numbers of the 
 latter, again, attain to opulence, it would give a 
 general stimulus to industry throughout their whole 
 class ; but the peasantry would observe the change 
 with apathy, nor would their own energies be called 
 into action, until their sympathy received excitement 
 from instances of such aggrandizement among them- 
 selves. 
 
 It has moreover been remarked, that the influence 
 of this principle extends not to those remote from 
 us ; it embraces those only immediately around us. 
 Thus it is that many of our commercial towns ex- 
 hibit characteristics peculiar to themselves. Liver- 
 pool has long been celebrated for the ardour with 
 which she courts enterprise and speculation. This 
 propensity sprung out of the many and rapid for- 
 tunes realized in the West India trade, and from her 
 successful adventures about the period of the Ame- 
 
96 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 rican revolutionary war. Bristol, on the contrary, 
 speculates but little, her merchants preferring slow- 
 but certain profit to great risk. In both cases, be- 
 ginners in commerce naturally adapt themselves to 
 the prevailing state of things around them. A Liver- 
 pool merchant would run the risk in Bristol of being 
 pronounced a hot-headed speculator, deficient in the 
 true principles of commerce. The man so accused 
 would retort upon the merchant of Bristol the impu- 
 tation of tamely sacrificing his best faculties to 
 habits of indolence. It would be easy to multiply 
 such cases — but a mere outline is sufficient to esta- 
 blish our object, and to show the means by which 
 productive industry is created, modified, and ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed, that the de- 
 sire to improve our condition, excited as here de- 
 scribed, acts without limitation. The time will 
 assuredly come, when the old sentiments regarding 
 the irksomeness inseparable from the attainment of 
 wealth will return, and preponderate in balancing 
 certain conclusions arrived at in those sequences 
 above illustrated. At what juncture this arrives is 
 a nice point, and very difficult of decision. But that 
 there is such, can be made apparent. How common 
 is it to hear persons, when speaking, for instance, 
 of a legacy or a jointure of 5000/. add, " and that 
 was a large sum in those days, or in that country." 
 Now what is meant by those appendages to the 
 remark? Is it not convincing, that there was a 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Weatlh. 97 
 
 species of ideal standard, by which the narrator 
 formed his estimate. Similar sentiments actuate 
 the entire community, fluctuating doubtless in de- 
 gree, but nevertheless gravitating towards the same 
 principle ; and as it is at this standard that men's 
 ideas begin to change, when they compare the 
 trouble of attending to business with the enjoyment 
 they can compass independently, it is of no small 
 importance to produce some explanation. Wealth 
 is desired not for its own sake, but that it may be 
 spent. So far, however, as the expenditure of an 
 individual is confined to the demands of mere per- 
 sonal gratification, it is comparatively easily satis- 
 fied. Beyond certain lengths, the indulgence in 
 personal luxuries, as feasting on venison and cham- 
 pagne, ceases to be the chief object of desire. The 
 social principle, or the feeling of sympathy already 
 adverted to, leads men less to desire positive enjoy- 
 ment, than to possess the consciousness that they 
 derive importance in society, and are entitled to 
 rank and distinction. I believe there are few fa- 
 milies, whose history would not demonstrate the 
 eagerness for precedence, which stimulates to the ac- 
 quirement of means either to rival each other, or to 
 surmount present inferiority. Now the degree of 
 respect accorded to individuals in society must be 
 relative. A certain scale is established, which, 
 though tacitly, is universally recognised. Next in 
 estimation to the nobility are the country gentlemen. 
 Men in trade, therefore, as they prosper, and their 
 
 H 
 
9S Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 ideas expand, look naturally up to this rank, and 
 covet the privileges and the deference which the 
 character of a country gentleman commands. That 
 it does command them is most obvious: the im- 
 portance in M^hich a rich merchant is held is but 
 local — he merges amongst a number of competitors, 
 engaged in the same pursuits, and estimated by 
 the same standard as himself; and in the crowd, in- 
 dividual importance becomes insignificant. Even 
 in computing that by which his public weight is 
 almost entirely estimated, namely, his wealth, his 
 claims are often contested. Though he may pass 
 for a man of one, two, or three hundred thousand 
 pounds, yet there are never wanting men who, by sig- 
 nificant gesture or intelligible innuendo, pronounce 
 that there is more of semblance than reality. For 
 these reasons, no matter what may be his real power 
 to command enjoyment, he still finds not that gene- 
 ral deference which the amount of his fortune might 
 lead him to expect. But the estated proprietor, 
 possessed of only equal income, is very diflTerently 
 situated. He is extensively known, and his society 
 universally courted. A squire of this or that county 
 is an imposing denomination, and announces a per- 
 sonage of importance. It carries with it, too, the 
 admission to such dignity as the office of magistrate 
 and grand juror, and gives political influence — thus 
 presenting scope for the gratification of that sense 
 of consequence which the mind delights to indulge. 
 Besides, in a country life there are many attractive 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 99 
 
 charms. To speak nothing of the greater secure- 
 ness of possession, there are the wholesome pur- 
 suits, the salubrity of the air, the exhilarating 
 sports of the field — producing an exaltation of the 
 spirits, which, when added to the conscious pride of 
 possessing control over a wide domain, conjuring 
 up ideas of feudal association, determine most men 
 to join their suffrages in favour of landed posses- 
 sion. It might then be expected that the rich mer- 
 chant, retiring from his pursuits of business, would 
 invariably seek to vest his property in landed 
 estate. That we are never contented with our lot 
 is an obvious truism, as it is an universal fact ; but 
 the operation of our discontent is not always ac- 
 curately judged of When a merchant has been 
 successful — when he has made his fortune, the aim 
 to advance his gentility, if it may be so described, 
 to which the female portion of his family probably 
 supplies the impulse, chiefly possesses his thoughts. 
 No means are so well adapted for this end, as 
 the purchase of an estate ; and such is, in fact, the 
 auspicious termination generally of an eminent mer- 
 chant's career. The consideration accorded to a 
 person of property depends not absolutely on his 
 income being five or ten thousand a year, but on 
 the degree and comparison which that bears to 
 others higher in the scale. Reduce a country 
 gentleman's income to one-half, and if the calamity 
 visit him alone, there would be an im.mediate dimi- 
 nution of his importance. But let the Northumber- 
 
 H 2 
 
100 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 land estate, or the Bedford, let the whole landed in- 
 terest, suffer equally, each proprietor would command 
 precisely the same estimation as before. When, 
 therefore, a merchant wishes to purchase an estate, 
 he fully keeps in sight this relative distinction. His 
 object is to raise his consequence in society ; and 
 if his purchase enables him to support but a small 
 establishment, compared with those of his neigh- 
 bours, he finds his object defeated. He contem- 
 plates the expenditure, the equipage, and mode of 
 living, the income of those to whose rank and esti- 
 mation in society he wishes to attain, and he per- 
 severes in consequence in his efforts, until he has 
 accumulated the means required to put him on their 
 level. So that whatever may be deemed the aver- 
 age of the country gentleman's revenue, that wealth 
 will the merchant think it requisite to have acquired 
 before he quits his mercantile career. The value 
 of estates in land is the regulator of opulence. Its 
 augmentation has been the true cause of enlarging 
 men's ideas as to the import of the term " a for- 
 tune." 
 
 It will, perhaps, be urged, that merchants do not 
 often retire wholly from business — they may trans- 
 fer part of their property to the purchase of a coun- 
 try-seat, but they are still engaged in commerce ; 
 and it is, therefore, fallacious to suppose that the 
 state of landed income affects their conduct. That 
 men, accustomed for a great number of years to 
 a uniform mode of life, feel certain habits inve- 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 101 
 
 terately incorporated into their character, is fully 
 conceded. With them, to succumb under the 
 weight of idleness seems unworthy and reproach- 
 ful. But it is important to remember, that the 
 habitude alone continues ; there is a manifest 
 abatement of their energy ; they no longer yield 
 to the spirit of enterprise; they do not, in the 
 mercantile phrase, push their business in the degree 
 which distinguishes the less successful and more 
 active trader. This produces all the effect for 
 which we contend. We are inquiring in what 
 manner productive industry is influenced — and 
 abatement of exertion tends to the same result as 
 actual cessation. Many merchants, again, have 
 their names retained in firms long after they have 
 themselves virtually retired: this is done for the 
 purpose of bringing forward relatives, for whom 
 they desire to preserve old connexions ; but still 
 the point at which they surrender their own parti- 
 cipation is strictly in conformity to the principles 
 advanced. It may be urged, further, that the num- 
 ber of those who can hope ever to become estated 
 proprietors is exceedingly limited, and that, there- 
 fore, the doctrine does not apply to the producers or 
 the capitalists of the country in the aggregate. The 
 relevancy of the position is still, however, easily 
 demonstrated. It is by comparison that all men 
 in traffic are stimulated. They look around them, 
 and renew their assiduity, lest some neighbour get 
 beyond them. Each in his respective sphere has 
 
102 (Considerations on the Progress of IVhalth. 
 
 certain land-marks in his eye, and receives the 
 tone from some acknowledged leader. Instances 
 have occurred, within these few years, of eminent 
 merchants making purchases of estates to the 
 amount of 400,000/. and 500,000/. If the motives 
 and the feelings of these fortunate individuals 
 could be analyzed, I calculate on ample confirma- 
 tion of my views. Had the incomes of those with 
 whom they now associate been but half their actual 
 amount, might not they have desisted much earlier? 
 The true origin of their change of views, which 
 would now contemplate the toils of business as in- 
 tolerable, or irksome, proves clearly, I apprehend, 
 that our ideas of wealth are not arbitrary or unde- 
 viating. 
 
 There is the desire to enjoy and raise our con- 
 dition, operating on the one side ; and there is the 
 irksomeness inseparable from its accomplishment, 
 on the other. When the power to compass enjoy- 
 ment has attained to a certain extent, then the re- 
 pugnance to what is irksome will predominate. My 
 object has been to define the point at which this 
 change is determined, together with the principles 
 on which it depends. 
 
 It is, indeed, a work of supererogation to assert, 
 that our ideas of contentment are regulated wholly 
 by others, and not by ourselves ; or that as much of 
 the reality of enjoyment is attainable with 50,000/. 
 as with 100,000/. a-year. Does the lady of fashion, 
 who collects four hundred of her friends at her 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 103 
 
 evening routs, and afterwards seeks a couch, from 
 which she rises wearied, spiritless, and exhausted, 
 feel a particle more of enjoyment than if she had 
 neither had, nor heard of, a party exceeding two 
 hundred ! Let candour own to her motives, and con- 
 fess them founded in the spirit of rivalry, to which 
 we see the public prints daily administering stimu- 
 lants in their proclamation of the splendour exhibited 
 by some other great lady, or some new aspirant to 
 the fashionable zenith. Such incidental illustra- 
 tions of manners should not be overlooked, for they 
 furnish insight into the affairs of life, and correct 
 our liability to error in estimating the real cha- 
 racter of enjoyment. 
 
 Having shown that men's desire to accumulate, 
 and to improve their fortunes, not only varies in 
 different countries, but also in the same country at 
 different periods, it is now necessary to advert to 
 another circumstance, associated with the foregoing 
 considerations, the concurrence of which is indis- 
 pensable to afford the means of prosecuting trade 
 extensively. 
 
 When persons engage in productive industry, 
 they will in vain exert their utmost efforts, if there 
 be not adequate consumption of the articles of their 
 production. The principles which determine this 
 consumption are very differently viewed by the 
 most eminent of the economists, and as they affect 
 some fundamental positions, they merit particular 
 attention. M. Say and Mr. Ricardo, Mr. M'Cul- 
 
104 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 loch and Mr. Mill, maintain, on the broadest 
 grounds, that extensive production leads to exten- 
 sive consumption. Agreeably to their theory, men 
 have only to manufacture articles to an unbounded 
 extent ; for the nature of commerce being merely 
 the exchange of one article for another, it is con- 
 tended that each branch of trade respectively is 
 promoted, in a corresponding degree as others in 
 the aggregate flourish. On this principle, a gene- 
 ral glut can never occur. AVhenever such an evil 
 threatened a community, accurate investigation 
 would prove it to be only partial ; the evil sprang 
 from the imprudence of the manufacturer in pro- 
 ducing articles which were not wanted, instead of 
 such as were. In other words, supposing a supply 
 of woollens so large as not to meet with an advan- 
 tageous sale, the alleged cause would be that in- 
 dustry had been exercised in a false direction; 
 woollens, not in demand, were multiplied, while 
 cottons, silks, linens, or some other commodities 
 which were, had been neglected. This argument 
 has become the never-failing resource, to explain 
 the cause of that distress which so frequently visits 
 the mercantile world; and the original cause is 
 always traced to the erroneous policy and barbarous 
 enactments of governments, in imposing improper 
 restrictions, through which the whole elements of 
 trade are entirely perverted. On the other hand, 
 Mr. Malthus and M. Sismondi maintain, that con- 
 sumption gives the primary impulse to industry. 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 105 
 
 They argue, in direct opposition to the writers just 
 named, that the powers of production are attendant 
 upon, and secondary to, those of consumption. 
 When the latter is active, trade is brisk, and per- 
 sons engaged in business are encouraged to in- 
 crease their exertions. In pointing out how far 
 each of these theories is entitled to attention, it 
 must, in the first place, be obvious, that the views 
 of M. Say and his followers suppose the desire of 
 accumulating, as implanted in the breast of man, to 
 be universal, regular, and undeviating. If, there- 
 fore, I have succeeded in exposing this error, the 
 basis of their argument is entirely annihilated. It 
 is perfectly superfluous to declaim about one com- 
 modity being always exchanged, or purchased, with 
 another commodity, if the desire of the traffickers to 
 possess them be different ; if, in a word, wealth, in 
 all its relations and ramifications, be variously es- 
 timated. But there is another inconsistency into 
 which these writers fall, proving the absolute neces- 
 sity regarding consumption as a leading stimulus 
 to production. 
 
 It is unnecessary, in elucidating this branch of 
 the inquiry, to extend the case to include other 
 countries. It is evident that we must import to 
 the same extent as we export ; and, consequently, 
 whatever are the powers of production exerted 
 abroad, to an equal degree must there be power at 
 home exerted to consume what we receive from 
 them. Now, granting this, let us sec how far it 
 
106 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 bears out M. Say's theory. When men engage in 
 productive industry, that is to say, when they be- 
 come manufacturers, or embark in trade, what is 
 the great object ? On all sides it is acknowledged, 
 to acquire a fortune ; to be able to realize such a 
 competency, as to enjoy leisure and independence. 
 To accomplish this object, annual savings must be 
 added to his capital; his expenditure must be below 
 his income ; in other words, he must consume less 
 of commodities than he produces. A similar feel- 
 ing prevails throughout all persons engaged in 
 trade ; and how then is it possible to procure a 
 sale for this surplus ? It will not suffice to argue 
 that it may be disposed of to foreigners. This 
 would but be to exchange one commodity for ano- 
 ther, and this leaves the argument where we found 
 it. It appears from this abundantly plain, that the 
 theory of production creating consumption must, in 
 its ultimate bearings, be applied to the commerce of 
 a country within itself ; and in this case to suppose 
 for a moment that its positions are correct, is simply 
 to suppose that those engaged in trade do not seek 
 to accumulate, but that they live up to their incomes. 
 This appears to me the only inference that can be 
 drawn. Mr. M*Culloch has, in his recent work, 
 stated, that every man's object, in exerting his pro- 
 ductive powers, must be either directly to consume 
 the commodities he himself produces, or to ex- 
 change them for others which he wishes to consume. 
 There is a seeming accuracy in this assertion, but 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 107 
 
 if we recur to the business of life, we cannot pro- 
 perly say that the manufacturer has the wish either 
 to consume the whole of his own production, or the 
 articles for which it exchanges. If it be argued 
 that in acquiring money he receives a commodity, 
 let it not be forgotten that if all his fellows pro- 
 ceeded in a similar manner, money would, on the 
 grounds just stated, flow in from foreign parts be- 
 yond what was practicable for the purposes of trade, 
 and thus defeat its own object. When profits are 
 at a moderate rate, the quantity of goods which a 
 manufacturer must finish and pass through his 
 hands, bears an immense proportion to the amount 
 of his capital. Take the quantity of calico pro- 
 duced by a cotton-spinner in the course of a year, 
 and contrast its amount with the value of his pro- 
 perty, and then some idea may be had of the pro- 
 bability of producers in general getting a vent for 
 their wares amongst themselves. Every other 
 branch is to a degree similarly circumstanced, and 
 if they stand thus one to another, some extraneous 
 source, though still within the country, is surely re- 
 quired to procure a sale. Let us take any definite 
 number of producers, and view them singly, — two 
 points then present themselves for consideration : 
 1 St. That they embark in business to augment, say 
 1000/. to 20,000/. 2dly. That, from the rate of 
 profit, they must, to attain this end, produce a pro- 
 digious quantity of goods in proportion to their 
 capital. Do they consume the whole of these goods 
 
108 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 themselves? It is difficult then to understand 
 how all of them could increase their 1000/. to 
 20,000/. If they do not consume them, it is the 
 object sought to be proved. It is immaterial 
 whether the consumption be of perishable or dur- 
 able objects, whether it be effected within a long or 
 a brief lapse of time. It must still be in the way 
 of expenditure ; and in the interval that must elapse 
 before the producers are rich enough to enlarge 
 their expenditure, and such interval must be found 
 at every period of a nation's advancement, the aid 
 of the affluent classes is required to enable the 
 other classes to attain their object. Even, then, ima- 
 gining the progress of wealth to be regular in its 
 operations, there seem decisive objections to our 
 conceiving that no limits can be assigned to national 
 powers of production. I apprehend that practical 
 men would find, no matter what foresight they 
 might employ in their choice of business, that 
 sooner or later a general glut of commodities 
 awaited them. But when we consider, in addition, 
 that the progress of wealth is not regular, that ac- 
 cording to the varied condition and customs of so- 
 ciety, men feel variously influenced, whether they 
 shall embark in business or not ; or at all events, 
 to what extent they shall pursue it ; surely it is 
 impossible to hesitate in pronouncing the whole 
 system to be speculative, and perfectly fallacious. 
 
 The palpable necessity, indeed, of an advanta- 
 geous opening being afforded to persons embarking 
 
Const deratiom on the Progress of Wealth. 109 
 
 in trade, or in other words such an extended con- 
 sumption as would secure, both to them and their 
 competitors, a fair rate of profit, led Mr. Malthus 
 and M. Sismondi to insist strenuously on the ad- 
 vantages of what are generally termed unproduc- 
 tive consumers. So far did the latter writer attri- 
 bute the distresses in trade to over-production, that 
 in depicting the ruinous consequences befalling the 
 British market, as the continental markets a few 
 years since, he deprecated the too extensive use of 
 machinery. Mr. Malthus, on the other hand, though 
 applauding the great advantages of machinery, has 
 certainly intimated that the annuitants in the public 
 funds, the army and navy, and also the civil esta- 
 blishments, contribute in a certain degree to the 
 general prosperity, by their consumption acting as 
 a stimulus to industry. 
 
 The opposers of these opinions have condemned 
 them with much severity. Mr. Malthus's theory, 
 it is argued, would lead to the justification of the 
 most extravagant war-expenditure. In this, much 
 hasty prejudice has been indulged ; for, in justice to 
 Mr. Malthus, it should be stated, that his view of 
 the advantage accruing from unproductive con- 
 sumers, supposes no additional burdens imposed 
 on the rest of the community. 
 
 It has merely been necessary to give a general 
 outline of the opposite views held by these writers, 
 that this part of the subject should be more cor- 
 rectly understood. If the consequences attendant 
 
110 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 on production have been mistaken by M. Say, so, 
 on the other hand, I am indined to imagine that 
 some particulars, as regards consumption, have 
 escaped the penetration of his opponents. 
 
 In dehneating the various gradations of society, it 
 appeared that emulation was the predominant feeling 
 which led a man to forego the pleasures of leisure, 
 to devote his attention to the counting-house. When 
 success crowns his efforts, something similar still 
 dwells in his bosom, but it operates in another di- 
 rection. The respectful deference and general esti- 
 mation accorded to the nobility and the highest 
 ranks, present the ultimate goal to which the wealthy 
 aspire ; and, as has been described, when the latter 
 have amassed adequate means, they seek to be 
 equally distinguished. But newly-acquired wealth 
 finds not that prompt deference which is commanded 
 by hereditary rank. More imposing attractions are 
 consequently held out ; a greater display is resorted 
 to ; and every means employed to inspire respect 
 in the generality of mankind, and to compensate, 
 by superior magnificence of exterior, for the defi- 
 ciency of birth. This feeling, to a certain extent, 
 prevails universally, and no person of the slightest 
 observation can, for a moment, doubt of its power- 
 ful influence on the national industry. The chaste 
 dignity of the patrician's mansion and establish- 
 ment, contrasted with the gorgeous display which 
 marks that of the opulent citizen, has, by most 
 writers, been deemed conspicuous ; and allowing 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. Ill 
 
 for the general improvement in taste, may still be 
 said to prevail. Throughout all classes of society 
 this remark is applicable. When men, no matter 
 in what grade of life, reach an elevation above 
 their former state, and wish to receive respect from 
 the community corresponding to their advancement, 
 they tend, in their mode of living, to surpass those 
 to whom the same rank has long been habitual. A 
 more extensive consumption of commodities thus 
 arises ; and that that may be compassed, perhaps 
 leads to increased assiduity. 
 
 But the benefit ends not here. The example of 
 those who have recently attained to these distinc- 
 tions from the acquisition of wealth, naturally gives 
 excitement to others, who might else have sought no 
 means of increased expenditure. Many sources 
 of new gratification are opened ; invention is roused ; 
 and industry being thus daily presented with fresh 
 stimulants to exertion, pursues its course with aug- 
 mented vigour. In this auspicious pursuit the great 
 advantages of what Mr. Malthus terms the proper 
 union of proportions is sensibly perceived. Con- 
 sumption in a thriving country, by a happy propen- 
 sity of our nature, encourages production; but, I be- 
 lieve, in a manner rather different from that hitherto 
 described. It is the consumption of unproductive 
 labourers, certainly, but of those who were once pro- 
 ductive ; and it springs from a species of vanity, 
 harmless in itself, yet assuredly beneficial to the 
 country, and leading to a greater use of those material 
 
112 Comiderations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 objects which, properly speaking, constitute a 
 nation's prosperity. It is not necessary to inquire if 
 the disposition to consume, here described, be equal 
 in its effects to a very large power to produce, — it 
 is sufficient that I have merely pointed it out, and I 
 need only remark, that he who looks abroad in the 
 world, will find its influence of considerable mo- 
 ment. But it is most important to consider, that 
 the original impulse is created by causes of a very 
 different description. It would be useless to speak 
 of men making a greater display of newly-acquired 
 wealth, unless they had the disposition to acquire 
 it : unless they are roused from their indifference 
 by feelings of envy or emulation. And here we re- 
 turn to the point from which we started. 
 
 That no misunderstanding may arise as to the 
 extent, bearing, and importance of our object, I shall 
 endeavour to exhibit, at one view, the mode in which 
 the whole train of circumstances operates. 
 
 In the first place let us conceive a country where 
 the profits of stock, for a considerable period, have 
 been regular, and at a moderate rate. Little in- 
 ducement to speculate is consequently found, and 
 industry proceeds at a slow, uniform pace, which 
 has nevertheless been pronounced to be conducive 
 to solid prosperity. Such was England during the 
 greater part of last century. There was a definite 
 quantity, an ultimate standard of wealth, to which 
 persons in business endeavoured to attain ; and on 
 reaching this, they retired, to enjoy the luxury of 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 113 
 
 leisure. Landed estate being the tiighest and most 
 estimable description of property, the standard 
 would be adjusted to an amount sufficient to procure 
 consideration among landed gentlemen, when such 
 an individual left off business, and transferred his 
 property from trade to an estate. Suppose 5000/. 
 a year to be sufficient to gratify this object : why 
 then, when a merchant had accomplished it, his 
 exertion would abate, and the labours of the count- 
 ing-house be abandoned. By parity of reasoning, 
 those about to enter into trade are influenced by the 
 same feeling. A moderate opportunity only is af- 
 forded to new competitors in productive industry ; 
 interest and profits are low ; litde excitement pre- 
 vails, and those possessed of but a small inherit- 
 ance, are tempted to court the genteel professions to 
 augment their livelihood. 
 
 This then is the first stage. Let us now imagine 
 a great excitement created ; let us suppose, for ex- 
 ample, a new colony established : a quickening 
 avidity for trade immediately displays itself; and 
 the seas are covered with the messengers of comi- 
 mercial enterprise, and large fortunes are rapidly 
 acquired. The neighbours of those who are suc- 
 cessful, perceiving men who were formerly their 
 equals now getting above them in society, feel in 
 themselves desires to which they had been pre- 
 viously strangers. They cannot bear the implied 
 taunt from their former associates' elevation. They 
 conceive the disposition to try their own ibrtunes 
 
 I 
 
114 Considei-alions on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 in business ; they no longer allow their sons to have 
 no other pursuit than the chace of hares and foxes ; 
 they place them in trade, and thus the productive 
 powers of the country are prodigiously augmented. 
 In the mean time, land, being still the highest de- 
 scription of property, the streams of the colonial 
 wealth ultimately settle there. Through the general 
 operation of prosperity, land rises in value. The 
 standard still kept in view by those in trade ad- 
 vances, of course, proportionably ; and thus persons 
 in business discover no incHnation to retire upon a 
 fortune with which they would have been formerly 
 contented. 
 
 Here we perceive the second stage. But all 
 those beneficial effects do not speedily terminate. 
 After the new channel of trade has been adequately 
 supplied, and no longer presents unwonted allure- 
 ments to enterprise, persons still feel disposed to 
 embark in business ; and, what is most important, 
 they find an opening, that is to say, they are able 
 to obtain satisfactory profits. From the variety 
 and the vanity of newly-acquired wealth already 
 illustrated, there is a greater consumption of com- 
 modities. Every description of household embel- 
 lishment, as well as of personal clothing and deco- 
 ration, with a variety of articles altogether new, are 
 introduced, giving increased employment to the 
 manufacturer. 
 
 This exhibits the third stage ; and as a higher 
 standard of wealth prevails throughout the country, 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 115 
 
 so is a greater intensity of industry exerted. This 
 great change, however, is solely to be attributed to 
 the great exciting cause which gave a new tone to 
 men's thoughts. Had no such impulse arisen, the 
 country would have advanced certainly, but in a 
 slow degree, and bearing no better a comparison to 
 what we have actually seen, than does the tardy 
 pace of the cart-horse to the fleet course of the 
 racer. 
 
 It will be perceived that I have confined myself 
 to leading characteristics in this illustration. Many 
 causes may occur to inspire a people with new mo- 
 tives for energy. War even may be among the 
 number. With regard also to my observations on 
 those retiring from trade, I wish to be understood 
 to adhere merely to the predominant impulse. We 
 are not to judge from custom or appearances, or 
 from isolated cases, but to take aggregate effects. 
 
 Enough has now been advanced to explain how 
 the term wealth has been variously estimated in 
 different countries. Ask a man in the middle of 
 Germany what sum he has in his mind when he 
 calls another rich, and he will probably answer 
 20,000/. Put a similar question to a London citi- 
 zen, and the reply may be 100,000/. Can persons 
 be said to write elementary books on Political 
 Economy, when they omit to trace this circumstance 
 to its source, or, at best, merely dispose of it as a 
 casual ditfercncc of customs. What are customs ? 
 Do they not affect the most essential part of the 
 
 I 2 
 
116 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 whole science, the consumption of material or im- 
 material objects? I freely acknowledge that I have 
 been much surprised to find M. Say, whom gene- 
 rally I regard in rather a different light from most 
 of his followers, persist in this doctrine, whilst very 
 little observation must surely have awakened con- 
 siderable doubts upon it in his mind. In his visits 
 to England, has he never been struck, and that 
 forcibly, with the tone of conversation prevalent in 
 almost every company ? Has he not perceived, with 
 scarcely an exception, that whenever a stranger is 
 mentioned, one of the first questions is, What is he 
 worth? In accordance with this reigning feeling, 
 projects for making money are eagerly canvassed ; 
 and can M. Say for a moment doubt that the dis- 
 cussion of such topics in almost every English circle 
 throughout the evening, causes a vast influence 
 upon national prosperity? From the very high 
 standard of wealth established in England, unre- 
 mitting exertion is requisite to come up to it, and 
 in consequence there is little leisure for any other 
 pursuit: what is uppermost in men's minds, is 
 likely to be always most adverted to. I speak not 
 this invidiously. I would merely appeal to M. Say's 
 candour, and demand if this characteristic does 
 not immensely influence the powers of production. 
 Does it not impugn his theory, and establish as 
 preposterous the position, that men feel ahke dis- 
 posed to exertion under all circumstances ? 
 
 Having thus demonstrated to M. Say, how very 
 
Considerations o7i the Progress of Wealth. 117 
 
 differently the powers of production may be acted on, 
 let an observation be now applied to consumption, 
 without which the former would soon relax in its 
 efforts. Suppose we go to Paris. Why, I would 
 ask, do many men of repute live at the height of 
 six or eight stories, with accommodations compara- 
 tively mean, whilst men of similar rank in London 
 are particularly careful to have all their appoint- 
 ments complete, and appearances respectable ? In 
 the one case, from wealth being estimated on a lower 
 scale, the same morbid anxiety about the opinion 
 of the world by no means prevails. A Frenchman 
 finds not that such a mode of living militates against 
 his general estimation in society ; the Englishman, 
 though he may be occasionally inclined to smile at 
 many items of expense he is obliged to incur, knows 
 well that it is wisdom to comply. He has sons to 
 settle in the world, daughters to marry; he is there- 
 fore obliged to conform to popular custom, or his 
 acquaintance would desert him. 
 
 Now our main object is to observe how this ope- 
 rates on consumption. The slightest attention must 
 show us the vast additional quantity of commodities 
 this state of things will bring into demand. If then 
 the tone of society in England has engendered ex- 
 tensive powers of production beyond that of France, 
 so equally, by a reaction, through a combination of 
 circumstances, consumption is in a certain degree 
 made to keep pace with it. To every class of so- 
 ciety will this ultimately extend. Whenever men 
 discover that respect is yielded them accordingly as 
 
118 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 they are supposed to possess something which is 
 held in universal estimation, they will endeavour 
 to be distinguished for that something. When 
 wealth is chiefly prized, all would wish to be 
 deemed rich: and here is the true origin of all 
 those artificial habits, which descend step by step 
 to the humblest classes. When a community is 
 advanced in refinement, a man can only be judged 
 by his outward appearance. In this state, he will 
 spare no sacrifice, not even that of virtue itself, 
 rather than endure the contumely of those with 
 whom he associates. Each seeks to command the 
 respect of his neighbour — this respect is accorded 
 proportionably to a man's appearance — and thus 
 imitation becomes universal. If the merchant be 
 stimulated to imitate the landed gentleman, the 
 tradesman feels equally inclined to copy the mer- 
 chant. In every well-constituted society, where 
 the middle orders are numerous, the various grada- 
 tions are almost imperceptible. Next in succes- 
 sion to the tradesman and master-manufacturer, 
 come the superintendants of work and inferior re- 
 tailers. The attention of these is still constantly 
 fixed on those immediately above them. Then 
 come the superior operatives ; after them the great 
 body of mechanics and artizans ; lastly, the mass 
 of common labourers : all to a certain degree in- 
 fluenced by one controlling impulse, that of imitating 
 the class above them. 
 
 Improvement obviously originates in the highest 
 classes, and there is as clearly a tendency for its 
 
Consideraliuns on the Progress of U'ealth. 119 
 
 natural descent to the lowest. Its operations, which 
 might at first have led to the adoption of super- 
 fluities, insensibly establish themselves, and assume 
 the character of necessities. Thus the humblest 
 labourer comes to regard many expenses as indis - 
 pensable, which his forefathers would have deemed 
 luxuries, as uncalled for, as they were unsuited to 
 their condition. 
 
 Such appears to be the history of those causes 
 which have elevated the great mass of the English 
 people above every surrounding nation. No man 
 of mature life, or much acquainted with society on 
 the continent, can deny the general accuracy of the 
 parallels here adopted for illustration. But these 
 views may be brought immediately home to every 
 man's mind, without the necessity of referring to 
 a remote period, of traveUing to foreign coun- 
 tries, or even of putting hypothetical cases. There 
 are many men living, and those too not grey- 
 headed, whose personal observation has witnessed 
 how varied are the progress and the operation of 
 the leading incentives both to expenditure and to 
 accumulation in this country. He has but to call 
 to memory the instance of any two towns, situated 
 in different districts— their industry, about thirty 
 years ago, and their natural advantages, assumed to 
 have been equal, but their circumstances now widely 
 dissimilar, from the momentous changes which have 
 since occurred. Let the first dawning of the pro- 
 sperity of the town which has thriven be accurately 
 
120 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 traced ; let the effects of the large fortunes realized 
 by some of its inhabitants be fairly investigated ; 
 and then the master-spring of human action will be 
 fully discovered. If the observer has been inti- 
 mately acquainted w^ith the leading families ; if he 
 has mingled in their domestic circles ; I appeal to 
 him if the remarkable success of some neighbour 
 has not supplied the constant topic of discussion ; 
 and whether, with its collateral train of conse- 
 quences, it has not perceptibly spurred them from 
 their own comparative indolence, stimulating them 
 either to increased exertion in themselves, or the in- 
 culcation of such feelings among the rising branches 
 of the family. 
 
 In viewing the whole of the improvements, direct 
 and contingent, thus produced in families, let an 
 attempt be made to dive into their impelling causes. 
 In small communities, the failings as well as the 
 virtues of our nature are best exemplified. I con- 
 ceive it would then be acknowledged, that the va- 
 rious causes which conduce to opulence exhibit not 
 that simplicity and regularity generally imagined, 
 but that they are refined, subtle, in some respects 
 indefinite, and capable of astonishing variation. 
 Proceeding on this analysis, and in conformity to 
 the deductions of the theory laid down, wp may 
 perceive habits, from the highest to the lowest de- 
 scription of people, undergo a mighty alteration. 
 The dwellings of the poor exhibit their glazed 
 windows and their chimnies. And in the interior, 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 121 
 
 the walls are white-washed ; noxious exhalations 
 are prevented ; the bed has its blankets ; the apart- 
 ments, generally, display furniture of an improved 
 description; and numberless other amendments in 
 personal, as well as domestic, comforts are intro- 
 duced. 
 
 For the sake of contrast, let us now advert to the 
 town we put into the opposite picture with that 
 whose prosperity we have thus traced. In this 
 second instance, improvement has been insigni- 
 ficant; and many such places are still to be found 
 in Great Britain. Here we witness indifference 
 and apathy paralyzing every thing like exertion. 
 The aspect of the inhabitants themselves differs 
 from the vivid alertness of men actively employed. 
 The general characteristics here are, a sluggish 
 gait, and a disposition to form groups for idle 
 gossip, and to indulge in the seductions of leisure, 
 instead of a vigorous apphcation to business, the 
 ultimate cessation from which is leisure in reality. 
 Can any one doubt for a moment the influence of 
 habits such as these upon the community ? Let it 
 not be urged in excuse, that this town is not equally 
 well situated for commerce — the parallel sat out 
 with the supposition of equal advantages in both. 
 
 The case is one very far from imaginary. Many 
 places could be named, surrounded by good land, 
 and enjoying cheapness of food and every facility 
 for trade, and yet such places allow themselves to 
 be left at immeasurable distance by others deficient 
 
122 Comiderations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 in the one-half of their own natural advantages. 
 What, then, is the reason of this difference? Are the 
 appetites, the tastes, the dispositions of the inhabit- 
 ants of the two essentially dissimilar? By no means, 
 — human nature is, in the aggregate, undeviatingly 
 the same ; but the passions have not, in an equal 
 degree, been worked on. There have, in the one 
 case, been no great exciting stimulants — emulation 
 or envy has not been awakened — and inertness still 
 pervades the whole. The nature of the excitement 
 to which we have here adverted, may be, and, in- 
 deed, generally is, quite accidental. This is a con- 
 sideration which cannot be too strongly inculcated. 
 It may proceed from a solitary example. Instances 
 could be produced of a single West Indian, of large 
 fortune, settling in some country town, and entirely 
 changing the tone and current of men's ideas as to 
 property. The young men have been suddenly 
 seized with an ardour for emigration ; connexions 
 for prosecuting business have been entered into ; 
 suitable manufactures have been established; and 
 the general result, now, I hope, sufficiently obvious, 
 and so beneficial to the country, has regularly been 
 produced. 
 
 If I were inclined to dilate upon this theme, I 
 have some hope that I could explain the apparent 
 anomaly exhibited by this country, — that notwith- 
 standing her prodigious sacrifices during the war, 
 she now displays a vigour, a power, and a revenue, 
 exceeding the fondest expectations of all previous 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 123 
 
 ambition. Pending the many discussions respect- 
 ing the bullion question, numerous theories were 
 broached concerning war-expenditure, paper-issues, 
 and depreciation, annuitants in the funds, exten- 
 sion of agriculture, wonderful improvements in 
 machinery, to solve a problem deemed at variance 
 with all received maxims of Political Economy. I 
 apprehend that a deeper insight into the human 
 character would have materially abridged those, 
 lucubrations with which writers have for more than 
 a dozen years inundated this country. Many of 
 their alleged causes of prosperity would be found 
 to be transient, and utterly inoperative, at the pre- 
 sent period. The amazing increase in the powers 
 of production has, with the greatest reason, been 
 assigned as the primary source of our advance- 
 ment ; but, in reality, this is reversing the order of 
 things : the increase of production was the effect, 
 not the cause, of the great demand. The history 
 of the steam-engine and the cotton-machinery un- 
 answerably demonstrate, that in each gradation of 
 their improvement, the unparalleled rapidity of 
 orders was the true cause of stretching to the utmost 
 the ingenuity of their inventors. According, how- 
 ever, to the principles developed in this Section, 
 the solution of the seeming paradox is rendered 
 easy. 
 
 The wants opened to us from captured territories, 
 and from many other causes, led persons, one after 
 another, to embark in trade, to an extent, and with 
 
124 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 a degree of success, never before witnessed nor even 
 contemplated. Through agricultural prosperity, the 
 standard of wealth became elevated, and has conti- 
 nued so to this day. This has, of course, led to a 
 corresponding increase in all the material products 
 which constitute wealth. In every light, therefore, 
 in which this vitally important subject can be 
 viewed, we detect the fallacy of those tenets hi- 
 therto maintained by speculative writers relative to 
 the causes of production. Connected with the same 
 theory, arise, naturally, countervailing errors regard- 
 ing consumption ; and, deduced from the exposition 
 employed, we arrive at the great fact, that the habits 
 of the lower orders, at all times mainly indicating 
 the civilization and prosperity of a nation, are im- 
 proved by a process very different from the increase 
 of wages. 
 
 When, then, it is discovered that the true ope- 
 ration of improvement is so slow, and that so 
 many real difficulties present themselves, how jea- 
 lously should a nation guard her pre-eminence, 
 and how important does it become in legislation to 
 sift principles to the bottom, before adopting mea- 
 sures which, if grounded on an erroneous basis, 
 may ultimately prove irremediable and fatal. High 
 w^ages, when accompanied by a high mode of living 
 permanently engrafted upon the manners of the 
 people, are a great benefit. But persons reason 
 most superficially, when they maintain that that 
 benefit can be accomphshed instantaneously; and 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 125 
 
 that the passions of men, by which it is accom- 
 plished, are so powerful, as to render it unnecessary 
 to scrutinize other propensities of our nature. 
 
 It has been stated, in a preceding Section, that 
 the working classes may improve in their mode of 
 living, while the real remuneration of their services 
 has diminished. Now, so far from this being merely 
 a supposition, it has occasionally occurred in Eng- 
 land. A few years back, the wages of the artisan, 
 in some employments, if estimated in corn, or, if 
 possible, by any invariable standard, will appear 
 to have been less than they were half a century be- 
 fore. But did the expenditure of the artisan upon 
 artificial wants retrograde within that period ? Di- 
 rectly the reverse. He consumed gradually more and 
 more commodities distinct from food. As society 
 advances, the practice of paying men by quantity of 
 work performed, and not according to time, obtains 
 more extensively ; and greater efforts are called 
 forth, that increased enjoyments may be attained, 
 and those wants gratified which it would be held 
 disreputable not to satisfy. Had no such artificial 
 institution as the Poor-laws existed, the beneficial 
 consequences flowing from a general improvement 
 in manners and customs would have been still more 
 apparent. This branch of the subject has already 
 been sufficiently elucidated ; and if the injurious 
 results be even greater than I have contemplated, I 
 can only observe, that it affords still further con- 
 firmation of the wonderful efficacy with which cus- 
 
126 Condderations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 torn and fashion operate to induce men, under 
 adverse circumstances, to improve their mode of 
 living. That such improvement has taken place, 
 is rendered decisive by the fact, that within the last 
 forty years the consumption of such articles as are 
 distinct from food, chiefly used by the lower orders, 
 has increased in a ratio double that of the popula- 
 tion. If a person be sceptical as to the aggregate 
 returns of a nation's industry, he need only look 
 into the dwellings of the poor, and examine their 
 domestic economy, and he will be speedily satisfied. 
 It is, nevertheless, a most important object still 
 further to elevate their condition ; but, here, I ap- 
 prehend, as in most matters of political economy, 
 we should only remove cumbersome impediments, 
 and not be guilty of too officious or anxious an 
 interference. Perhaps, in the whole range of the 
 science we could not discover so much popular error 
 as in the generally-advanced opinion regarding the 
 assistance to be bestowed upon the condition of the 
 poor. In this age of general philanthropy, plans 
 are continually put forth, showing the mode we 
 should pursue to assuage their common hardships. 
 Enlarged and enlightened benevolence, however, 
 will pronounce those plans, it is to be feared, both 
 visionary and impracticable To raise the wants of 
 a labouring man, is easily proposed ; and writers 
 dwell as complacently on the theme as if they had 
 only to utter a few common-places on the subject, and 
 straight the thing were done. Unfortunately, real 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 127 
 
 difficulties present themselves ; masters, it is acknow- 
 ledged, may do much. The effects of clerical in- 
 fluence, throughout each pastor's respective sphere, 
 would prove still more advantageous. But, after all, 
 it is to be avowed, that but little can be done. En- 
 lightened views can only prevent errors — and here 
 much is accomplished. One great maxim, indeed, 
 if carefully observed, might serve as a guide for 
 our general conduct. Let a man appropriate as 
 much of his expenditure to articles apart from food 
 as possible. I do not speak of instantaneous out- 
 lay : he may save if he please ; but those savings, 
 to be ultimately beneficial, should certainly be ulti- 
 mately applied to some object other than that of 
 mere subsistence. Agreeably to this doctrine, 
 mechanics' institutes, public libraries, and benefit 
 societies, cannot be too generally encouraged. But 
 let there be no eleemosynary maintenance — the mo- 
 ment that the rich come forward with their sub- 
 scriptions, the main advantage is destroyed. 
 
 These reflections have here found a place, because 
 in the present situation of the country, they involve 
 considerations of peculiar interest. We have, as 
 has already been shown, far surpassed the other 
 countries of Europe, in the improved condition of 
 our labouring classes. It would occupy too much 
 space to delineate the relative progress in industry 
 and in civilization amongst all those states who 
 may be considered as our commercial rivals : one 
 country, however, there is, which, if left unnoticed. 
 
128 Considerations on the Progress of JVcallh. 
 
 might be adduced to controvert our general rea- 
 soning. 
 
 The United States of America present so une- 
 quivocal a demonstration of prosperity, that econo- 
 mists love to expatiate on the abundant proofs it 
 affords of the unlimited powers of production, and 
 of a corresponding disposition in men to advance 
 their condition. There, they exclaim, we witness 
 the greatest ability to accumulate, and, accordingly, 
 accumulation proceeds there on the largest scale. 
 Now, this, so far from invalidating the tenets I 
 maintain, will, on a little reflection, materially con- 
 firm them. British emigrants gave the first tone and 
 impulse to the industry of the Americans. They 
 carried with them uncommon ardour, unconquerable 
 energy, uncompromising independence. The scale 
 of their exertions, their indulgences, and their 
 wealth, was always graduated by that of the parent 
 state. The emulative impulse was early and effi- 
 caciously excited ; nor had it ever the faintest ten- 
 dency to diminution. Each successive generation 
 felt itself impelled to added energy, commensurate 
 to the general advancement. In fixing, as it has 
 been termed, the standard of opulence, they took 
 this country for their model. Owing to the close 
 connexion existing betwixt us, the constant inter- 
 course between Liverpool and New York, many 
 mercantile houses having establishments on both 
 sides of the Atlantic, it may be strictly said, that 
 one and the same passion for riches animates both. 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 129 
 
 From possessing, too, one common language, man- 
 ners are assimilated. Many of the early settlers 
 were younger branches of reputable families. They 
 had been accustomed to, and therefore knew how 
 to estimate, the enjoyments of civilized society. 
 Thus artificial wants obtained upon a scale very 
 different from that usually pervading an infant 
 country, whose inhabitants derive no assistance from 
 extraneous associations, but have to work their way 
 almost insensibly to civilization and refinement. 
 He who has ever traversed the Union, and observed 
 the diversity of exertion displayed in its various 
 districts, so contrary to reasonable conclusions, were 
 natural advantages alone considered, must here re- 
 cognise the true causes of American prosperity. If 
 he proceed to the adjacent Spanish states, what a 
 striking contrast is exhibited! With unequalled 
 fertility of soil, and with abundance of every requi- 
 site for the most extended traffic, the inhabitants 
 appear sunk in apathy. 
 
 Let it not be urged, that this contrast is attri- 
 butable solely to the disparity in their enjoyment of 
 civil liberty. Though it is impossible to estimate 
 too highly this greatest of all blessings, yet it is 
 apparent that that alone could not produce so asto- 
 nisliing a disproportion in the industry of countries. 
 It has not, indeed, in this inquiry, been deemed 
 necessary to advert to it. Security of property is 
 the grand, the only requisite. When this is want- 
 ing, no matter what may be in other respects the 
 
 K 
 
130 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 political organization of a state, it is on no account 
 entitled to rank among civilized nations. We should 
 deceive ourselves, did we rely exclusively on our 
 free institutions. The despotic potentate is learn- 
 ing, by degrees, that to leave his subjects' earnings 
 unmolested, is the surest road to advance his own 
 power. Industry is, at the present moment, diffus- 
 ing itself, with unwonted vigour, through every 
 rival kingdom. It, undoubtedly, behoves the 
 British government to put forth proportionate 
 energy. Many parts of the empire require altered 
 management, to draw out to the utmost their phy- 
 sical capabilities. Speculative writers unceasingly 
 exclaim, " Give full scope to the powers of pro- 
 duction, and riches shall await ye, in magical 
 abundance." My object has been a little to mo- 
 derate this enthusiasm. If I have shown that opu- 
 lence and civilization are not so easily attained, it 
 follows that we should the more scrupulously regard 
 the progress we have actually made. What I have 
 attempted to elucidate, I conceive to be the key- 
 stone of Political Economy — it is the great basis 
 from which all else should spring. To show how 
 fundamentally it affects primary principles, and the 
 general policy of a country, I shall, by way of con- 
 trast, and in conclusion, oppose an outline of my 
 views to those of the writers who most conspicu- 
 ously occupy public attention on this subject, 
 
 M. Say, Mr. Ricardo, Mr. M'Culloch, and Mr. 
 Mill maintain that, nationally speaking, the desire 
 
Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 131 
 
 for wealth is absolute ; and that where the power of 
 accumulation is greatest, there the greatest accu- 
 mulation will, of necessity, take place. I contend, 
 on the other hand, that, speaking nationally, the 
 desire of wealth is relative ; and that the extent 
 of accumulation depends on a variety of other feel- 
 ings, not only acting differently in different coun- 
 tries, but acting differently in the same country at 
 dififerent periods. 
 
 These writers exhort 2;overnment to the most un- 
 limited encouragement of production — to assist the 
 subject with every possible facility to the prosecu- 
 tion of traffic. They maintain that corresponding 
 consumption will follow, and the state continually 
 advance her power and greatness. My views are, 
 that these measures are to be considered, not as 
 useless, but inefficient ; that it is necessary to work 
 more on the minds of the people — that then, and 
 not an instant sooner, we have the germ of future 
 benefit. 
 
 In illustration of the one theory, countries are to 
 be adduced, where magnificent roads and canals, 
 docks, arsenals, and factories, with every other 
 auxiliary to commerce, have been provided ; yet 
 no busy activity animates the scene ; in place of 
 piles of merchandise, we behold grass luxuriating, 
 in mockery of their projector's ignorance. In sup- 
 port of the other, we witness the splendid career, 
 the lofty pre-eminence, of England. 
 
 Visionary speculation, then, can scarcely hope to 
 
 K 2 
 
132 Considerations on the Progress of Wealth. 
 
 make successful resistance against practical deduc- 
 tions. The range of public opinion in this country 
 has taken a higher flight, and London and Liver- 
 pool now boast of works projected and carried into 
 execution by private individuals, which far tran- 
 scend national achievements of foreigners, executed 
 by their respective governments. The whole energy 
 of the country has been enlarged, and her people 
 may indulge the honest triumph that all has been 
 accomplished by themselves ; whilst her institutions 
 exhibit a proportion and a fitness to the objects 
 sought, which bear collateral testimony to her well- 
 established prosperity. 
 
 If I do not miscalculate the conclusions of the 
 reader, I shall not encounter much difficulty in the 
 deductions I am presently to draw from to what is 
 here advanced. 
 
 I have now completed what I conceived the ne- 
 cessary outline of elementary principles. It is 
 essentially requisite to investigate the nature of 
 wages, in all its branches, for the smallest mis- 
 understanding may cause the grossest error, when 
 we commence the work of legislation. 
 
PART II. 
 
 COx^JPARATIVE EFFECTS OF A FREE AND A RE- 
 STRICTIV^E COMMERCIAL SYSTEM. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 EXAMINATION OF Mr. RICARDO'S THEORY OF PROFITS, 
 SUPPOSING THE NATURAL RATE OF WAGES DIFFERENT 
 IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. 
 
 It is an advantageous practice, and tends greatly 
 to perspicuity, to confine ourselves in argument to 
 the positions adopted by our opponents, when we 
 perceive that they are in themselves sufficient to 
 all our purposes of refutation. In the first part of 
 this work it has been shown, that the high wages of 
 England, as compared with other European coun- 
 tries, proceeded from two leading causes : First, 
 because the natural rate of rearing labourers was 
 higher: Secondly, because food was dearer. Agree- 
 ably to the analysis instituted, it appeared that the 
 former greatly preponderated, constituting, it was 
 presumed, five-eighths of the difference. 
 
 Mr. Ricardo, as is well known, laid it down ab- 
 solutely, as a fundamental position, that high wages 
 produced low profits. Now, having stated that high 
 wages in this country proceed from two causes, I 
 
134 ■ Examination of, Mr. Ricardo''s 
 
 shall, in replying to the champions of the modern 
 school, for the sake of clearness, consider the influ- 
 ence of these causes separately. In this section I 
 shall inquire how far a high natural rate of wages 
 affects profits ; and, for the reasons above stated, I 
 shall confine the argument to certain peculiar pos- 
 tulates which distinguish the system of Mr. Ricardo. 
 The reader is not at present to suppose that I either 
 admit or deny their validity. If, on Mr. Ricardo's 
 own ground, I succeed in refuting some of his posi- 
 tions, it is apparent that so far the fallacy of his 
 theory is established, and needs no further inquiry. 
 The enemies of restriction consider depression of 
 profits as the overwhelming evil arising from the 
 high wages under the present system. Capital, it 
 is contended, must flow out of the country ; nations 
 among whom the profits of stock are higher will su- 
 persede us in manufactures, and our condition must 
 gradually deteriorate. We perceive here the im- 
 mense practical importance of this part of the sub- 
 ject ; for if capitalists can be convinced that they 
 labour under great misconception as to the causes 
 why profits are low in this country, the clamour 
 raised hitherto against the conduct of our legis- 
 lature will speedily subside. 
 
 The peculiar theory of Rent adopted by the mo- 
 dern school, is the point to which we have first to 
 attend. According to Adam Smith, the component 
 parts in the cost of every article are resolvable into 
 rent, profits, and wages. It is now, however, main- 
 
Theory of Profits. ■ 135 
 
 tained that rent must be excluded, profits and wages 
 alone determine the natural price of an article ; and 
 indeed as capital, on which profits are derived, is 
 merely the accumulation from antecedent labour, it 
 is said the cost, or, to speak more clearly, the ex- 
 changeable value, of commodities is solely deter- 
 mined by the quantity of labour worked up in them. 
 To avoid any charge of misrepresentation, I shall 
 give the words of Mr. M'Culloch on rent, who fol- 
 lows precisely the doctrine of Mr. Ricardo, at the 
 same time that he has stated the case more con- 
 cisely. 
 
 " On the first settling of any country abounding 
 in large tracts of unappropriated land, no rent is 
 ever paid, and for this plain and obvious reason, 
 that no person will pay a rent for what may be 
 procured in unlimited quantities for nothing. Thus, 
 in New Holland, where there is an ample supply 
 of fertile and unappropriated land, it is certain 
 that, until the best lands are all cultivated, rent 
 will never be heard of. Suppose, however, that 
 tillage has been carried to this point, and that the 
 increasing demand for raw produce can, in the 
 actual state of the science of agriculture, be no 
 longer supplied by the culture of the best lands, 
 it is plain that either the increase of population 
 must cease, or the inhabitants must consent to pay 
 such an additional price for raw produce as will 
 enable the stcond quality of land to be cultivated. 
 No advance short of this will procure them another 
 bushel of corn, and competition will not, as will be 
 
136 Examination of Mr. Ricardd's 
 
 immediately shown, allow them to pay more for it. 
 They have, therefore, but one alternative. If they 
 choose to pay a price sufficient to cover the expense 
 of cultivating land of the second quality, they will 
 obtain additional supplies ; if they do not, they 
 must want them. Suppose, now, that the consumers 
 offer such a price as will pay the expense of pro- 
 ducing corn on soils which, in return for the same 
 expenditure as would have produced 100 quarters 
 on lands of the first qualiti/, will only yield 90 
 quarters ; it is plain it will then be indifferent to 
 a farmer, whether he pays a rent of ten quarters 
 for the first quality of land, or farms the second qua- 
 lity, which is unappropriated and open to him, 
 without paying any rent. If the population went 
 on increasing, lands, which would yield only 80, 
 70, 60, 50, &c. quarters, in return for the same ex- 
 penditure that had obtained 100 quarters fron the best 
 lands, might be successively brought under cultiva- 
 tion. And when recourse had been had to these 
 inferior lands, the corn rent of those that are supe- 
 rior would plainly be equal to the difference be- 
 tween the amount of the 'produce obtained from them 
 arid the amount of the produce obtained from the 
 worst quality under cultivation. Suppose, for ex- 
 ample, that the worst quality under cultivation 
 yields 60 quarters, then the rent of the first quality 
 will be 40 quarters, or 100—60 ; the rent of the 
 second quality would, in like manner, be equal to 
 the difference between 90 and 60 or 30 quarters ; 
 the rent of the third quality would be equal to 
 
Theory of Profits. 137 
 
 80 — 60, or 20 quarters, and so on. The produce 
 raised on the land last cultivated, or with the capital 
 last applied to the soil, being all the while sold at 
 its nccessarj/ price, or at that price which is just suffi- 
 cient to yield the cultivators the common and ave- 
 rage rate of profit, or, which is the same thing, to 
 cover the cost of its production. If the price were 
 above this level, then agriculture would be the best 
 of all businesses^ and tillage would be immediately 
 extended ; if, on the other hand, the price fell below 
 this level, capital would be withdrawn from the soil, 
 and the poorer lands thrown out of cultivation. Un- 
 der such circumstances, it is undeniably certain that 
 no rent could enter into the price of that portion of 
 produce raised with the capital last applied to the 
 soil. Its price is exclusively made up of wages and 
 profits. The proprietors of the superior lands obtain 
 rent, but this is the necessary result of their greater 
 fertllitj/. The demand cannot be supplied without 
 cultivating inferior soils ; and to enable them to be 
 cultivated, their produce must sell for such a price 
 as will afford the ordinary rate of profit to their cul- 
 tivators. This price will, however, yield a surplus 
 over and above the ordinary rate of profit to the 
 cultivators of the more fertile lands, and it is this 
 surplus that forms rent. 
 
 " An increase of rent is not, therefore, as is very 
 generally supposed, occasioned by improvements in 
 agriculture, or by an increase in the fertility of the 
 soil. It results entirely from the necessity of resort- 
 
138 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 ing, as population increases, to soils of a decreasing 
 degree of fertility. Rent varies in an inverse pro- 
 portion to the amount of produce obtained by- 
 means of the capital and labour employed in cul- 
 tivation, that is, it increases when the profits of agri- 
 cultural labour diminish, and diminishes when they 
 increase. Profits are at their maximum in countries 
 like New Holland, Indiana, and Illinois, and gene- 
 rally in all situations in which no rent is paid, and 
 the best lands only cultivated ; but it cannot be said 
 that rents have attained their maximum so long as 
 capital yields any surplus in the shape of profit. 
 
 " A quarter of wheat may be raised in Essex, or 
 in the Carse of Gowrie, at perhaps a fourth or a 
 fifth part of the expense necessary to raise it on the 
 worst soils in cultivation in other parts of the country. 
 There cannot, however, be at the same time two or 
 more prices for the same article in the same market ; 
 and it is plain, that if the average market-price of 
 wheat be not such as will indemnify the producers of 
 that which is raised on the worst soils, they will cease 
 bringing it to market, and the required supplies 
 will no longer be obtained ; and it is equally plain, 
 that if the market-price of wheat exceeds this sum, 
 fresh capital will be applied to its production, and 
 competition will soon sink prices to their natural 
 level — that is, to such a sum as will just afford 
 the common and ordinary rate of profit to the raisers of 
 that portion of the required supply of corn which is pro- 
 duced in the most unfavourable circwnstances, and ivith 
 
Theory of Profits. 139 
 
 the greatest expense. It is by the cost of producing 
 this portion that the average price of all the rest must 
 always be regulated ; and, therefore, it is plainly 
 the same thing to the consumers, whether, in an ad- 
 vanced stage of society, the excess of return over the 
 cost of production on lands of the first quality belongs 
 to a non-resident landlord, or an occupier. It must 
 belong to the one or the other. Corn is not high 
 because a rent is paid, but a rent is paid because 
 corn is high — Because the demand is such, that it 
 cannot be supplied without cultivating soils of a di- 
 minished degree of fertility, as compared with the 
 best." — Principles of Political Economy, p. 266. 
 
 Rent being, consistently with these principles, 
 entirely excluded, the cost of every commodity 
 having exchangeable value, must, in all circum- 
 stances, be resolved into profits and wages. Now, 
 the theory is, that profits rise as wages fall, and 
 wages rise as profits fall ; and the great object is, 
 to explain how this is effected. It may be expe- 
 dient to point out what is meant by rise and 
 fall. I endeavour to use these terms strictly in the 
 sense given them by Mr. Ricardo. It is very true 
 that in his work great ambiguity arises from his 
 imperfect, and, in some respects, confused notions 
 respecting the principles of value. Contradictory 
 propositions occasionally occur in consequence, 
 which have given rise to some criticisms and 
 strictures from contemporary writers. I have not 
 stopped to notice those ambiguities, both because 
 
140 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 they would occupy too much space, and, at the same 
 time, because it is not at all necessary that they 
 should come into the inquiry. In justice to Mr. 
 Ricardo, it should be stated, that they apply to 
 minute points, which tend merely to perplex the 
 reader, while they, in reality, by no means in- 
 validate the basis on which his system is founded. 
 
 The term high iwofits is at once understood, if 
 we keep in view the real business of life ; it is the 
 rate of per centage obtained on capital. When 
 profits are 50 per cent., they are high ; when 5, 
 they are low; when they descend from 10 to 5 per 
 cent., they fall. The term, high wages, requires 
 more attention, and it is most essential to set out 
 with a correct definition. 
 
 1 . Wages may be high as relates to the payment 
 in money, or in the standard employed to regulate 
 the interchange of commodities. 
 
 2. They may be high in the real reward, or com- 
 mand over the necessaries of life paid to the la- 
 bourer. ^ 
 
 3. And they may be high as regards their ex- 
 changeable value, contrasted with certain quantities 
 in the mass of manufactures or commodities, in the 
 producing of which labour is employed. 
 
 Now, when we speak of wages rising, we wish 
 it to be understood that we do not refer to the 
 money price, that is to say, the number of shillings 
 received per day, because a man may receive 3^. 
 per day at one time, and bs. at another, and yet 
 
Theory of Profits. 141 
 
 there might be no rise in wages : the money might 
 have varied, and not the labour. This certainly 
 occurred in England during the derangement of our 
 currency ; and to those who are even very mode- 
 rately versed in Political Economy, it will not be 
 necessary to enter into further explanation. 
 
 Neither, when we come to the proposition that 
 profits fall and wages rise, do we refer to the in- 
 crease of reward given to the labourer : for example, 
 should a peck of wheat, costing 3*. a-day, be the 
 ordinary remuneration given to a labouring man, 
 and should that remuneration be increased to a 
 peck and a half, but still, from wheat being cheaper, 
 this peck and a half costing only 3s., then the re- 
 icard given to the labourer is increased, and, in 
 some respects, wages might be said to rise ; but 
 this is not the sense in which we have now to con- 
 sider a rise. There would be an increase in the 
 market-rate of wages, but the economists will main- 
 tain that this must be only transient, the population 
 principle would soon cause an alteration, and bring 
 things to their former level. Such a rise, then, 
 could not be properly applicable, when speaking of 
 high wages causing low profits. This proposition 
 contemplates an effect which is steady and perma- 
 nent, and can, consequently, have no reference to 
 what is accidental and of limited continuance. 
 
 The third meaning attached to the phrase " rise 
 in wages," is that, then, to which we resort. Wages 
 rise in value, when they sustain an advance as 
 
142 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 contrasted with the great mass of commodities on 
 which industry is employed. Suppose the labour of 
 twenty men for six days exchangeable for ten yards 
 of cotton, ten yards of woollen-cloth, ten yards of 
 silk, and ten yards of linen, all combined ; and sup- 
 pose some change to take place, through which the 
 labour of these twenty men for six days would ex- 
 change for fifteen yards of cotton, fifteen yards of 
 woollen-cloth, fifteen yards of silk, and fifteen yards 
 of linen ; here wages would rise in value — a greater 
 quantity of commodities is given in return for the 
 same quantity of labour. It will make the dis- 
 tinctions enumerated still more clear to point out, 
 that though wages rise when contrasted with com- 
 modities, they might fall, if taken in the other two 
 interpretations here given. First, through an al- 
 teration in the currency — the twenty men, when 
 their six days' labour exchanged for ten yards of 
 cotton, woollen, silk, and linen, might have been 
 paid at the rate of 5s. a-day ; but when that quan- 
 tity of labour exchanged for fifteen yards of the 
 cotton, woollen, silk, and linen, they might be paid 
 only Ss. a-day. In this case, if we view the money 
 price only, wages fall. Secondly, although the 
 twenty men might procure for their labour half as 
 much more of manufactures in the second case as 
 they did in the first, yet their condition, that is to 
 say, the real reward given for their services might 
 be much worse. They, perhaps, did not want silks, 
 cottons, woollen, or linen— they wanted the neces- 
 
Theory of Profits. 143 
 
 saries of life: now though manufactures became 
 cheaper, corn or food might become dearer in a 
 much greater proportion ; and hence, if we view 
 the real reward received by the labourer, we must 
 say, also, that wages fell. 
 
 It may be proper to observe, that some econo- 
 mists have employed the term proportional wages 
 to express more clearly the manner in which profits 
 depend on wages. By this is to be understood, 
 precisely, the interpretation given to wages esti- 
 mated not in money, corn, or any other single com- 
 modity, but in the proportion, that is to say, on 
 the share of the commodities produced by the la- 
 bourer, or of their value, which is given to him. 
 
 This exposition demands careful attention, as an 
 accurate definition of terms is indispensably neces- 
 sary to prevent misunderstanding or error, as we 
 proceed in our analysis. It is fully allowed, in 
 a general sense, that the effect of the bank re- 
 striction on our currency has how subsided; ex- 
 changes with foreign countries are adjusted to a 
 general equality, as relates to the exchangeable 
 value of the precious metals, considering the degree 
 of fineness and purity of the coinage of the respec- 
 tive states, as well as their relative distance from 
 the mines. It cannot now be said, that a Louis d'or 
 is of more exchangeable value in France, than 
 the same quantity of gold in England. So far as 
 relates to the present time, the precious metals 
 answer every purpose of a uniform and unvarying 
 
14'4< Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 standard. Any difference, therefore, between this 
 country and France, in the rate of wages, it may 
 once more be observed, cannot be referred to a 
 difference in the currency. The attention of the 
 inquirer is, therefore, disencumbered of any re- 
 ference to the first of the interpretations given to 
 the term high wages ; though, in reality, judging 
 from the state of things during the war, it is here 
 that popular misconception has chiefly originated. 
 
 Modern economists also contend, as has been 
 seen, that the population principle could never allow 
 the market-rate of wages to be high in England, for 
 any length of time worthy our attention. 
 
 It appears, then, fortunate, that not only are we 
 to adopt the interpretation of proportional wages as 
 explained under the third head, when we proceed 
 to investigate the theory of profits falling as wages 
 rise ; but that also under this classification is com- 
 prehended the entire amount of the difference in 
 wages at present prevailing between France and 
 England. This circumstance tends greatly to pre- 
 serve simplicity. Had we taken the period of the 
 war, much confusion would have arisen from our 
 Bank-note system. In the years 1817 and 1818, 
 similar confusion in an opposite ratio would have 
 occurred from the market-rate of wages being de- 
 pressed unusually low. At present there is nothing of 
 the kind, and according to the theory of Mr. Ricardo, 
 Mr.M'Culloch, and all their followers, profits are de- 
 jjressed in this counlry to the full extent that ivages are 
 
Theory of Profits. 145 
 
 higher than in France or elsewhere in Europe. Let 
 an artisan in England have 30*. a week, and in 
 France only 20*., then to the whole extent of the 
 operation of this difference ai:e profits depressed. 
 
 I have endeavoured in the premises to be as ex- 
 plicit as possible : and I hope I have stated Mr. Ri- 
 cardo's elementary points correctly, and in the 
 sense in which they are understood by all the ad- 
 herents of the modern school. 
 
 In proceeding with our analysis, from what has 
 been stated relative to rent it appears, that we have 
 only to consider the principles relating to profit and 
 wages. From the absolute and universal manner 
 in which the economists treat these subjects, consi- 
 derable difficulty is often encountered, and very 
 imperfect notions are formed by those not much 
 accustomed to abstract inquiry. All the nations of 
 the earth are considered as forming one great 
 country, and the same reasoning is held applicable 
 to all. Though this generalizing may be desirable 
 in the abstract, yet it really demands considerable 
 efforts of comprehension ; with the generality of 
 mankind confused ideas are continually arising re- 
 lative to foreign trade, exchanges, and the producing 
 of the precious metals, which greatly perplex the 
 investigation. 
 
 In tracing then the operation of wages and profits, 
 it may assist the reader not intimately acquainted 
 with the tenets of the new system, to fancy a country 
 entirely cut off from all foreign intercourse, and 
 
146 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 having mines of gold and silver within itself. Here 
 rent is established as above laid down; and as 
 every treatise on Political Economy fully explains 
 how indispensable is capital in procuring imple- 
 ments of industry in the very first stages of society, 
 as well as the manner in which it is increased by 
 accumulated labour, it will not be necessary to enter 
 into any details to show its primitive operation. 
 When civilization has made some progress, those 
 engaged in productive industry are divided into 
 two classes : the capitalist who provides the mate- 
 rials and funds for the manufacture, and the labourer 
 who merely furnishes personal service. Now the 
 cost of all commodities being made up of wages 
 and profits, when those commodities are sold, or, 
 perhaps, to express it better, exchanged, what is 
 received in return must be divided between the 
 master and the workman, in a certain proportion. 
 Suppose the 6ntir& exchangeable value of an article 
 to consist of 100 parts, of which the proportion 
 given to the master at a certain time was 80, and 
 20 to the workman : let a change subsequently 
 take place, and say the master got only 60, and the 
 workman 40 — it may then be said that profits fell 
 and wages rose. As we are strictly confining our- 
 selves to such an outline as is demanded by our 
 present purpose, it will not be requisite further to 
 enlarge. The statement of a few leading princi- 
 ples only is requisite, that some of the positions 
 hereafter may be the more correctly understood. 
 
Theory of Profits. 147 
 
 It is evident that capital sunk for the production 
 of manufactures varies in degree of durability. Our 
 observations shall therefore in the first place be 
 directed to those that are equal ; and, secondly, to 
 those that are unequal. 
 
 When capitalists of every class employ capital 
 of exactly the same degree of durability, they must 
 be all equally affected by a rise or fall of wages. 
 In such case, it is impossible that an alteration in 
 wages could occasion any variation in the compara- 
 tive value of commodities one to another. Let us 
 assume the wages of a labouring man to be at the 
 rate of an ounce of silver the day, and that a silk 
 manufacturer exchanged a yard of silk with the 
 woollen manufacturer for a yard of woollen cloth. 
 Now say that, from some causes, workmen's wages 
 were doubled, or rose to two ounces per day. It 
 is manifest the silk manufacturer could still only 
 get a yard of woollen for his yard of silk. He 
 could not urge the circumstance that he was obliged 
 to give higher wages to his workmen, because the 
 other would meet him with the same fact. No mat- 
 ter, therefore, how wages fluctuated, one yard of 
 woollen would still exchange for one of silk. Should 
 we estimate the wages of a working man in any 
 other article of value than that of silver the result is 
 precisely the same. Estimate them at a peck of 
 corn per day, and assume an ounce of silver to ex- 
 change for a yard of silk, then, as before, let wages 
 be raised to two pecks of corn, still the ounce of 
 
 L 2 
 
148 Examination of Mr. Rtcardo's 
 
 silver would only exchange for one yard of silk, as 
 the owner of the mine would be equally affected in 
 the increased expense of producing his bullion, 
 supposing the durability of his capital similar to 
 that of the silk manufacturer. 
 
 Thus it appears that there would be no difference 
 in real price. Commodities are always bought by 
 commodities ; and bullion, from which money is 
 made, is in general principles affected precisely as 
 other articles. 
 
 When, however, the capitals embarked are of 
 different degrees of durability, fluctuation in wages 
 causes different results. If wages were doubled, 
 the manufacturer whose capital was sunk in fixed 
 buildings and machinery calculated to last one hun- 
 dred years, would be affected in his rate of profits 
 differently from the manufacturer whose capital was 
 sunk for only one or ten years. To set this in a still 
 clearer light, let A, B, and C, represent three dif- 
 ferent descriptions of capital, A the least durable, 
 and C the most so, B exhibiting a mean between 
 the two. In the event of a rise of wages, it is 
 plain that commodities produced by the different 
 capitals, A and C respectively, could no longer 
 be exchanged on the same terms as before ; for 
 the durability of the former being very short, or 
 say it consisted principally of circulating capital, 
 the effect produced would be instantaneous as re- 
 gards the manufacturer, and to a far greater extent 
 than would be felt by the proprietor of machinery 
 
Theory of Profits. 149 
 
 calculated to last a century. Those of equal dura- 
 tion would, of course, continue uniform ; they would 
 exchange in the same proportions after a rise in 
 wages as before. If woollens and silk were each 
 produced by capital of the durability denoted by 
 B, a given quantity of the one would exchange for 
 a similar amount of the other. It is the same with 
 all other commodities, if they are produced under 
 the same circumstances ; that is, if the capitals em- 
 ployed are equal and returnable at equal periods of 
 time. 
 
 This is a part of the inquiry of the first import- 
 ance, for unless it be well understood, many of the 
 results relating to a fall of profits would appear pa- 
 radoxical. Money, as has been stated, is a com- 
 modity ; but it is necessary further to consider, that 
 in its production a capital is employed of a certain 
 degree of durability, and that after any variation of 
 wages it will continue to exchange for the same 
 quantity of any other commodity, produced under 
 the same circumstances as itself, yet a change in 
 the proportions will obviously ensue in regard to 
 commodities produced under different circumstances. 
 Now the price of every article having exchangeable 
 value is estimated in money, and as some of those 
 articles are produced by capital of a greater degree 
 of durability than money, and some of a less dura- 
 bility, their prices will be affected in a ratio directly 
 opposed to each other. With some, money-prices 
 will appear to fall, and with others they will appear 
 
1^ Examination of Mr. Ricardo''s 
 
 to rise ; hence the seeming paradox which has be- 
 wildered so many of Mr. Ricardo's readers, that 
 some articles may fall in price from a rise in wages. 
 To endeavour to make this point as clear as pos- 
 sible, let us suppose the class A to apply to com- 
 modities produced entirely by circulating capital or 
 immediate labour ; the class B, commodities pro- 
 duced, one half of fixed capital, and one half imme- 
 diate labour ; and the class C fixed capital entirely. 
 The fixed capital supposed throughout is of a very 
 high degree of durability, the wear and tear on 
 which would be comparatively insignificant. If we 
 assume it to last one hundred years, this is really 
 the case; as a mere trifle yearly, not worth noticing 
 in so long a period, replaces a considerable capital. 
 If then we conceive wages to rise 6 per cent., all 
 these different classes of commodities will be differ- 
 ently affected. Class A will feel it to the full extent 
 of the 6 per cent. ; B 3 per cent. ; but C not at all. 
 A, compared with B, would appear to have risen 3 
 per cent. ; 6 per cent, if compared with C. B, if 
 compared with A, would appear to have fallen 3 per 
 cent., and to have risen, with C, in the proportion of 
 3 per cent. C would have fallen, compared with A 
 and B, in the proportion of 6 and 3 per cent. Effects 
 directly opposite would have ensued had wages 
 fallen. It thus appears, that if we take any com- 
 modity for a standard, produced itself by capital 
 returnable in a certain period, to estimate the rela- 
 tive value of other commodities, when wages rise. 
 
Theory of Profits. 151 
 
 all commodities produced by less durable capitals 
 than those which produce the commodity taken for 
 a standard will rise in exchangeable value, and all 
 those produced by more durable capitals will fall. 
 By common consent, the precious metals are chosen 
 for this standard. Let B be supposed to represent 
 it : then after the rise of wages A would have risen 
 in PRICE, but C would have fallen. It may assist 
 some readers to substitute in their own minds ap- 
 propriate commodities in lieu of the alphabetical 
 signs we have here for brevity sake adopted. Let 
 A represent raw produce of the soil ; B hardware ; 
 and C cottons, woven by power-looms. When a 
 rise of 6 per cent, in wages took place, the raw pro- 
 duce would have advanced 3 per cent, in price, 
 because, as has been seen, A rose 3 per cent, com- 
 pared with B, and the price is estimated in B as the 
 standard. On the same principle, the hardware 
 would remain stationary, and cottons would fall in 
 price 3 per cent. Perhaps there is no article in the 
 predicament we have imagined cotton, produced 
 entirely by machinery ; but of course the more it 
 predominates, the nearer it must approximate to 
 the case supposed. Owing indeed to the difterent 
 and continually- varying proportions in which capi- 
 tal, both fixed and circulating, and immediate labour, 
 are employed in the production of commodities, it 
 is almost impossible to point out the exact extent 
 to which any given fluctuation in the rate of wages 
 affects profits. It may, however, on the whole, be 
 
'i5^ Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 Stated, that in the aggregate of commodities, the 
 number produced by capital less durable than the 
 precious metals may be about equal to that pro- 
 duced by capital more durable. 
 
 Having thus explained the different modes in 
 which price is affected by a rise in wages, in which 
 the terms of the economists have been adhered to as 
 closely as possible, a little reflection must show, 
 that in every description of business, profits must 
 ultimately be influenced to the full extent of the 
 advance. At any one assumed period, there is a 
 general equality of advantage or profit pervading 
 every branch of industry ; differences may, of course, 
 arise according to the degree of risk, the irksome- 
 ness, the comparative respectability of the trade, 
 and those various contingencies which have been 
 illustrated in so masterly a manner by Adam Smith. 
 But still, taking the average, and viewing the 
 subject in an extended light, profits are uniform 
 throughout the country. 
 
 Under these circumstances, therefore, whenever 
 one branch of business becomes relatively less pro- 
 fitable than another, there is a tendency for capital 
 to leave that business, and embark itself in one 
 more productive. In a comparatively very short 
 time, profits of stock are adjusted to their uniform 
 scale ; and when any alteration in the rate of wages 
 ensues, no description of capitalists can hope to 
 obtain higher profits than their neighbours, for 
 any period worth notice, when we investigate 
 
Theory of Profits. 153 
 
 matters in an extended point of view. These prin- 
 ciples receiving due attention, it appears to the 
 economists demonstrably certain, that an increase 
 of wages must lower profits. It has been shown, 
 that the cost of every article is made up solely of 
 wages and profits. Now, no matter what may 
 be the number of its integral parts, you cannot 
 increase the one without diminishing the other. 
 All capitalists will, idtimateli/, be affected equally ; 
 and, although, to common observation there may 
 arise some difficulty in discovering the result, if the 
 attention be confined to the money-price merely, 
 yet that difficulty is at once removed when we 
 reflect that the owner of the mine from whence the 
 money is procured, is equally aff*ected with the 
 rest, and is subject to the same laws in defray- 
 ing the wages of labour. After an increase in 
 wages has taken place, the first step, it might be 
 conceived, would be immediately to transfer ca- 
 pital to more lucrative employment. But in the 
 distribution of the various powers of production, 
 there must be certain proportions consistent with 
 the wants of the community. Should the relative 
 cost of producing any one article be so far enhanced 
 as to preclude purchases, the use of that article 
 must be superseded. No proprietor of stock would 
 persist in his business, if his returns were lower 
 than those of his neighbours. But articles of pri- 
 mary necessity must always be produced, and 
 these, from their very nature and extent of their con- 
 
154 Ewam,inatio7i of Mr. Ricardu's 
 
 sumption, may be deemed to call for our chief at- 
 tention. 
 
 The manner in which a rise of wages affects 
 profits, and its multiplied effects throughout all 
 branches of commerce, being, I hope, fully under- 
 stood, the next great point is to inquire, what are 
 the causes which lead to this rise. It is manifest that 
 a great portion of the capital of a country must be 
 devoted to agricultural industry ; and it is equally 
 manifest that capital will not, in any country, be 
 vested in farming, at a less rate of profit than in 
 other employments. The gradual increase of popu- 
 lation requires additional land to be cultivated ; and 
 as the best land would naturally have been the first 
 so appropriated, recourse must, eventually, be had to 
 inferior soils. It has been shown that rent does 
 not, properly speaking, enter into the cost of corn, 
 but that the price at which it is sold is the cost of 
 producing it on lands of the lowest degree of ferti- 
 lity actually appropriated, and the price is thus 
 solely made up of wages and profits. When, then, 
 recourse is had to a soil still inferior, there must be 
 a greater outlay either in labour, or something else 
 having exchangeable value, than would take place 
 on a soil just one grade superior. In this juncture, 
 the first thing would be an averseness on the part 
 of the farmer to employ his capital less produc- 
 tively than before. The demand, however, for corn 
 still increases ; in time it outstrips the supply. As 
 a natural consequence, this price, or, to express it 
 
Theory of Profits. 155 
 
 better, its exchangeable value, rises, and when it 
 reaches a certain height, the cultivator finds that 
 notwithstanding the diminished net return coming 
 to him as his own share, he obtains merely the 
 same rate of profit as is obtained by any other pro- 
 prietor of stock. All other profits are thus brought 
 down eventually to the level of that obtained by the 
 farmer. Owing to a rise in the price of food, the 
 expense of maintaining a labourer is increased. 
 Should his condition not deteriorate, he must have 
 command over a certain quantity of the necessaries 
 of life. In every employment, therefore, the capi- 
 talists are constrained to give higher wages to their 
 workmen, in which case, from the prhiciples laid 
 down, it follows as a universal conclusion, that pro- 
 fits must be reduced. Those descriptions of capital 
 returnable at the same periods of time, will be from 
 the first affected in equal proportions, but eventucdly 
 all will be depressed to the extent of the rise in 
 wages, and to the same scale as existed before the 
 alteration took place. In vain would a manufacturer, 
 or any other owner of stock, expect to keep up his 
 former rate of profit. What plea could he urge in 
 justification ? Suppose he brought his goods to 
 sale, that is, wished to procure moneij for them in 
 exchange, and argued, that having paid his work- 
 men increased wages, he ought to obtain a higher 
 price. The producer of the money, the owner of 
 the mine, would reply, that the very same circum- 
 stance affected himself, and that, consequently, he 
 
156 Examination of Mr. Ricardo''s 
 
 could only give the same quantity of bullion in ex- 
 change as he did before any rise took place. When 
 the manufacturer receives this money, and proceeds 
 to make with it those purchases of other commo- 
 dities v\fhich he requires for his own consumption, 
 he finds that he receives, in the aggregate, precisely 
 the same quantity of those commodities as he did 
 before. Receiving, therefore, only the same re- 
 turns, but giving higher wages, it is evident that 
 his profits are reduced, and his relative condition 
 in society is deteriorated. 
 
 A little reflection will demonstrate how prices are 
 influenced throughout the different classes of com- 
 modities, which, for the sake of illustration and 
 perspicuity, we have enumerated. Though, not- 
 withstanding the alteration in wages, profits of 
 stock will be ultimately regulated on a scale of 
 equality, yet the relation of one commodity to ano- 
 ther will experience much variation, according to 
 the different degrees in the durability of capital. 
 The value of wages, if estimated in raw produce, 
 would seem to have undergone little variation ; if 
 estimated in money, we perceive a change, pre- 
 serving about a medium as to commodities in ge- 
 neral ; but, if estimated in any article produced by 
 capital of a very durable description, the rise of 
 wages would appear great and striking. This latter 
 article, in fact, from the reasons before given, would 
 appear to have fallen in price. The precious metals, 
 however, being chosen as the measure of value, and 
 
Theory of Profits. 157 
 
 their production being, as before said, in a mean be- 
 tween commodities produced by immediate labour, 
 and those produced by capital of the extreme degree 
 of durability, are the best criteria we could employ 
 to ascertain the aggregate effects of a rise in wages. 
 We now perceive, from this theory, how wages 
 are affected by a rise in the price of food, caused 
 by taking inferior lands into cultivation. But Mr. 
 Ricardo has not omitted to consider the other ex- 
 penses of a labourer, exclusively of food. He 
 affirms that a rise there is affected by similar prin- 
 ciples, and that it equally tends to lower profits. 
 This reasoning is founded on the position, that the 
 production of every article resolves itself into the 
 cost of the raw produce, and the quantity of labour 
 expended in its manufacture. Suppose, for example, 
 a labourer's coat to advance in price from 21. to U. ; 
 according to Mr. Ricardo, if this, increasing the la- 
 bourer's expenses, tended to raise wages, it would 
 lower profits equally with a proportional rise in the 
 price of food. If the increase in the cost of the coat 
 proceeded from a rise in the raw material, wool, that 
 must have proceeded originally from a rise in corn, 
 because the latter is the chief article of agricultural 
 produce, and as such, regulates the rest. If it pro- 
 ceeded from an advance in wages, the wages of 
 farmers' labourers must, in the first instance, have 
 risen. That proceeded from the taking of inferior 
 lands into cultivation ; and, as has been already 
 described, this circumstance caused a diminution 
 
158 Examination of Mr. Ricardo''s 
 
 of profits. It was therefore considered as immaterial, 
 whether food, or the other articles used by the la- 
 bourer, advanced ; they equally led to high wages, 
 and high wages, in their ultimate consequences, 
 injured capitalists, and impeded national industry. 
 
 Every adherent of the new school has adopted 
 the same views, and it may be useful in this place 
 once again to recapitulate the different interpreta- 
 tions given to the term rise of wages, that the whole 
 result may be perceived at one view. 
 
 First, There is plainly a rise in the money-rate 
 of labour, and when the currency is established on 
 a correct basis, it forms a proper standard by which 
 to judge of the extent of the rise. 
 
 Secondly, There has been no rise in the real 
 reward, or command over the necessaries of life, 
 given to the labourer. On the contrary, wages, 
 considered in this light, have most probably fallen. 
 Raw produce, or commodities obtained by imme- 
 diate labour, have not only, according to the prin- 
 ciples developed, risen to the same extent as wages, 
 but have had a tendency to exceed it. Here it is, in 
 reality, that the first operation commences ; and it is 
 contended that, from the competition of labourers, 
 we seldom witness an immediate increase of remu- 
 neration, after an augmentation in the cost of the 
 necessaries of life. 
 
 Thirdly, With regard to 'proportional wages, or 
 the value of wages estimated in the aggregate of 
 commodities, and contrasted with what is received 
 
Theory of Profits. 159 
 
 by the capitalist, we find the result directly oppo- 
 site to the conclusions if the reward given to the 
 labourer be only viewed. Here it is that wages 
 have risen, and here, in consequence, has the injury 
 been visited on the capitalist. The money-rise 
 shows the extent of that injury ; and the result of 
 this theory may be briefly exemplified, when we 
 apply it to England, and state that, owing to taking 
 inferior lands into cultivation, and keeping up a 
 restrictive system, profits have fallen, proportional 
 wages have risen, but the real reward to the la- 
 bourer has diminished. 
 
 Fourthly, Though labour rises in price, yet com- 
 modities do not, for the great majority may be 
 supposed to be produced by equal quantities of 
 fixed capital and immediate labour. 
 
 To this length did Mr. Ricardo proceed, and here 
 he stopped. 
 
 So far all appears plain, and perfectly easy of 
 comprehension. Perhaps, from the brief manner in 
 which the outline of the theory has been given, 
 some difficulty may present itself to those readers 
 who have not devoted much attention to this pecu- 
 liar branch of Pohtical Economy. On reference, 
 however, to the works of Mr. Ricardo's various 
 followers, further elucidation may be obtained ; and 
 I believe it will be found that I have adhered closely 
 to a fair delineation of his leading principles. It 
 appears to me, that the point at which he stopped 
 is precisely that at which the real difficulty com- 
 
160 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 mences. If this be true, it involves a rather serious 
 charge, provided it can be shown that the remainder 
 of the analysis leads to conclusions exactly the 
 reverse of what he inculcates. 
 
 The great cause of high wages, it will be recol- 
 lected, has been distinctly assumed to proceed from 
 the state of agriculture in this country. Let us now 
 examine the other causes of high wages, to ascer- 
 tain if they produce the same effects on profits as 
 result from a dearness of food. Here we refer to 
 the artificial habits of the labouring classes. In an 
 early part of this work the details exhibiting the 
 actual expenditure of a labourer, were fully illus- 
 trated ; and I conceive it to be capable of demon- 
 stration, that high wages created in consequence of 
 an elevated mode of living, tend to raise profits in- 
 stead of lowering them. It might at first view, seem 
 that the high cost of those other necessaries required 
 by the labourer, distinct from food, were already 
 embraced in the doctrine of Mr. Ricardo, and that 
 there its injurious effect on profits, appeared equally 
 palpable. As, on the contrary, I assert, that a 
 greater sum spent on such articles as clothing, is 
 highly beneficial ; it is important to indicate where 
 the distinction lies. Let us pursue the instance of 
 the article before employed for illustration, the coat. 
 Suppose the labourer expends in its purchase 4/. 
 instead of 2/. If custom require of labourers to 
 wear coats, this tends, more or less, to raise wages ; 
 and, to faciUtate the argument, I will concede that 
 
Theory of Profits. 161 
 
 it may produce on capital the effect described, and 
 is injurious. Suppose, on the other hand, the price 
 of cloth to remain the same ; but that the labourer, in 
 place of buying one coat, buys two. If the custom 
 of society so far elevates itself, as to render the use 
 of two coats necessary, where one formerly sufficed, 
 wages will be equally raised ; and, in place of pro- 
 fits suffering, they will be in a high degree benefit- 
 ed. It is in the manner here contemplated, that 
 I wish to be understood, by speaking of advancing 
 a labourer's mode of living. We are not to imagine 
 him consuming an uniform quantity of commodities, 
 and giving a higher price for them, but to consider 
 prices as continuing the same, or probably falling, 
 while he makes larger purchases, and extends them 
 to articles of consumption to which he had been pre- 
 viously unaccustomed. The reason why increased 
 wages, proceeding from this cause, are unattended 
 by the same effects which follow a rise in the price 
 of food, may be at once distinctly perceived, when 
 we reflect that the leading characteristics in the pro- 
 duction of manufactures and of corn, are directly 
 opposed to each other. The productive power of 
 the land diminishes at each stage of increased cul- 
 tivation: the productive power in the fabric and 
 fashion of manufactures scarcely knows a limit, its 
 improvements are, in fact, of daily progression. The 
 land has been compared to a series of machines, of 
 which the best are first put in use ; step by step 
 those of inferior description are employed ; and as 
 
 M 
 
I(j2 Examination of Mr. Ricardo''s 
 
 the cost of commodities produced by bad machines 
 must be greater than those produced by good, so 
 must the evils resulting from this state of things 
 progressively advance. Manufactures are produced 
 by machines also, but here the worst are the first 
 invented; improvements are effected, which produce 
 more work, with diminished labour and expense of 
 capital. The old machinery becoming in conse- 
 quence gradually superseded, the expenses of the 
 manufacture are reduced, and the capitalist increases 
 his savings. If there existed a boundless extent of 
 land, of fertility corresponding to that last appropri- 
 ated for cultivation, none of the economists would 
 maintain that, in this conjuncture, profits could by 
 any competition injuriously suffer. Should it then 
 be established, that the custom of society renders cer- 
 tain articles as indispensable to the labourer as the 
 raw produce of the soil, and if those articles could 
 be produced to an unlimited extent, surely it is ma- 
 nifest that profits could not be depressed ; since no 
 owner of stock was constrained, like the farmer, in 
 the previous instance, to devote a greater outlay by 
 having recourse to machines of diminished power. 
 Let us assume that at any imaginary period the ar- 
 ticle of stockings was not used in the families of la- 
 bourers, but that such amelioration subsequently 
 arose as to bring them into general use. Here 
 would be a new employment for capital. The stock- 
 ing manufacturer would certainly not, on commen- 
 cing business, be satisfied with inferior profits to 
 
Theory of Profits. ] 63 
 
 those of other proprietors of stock. He must have 
 his due price, or he would not produce the commo- 
 dity. But it is assumed that the use of that article 
 is indispensable to the labourer ; he will, therefore, 
 purchase it at whatever cost ; and thus the capitalist 
 will be released from any danger of having to be 
 satisfied with inferior returns. The general rate of 
 profit, in every branch of industry, tends, as has 
 been seen, to a certain equality in relation to the 
 nature of the employment. When, from unavoidable 
 necessity, the rate in the most important and exten- 
 sive branch declines, all the others must follow. But 
 in the case now under discussion, the change in the 
 remuneration given for labour leads to no such al- 
 ternative ; a conclusion obviously consequent on the 
 principles adopted by the economists themselves* 
 that profits can never be reduced if the last quantity 
 of capital be so employed as to yield returns equally 
 productive with the first. Let us take, for example, 
 any country possessed of a certain quantity of land, 
 and suppose an increase of wages there from im- 
 proved habits, through which there is a greater de- 
 mand for manufactures. To whatever extent wages 
 may rise, there is a proportionately additional 
 means presented for the employment of capital. 
 Wages would not have risen had not the labourers 
 increased their consumption of those material ob- 
 ject s possessing exchangeable value ; and in the 
 same ratio that the consumption of those material 
 objects has increased, precisely has the field been 
 
164 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 enlarged to the capitalist for the employment of 
 stock, on terms not less productive than that em- 
 ployed in the first instance. Whether the rise be a 
 fifth, a fourth, or a third, of the amount of wages, 
 to that extent is the increase of new objects of in- 
 dustry presented, or, what is the same thing, the de- 
 mand for old ones increased. It is important to 
 remark, that though profits are thus not in the least 
 depressed, yet commodities will vary as to the pro- 
 portions in which they exchange one to another, ac- 
 cording as they are produced by capital of the va- 
 rious degrees of durability. If, before the change 
 took place, a certain quantity of cotton goods ex- 
 changed for a certain quantity of raw produce, sub- 
 sequent to the change a greater quantity of cottons 
 would be given, because, in determining the cost of 
 this latter commodity, in relation to the other, a less 
 quantity of immediate labour, where the rise has 
 occurred, entered into the production. The rate of 
 profit, however, in each employment will adjust it- 
 self to the level uniformly prevalent in the commu- 
 nity. There being, in the first instance, no compul- 
 sion for any one capitalist to reduce his profits, we 
 are not to presume that such would be done volun- 
 tarily. If one man found that the net returns ob- 
 tained upon his stock fell short of those acquired 
 by another, he would change his pursuit; and if we 
 grant the position, that it is imperative on the part 
 of the labourer to possess certain additional articles 
 beyond his previous habits, it is evident that what 
 
Theory of Profits. 105 
 
 they thus acquire is clear gain to the country, and 
 entails no possible injury on the other classes. This 
 train of reasoning may be put more tangibly, if 
 we combine the whole of its relations, and con- 
 template it nationally, which is indeed the scale on 
 which we should always view questions in Political 
 Economy. Let us take the entire income of a country, 
 say Great Britain, to amount to 200 millions annu- 
 ally, either of pounds sterling, or of hats, or any- 
 thing else possessing corresponding exchangeable 
 value. This exhibits the annual production of those 
 material objects which, properly speaking, consti- 
 tute wealth. Suppose the distribution of these 
 200 millions to be as follows : 
 
 Landlords .... 40 
 Labourers .... 90 
 Capitalists .... 70 
 
 * 200 
 
 Now let an improvement take place in the la- 
 bourer's mode of living, through which that class 
 requires 10 millions of commodities additional. 
 Here the wealth of the country is obviously in- 
 creased 10 millions, the annual production of ma- 
 terial objects being augmented to 210 millions, of 
 which_the labourer takes 100. But 70 millions 
 are still allotted to the capitalist ; and though wages 
 have clearly risen, how is it possible to contend 
 that the rate of profits has been reduced. If Mr. 
 Ricardo's position were correct in this instance, 
 that profits fall as wages rise, the proportion of 
 
166 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 the annual production distributed to the capitalist 
 should have decreased from 70 to 60 millions. The 
 relation of the labourer to the capitalist has no 
 doubt varied, but it has not varied in the manner 
 asserted by the modern economists — the one ad- 
 vancing, and the other retrograding. The former 
 alone has advanced, while the other has remained 
 stationary ; in which case, while the general inte- 
 rests of the community have been benefited, no 
 injury has befallen any one class. When an aug- 
 mented remuneration is thus given to the labourer, 
 it is not to be inferred that no influence is exer- 
 cised on prices, taking commodities in the aggre- 
 gate. The disciples of the modern school, as has 
 been seen, maintain that a rise of wages creates no 
 rise in prices. Prices, properly speaking, relate to a 
 certain commodity employed as a measure of value 
 to compare one description of commodity with ano- 
 ther ; and as it varies, itself, in value with a rise in 
 wages, commodities compared to it must bear the 
 same proportion as before the rise. It is true that 
 from the different degrees of durability of capital 
 employed in production, some commodities vary 
 more than others; but it will be recollected that the 
 standard chosen to measure value was considered 
 to preserve about a medium between those that 
 rise and those that fall, and therefore it may be 
 said in the aggregate that no rise ensued in prices. 
 In the case, however, which we have assumed, 
 of a rise in wages caused by an improved mode of 
 
Theory of Profits. 167 
 
 living, the price of all commodities, in regard to 
 the standard by which prices are estimated, also 
 rises ; and the elucidation of this principle will, I 
 hope, set the correctness of our doctrine in a clear 
 and decisive point of view. Prices are computed 
 in gold and silver. Now if the improvement in 
 the mode of living extend not to the labourers em- 
 ployed in procuring the precious metals, wages will 
 in that employment be lower than in all others ; 
 and if the profits of stock are equally adjusted, the 
 owner of the mine can afford to give relatively 
 more of his bullion in exchange for other commodi- 
 ties than he could prior to the advance in wages. 
 All those other commodities will consequently be 
 advanced in price. A pair of stockings, which for- 
 merly exchanged for an ounce of silver coined into 
 5.y., will now probably exchange for an ounce and 
 a quarter, coined into Qs. ScL The price before was 
 simply OS., now it is 6*. 3d. On similar principles 
 are all other commodities affected. 
 
 In several of our illustrations we have, for the sake 
 of simplifying, supposed the mines yielding the pre- 
 cious metals to be within the country where the com- 
 parison has been instituted. Let us now enlarge a 
 little, and consider what is really the case, gold and 
 silver being the produce of distant countries. This 
 circumstance plainly effects no difference in the 
 principles which regulate its production. We al- 
 ways obtain it in exchange for other commodities. 
 We require a certain quantity Ibr plate, and wear 
 
168 Examination of Mr. Ricardo''s 
 
 and tear of the coinage, and we accordingly send 
 abroad as much of our cottons, woollens, and other 
 articles as will purchase what bullion we require. 
 If then wages are comparatively high in this country, 
 from our labourers being comfortably clothed and 
 lodged, while those who work in the mines abroad 
 have little beyond the bare necessaries of sub- 
 sistence, it is evident, as has just been explained, 
 that the articles produced by us will be dear in 
 comparison to the gold and silver. But gold and 
 silver are not only the measure of value between 
 these two countries, but form the medium in the 
 dealings of all other countries ; and accordingly, in 
 those places where labour is not so well rewarded, 
 commodities will be cheaper, though the rate of 
 profit remain unaltered. Here lies the great distinc- 
 tion between our doctrine and the Ricardo theory. 
 
 From the increase of wages created by the la- 
 bourer's increased consumption of commodities, 
 there has been no necessity to lower the rate of 
 profits. The capitalist, therefore, when he goes to 
 exchange the articles of his own production for fo- 
 reign produce, demands that price, or, in other 
 words, that quantity of foreign produce, which wiU, 
 when brought home and sold, afford him the same 
 profit to which he has. always been accustomed. In 
 a word, prices rise. No, exclaim the modern eco- 
 nomists, profits fall as wages rise ; you mar the 
 beauty of our theory, if you disprove this proposi- 
 tion—there is no rise at all in prices, for what you 
 
Theory of Profits. 169 
 
 have given to the labourer is taken from the master. 
 Here we disagree : I find the capitalists in precisely 
 the same situation as before, but the labourer greatly 
 benefited ; and in such case it is apparent that the 
 prices of our commodities must be higher in relation 
 to those of countries where labour is cheaper. 
 
 It is not for a moment to be imagined that high 
 prices expose us to no disadvantages, as a manu- 
 facturing nation. Tt is at once conceded, that 
 they contract to us the field of competition, and 
 subject us to the risk of having our merchandise 
 undersold in foreign markets by those rivals with 
 whom labour is cheaper, and who are engaged in 
 the same description of productive industry as our- 
 selves. Men whose subsistence is limited to po- 
 tatoes and water, and whose nakedness is scarcely 
 covered, can render their labour at a much lower 
 price than men who require, and receive, the com- 
 forts of life. But still some circumstances combine, 
 w^hich tend to lessen the disadvantage. Through 
 the improved condition of the labouring classes, 
 at all times forming the chief mass of consumers, 
 there is a brisk demand for foreign commodities. 
 A large importation will consequently ensue. Pay- 
 ment must be made by commodities produced at 
 home. As all prices have risen, some difficulty 
 might be encountered in preserving our connexions 
 abroad, and procuring the interchange of merchan- 
 dise, on terms mutually approved ; if such could 
 not be done, the intercourse must gradually dimi- 
 
170 Examination of Mr. Ricardo''s 
 
 nish, and have a tendency to cease altogether. But 
 our manufacturers, or capitahsts, having, from the 
 rise of wages, sustained no injury, their ardour, 
 assiduity, and enterprise become whetted by the 
 difficulties opposed to them ; invention is aroused ; 
 the labours of ingenious men are brought to their 
 assistance ; new machines are discovered ; innume- 
 rable modes devised to abridge or to facilitate la- 
 bour ; and the result produces such a saving in the 
 cost of production, as enables us to maintain com- 
 petition with rival nations, without the least dimi- 
 nution of our commerce. No derangement of our 
 trade ensues in regard to the precious metals. 
 From the first commencement of the operation of 
 the rise in prices, as our goods become dearer, gold 
 and silver must fall in relative value. If this con- 
 tinued for any great length of time, it would un- 
 doubtedly affect our exchanges with other countries, 
 and derange our commerce. But from the impetus 
 given to invention, in order to abridge labour, this 
 circumstance, after a short period, scarcely prevails ; 
 at least, such has hitherto been the case in this 
 country. Here is developed the manner in which 
 machinery is introduced. It may, in this place, be 
 once more stated, that such discoveries arise, not 
 from the lecturing of speculative philosophers in 
 universities, but, so far as the useful arts are con- 
 cerned, from practical men engaged in the details 
 of business. The opinions held by the adherents 
 of the modern school, upon this head, are pecuharly 
 
Theory of Profits. 171 
 
 unsatisfactory. Mr. Ricardo argues that the pos- 
 sessors of machines, viewing the subject generally, 
 do not derive exclusive advantages ; for if profits be 
 higher in that department in which they are used, 
 other capital flows into it, and thus brings about 
 an equality. He also maintains that, after a fall 
 of profits has taken place, persons about to enter on 
 a business requiring a large amount of capital sunk 
 in fixed buildings, or durable machinery, would be, 
 in a certain sense, subject to greater disadvantages 
 than those already in business. Along with the 
 progressive rise in labour, though agreeably to his 
 theory the returns of the latter would be less from 
 the greater cost now required to erect their build- 
 ings, yet their capitals would relatively increase in 
 value. (Ricardo, p. 124.) Those persons, however, 
 just commencing, would have no such consolation 
 under a low rate of profit. With the prospect of 
 improvement, the inducement to sink much capital 
 in business would, in reality, be weakened. Should 
 profits rise, — why, then, according to this theory, 
 wages fall ; the exchangeable value of the build- 
 ings, works, or machinery, erected in the unpro- 
 sperous period previous to the change would like- 
 wise fall, as the same works or machinery could 
 now be put up at a relatively less expense. Con- 
 sistently with this reasoning, how do we account for 
 the astonishing improvements witnessed in England? 
 When is it that inducements exist to improve ma- 
 chinery t Assuredly, as is on all sides admitted, 
 
1 72 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 when the price of labour is high. I put it, then, to 
 the practical manufacturer to decide, which is most 
 consonant with facts, the Ricardo theory, or that 
 which I oppose to it. The former maintains that, on 
 a rise of wages profits fall, yet prices remain the 
 same; and, consequently, because the prospects of 
 the capitalist are bad, improvements are effected. 
 It will be kept in mind, that Mr. Ricardo contends, 
 that the advantage of these improvements accrues to 
 the consumer ; and, also, that if prosperity revisit 
 the capitalist, those who introduced them at the 
 juncture at which they were wanted, will find the 
 value of the capitals so sunk reduced considerably. 
 On the other hand, let the doctrine I have put forth 
 be examined, in which it is assumed, that no com- 
 pulsion exists to require one man to receive less net 
 return than another. Here profits remain the same, 
 prices rise ; and, consequently, all the producers be- 
 ing, as it may be said, in good heart and spirits, 
 every mode within the reach of ingenuity to devise 
 is adopted, to prevent foreigners from underselling 
 us. I anticipate, from those best capable of judging 
 correctly, a verdict in my favour. 
 
 I freely concede that our advantages are contin- 
 gent and artificial, inasmuch as works and machinery 
 to the same extent can be introduced among our 
 rivals. It is the proper estimate of this considera- 
 tion which should make us doubly cautious how we 
 risk the pre-eminence we now enjoy. Should those 
 rivals obtain machinery as effective as our own, we 
 
Theory of Prcfilt. 173 
 
 must be, eventually, superseded in our manufactures. 
 The examination of this particular, occupies a con- 
 siderable share of the remainder of our task. At 
 present, we are discussing the modern theory of pro- 
 fits, which are supposed uniformly to fall as wages 
 rise. I have endeavoured to demonstrate the con- 
 trary, when the rise of wages is caused by a superior 
 mode of living. It may be important to remark, that 
 Mr. Ricardo has, himself, admitted the correctness 
 of my views, in an accidental observation of his in 
 treating of the Poor Laws ; he appears to have 
 done so unconsciously, and could never have been 
 aware that it invalidated much of the basis on 
 which his theory is founded. In speaking of the 
 propriety of levying the poor-rates on the manufac- 
 turer, he observes : — 
 
 " This additional tax, if it fell with peculiar se- 
 verity on manufacturers, which it does not, would, 
 under such circumstances, be added to the price of 
 their goods ; for there can be no reason why their 
 profits should be reduced below the general rate 
 of profits, when their capitals might be easily re- 
 moved to agriculture." — Principles of Political Eco- 
 nomy/, p. 306. 
 
 A little reflection here would have exhibited, that 
 a rise in wages docs not necessarily lower profits. 
 Suppose this tax, instead of being distributed 
 amongst paupers, were expended on increased 
 wages to the labourer, to enable him to compass 
 additional indulgences. In this case would not 
 
174 Examinatioji of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 wages rise, and how would the manufacturers 
 suffer ? As Mr. Ricardo very justly observes, they 
 would change their employment, and if one person 
 were not constrained to take smaller profits than 
 another, prices would rise ; which is precisely the 
 conclusion to which I have all along been aiming. 
 It may be proper to enter into some explanation 
 to counteract the possible impression, that the ele- 
 vated mode of living contemplated, and the labour- 
 er's consumption of additional articles of comfort, 
 would be to too limited an extent. It must not then 
 be supposed to be confined to articles of clothing, 
 of furniture, or whatever else is distinct from food. 
 We are to include all articles of foreign produce, 
 such as tea, sugar, tobacco, brandy, rum, in fact 
 every thing used by the labourer, which is not of 
 home growth. The reason is apparent. All these 
 are bought by commodities ; and the manufacturer, 
 as well as numberless others, are more benefited 
 by having to export their goods, than if the goods 
 were directly consumed at home. The least reflec- 
 tion must show the powerful scope thus created for 
 industry. Economists of consideration are well con- 
 vinced, that to import largely the necessaries and 
 luxuries of foreign climates, is the mode best adapted 
 to increase our exports. Who then are the great 
 consumers ? Unquestionably the great body of the 
 labourers. What has so prodigiously swelled the 
 commerce of Great Britain ? It is the comfortable 
 condition of those labourers, which requires so great 
 
Theory of Profits. 175 
 
 a variety and quantity of commodities to minister to 
 their enjoyment. And yet in the midst of this ope- 
 ration we are told that, owing to the very causes of 
 the increase of trade, profits fall. Surely amongst 
 all the contradictory tenets of the modern economists 
 (and they are neither few nor small) there is none 
 which surpasses this. But when once men soar into 
 the realms of speculation, who shall say where they 
 will stop ? They spurn the limits of ordinary com- 
 prehension, whilst, with singular inconsistency, they 
 still profess to keep experience and facts in sight. 
 
 With regard to population, I trust that through- 
 out this analysis, the principles I have developed 
 have been properly estimated. Many might at first 
 sight conceive, that liberal remuneration to the la- 
 bourer, arising from a high scale of artificial habits, 
 could only be accidental and temporary ; an increase 
 of labourers being eventually produced by it, which 
 would restore things to their previous level. It has, 
 I hope, been satisfactorily established, in the third 
 section of the first part of the work, that this opi- 
 nion is unsound, and that population may be so ad- 
 justed to the demand for labour, as to perpetuate 
 a high natural rate of wages. A high market rate, 
 it is granted, is but temporary, and should not be 
 taken as a foundation on which to build general rea- 
 soning. I have not in this section alluded to it ; 
 and far from conceiving it beneficial, I believe it can 
 never, speaking generally, lead in itself to a high 
 natural rate. I have taken every pains to elucidate 
 
176 Examination of Mr. Ricardo''s 
 
 this important and vital point ; and I would wish it 
 distinctly understood, that when mention is made of 
 a high mode of living of the labourers, it is meant 
 to be taken agreeably to the manner laid down in 
 these pages, and as leading in consequence to a high 
 NATURAL rate of wages. 
 
 We have been hitherto content to maintain that 
 the operation of high wages, proceeding from this 
 cause, visited no detriment on profits. This limited 
 result was acquiesced in, to preserve perspicuity, 
 and to prevent the clashing of various ideas. We are, 
 however, in reality, justified in going much farther. 
 Not only, as has been already intimated, is the in- 
 creased quantity of capital employed as productively 
 as before, but it has a tendency to be employed even 
 more productively. It will be recollected that the 
 production of manufactures is directly opposite to 
 the produce of the soil. Benefits derived by the ca- 
 pitalist in the former seem more or less of incessant 
 occurrence. Let us suppose, at any given period, 
 a rise in wages : agreeably to our doctrine, there 
 being no inducement to lower profits, prices would 
 rise until invention of some kind caused a reaction. 
 But improvements would not stop there. Others 
 would take place daily, of which the capitalist would 
 derive the sole benefit, at least until some further 
 change occurred in prices. This must be the case 
 in every stage of advancement. A cotton-mill built 
 this year is better constructed, and made on more 
 approved principles, than those erected the year be- 
 
Theory of Profits. 177 
 
 fore. In every other branch of industry where a 
 large fixed capital is required, the same reasoning 
 applies ; more work is finished at less expense. The 
 proprietor derives the saving ; and if we admit the 
 principle which I think has been established, that 
 when wages rise from labourers requiring new ar- 
 ticles of consumption, no person is constrained to 
 curtail his net returns, it is clear to demonstration, 
 that through the continual improvements in the ma- 
 chinery used by capitalists to furnish them, profits 
 will be augmented. 
 
 If this conclusion be correct, it is easy toperceive 
 its immense practical importance ; and how essen- 
 tial it is to keep all its complex operations in view, 
 when legislating upon Trade. High wages caused 
 by dearness of food, and high wages proceeding 
 from an ameliorated mode of living, lead to results 
 directly opposite to each other. With respect to 
 the former, to prevent misapprehension, some ex- 
 planation was given regarding the different modes 
 in which wages were influenced according as we 
 interpret the epithet " high," a term too often am- 
 biguously used and erroneously understood. 
 
 It may exhibit the contrast more clearly, to adopt 
 the same course with the latter : and. 
 
 First. The money -price, as in the former instance, 
 shows the rise in the exchangeable value of labour 
 as compared with the precious metals, the commo- 
 dities employed to measure value. 
 
 Secondly. The real reward, or command over the 
 
 N 
 
1 78 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 necessaries of life, given to the labourer, has ob- 
 viously increased. 
 
 Thirdly. As either new commodities are created, 
 or old ones augmented, by the superior mode of 
 living of the labourer, there is clearly an increase 
 of natural riches. No alteration necessarily ensues 
 relative to the distribution of what was formerly in 
 existence ; a piece of velvet, or embroidery, or any 
 other article not in use among labourers, retaining 
 its former proportions in what belongs respectively 
 to wages and to profits. There has been no com- 
 pulsion to reduce the latter, and if the capitalists 
 give more wages to their workmen, they demand 
 higher prices in return. This is merely supposing 
 the effects consequent on the change as equal ; but 
 as has been shown, there is a tendency, in producing 
 manufactures, for savings to be increased ; less la- 
 bour is then required, and the proportional wages 
 expended on the production of any one article fall 
 whilst profits rise. 
 
 Fourthly. Prices in the first instance rise, when 
 computed in gold or silver, or compared with foreign 
 commodities ; but from the prosperity participated 
 by all capitalists, invention is stimulated, and im- 
 provements are introduced, which prevent foreigners 
 from underselling us, and enable us not only to re- 
 tain our trade, but considerably to enlarge it, from 
 the improvement in the condition of our great mass 
 of consumers. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be demanded, why may not 
 
Theory of Profits. 179 
 
 prices equally rise when the price of labour is ad- 
 vanced by dearness of food : and why may not the 
 evil be corrected by improved machinery, as here 
 described? The question certainly seems perti- 
 nent, and demands attention. It will be remem- 
 bered, that in the one case there was no increase 
 to national riches. In any different distribution of 
 those riches, therefore, which could ensue, whatever 
 was taken from one class must accrue to another. 
 Let us resume the example already adduced. Sup- 
 pose the entire produce of the country to amount to 
 200 millions sterHng, thus distributed: — 
 
 To the Landlord 40 [to purchase a quota out of the en-] 200 
 Labourer 90 < tire commodities of the country, > 450 
 Capitalist 70 [ equal to . . . .J 350 
 
 200 1000 
 
 This assumed sum of 1000 represents the entire 
 amount of national products of the country : raw pro- 
 duce, necessaries, luxuries — every thing, in a word, 
 desirable to man, and possessing exchangeable 
 value. Suppose further, that out of this 1000, a 
 quantity to the amount of 200 were exported, for 
 which, commodities of corresponding value were re- 
 ceived in return. Now assume a change, from a rise 
 in the price of corn, owing to which the labourer re- 
 quires 100 instead of 90, to purchase those necessa- 
 ries represented by the number 450, to which he had 
 been previously accustomed. In this juncture, the 
 
 N 2 
 
180 Examination of Mr. Ricardo'^s 
 
 landlord being excluded from the case, for the rea- 
 sons assigned regarding rent, the capitalist, it might 
 be imagined, ought to raise the value of his com- 
 modities, to prevent his own interests from suffering. 
 But the entire amount of commodities consisting of 
 1000, unless that number can be enlarged, all at- 
 tempts to raise their real value and make it per- 
 manent must prove futile ; commerce being the 
 exchange merely of one article for another. 
 
 Let us now view the individual capitalist, and 
 see if, leaving out the consideration of total 
 value, the same rate of profit in proportion to the 
 amount of capital could be preserved. To attain 
 this end, the only resource left to the capitalist 
 is to enlarge his savings by improvements in 
 machinery. Labour has risen, from dearness of 
 food ; we have not, therefore, to consider of agricul- 
 tural improvements, because they would have pre- 
 vented the dearness which is the evil alleged and 
 sought to be remedied. It must then take place in 
 manufactures. Let us imagine the capitalist here 
 to effect such increase in his savings as to preserve 
 to him in amount his former profits. As there has 
 been a necessity to take inferior lands into cultiva- 
 tion at a greater outlay, if the manufacturers kept 
 to themselves the entire benefit derived from these 
 improvements, they would realize higher profits 
 than other classes in the community. But such 
 could not continue ; capital would flow into those 
 
Theory of Profits. 181 
 
 other more advantageous employments, and ulti- 
 mately effect a general uniformity of profit. 
 
 This then being the case, and still precisely the 
 same quantity of exports, and the same quantity of 
 articles of home consumption being produced, if 
 their value be measured by gold and silver, or any 
 other commodity of foreign production, w^hatever 
 increase is given to the labourer from the dearness 
 of food, a commensurate deduction in value is taken 
 from the capitalist. Thus profits fall, v^hether 
 taken in the enlarged sense, as applied to the whole 
 proportion of wages, or as merely viewing the rate 
 derived by the individual ; and any excitement 
 created by the first tendency to high prices leads 
 not to the same beneficial result in favour of the 
 capitalist as when wages rise from labourers con- 
 suming more commodities. In the latter case, when 
 wages rise, the manufacturers are immediately 
 prompted to exert themselves to introduce improve- 
 ments such as may enable them to retain their con- 
 nexions. If they succeed, they do not derive ex- 
 clusive advantages ; they merely preserve their 
 equality ; there has been no cause for profits gene- 
 rally to fall ; and on principles directly the reverse 
 of the former case, were they not to reap the benefit 
 of the new machinery, they would change their em- 
 ployments. To do this there is every opportunity, 
 because, though the labourers have acquired an in- 
 crease of value, there has also been an increase of 
 wealth. If they consume now to the value of 
 
182 Examination of Mr. Ricardo's 
 
 100 millions, the commodities so procured have 
 been increased from 450 to 500, and the amount of 
 material products, in other words, the national 
 wealth, has been augmented from 1000 to 1050. 
 No diminution, therefore, either in number of pro- 
 ducts or of value, has ensued in the distribution to 
 the great body of capitalists. 
 
 I have dwelt at some length on this branch of the 
 inquiry, because it touches fundamentally the pe- 
 culiar characteristics of the modern school. I be- 
 lieve I have adhered scrupulously to the rule with 
 which I sat out, that of meeting the advocates 
 of that school on their own grounds, and avoiding 
 recourse to extraneous causes or circumstances in 
 discussing what I deem the major portion of the 
 question. Throughout Mr. Ricardo's book, he ar- 
 gues as if high wages invariably occasioned low 
 profits. Of the most important part of the analysis 
 he has omitted to treat ; he seems, indeed, to have 
 been not perfectly acquainted with it, and has, in 
 consequence, adopted conclusions which a closer 
 view of the subject might have led him essentially 
 to modify. It cannot be urged, that when he spoke 
 of profits falling, he referred solely to the cultiva- 
 tion of inferior land ; the other causes of high wages 
 which I have endeavoured to illustrate are distinctly 
 included. In his chapter on Value, after explaining 
 that wages being high from a low value of money 
 is not the circumstance demanding attention, he ob- 
 serves — 
 
Tliem/ of Profits. 183 
 
 •* A rise in wages, from an alteration in the value 
 of money, produces a general effect on price, and 
 for that reason it produces no real effect whatever 
 on profits. On the contrary, a rise of wages, /rowi 
 the circumstance of the labourer being more liberally 
 rewarded, or from a difficulty of procuring the ne- 
 cessaries on which wages are expended, does not, 
 except in some instances, produce the effect of 
 raising price, but has a great effect in lowering 
 profits."— p. 48. 
 
 The difference between us is thus substantial, 
 and relates not to a mere distinction in definition of 
 terms. 
 
 The acknowledgment of our liability to be ex- 
 cluded from foreign markets in consequence of high 
 wages, originating from no matter what cause, may 
 by some be viewed as the admission of an evil ; 
 and that, as we do but thus substitute one evil for 
 another, it matters not, practically speaking, to what 
 cause we attribute the deterioration of national pro- 
 sperity. A certain weight may, at first sight, ap- 
 pear to attach to this objection ; but in reality, the 
 difference between the two systems is equally 
 marked and striking, in what relates to the practical 
 regulations of trade, as in what belongs to the mere 
 consideration of theoretical principles. Agreeably 
 to the conclusions of the modern school, profits 
 falling from the first commencement of a rise in 
 wages, capital is driven out of the country lo seek 
 
184 Examination of Mr. Ricardd's 
 
 more advantageous investment abroad ; the most 
 injurious consequences are thus visited on the state, 
 for with capitalists originate all industrious employ- 
 ments ; from their funds is labour supported ; and if 
 those funds are to be employed at home, in vain, it 
 is contended, can you hope to advance, or even pre- 
 serve your present elevation. But my views lead 
 to no such disastrous results. The country may, 
 in some respects, and speaking comparatively, 
 become, to the idle, a dear place to live in ; but 
 the capitalists sustain no injury in the employment 
 of their stock ; increased excitement arises for those 
 improvements which distinguish and ennoble the 
 ingenuity of man. Even alleging those improve- 
 ments to be fortuitous and limited, they do but 
 the more impel us to adopt that judicious system 
 of restriction which shall tend to preserve to us 
 these exclusive advantages. 
 
 To England, in all our arguments, should the 
 attention be directed, the great object of inquiry 
 being obviously to ascertain the proper policy 
 required for her benefit. If the reasoning here 
 adduced has hitherto appeared satisfactory, I have 
 succeeded, agreeably to the object avowed in the 
 Introduction, in exposing two palpable and vital 
 mistakes in the doctrine of the modern economists : 
 first, that it is a great error to suppose, that any 
 freedom of trade could annihilate the principal 
 cause of high wages in this country ; and, secondly, 
 
Theory of Profits. 185 
 
 that the effects proceeding from this principal 
 cause, so far from being prejudicial, are eminently 
 salutary. 
 
 The main part of the question is thus disposed 
 of, so far as relates to the confutation of these pecu- 
 liar tenets. It would, doubtless, be desirable, as 
 has been formerly stated, to ascertain the exact 
 length to which this principal cause of high wages 
 extends. I assumed it to amount to considerably 
 more than twice the extent of the operation of dear- 
 ness of corn, on comparing the expenditure of our 
 peasantry with those of France. Some difference 
 may, unquestionably, be found, between my state- 
 ment and the results of any other mode of inquiry, 
 but, I believe, none of sufficient moment to impair 
 the general correctness of my deductions. 
 
186 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 Section II. 
 
 INQUIRY HOW FAR A DEARNESS OF FOOD TENDS TO 
 DEPRESS PROFITS. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be conceived to have been ad- 
 mitted, that to whatever amount the cultivation of 
 inferior lands tended to raise the wages of labour, 
 that circumstance operated to at least a corre- 
 sponding extent, to injure the interests of the 
 capitalist. It will, however, be recollected that, 
 to simplify the discussion, this was admitted con- 
 ditionally. When two or more causes combine to 
 produce a certain result, it is an important object to 
 distinguish them correctly ; to confine each to its 
 due limits ; and in tracing their separate effects, to 
 avoid all unnecessary reasoning or illustration. 
 Hitherto there has been no occasion to contest 
 the results ascribed to the farming of inferior soils : 
 the task of refutation was conducted more deci- 
 sively by meeting the economists on their own 
 grounds. But as dearness of food does certainly 
 form one cause of high wages in England, it now 
 becomes necessary to inquire, if the views of the 
 economists, in this particular, command unqualified 
 assent. 
 
 Having, at all events, shown that the evil is not 
 so extensive as in the popular estimation it appears 
 
tends to depress Profits. 187 
 
 to be, it is not improbable that the conflicting parts 
 of the argument may be less obstinately contested. 
 Disputants naturally abate somewhat of the tena- 
 city with which a favourite hypothesis is main- 
 tained, when its primary basis is either invalidated, 
 or, at least, shown to have been in its effects 
 greatly overrated. It has been assumed that the 
 dear price of food in this country, compared with 
 its price in France, does not, intrinsically, amount 
 to one-fourth of the entire difference of wages. But 
 our purpose will be sufficiently answered by giving 
 even a greater latitude. It may still, however, 
 be said, that this is an evil, to whatever extent it 
 goes ; and why, therefore, should it exist at all, 
 since the interests of the capitalist are propor- 
 tionally injured? 
 
 From the general outline of the peculiar theory 
 of rent adopted by the modern economists, it was 
 seen that it was not allowed to enter into the cost 
 either of raw produce, or of any commodity. If 
 there existed a boundless extent of territory, of 
 various degrees of fertility ; and if every person 
 had the privilege of appropriating to himself any 
 desired portion of unoccupied land; then, indeed, it 
 might be argued that rent entered not into the cost 
 of production, it representing merely the differ- 
 ence of outlay between the most fertile and the 
 inferior soils. But, on bringing home the argument 
 to England, we find her in no such condition. We 
 are, therefore, called upon to reject mere hypo- 
 
188 How far a Dearness of "Food 
 
 thesis, and to apply our reasoning to practical 
 objects. Tlie Ricardo theory of rent may be cor- 
 rect, if taken absolutely ; but in a subject where 
 other circumstances indispensably combine to mo- 
 dify results, it is, surely, not warrantable to omit 
 the consideration of them. 
 
 I proceed, then, to examine these modifications. 
 In the first place, I shall endeavour to show the 
 true cause why corn is dear in this country ; in the 
 second, I shall attempt to explain the influence of 
 the supply and demand of capital upon profits; 
 and, lastly, I shall strive to deduce the important 
 conclusion, that profits do not suffer from any ex- 
 tension of agriculture occasioned by the exclusion 
 of foreign corn. 
 
 This will complete my reply to the tenets of the 
 modern school of economists regarding their theory 
 of profits, the part in which their objections most 
 impugn the restrictive system. 
 
 Notwithstanding the many discussions which 
 have taken place relative to the progressive advance 
 in the price of food in this country, there are, per- 
 haps, few points in Political Economy understood 
 so imperfectly: writers have generally contented 
 themselves with delineating the effects caused by a 
 dear price of corn on labour ; but the converse of 
 the proposition, that a high price of labour must 
 produce dear corn, seems never to have been 
 noticed. The only reason we can assign for so 
 great an omission, is the having estimated this 
 
tends fo depress Profits. 189 
 
 as a mere transposition of terms. By considering 
 the price of food as one and every thing in deter- 
 mining the rate of wages, it was deemed useless to 
 recur to any reaction, or to obscure the argument 
 by introducing extraneous or adventitious circum- 
 stances. Sometimes, indeed, we perceive a little 
 qualification ; but it is merely incidental, and is never 
 taken into account in the business of defining causes 
 for any specified result. The opinions of men in this 
 country have, from this, been divided, and two seve- 
 ral explanations have been attempted of the origin 
 of the dearness of corn in England, compared with 
 other countries. By one" it has been attributed to 
 exorbitant taxation ; by the other, to the cultivation 
 of inferior soils. Among the supporters of the lat- 
 ter opinion are to be included all the leading econo- 
 mists ; and of late years this party has, generally 
 speaking, gained ground. Although impelled by 
 candour to acknowledge, that I disagree with the 
 one as to the deadening influence they ascribe to 
 taxation, yet I am still further at issue with the 
 principles of their opponents. The reader will not, 
 it is hoped, be startled, when he is told that, not- 
 withstanding the high price of wheat now in Eng- 
 land, compared to the price in France, yet it still 
 remains to be shown that this is occasioned by the 
 cultivation of inferior land. Such certainly may 
 be the case ; I only assert that it has never yet 
 been proved, either by Mr. Ricardo, Mr. M'CuUoch, 
 Colonel Torrens, or any one of the number who 
 
190 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 have written on this subject. The latter writer has 
 enumerated some of the particulars, in which the 
 habits of countries differ; had he pursued his me- 
 ditations further on the point, he might have per- 
 ceived that he had himself thus stated the leading 
 causes for dearness of corn, while the tendency of 
 his book was to an opposite object. Corn is pro- 
 duced by immediate labour, in greater proportion 
 than other commodities, and if the natural rate of 
 that labour be high, corn must consequently be 
 high also. We have shown that a principal rea- 
 son of wages being higher in England than in 
 France, proceeded from the customs of the one 
 occasioning the labourer to spend more on the gra- 
 tification of his factitious wants. How, then, is it 
 possible to deny that the raw produce of the soil is 
 raised in price in a corresponding proportion. If, 
 through the advance of civilization and public pro- 
 sperity, wages are augmented in consequence of the 
 labourer compassing increased enjoyments, the 
 prices of commodities undergo a variation, as esti- 
 mated to each other, according as durable machi- 
 nery or immediate labour enters more or less into 
 their production. Now, it is apparent that agri- 
 culture presents not such scope for the employ- 
 ment of machinery as manufactures do. No matter 
 what improvements are effected, still by far the 
 largest share of the cultivation of the land must be 
 carried on by manual exertion. Here, then, will 
 the effects produced by the rise in wages be most 
 
tends to depress Profits. 191 
 
 visible and striking. In other branches of industry 
 where we supply foreign markets with manufactures, 
 new machines, and savings of labour are employed, 
 which prevent any serious advance of price ; but 
 there being no such resource in farming, we dis- 
 cover the reason why cottons and woollens are 
 comparatively cheap, while the raw produce of the 
 soil is dear. To me this appears much the most 
 important consideration in solving the problem of 
 the general state of prices in this country. Taxa- 
 tion unquestionably operates to enhance still fur- 
 ther the cost of production. In addition to the ge- 
 neral taxes, tithes and poor-rates bear almost ex- 
 clusively on the land : and when these causes are 
 viewed in conjunction with the higher wages given 
 to the labourer from the customs of the society, 
 and it is further considered that immediate labour 
 is the chief item of expense in raising raw produce, 
 it is surely manifest that the price of corn must be 
 high in England, no matter what may be the ferti- 
 lity of the soil, or the rent paid to the landlords. 
 Through a species of reaction, food being indis- 
 pensable to the labourer, its dearness tends still 
 further to raise the rate of wages ; and the one act- 
 ing on the other reciprocally, creates in each a still 
 further enhancement. But this cannot be alleged 
 as a primitive cause ; it is an attribute dcducible 
 from the other circumstances assigned, in every 
 respect subservient and accessory, and not existing 
 independently of itself In the difference of wages 
 
192 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 between France and England it was assumed, that 
 three-fourths was ascribable to taxation and differ- 
 ence of customs ; is it too much, then, to assert, from 
 the illustration we have given regarding the culture 
 of raw produce, that the remaining fourth should 
 be considered as consequential, and entirely occa- 
 sioned by the operation of the predominant causes ? 
 Suppose the rate of wages 18.s. a week in England, 
 and in France lOs. ; if 6?. of the difference arise in 
 the manner assumed, it will lead to a dearer price 
 of corn, and that dear price of corn must eventually 
 cause 2s. more to be given to the labourer. What, 
 then, becomes of the clamour of the economists 
 against our cultivating inferior land ? Do they sub- 
 stantiate their charge ? I believe this brief exposi- 
 tion proves, that those varying grades of fertility, 
 on which they delight to expatiate, as leading to 
 high prices, are yet inapplicable to the condition of 
 England. There is but one objection which can be 
 offered to the opinions here submitted. It may be 
 urged that the table of expenditure among French 
 and English operatives, refers to those of them who 
 are mechanics, and not to agricultural labourers, 
 and that though the contrast may apply to the for- 
 mer, it will not apply to the latter. I admit that the 
 condition of our peasantry is greatly inferior to that 
 of artisans employed in manufactures. If any dis- 
 tress exist, it is in the agricultural districts that it 
 is to be found — among that most meritorious class, 
 whose independence the poet, with feelings of 
 
tends to depress Profits. 193 
 
 enthusiasm, may justly celebrate as forming their 
 country's pride. I believe, however, that the ap- 
 plication will, in the main, hold here, as well as 
 with tlie manufacturing classes. From an authen- 
 ticated statement, I find that the magistrates in 
 Sussex allow to their paupers, in what I denominate 
 artificial wants, more than three times the amount 
 which can be earned by the active labourers of 
 Picardy. If this be so, I am warranted in the de- 
 duction I have made, consequent on which many of 
 the leading dogmas of the modern economists be- 
 come completely annihilated. The manufacturer of 
 silk and the grower of corn are both affected by 
 high wages ; but the latter, perhaps, in greater pro- 
 portion, as I conceive there is less employment of 
 machinery, and more immediate labour: raising, 
 however, a commodity which, of necessity, leads to 
 a further rise in wages, superficial inquiry attributes 
 all to the land in the first instance, while, in reality, 
 dearness is here but secondary. If we recur to first 
 principles, it will be found to originate, correctly 
 speaking, in other causes, quite independent in their 
 operation. 
 
 Though the tendency of these opinions is greatly 
 to qualify the clamour against the proprietors of the 
 soil in England, it may nevertheless be contended 
 that the principle of the theory is correct ; and that, 
 were cultivation limited to such fertile districts as 
 the Carse of Gowrie, or the Vale of Gloucester, 
 profits would range much higher. 
 
194 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 Population extending, tillage must necessarily ex- 
 tend ; and if we confine ourselves to our own ter- 
 ritory, the greater outlay thus created from diminish- 
 ing productiveness, forms the ground for the argu- 
 ment of the economists, that profits become pro- 
 gressively depressed. Whatever tends to keep the 
 interests of the capitalists, in other words, profits, at 
 the highest rate, the economists pronounce the only 
 proper system ; and no matter how limited may be 
 your quantity of land of the first degree of fertility, 
 you should never resort to any inferior, or you will 
 infallibly lower profits. Many persons will con- 
 ceive that this reasoning savours of partiality to 
 some interests, and of injustice to others ; and that 
 on these grounds, when it is once shown that a high 
 natural rate of wages must lead to dearness of corn, 
 it is needless to pursue the argument farther, or to 
 inquire to what particular degree of productiveness 
 we have reached. 
 
 To put the whole case, however, in the plainest 
 possible light, we proceed a step farther, and it now 
 therefore becomes our object to examine into the 
 principles and the effects of the demand and supply 
 of capital. On this important point economists 
 greatly differ. On one side are ranged Adam Smith, 
 his able commentator the Marquis Gamier, Mr. 
 Malthus, MM. Say, Storch, and Sismondi. Oppo- 
 sed to them are Messrs. Ricardo, M'Culloch, and 
 Mill. It is to the latter class that I always refer, in 
 using the terms modern economists, or modern school. 
 
tends to depress Profits. 195 
 
 They, it is perhaps unnecessary to remark, contend 
 that the faraiing of land, according to the relative 
 degree of fertility, is the grand regulator of profits. 
 The other authorities maintain, that the rate of pro- 
 fit is determined according to the quantity of capital 
 in the market. When there is a great demand of ca- 
 pital, profits will be high ; when, on the contrary, ca- 
 pital abounds, from long accumulation, as is the case 
 in all old states, profits will be low. 
 
 That the general opinion coincides with the sen- 
 timents of Adam Smith and his followers, there can 
 be little doubt ; but if certain positions in the mo- 
 dern system be deemed of weight, the question 
 perhaps exhibits not that simplicity and obviousness 
 generally conceived, and it may therefore be neces- 
 sary to make a few further observations. In the 
 first place, regarding the general principles, it has 
 already been answered in this work. The suppo- 
 sition, that no extent of supply of capital engaged 
 in productive industry can injuriously affect profits 
 is, of necessity, founded on the basis that the 
 powers of production are unlimited, and that such 
 production ensures its own consumption. This sub- 
 ject has been elucidated at length, and if the erro- 
 neous views of the economists have there been 
 made apparent, a little reflection must show that 
 their deductions intended to be consequential, re- 
 specting the theory of profits, are equally invali- 
 dated. 
 
 When we are satisfied that certain proportions 
 
 O 2 
 
196 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 must exist between the productive and consumptive 
 powers in a country, it is not difficult to perceive 
 that when any circumstance occurs to derange these 
 proportions, capital must be more or less in request. 
 The general proposition, therefore, that accord- 
 ingly as a nation is advancing, is stationary, or de- 
 clining, will the demand for capital vary, and that 
 along with such variation, will profits be collaterally 
 affected, seems substantially correct. The state- 
 ments of Adam Smith on this head, though suffi- 
 ciently convincing to ordinary observation, may yet, 
 if subjected to the test of rigid inquiry, seem to de- 
 mand further scrutiny, as to whether any limits are 
 assignable to the employment of stock. But when 
 this point is explained, we perceive that all coun- 
 tries must eventually attain to that state, when the 
 accumulation of capital will be such as to lower pro- 
 fits through the effect of competition. In the con- 
 sideration of this subject no point is so essential to 
 be attended to as the striking fact, that men produce, 
 not to consume the commodities they receive in ex- 
 change, or in return, but to accumulate wealth, that 
 they may at some future period increase their expen- 
 diture. This accumulation then assumes a distinct 
 feature, as it is made out of revenue for enjoyment, 
 and not for the purposes of trade and reproduction. 
 Let us conceive, at any juncture, a number of capi- 
 talists situated similarly, aiming solely at accumu- 
 lation. If through the course of events the consump- 
 tion of the usual purchasers fell short of the amount 
 
tends to depress Profits. 197 
 
 of producion, it is apparent that the capitalists must 
 compete with each other ; they would court customers 
 for their goods ; and some would be tempted to un- 
 dersell their neighbours ; this would bring the rest 
 to the same measure, as one of necessity ; and thus 
 do profits sustain gradual reduction. Here is suffi- 
 ciently explained the reason why profits are invari- 
 ably low in old states. Competitors are daily in- 
 creasing, and if to acquire a fortune be the leading 
 desire, they must not consume in the proportion in 
 which they produce. A tendency in the markets to 
 be overstocked is the necessary result. But the 
 passion to accumulate still prevaiUng, it becomes 
 imperative to rest satisfied with slower progress to- 
 wards that end — in other words, to be content with 
 smaller gains. It being evident that this position 
 depends entirely on the soundness of the doctrine 
 previously advanced, nothing further than the mere 
 statement seems necessary to point out its con- 
 nexion. The great object is unquestionably to show 
 that in all countries much advanced in commerce 
 and in population, profits progressively fall ; but it 
 is plain that this is not always accomplished in a re- 
 gular or uniform manner; many accidental combi- 
 nations of circumstances may cause serious varia- 
 tion—may occasion periods of prosperity which, 
 though transient, are nevertheless sometimes of con- 
 siderable duration ; and on the whole, retard the era 
 when returns of capital become so low, as sensibly 
 to oppress the exertions of industry. 
 
198 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 It is the frequent occurrence of such circumstances 
 which leads to so much contradiction and perplexity, 
 according as the bias of writers inclines them to ad- 
 duce particular facts to bear out, as they maintain, 
 their theory by an appeal to experience. It may be 
 useful therefore to give a short explanation of those 
 incidents, of continual occurrence, which seem to 
 alter the rate of profits. 
 
 The variations of the seasons appear to be the 
 first of extensive influence. This has been hitherto 
 rejected by political writers, as of too transient and 
 fortuitous a nature to create any material influence. 
 It has been always contended, that every cultivator 
 of the land, before he vested his capital in that em- 
 ployment, calculated the average of seasons gene- 
 rally, and that on estimating a considerable period, 
 pretty accurate conclusions might be obtained. 
 
 Of late years, from a more attentive examination 
 of records relating to agriculture in England for the 
 last two centuries, as well as of recent facts, this 
 opinion seems to have been precipitately formed. If 
 a very long period be selected, such as a hundred 
 years, there can be no doubt of finding the bounty 
 of Providence equable and uniform. But this is not 
 the question. We have to inquire if a number of 
 good or bad seasons may succeed, for such a length 
 of time, as materially to influence the views of the 
 capitalists respecting the probable returns which an 
 investment in land is estimated to yield. A period 
 . of ten or twelve years is fully sufficient for this pur- 
 
tends to depress Profits. 199 
 
 pose. Few men practically interested in trade take 
 a wider range, and all their calculations are founded 
 upon the average of prices for those few years im- 
 mediately preceding their embarking on any spe- 
 culation. The effect of quantity on price has always 
 been considered to be of great moment, especially 
 in raw produce, of which the value may be consi- 
 dered as smaller in proportion to its bulk. An 
 abundant supply of all perishable articles, indeed, 
 must depress prices in a far greater ratio than the 
 mere superabundance in itself would, at first view, 
 seem to effect. On the same principle an inverse 
 result will issue from a deficiency. And under these 
 fluctuations it may be fairly said, that the prices or 
 exchangeable value of commodities are not regu- 
 lated by the quantity of labour required to produce 
 them, but by the supply compared with the demand. 
 Accordingly as those fluctuations cause dearness or 
 cheapness, profits will be high or low ; and if we 
 assume that those vicissitudes are of sufficient du- 
 ration to regulate the extent of investment or spe- 
 culation, the inference is direct and decisive, that 
 the principle of demand and supply is a main regu- 
 lator of profits. It is unnecessary to observe, that 
 those employments not dependent upon the cultiva- 
 tion of land would be eventually affected equally, 
 owing to the general adjustment to which every 
 branch of industry conforms. 
 
 The main question undoubtedly is, are variations 
 in the seasons so extensive and durable as here sup- 
 
200 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 posed ? This point has been investigated by Mr. 
 Tooke (On High and Low Prices) in a very elaborate 
 manner, and it is illustrated by a great variety of 
 interesting facts. Such is the importance which he 
 attaches to the influence of the seasons, that he at- 
 tributes the high prices during the war almost ex- 
 clusively to this cause. After detailing the grounds 
 on which his opinion is founded, he arrives at this 
 conclusion : — 
 
 "That seasons of a particular character for pro- 
 ductiveness or unproductiveness are liable to occur 
 in very different proportions in equal series of years 
 at different intervals : as, for instance, in one inter- 
 val, vis., from 1693 to 1714, both years included, 
 making twenty-two years, there were twelve sea- 
 sons more or less unfavourable, or of deficient pro- 
 duce; and in another interval, from 1730 to 1751, 
 making likewise twenty-two years, there was only 
 one season which, from historical record, or by in- 
 ference from fluctuation of price, can be considered 
 to have been decidedly unproductive." — p. 322. 
 
 The next circumstance which affects the rate of 
 profits I conceive to be of great moment. It is the 
 state of credit. In all countries distinguished for 
 mercantile enterprise, the quantity of real capital 
 possessed by those who give the chief excitement to 
 production is very disproportionate — it is inadequate 
 to the extent of their trade, and they are obliged 
 to resort to means in some degree fictitious to pro- 
 secute their business on the scale most likely to 
 
tends to depress Profits. 201 
 
 ensure success. It may be said, with great truth, 
 that much of the commercial pre-eminence of Eng- 
 land may be attributable to the general system of 
 credit, which gives rise not only to banking esta- 
 blishments and other facilities for raising money, 
 but also to that good faith and probity among 
 traders without which no nation can hope perma- 
 nently to preserve her connexions. To convince 
 any person of the prodigious influence worked by 
 credit on the national powers of production, let him 
 fancy the employment of ready money in every 
 transaction. What would then become of some of 
 our leading manufactures ? It is well known that 
 the energy, the invention, and the enterprise which 
 are in incessant activity, and which improve and 
 extend those manufactures, originate with aspirants 
 about commencing their career, who rely on their 
 punctuality and character for the assistance of hbe- 
 ral credit. In the United States of America this 
 system is still more prevalent. Many writers have 
 indeed ascribed her rapid advancement almost 
 solely to this cause ; and though inconveniences 
 and losses have occasionally flowed from it, yet, 
 opposed to the benefit, they must be considered 
 as temporary and insignificant. It is merely ne- 
 cessary to mention this cause to evince how fluc- 
 tuating must be its operation, and in consequence 
 of that fluctuation, how sensibly profits must be 
 affected. Credit is absolutely founded upon opi- 
 nion ; and there is m this respect some parity 
 
202 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 between the commercial interests and the political 
 stability of a nation; but the former are liable 
 to incessant changes, from doubtful rumours, sud- 
 den caprice, or ominous prognostications of ad- 
 versity. The ablest calculator is frequently 
 bewildered, when he contemplates the often-mo- 
 mentous effects of the most trivial events ; but by 
 which numberless interests are, link by link, drawn 
 into difficulty. When such casualties are thus in- 
 evitable to the mercantile community, it would 
 almost lead us to conclude that credit is not se- 
 condary, or accessory, but that it forms the chief 
 element in determining profits. Inquire of any 
 person in business the leading consideration by 
 which he is guided in determining the extent to 
 which he will speculate, and he will tell you the 
 degree of difficulty or facility he experiences in 
 raising money : even those possessing the largest 
 capitals are, in some degree, afFected. In general 
 it is maintained, that the fluctuations of credit apply 
 only to the few who may be inclined to over-trade, 
 and that the interests of the great majority do 
 not materially suffer. It seems to be forgotten 
 that though the latter do not alter the quantity of 
 their*, business, and that, therefore, their security 
 may continue unquestionable, yet their profits must 
 undergo an alteration. They must sell at the same 
 price as others engaged in the same business, and 
 if others, whether adventurers or those long esta- 
 blished, deviate from the regular routine in adjust- 
 
tends to depress Profits. 203 
 
 ing the supply of any one article to the market, 
 they are obliged to conform ; and thus, in fact, they 
 exercise no control over the general rate of profit. 
 
 At whatev^er period we could select, whether of 
 war or peace, we find these events occurring ; and 
 to omit the consideration of them would be to reject 
 facts on which all that claims our attention should 
 be grounded. 
 
 The only remaining cause requiring notice, re- 
 lates to the opening and extending new markets for 
 our commodities. In the present condition of the 
 world, who could attempt, exactly, to define the 
 limits to which foreign countries may pay tribute to 
 our industry ? The great revolutions which have 
 taken place on the continent of America have 
 opened new fields for enterprise, of which it is 
 impossible to predict the result, or the degree to 
 which they may invigorate and benefit the resources 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 Even in all old countries the limits of our inter- 
 course cannot be strictly ascertained. New commer- 
 cial treaties are continually framing, which lead to an 
 altered distribution of our means of production, and 
 necessarily derange the net returns derived in each 
 particular employment. Upon every alteration, a 
 spirit of speculation more or less arises, in some 
 cases disastrous, in others successful, but always 
 involving other interests, and occasioning great 
 variations in profits. 
 
 It seems superfluous further to delineate the 
 
204 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 various modes which justify the conclusion, that 
 the principle of supply and demand is what princi- 
 pally operates in adjusting the remuneration to the 
 labourer or the capitalist. If to account for things 
 as they are, be the object of Political Economy, it 
 implies rather a striking perversion of its purpose to 
 build a theory upon abstract principles, which, in 
 their naked state, can never come into action ; 
 whilst causes which are shown to have vital im- 
 portance, and which tend, if not to subversion, at 
 least to modification, are utterly excluded. Whether 
 the opinion be correct, or otherwise, that the effects 
 of competition tend, eventually, in old countries, to 
 lower profits, it is apparent that other incidents 
 arise to trench upon the rule laid down so abso- 
 lutely by the modern school. If, then, we grant 
 that these incidents may operate for many ages 
 yet to come, in framing any theory regarding the 
 distribution of the net returns of industry, they 
 claim our first attention. 
 
 In the progression of society, whilst some are 
 closing, others are commencing, their career. The 
 latter seldom extend their view far into the future ; 
 they contemplate neither abstract relations, nor 
 latent principles ; they take things as they find 
 them, and adjust their business to what appears 
 the popular and therefore the natural condition and 
 opinion of the time. No matter whether the period 
 be one of agitation or quiescence ; they conform to 
 its character ; and as the same species of rotation 
 
tends to depress Profits. 205 
 
 in society is perpetual, ideas regarding the state of 
 profit, and the consequent greater or less induce- 
 ment to embark in business, will be formed, not by 
 the comparative fertility of the land, but of inci- 
 dents, according as the times assume a more or less 
 favourable aspect. 
 
 Our observations have hitherto been directed to 
 the demand and supply of capital, because upon 
 that fund depends the increase of production, toge- 
 ther with the increase of the instruments of produc- 
 tion. It is proper, however, to add a remark on 
 population, or the demand and supply of labourers. 
 These cannot either be augmented or diminished 
 instantaneously. Twenty years seem necessary to 
 rear a labourer ; and if in that period any change 
 ensue as to the appropriation of the funds destined 
 for the support of labour, wages will be affected, 
 and must accordingly exercise, in corresponding 
 proportion, an inverse influence upon profits. No 
 matter vvhat may be the natural rate of wages ; no 
 matter whether the labourer may be used to com- 
 pass the enjoyment of many articles as in Eng- 
 land, or of few as in France — still the rate of in- 
 crease, whether rapid or slow, will depend upon 
 the market-rate of wages. When trade is very 
 active, labourers, finding themselves in request, 
 will obtain higher remuneration ; and this must un- 
 avoidably continue until more hands have been 
 brought into action, an interval of eighteen or twenty 
 years. If we assume the opposite case, we shall 
 
206 How far a Dearness of Food ■ 
 
 witness the exact reverse in efFect ; and though 
 this circumstance is in some degree contingent upon 
 those primary causes enumerated, and which occa- 
 sion an activity or stagnation of commerce, yet, 
 taken in conjunction with them, it must appear on 
 reflection, that particular conclusions sought to be 
 drawn by the modern economists are sensibly weak- 
 ened. 
 
 It has been previously shown, that labour differs 
 greatly in its degrees of intensity, accordingly as 
 the market-rate of wages is high or low ; and it is 
 here in reality that we witness the chief operation 
 when a change befals the national prosperity. The 
 omission on the part of the modern economists to 
 investigate how differently a man works according 
 as his wages vary from the natural rate, is most 
 censurable, and has caused them to treat other 
 matters in a very imperfect manner, which more 
 comprehensive views would have rectified. Man 
 is not a mere machine, like a power-loom or a 
 spinning-jenny. He has passions, feelings, appe- 
 tites — and some one of these acts with more or less 
 efficacy, accordingly as opportunities occur for their 
 indulgence. Unless, therefore, we recognise these 
 in our argument, it is more than probable that 
 our speculations will greatly militate against expe- 
 rience. 
 
 Presuming that this part of the inquiry has been 
 illustrated satisfactorily, and also that the principle 
 of supply and demand has been proved to exercise 
 
tends to depress Profits. 207 
 
 powerful efficacy in regulating profits, it is now ne- 
 cessary to proceed to apply this reasoning to the 
 great and last object of the present Section, that of 
 ascertaining how far the cultivation of inferior land 
 may lower profits. 
 
 It is needless to remark, that extended cultivation 
 can only proceed from increasing population ; but 
 if the increase of population depend upon the brisk- 
 ness of trade, or, in other terms, from the capitalists 
 enjoying prosperity, I must be allowed to say, that, 
 to make the farming of inferior lands a cmi.^e tending 
 to lower profits, is rather a contradiction, when it is 
 manifestly the effect proceeding from the prosperity 
 of the capitalist. To make this more clear, and to 
 show the manner in which I conceive agricultural, 
 as well as every other description of industry, is 
 immediately and remotely dependent upon de- 
 mand and supply, let us take any given period, and 
 assume 10 per cent, to be the current rate of profit 
 in England. Suppose some beneficial change, then, 
 to occur, the opening of the South American conti- 
 nent to our industry, for instance, or any other event 
 similar to those described, through which the supply 
 of our commodities shall fall short of the demand. The 
 capitalists avail themselves ofthis burst of prosperity, 
 and profits rise from 1 0, say to 1 2 per cent. But along 
 with this elevation the demand for labourers has 
 also increased, and to rear them more land must be 
 cultivated. Admitting that this is inferior land, 
 can it for a moment be maintained that it is the 
 
208 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 primary cause in operation. The economists ex- 
 claim, it is a mighty evil, more expense will be 
 required, corn and wages will rise, and profits will 
 decline ; — I dispute the conclusion. It is a natural 
 and obvious consequence from the first rise of profits, 
 and cannot, with any degree of correctness, be sup- 
 posed to lower them. It may, indeed, be argued 
 that some reaction is created, and that the increas- 
 ing wages of the labourer prevents the capitalist 
 from ultimately realizing the full amount of the 
 12 per cent., or such amount of gain as would have 
 been the case had there been abundance of fertile 
 soil. This puts the question in a greatly different 
 light ; it compromises materially the point at issue, 
 and seems to confine it to a regret merely that our 
 country is of Imiited extent, and possesses not a 
 uniform degree of fertility. That there is a ten- 
 dency, referring to the whole productive industry 
 of the country, for proportional profits to fall, com- 
 pared to wages, as a state advances in population, 
 and as the whole of the land becomes cultivated, it 
 is never intended to dispute. But it does not in- 
 dispensably follow that the individual interests of 
 the capitaUst may not be prevented, by redeeming 
 circumstances, from coextensively suffering. His 
 profits depend on the rate or proportion which his 
 annual returns bear to the magnitude of his capi- 
 tal ; and it is necessary to remind the reader, that 
 on all occasions, when we speak of profits, the rate, 
 is implied. 
 
tends to depress Profits. 209 
 
 Considerable confusion has been introduced in 
 the discussions of writers, by imagining that Mr. 
 Ricardo's Chapter on Profits determined the rate 
 derived by the capitalists, as well as the proportion 
 of the produce of industry falling to their share, 
 when contrasted with that of the labourer. The 
 two are perfectly distinct. The profit of the capi- 
 talist, as before stated, is the net amount of the 
 annual return which he derives from his invest- 
 ment ; and if, from the productiveness of industry, 
 or a better division of labour, he can increase this 
 net return, it concerns not him what may be the re- 
 lative proportion accruing to the labourer. Mr. 
 M'Culloch has explained this subject in his recently- 
 published work ; but he seems not to have been 
 aware how easy it was on his own admissions to 
 controvert much of his theory. 
 
 In the case supposed, of profits rising 2 per cent, 
 from the deficiency of the supply compared with 
 the demand to meet the wants of extended com- 
 merce, it has been seen that inferior land was 
 brought into cultivation. Now though, eventually, 
 proportional wages will rise, through the dearness 
 of corn grown on this inferior land, it is possible 
 that the rate of profit may continue undiminished. 
 This is fully admitted by Mr, M'Culloch in the fol- 
 lowing terms : — 
 
 "The rate of profit might really remain stationary, 
 though the proportmi of the produce of industry 
 falling to the share of the labourer were actually in- 
 
SIO How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 creased. Suppose, to exemplify this, that a land- 
 lord employs 1000 quarters of wheat as a capital, 
 500 of which are laid out in seed, keep of horses, 
 ^c, and 500 in paying wages ; if the produce is 
 1200 quarters, and the taxes to which he is sub- 
 jected 100, his profits will amount to 100 quarters, 
 or to 10 per cent. Suppose now, that, owing to 
 the introduction of improved machinery and im- 
 proved methods of culture, the same landlord only 
 requires to employ 400 quarters of capital in seed, 
 keep of horses, ^c, but that wages rise from 500 
 to 600 quarters, and that the same return is ob- 
 tained; in this case, supposing taxation to have 
 continued constant, the profits of the landlord will 
 be exactly the same as in the former case, though 
 proportional wages have risen from five-twelfths to 
 six-twelfths of the whole produce." — p. 317-2. 
 
 This is what virtually occurs on every enhance- 
 ment in the rate of wages ; and it is instructive to 
 observe how exactly it coincides and accords with 
 the principles I advance. Trade is brisk ; the sup- 
 ply is short of the demand ; additional labourers 
 are required ; to produce them more land is culti- 
 vated ; but the cultivators observing in what great 
 request labourers are held, will endeavour to use 
 other expedients to as great extent as possible ; and 
 after a certain period the result is, that though, 
 from the increase in the value of corn, more wages 
 be given, the rate of profit, precisely as described 
 by Mr. M'Culloch, remains unchanged. 
 
tends to depress Profits. 211 
 
 It may be argued, that it is improper to ascribe 
 permanent effects to this improvement of trade; 
 things must come round again, and relapse possibly 
 into more than former languor. In this juncture 
 the capitalist must sustain a reverse, and profits 
 will be greatly diminished. Let us examine this 
 unqualified assertion. It has been demonstrated 
 that labourers work with various degrees of assi- 
 duity, according to the state of the market-rate of 
 wages. We behold here, then, the instruments on 
 which such vicissitudes operate. The capitalists 
 are not immediately affected ; a very long space 
 must intervene before the calamities attending the 
 modern theory reach them. This may seem to 
 throw the weight of national adversity upon the 
 operative classes, and such is really the fact ; but 
 the population principles which I have supported, 
 show how the evil has a tendency to correct itself, 
 and to prevent their permanent deterioration. There 
 can be no doubt, that if at any given period we as- 
 sume that no further incidents of a favourable nature 
 arise to augment our commerce, the depression 
 must eventually be shifted from the labourer to the 
 capitalist. But in the illustrations submitted rela- 
 tive to the principles of supply and demand, it ap- 
 peared that, as society is constituted, there is a 
 continual progression and retrogression of events 
 influencing national prosperity almost indefinitely, 
 and not in this age calculated to inspire alarm for 
 the future. That all nations arc doomed sooner or 
 
 r 2 
 
213 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 later to commence their decline is undoubted, and 
 so is the fact, that the emoluments derived by capi- 
 talists have also a tendency to diminish ; but still it 
 is accomplished in the manner already explained, 
 that is to say, by the increase of competitors en- 
 gaged in production ; yet this is in reality no indi- 
 cation of national decay. 
 
 It cannot, however, for a moment be contended, 
 that the comparative extent of the cultivation of the 
 land did not materially enter into the question re- 
 garding profits. In respect to England, the territory 
 is limited, and it will be apparent, that to apply this 
 consideration would be futile and preposterous. The 
 argument here advanced goes to no extremes. It 
 extends merely to this, that very wide limits are to 
 be assigned to cultivation of the land, before it can 
 be said to lower profits through the operation of in- 
 creased wages. When the large amount of capital 
 engaged in this country in manufactures is con- 
 templated, together with the sum not only em- 
 barked in foreign trade, but vested in business in 
 foreign states ; and when it is further considered, 
 that production is not in its nature unlimited, it 
 is surely convincing, that any reasonable diminu- 
 tion in the returns of agricultural industry, such, 
 in fact, as has occurred, and probably will occur 
 for several years to come, could not seriously 
 injure the interests of the other capitalists. It 
 appears to me, that the propelling movement 
 would originate from the latter, and that British en- 
 
t€7ids to depress Profits. 21S 
 
 terprise extends over so great a field, that whether 
 the produce of a given quantity of the last land 
 cultivated, which regulates prices, were five or six 
 quarters of wheat, no alteration in profits would be 
 caused by it. As however advancement, no matter 
 how small in degree, must ultimately reach its ter- 
 mination, it may be demanded, with regard to Eng- 
 land, where are you to stop 1 has her system of 
 agriculture yet become so extended, as of necessity 
 to depress profits ? I believe this query has been 
 already answered. To inflict an injury on capita- 
 lists, corn should be dear greatly out of proportion 
 to other commodities, produced by similar degrees 
 of immediate labour. That such is not the case is 
 firmly believed ; and if the theory relating to the 
 natural rate of wages be received, it follows as a 
 corollary from the exemplification given in this sec- 
 tion, that that portion of high wages which is created 
 in this country by dearness of corn, cannot, taken 
 in itself, be assumed to depress profits. The train 
 of reasoning by which this conclusion is arrived at 
 appears plain and obvious. The first proposition 
 in the inquiry is, that, in all old states, from the 
 effect of competition, profits have a tendency to fall. 
 The second, that, through the principles of demand 
 and supply, many incidents occur to infringe this 
 rule, and to retard the catastrophe. The third, that 
 owing to the operation of these incidents upon po- 
 pulation, from agricultural improvements, and other 
 circumstances, a great latitude is afforded to the land 
 
214 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 before a very considerable diminution in its returns 
 can lower profits. And lastly, it being admitted 
 that, from the limited extent of the country, we 
 must eventually arrive at such a consummation, on 
 inquiring if we have yet approached it, we find that, 
 so far from it, the price of corn, compared with 
 other commodities, and accurately estimating the 
 principles of production, seems not to be above its 
 fair level ; and that, consequently, the arguments 
 of the economists, that it exercises a deadening 
 influence on profits, must be fallacious. 
 
 The importance of this result cannot fail to re- 
 move much of that clamour, those accusations of 
 monopoly, and insidious charges of selfishness, 
 propagated with increasing acrimony against the 
 landed interests. As I wish to have in view in this 
 discussion the great body of farmers, rather than the 
 landlords, I have not thought it requisite to enlarge 
 on the theory of rent. One or two brief observa- 
 tions, however, may not be improper. In the first 
 place, the theory that corn selling at that price 
 which simply defrayed the wages of labour and the 
 profits of stock, appeared always to me, so far from 
 separating the interests of the landlords from the 
 rest of the community, to tend to cement them more 
 closely. To conceive them opposite, is essentially 
 to assume rent to be of the nature of a monopoly. 
 The doctrine of many of the economists, of MM. 
 Say, Sismondi and Buchanan, would lead to such 
 a conclusion. But if rent enter not into cost, how 
 
tends to depress Profits. 215 
 
 is the landlord answerable for either dearness or 
 cheapness ? Through the bounty of Providence, 
 the earth multiplies the quantity of grain put into 
 it, without which our species could not hope to 
 increase. This surplus belongs to the proprietor, 
 whose absolute right to it as property forms the 
 most important feature in civilization. At the com- 
 mencement, there will be but small demand for this 
 surplus ; it will, therefore, be but little prized, and 
 rents will be insignificant. By degrees society 
 thrives, and so population increases ; the surplus 
 which the land is capable of producing then becomes 
 more in request, and the landlord, Uke any other 
 individual possessed of a commodity similarly af- 
 fected, avails himself of its enhanced value, and 
 thus rents are raised. It is the increase of com- 
 merce which leads to an increase in the funds 
 appropriated for the support of labour ; the increase 
 of population following, occasions improvements in 
 agriculture, and promotes the value of land. The 
 decline of commerce produces opposite results. 
 Rent thus rising with the prosperity of the country, 
 and falling with its adversity, who will venture to 
 pronounce that the landlords are at issue with the 
 rest of the nation ? To describe them as unpro- 
 ductive idlers, fattening on the fruits of industry 
 hardly-earned by others, savours more of that fa- 
 voured dogma of radicalism, general equality, than 
 of the sound conviction of reason and philosophy, 
 which teaches that the sacred and irreversible right 
 
216 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 of property, inspiring respect, and preserving order, 
 is the main bulwark of civilization. 
 
 So far am I from concurring in the supposition of 
 the modern school, that the great increase in the 
 landed rental of England indicates the visitation of 
 injury upon the capitalist, that I believe profits to 
 have been raised by the great extension of agricul- 
 ture in this country. The immense scope presented 
 by enclosures, draining, embankments, improvement 
 of roads, recovery of wastes, and conversion of whole 
 districts from a state of barrenness and neglect to 
 high productiveness, must have afforded exercise 
 for industry highly beneficial to all its branches. 
 This, to ordinary observation, seems the natural 
 conclusion. But there is another more remote ope- 
 ration, the effects of which will give some idea hoW 
 necessary it is to bring comprehensive views to an 
 efficient study of Political Economy. By the reco- 
 very of lands, increased means of sustenance are 
 obtained — population multiplies— the value of pro- 
 duce rises — rents are augmented — and the land- 
 lords, from their increased revenue, obtain a greatly- 
 enlarged command over the luxuries of life. This 
 is the ascending gradation. But an estate in land 
 has been shown to be the object of ultimate attain- 
 ment with the adventurer in commerce ; it is the re- 
 gulator of the standard of opulence ; increase in its 
 value incites to increased exertion. Through the 
 union of numerous attributes, all proceeding from 
 this primary cause, consumption or expenditure un- 
 
tends to dejwess Profits. 217 
 
 dergoes alteration ; more objects of enjoyment are 
 introduced ; man, being an imitative animal, the in- 
 ferior classes copy those immediately above them ; 
 Step by step improvements descend, and eventually 
 the operative rank, forming the great mass of the 
 people, swell their artificial wants. Here is the 
 descending series. Now, for the sake of argument, 
 let it even be admitted, that some evils might result 
 from dearness of corn immediately exhibited by the 
 ascending series, subject however to the modifica- 
 tions we have enumerated. The descending series, 
 on the other hand, shows, that artificial wants are 
 established ; and it has been demonstrated in the 
 preceding Section, that the increase of artificial 
 wants among the labourers is eminently beneficial 
 to the capitalists. Let the two, therefore, be ba- 
 lanced together, and I beheve that impartial in- 
 quiry will prove the latter greatly to preponderate. 
 Most of the affairs of life, indeed, are made up 
 of conflicting circumstances. Neither good nor evil 
 is to be found unmixed, and philosophers must rest 
 content with establishing the one or the other's pre- 
 dominance. 
 
 I have resorted to this illustration to correct, if 
 possible, the grand error of judging precipitately, 
 and from first appearances. When a man hears of 
 land letting at 4/. per acre, he is disposed to say, 
 " So high a rent must surely be prejudicial." He 
 merely applies his mind to a few plain consequences 
 relating to prices, and imagines he has compassed 
 
218 How far a Dearness of Food 
 
 the inquiry. It is this mode of viewing things 
 superficially, which occasions so many errors in 
 legislation ; the true merits of a question are, at 
 times, refined and remote ; and I believe it will 
 appear that, whether my views, as first stated, re- 
 lative to the introduction of more material objects 
 of consumption in a nation be tenable, or otherwise, 
 they demand serious attention. 
 
 At all events, I hope enough has been advanced, 
 to refute the modern, or Ricardo, theory of profits. 
 It is clear that to do so does not require us to prove 
 that the extended cultivation in England has been 
 beneficial to capitalists, which, in fact, is what I 
 have just attempted. It is sufficient to establish 
 that it has not been prejudicial ; and I have a con- 
 fident expectation that this has been effected. The 
 mode in which I have treated the subject will be 
 found, I hope, the most conducive to perspicuity. 
 The argument advanced by the opposite party is 
 this : the high rate of wages in England lowers 
 profits, and will cause capital to flow out of the 
 country, to the great obstruction and injury of na- 
 tional prosperity ; open, therefore, your ports to 
 foreign corn, that wages may come down. In com- 
 bating this argument, I have analyzed wages, and 
 reduced the causes of dearness into three divisions : 
 first, superior mode of living, or higher natural rate ; 
 second, dear corn ; third, taxation. The latter has 
 not been noticed, because it is remediless, and 
 there is no disagreement upon its effects. The first 
 
tends to depress Profits. 219 
 
 and chief cause has been treated in the preceding 
 Section, upon principles which tend to the refutation 
 of the school upon certain premises of their own, 
 and can leave them no room to dispute the errone- 
 ousness of their doctrine, or bring extraneous matter 
 to its aid. I have so shaped the reasoning, that 
 political economists, of every class, must be satis- 
 fied with the elements upon which I have worked. 
 Are you a disciple of Ricardo? then I have met 
 you upon your own ground. Are you a follower of 
 some other system? why, then, still more will you 
 give confirmation to my views; if, indeed, it be 
 possible to add to what was already conclusive. 
 As to the second point, I have been obliged, in re- 
 plying to the imputation of injurious consequences 
 from it, to dispute some elementary points in the 
 Ricardo theory. Thus, rather wider grounds for 
 discussion and difference of opinion are presented : 
 but, as I have shown that many important modi- 
 fications have been overlooked, and that, in reality, 
 the second cause is in a measure dependent on the 
 first, the conclusion attained is equally convincing 
 and decisive. No comments are required, to point 
 out how extensively and how vitally this exposition 
 bears upon the great question of Free Trade, as ad- 
 vocated by the modern economists. The relation 
 between wages and profits forms the main pillar of 
 their system. If its base can once be proved un- 
 sound, all argument for an altered distribution of 
 industry, and the removal of restrictions on com- 
 
220 Dearness of Food tends to depress Profits. 
 
 merce, according to their own admission, falls to 
 the ground. 
 
 It will be kept in mind, that neither Mr. Ricardo, 
 nor Mr. M'CuUoch, nor Mr. Mill, nor one of the fol- 
 lowers of either of them, contends, or will even 
 admit, that our foreign trade is crippled by high 
 prices of our exportable commodities. They deny 
 broadly, and without qualification, that high wages 
 in our manufactories have a tendency to lead to 
 high prices. Mr. M'Culloch appears particularly 
 explicit upon this head : he boldly affirms, that if 
 wages be higher in this country than in France, 
 cottons, the principal article of our export, will be 
 cheaper. This proposition will, doubtless, startle 
 ordinary observation; its correctness has already 
 been examined ; and it is only necessary here to 
 repeat the assertion, in order to show that, if profits 
 are not depressed in England under the present sys- 
 tem, there is, according to the theory of the modern 
 school, taken on its own principles, no necessity for 
 a change. I am fully aware that freedom of com- 
 merce is advocated by many on different grounds ; 
 but it was proper, in the first instance, to reply to 
 those who deem themselves the leading champions 
 for a liberal policy. I have declined to descend 
 to minor inconsistencies, but have attacked the 
 land-marks of their system ; and should I have, in 
 any degree, succeeded, it must tend to abate those 
 laudations with which their views have been 
 greeted in such copious profusion. 
 
221 
 
 Section III. 
 
 EFFECTS UPON THE AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS OF A FREE 
 TRADE IN CORN. 
 
 Having concluded the task assigned to us by the 
 Ricardo school, it is now necessary to advert to 
 those other economists who advocate the doctrine 
 of Free Trade upon grounds more tangible and 
 more easily comprehended. Rejecting the specu- 
 lative notion of profit just exposed, it is still con- 
 tended that the removal of restrictions and prohibi- 
 tions would lead to a better distribution of national 
 industry. This country presents great advantages 
 for trade ; and it is conceived that it must infallibly 
 conduce more to its prosperity, to allow the manu- 
 facturers every facility and encouragement in pro- 
 secuting their employments, than to adopt artificial 
 restrictions. Hence the expediency of withholding 
 protection from agriculture. If we make large im- 
 portations of corn, foreigners will not take away 
 money in return, they will take manufactures, thus 
 creating an amazing increase of industry. Such is 
 the argument maintained in almost every discussion 
 with mercantile men, and those who attend to the 
 practical part of the question. Others who have stu- 
 died the science a little, and who are not unwilling to 
 
222 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 display their information, go further, and demand, — 
 Even should money be exacted in return, where 
 would be the injury ? the money so given must be 
 procured from some other quarter by the exporta- 
 tion of manufactures ; it is in itself a commodity 
 which will flow in upon you according as it is in de- 
 mand ; and it is even probable that greater benefits 
 are attained by this circuitous operation than if the 
 interchange were direct between corn and manufac- 
 tures. Does it never occur to such as hear this ar- 
 gument to demand, in reply to it, What is the effect 
 of the diminished consumption which this diminu- 
 tion of income compels in the agricultural classes ? 
 Can it be for a moment imagined, that increase of 
 manufactures exported would indicate a clear na- 
 tional gain, unqualified by countervailing evils ? It 
 is easy to string together a few circumstances, 
 showing how foreign commerce might be promoted ; 
 but to ^elucidate the effects on domestic consump- 
 tion presents a wider field and much greater diffi- 
 culties. Internal traffic has been advocated by the 
 standard writers on this science as by far the most 
 beneficial to a nation. When matters go on well 
 with the farmer, every country-town in England 
 feels the advantageous stimulus it imparts to busi- 
 ness. Though the individuals engaged in export 
 trade may be more eminent, and may be able to 
 cause themselves to be more loudly heard in a na- 
 tion, yet those who supply the wants of agricultural 
 consumers, and collateral channels, are much more 
 
of a Free Trade in Corn. 223 
 
 extensive in the aggregate, and their collective in- 
 terests, therefore, demand infinitely superior consi- 
 deration. The outcry against prevailing restrictions 
 shows plainly that a great reduction in the price of 
 corn is the object sought. To effect any alteration 
 that merely changes the system, or modifies its ope- 
 ration, without lowering prices, would attract very 
 little of public attention. We have, therefore, to 
 assume in the argument at present, that the incomes 
 of the landed proprietors must be greatly reduced 
 by a change of system. 
 
 When we refer to the general statistics of the 
 country, and discover the extent to which agricul- 
 tural industry enters into the national revenue, we 
 only then become sensible of the prodigious in- 
 crease required in exportation, to compensate for 
 even a moderate abandonment of the cultivation of 
 the soil. In the classification of the leading branches 
 of industry, many employments are ranged under 
 the head of manufactures, which more properly ap- 
 pertain to agriculture. A remarkable instance of 
 this was adduced by a periodical writer relative to 
 the late Population returns. In one country town the 
 number of families returned as being employed in 
 handicraft or manufactures was stated at more than 
 double the number of those engaged in agriculture ; 
 but on examination into the nature of their occupa- 
 tion, it was discovered that they were almost ex- 
 clusively directed to supplying wants arising out of 
 the cultivation of the land, taken either directly or 
 
224 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 remotely. It is necessary to view the subject in 
 this extended light, when we proceed to weigh the 
 advantages of throwing all these families out of 
 employment, and forcing them to look after other 
 modes of support, dependent upon foreign trade. 
 
 The following was stated by Mr. Western and 
 Mr. Colquhoun to be about the annual consumption 
 of grain in Great Britain and Ireland, as estimated 
 in the year 1812 : — 
 
 Wheat . . 9,170,000 
 
 Barley . . 6,335,000 
 
 Oats . . . 16,950,000 
 
 Rye . . . 685,000 
 
 Beans and Pease 1,860,000 
 
 Quarters 35,000,000 
 
 But the subsequent increase of population calls for 
 an augmentation of these quantities to the amount 
 of full 16 per cent. On which increased quantities, 
 if we contemplate a reduction to the following ex- 
 tent, the account will stand thus : — 
 
 
 Present Consumption. 
 
 
 Contemp 
 
 iated Reduction. 
 
 Wheat 
 
 10,698,333 . 
 
 at 20s. per quarter 
 
 iJl0,698,333 
 
 Barley 
 
 7,390,833 . 
 
 „ 105. 
 
 ■>i 
 
 3,695,416 
 
 Oats 
 
 19,775,000 . 
 
 „ 6s. Sd. 
 
 )> 
 
 6,591,666 
 
 Rye 
 
 799,166 . 
 
 „ \2.s. 
 
 »j 
 
 479,999 
 
 Beans & Peas 2,170,000 . 
 
 „ \2s. 
 
 51 
 
 1,302,000 
 
 
 40,833,332 
 
 ^22,767,414 
 
 It is evident that to this amount the agricultural 
 interests must suffer. There is, further, the de- 
 preciation in the value of live stock ; all kinds of 
 
of a Free Trade in Corn. 225 
 
 flesh meat ; and indeed every thing belonging to the 
 soil, the price of which is regulated by that of corn. 
 Mr. Colquhoun estimates the amount at several 
 millions : and supposing here a proportionate dimi- 
 nution, the amount would be greatly enhanced ; and 
 when our reflection embraces those trades whoUy 
 dependent upon agriculture, and which must ne- 
 cessarily be abandoned, if the best soils only are 
 cultivated, we acquire some idea of the prodigious 
 extent of the transfer of industry which must un- 
 avoidably follow. 
 
 Questions of this nature must ever be viewed on 
 a comprehensive scale, if we would accurately dis- 
 cover whether their evils or advantages preponde- 
 rate. The means of one class of the community 
 being reduced in the ratio assumed, it is indispen- 
 sably necessary, on the other hand, to show that 
 another class is to be benefited in greater propor- 
 tion. Let this position, then, be examined. In 
 the first place, as domestic industry, so far as relates 
 to the traffic between the manufacturer and the far- 
 mer, suffers, it is requisite that the intercourse with 
 the foreign producer of grain should supply its place. 
 Now, so far as manufactures are concerned, it may 
 be fairly stated that the entire consumption of an 
 Englishman centres in the commodities of his own 
 country. Such articles as foreign silks, and some 
 others of a similar kind, are in too limited use 
 amongst us to constitute an exception. No matter, 
 therefore, how the case be viewed, foreigners can 
 
 Q 
 
226 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 never become such extensive customers for the ag- 
 gregate of our manufactures as our own country- 
 men. Whatever imposing appearance the leading 
 articles of export, such as cottons or woollens, may 
 present, the minor agents of industry, such as the 
 hatter, the shoemaker, or the tailor, can never hope 
 to be compensated in foreign demand for the dis- 
 continuance, or at least the diminution, of custom 
 amongst his agricultural neighbours. It is indeed 
 upon these trades that the injury would chiefly fall ; 
 for if we assume the position, that foreign are to sup- 
 ply the place of British producers of grain, it is idle 
 to suppose that the former could create the activity we 
 witness among these branches in every manufactur- 
 ing and country town. It will be readily perceived 
 that this reasoning is grounded on what was, I be- 
 lieve, sufficiently established, — that certain propor- 
 tions between consumption and production must 
 exist, to enable national industry to flourish. 
 
 It may however be urged, that our supposing the 
 diminution of domestic traffic between the farmer 
 and the shopkeeper to go so great a length, is taking 
 the case in extremes, and is an error ; for in point 
 of fact the importation of corn would be compara- 
 tively limited, though prices must, from the opening 
 of the market, be greatly reduced. Acquiescing in 
 the opinion, that a very small importation is suffi- 
 cient to depress prices, I nevertheless reply, that if 
 that depression be similar to the scale supposed, 
 the injury visited on the agricultural interests must 
 
of a Free Trade in Corn. 227 
 
 of necessity equal the entire amount assumed. The 
 sum for which the produce is sold is to that amount 
 less ; and for the national revenue to remain unim- 
 paired, other classes must be benefited to a commen- 
 surate extent. 
 
 Let us suppose that, after we have adopted the 
 principle of Free Trade, the importation of corn 
 amounted, one year with another, to 3,000,000/. 
 sterling, which is a considerable average, and which, 
 by throwing inferior soils out of cultivation, would 
 certainly reduce prices to the degree stated. The 
 export of manufactures would be increased to a cor- 
 responding extent, but not beyond, unless the im- 
 portations were greater, for the imports and exports 
 must be equivalent. But the income of the agricul- 
 tural interest being reduced upwards of 20,000,000/., 
 unless the manufacturers for home consumption be 
 benefited to that extent, the general income of the 
 country must obviously be diminished. The inter- 
 nal traffic amongst the latter themselves must be 
 augmented, not in the limited degree which appears 
 from only viewing the question in regard to foreign 
 trade, but, almost in a sevenfold greater proportion, 
 which not only supposes a great increase of busi- 
 ness, but, what is more to be attended to, a great in- 
 crease of each individual manufacturer's expendi- 
 ture in his mode of living. The cotton-producer 
 must purchase to a much greater amount of the pro- 
 ducer of woollen and of linen, and these again of the 
 hatter and the shoemaker and the tailor, and so on 
 
228 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 reciprocally ; and they must ultimately themselves 
 consume what they purchase, or the addition of fo- 
 reign trade is but a poor equivalent for the derange- 
 ment of the old proportions between production and 
 consumption caused by a change of system. It may 
 be imagined that our commodities will become so 
 much cheaper, that foreign commerce will be aug- 
 mented in a far greater proportion than reaches 
 merely to the purchase of imported corn : that it is 
 probable it may fully equal or exceed the diminu- 
 tion in the landed income. To this there is one 
 plain reply. If from the greater cheapness of our 
 goods we export 20 or 30 millions more than at pre- 
 sent, and only import 3 or 5 millions in corn, then 
 other commodities must be received in return. And 
 by whom are these to be consumed ? Do Ave not re- 
 vert to the original position, that the manufacturers 
 must not only produce more, but they must also 
 spend more. If corn is to a far greater extent im- 
 ported, then the injury inflicted on the agriculturists 
 is still greater ; for in place of income being merely 
 reduced, it is, to the extent of land abandoned, en- 
 tirely annihilated. This argument may be supposed 
 the same, in some respects, with the doctrine of 
 Lord Lauderdale and M. Sismondi respecting con- 
 sumption. I, however, by no means embrace all 
 their conclusions. I only maintain that proportions 
 must exist in the distribution of industry. Under 
 the present system, the means and powers of the 
 country have been found equal to their ends ; and 
 
of a Free Trade in Corn. 229 
 
 it is sufficient to remark, that to justify a change, 
 demands a much superior advantage to any that can 
 be found in an increase of foreign trade. I am even 
 prepared to admit, that dearness is attended with 
 many evils to the commercial relations of a country. 
 It would be better that it were not so, as relates to 
 foreign competition ; but from a long established 
 course of things, opposite considerations operate ; 
 and it is surely requisite at the least to show, what 
 I beheve is in every respect erroneous, that the evil 
 is imputable to the agriculturists alone. 
 
 The whole of these objections would be sum- 
 marily dismissed by many economists, as in other 
 difficult points, by the brief assertion, that produc- 
 tion ensures its own consumption. Any further 
 comment on the subject, at this stage of our under- 
 taking, would be superfluous ; but the reader now 
 perceives how many branches of the science de- 
 pend on it, and unless his opinion here be fully 
 made up, his conclusions must be imperfect and 
 confused. 
 
 Many who conceive corn to be the regulator of va- 
 lue, might conceive, that supposing a very small im- 
 portation to produce the effect of reducing prices, there 
 would, in this case, be no diminution in the intrinsic 
 riches of the country. Value alone would undergo 
 alteration; for the same, or nearly the same number 
 of quarters of grain being still produced, the same 
 quantities of woollen, cotton, and commodities in 
 general, would equally follow ; and riches, consist- 
 
230 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 ing of products exchanging the one for the other, 
 though they became cheaper, would, nevertheless, 
 constitute the same absolute wealth. This is sup- 
 posing the price of every article to be determined 
 by the price of food ; but if a quarter of wheat now 
 exchanges for a coat, for two pair of boots, or three 
 hats, does any person for a moment imagine that it 
 would still do so were the price 20s. less ? The prin- 
 ciples of labour developed must, I think, show the 
 futility of this opinion. Money would certainly go 
 a little further in making purchases, but it would be 
 to very trivial extent ; whilst, not to speak of the 
 mode in which taxation would be aifected, the ge- 
 neral demand for products for home consumption 
 must, from the sufferings of the agricultural classes, 
 be wofuUy diminished. 
 
 In treating this question, it has been usual with 
 writers to assume, that the cultivation of certain 
 districts, merely, is abandoned, as the consequence 
 of a fall in the price of corn. Rents are reduced, 
 while the condition of the farmer remains as it was. 
 The effects thus presented to our thoughts seem 
 confined in their range ; and any diminution in the 
 income of landlords, however important to the indi- 
 viduals themselves, we pass over, as of little na- 
 tional concern. I feel some confidence, however, 
 that to take, as I have done, the entire quantity of 
 grain consumed in the. country, and calculate the 
 extent and consequences of a reduction in price, is 
 the correct and comprehensive mode of contem- 
 
of a Free Trade in Corn. 231 
 
 plating the subject. The amount is much too great 
 to admit of the supposition, that the whole of it 
 would bear exclusively upon the landlords. It has 
 already been shown, that the interests of all the 
 agriculturists are closely connected ; and it is al- 
 most immaterial how we resolve proportions in 
 the injury inflicted on landlords, farmers, and la- 
 bourers respectively. By one, or by all conjointly, 
 it must be borne ; and we need only add, if the latter 
 have to be included, the evil is greatly aggravated. 
 Although, strictly speaking, we have done with 
 the modern school, yet there are some points which 
 were promulgated a short time since, which may 
 serve to assist practical men in acquiring an insight 
 into this branch of the subject. Mr. M'CuUoch, in 
 his evidence before the Parliamentary Committee 
 on Irish affairs, advanced sentiments on Irish ab- 
 senteeism, which have obtained a good deal of 
 attention, and attracted much animadversion. Po- 
 pular opinion is decidedly against Mr. M'Culloch. 
 Now, in reality, Mr. M'Culloch was perfectly con- 
 sistent with his own theory ; had he expressed him- 
 self otherwise, he would have invalidated every 
 conclusion which his theory goes to establish. The 
 question of absenteeism, and that of the Corn Laws, 
 have a close affinity to each other. If it would be 
 advantageous to England, greatly to reduce the in- 
 come of the agricultural classes, then I do broadly, 
 unequivocally, and fearlessly affirm, that Mr. 
 M'Culloch was in the right. If, on the other hand, 
 
232 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 absenteeism entails injury upon Ireland, then I as 
 confidently assert, that the abandonment of the pre- 
 sent Corn Laws must be prejudicial. Why do the 
 advocates for the welfare of Ireland desire the resi- 
 dence of her gentry ? Why, but to have the benefit 
 of that stimulus to her industry which would be 
 given by their expenditure. How, then, does the 
 prosperity of the English landlords occasion na- 
 tional advantage, but by a corresponding operation? 
 It may, indeed, be said, that in the latter case there 
 are external evils proceeding from dearness. I be- 
 lieve, however, the true causes of this dearness are 
 by this time materially moderated ; and even sup- 
 posing the occurrence of such external evils, it 
 should be considered as, in some respect, a counter- 
 vailing circumstance, that the effects in the case of 
 England are more extensive, as farmers and pea- 
 santry have, to a certain extent, to be included. 
 
 I know too well the tenaciousness with which early 
 prepossessions are maintained, to be unaware that I 
 have touched a chord which may awaken reflections 
 inaccessible to the most forcible argument. I am 
 not stretching the point when I affirm, that ninety- 
 nine in the hundred believe the non-residence of the 
 Irish landlords to be a mighty and a paralyzing 
 evil. But widely different is the balance of opinion 
 regarding the Corn question. Let both be submit- 
 ted to the same train of reasoning, and I think that 
 the ordinary inquirer will find some contradictory 
 impressions left upon his mind. If expendi- 
 
of a Free Trade in Corn. 233 
 
 ture be salutary, then are reduction of income, 
 and income diverted in its distribution by absen- 
 teeism, alike pernicious. It would be easy to ex- 
 patiate upon this theme, but the almost universal 
 suffrages of men in its support, render the task su- 
 perfluous. Who that for a moment reflects, does 
 not perceive, that many of the most essential attri- 
 butes of refinement are exclusively created by the 
 great ? Who encourages the sculptor to awaken the 
 shapeless block into grace and symmetry? Who ex- 
 cites the painter to embody on the breathing can- 
 vass scenes on which we dwell with delight, and 
 which we study for instruction? Who calls forth 
 those strains of music, the sounds of which soothe 
 our stormiest passions to repose? Assuredly it 
 is to the superior ranks of society, possessing 
 fortune for their encouragement, and leisure for 
 their cultivation, that the fine arts owe their exist- 
 ence and advancement. Is it intended now to aban- 
 don them, and to substitute in their place the science 
 of cotton-spinning or wool-combing ? The goal of 
 England's career will then be to assimilate her no- 
 blest and her best with her operative classes, and 
 to vie with the fraternizing zeal of an American set- 
 tlement : both undoubtedly meritorious in their way, 
 but still not absolutely presenting the loftiest stan- 
 dard of our species. 
 
 Perhaps there is not, in all Mr. M'Culloch's spe- 
 culations, any part which so much lays him under 
 the imputation, charged upon him by Mr. Malthus, 
 
234 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 of treating men as mere integral figures, and not as 
 human beings actuated by certain sentiments and 
 faculties, as does his evidence respecting the Irish 
 Absentees. The idea is precisely that of a person 
 illustrating Political Economy by counters, and ex- 
 claiming, on having by various mystical operations 
 obtained a certain desired number, " Behold the 
 mode in which riches are acquired !" 
 
 This sweeping kind of argument may be original, 
 but I doubt if it will make many converts. Men 
 trust a little more to their own feelings and their 
 senses, and require to be convinced by proofs better 
 adapted to the real occurrences of life. The least 
 reflection exhibits, in a striking point of view, the 
 almost numberless benefits diffused by the residence 
 of a rich gentry throughout the community. But it 
 cannot have escaped observation, that there is ano- 
 ther more refined and philosophical operation, pro- 
 ceeding from the example of landed prosperity, which 
 in all classes leads to an increased desire to accumu- 
 late. Though I feel thoroughly persuaded, that many 
 of the characteristics of England's eminence, at- 
 tributed almost universally to causes widely difierent, 
 originate in reality here, yet I am diffident of press- 
 ing the consideration further, until my views have 
 met with fair and full examination. Enough has been 
 advanced for the immediate purpose, to show how 
 one class would be affected by the contemplated 
 alteration in the distribution of property. 
 
 It is certainly with feelings of surprise I acknow- 
 
of a Free Trade in Corn. 235 
 
 ledge, that the supporters of the landed interest have 
 dwelt very little on the effects of diminished income 
 as here brought forward. The weight to which I con- 
 ceive them entitled is, nevertheless, in no degree di- 
 minished. Many, opposed systematically to the ex- 
 isting state of things, will possibly sneer at opinions 
 here advanced. They may ask triumphantly, " If, 
 as your reasoning contends, it be advantageous to 
 have the price of wheat 65*., why not, for the same 
 reasons, have it 100*., for, on your principles, so 
 much greater will be the expenditure ?" The im- 
 partial and the candid will exempt me from reply- 
 ing, that it has been fairly acknowledged, when 
 food becomes so dear as by its dearness to impede 
 industry, the general injury far preponderates over 
 any amount of benefit accruing to a particular class. 
 But does England exhibit this condition ? Does she 
 present a permanently languid demand for labour, 
 low wages, or a stationary population? These 
 evils should be proved to exist, to warrant the de- 
 nouncement of the farming interests. In reviewing 
 the argument, it is not necessary to go to ex- 
 tremes on either side ; the rate at which corn is 
 produced has been explained on intelligible prin- 
 ciples, and these must unavoidably form the correct 
 ground-work on which to estabhsh restrictive mea- 
 sures. 
 
 Most intelligent persons are accustomed to com- 
 pare the reasoning they meet with on a subject of 
 this kind, with that of some individual of eminence. 
 
236 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 to whom public opinion has accorded the distinction 
 of absolute authority. Since, then, if certain ele- 
 mentary points be conceded, the doctrine here in- 
 culcated is not incompatible with the principles of 
 Adam Smith and his followers, it may be desirable 
 to explain what these elementary points are. They 
 are certainly momentous ; and when I remark that 
 those ideas of Dr. Smith appear radically and es- 
 sentially erroneous, I cannot for a moment, I hope, 
 be thought so deficient in judgment, as to undervalue 
 that first and most celebrated of economists in his 
 opinions generally. The first of the views which I 
 conceive to be erroneous, is that of supposing corn 
 to be the regulator of value ; the second, that of the 
 imputed inutility or disadvantage of unproductive 
 labourers. The present performance touches mostly 
 on these points ; and it has been thought expedient 
 to particularize them, solely to assist in demonstrat- 
 ing in what my views differ from this other sect of 
 economists, and defining the fundamental proposi- 
 tions from whence an entire difference of system 
 may spring. 
 
 Before we conclude this part of the inquiry, it is 
 necessary to advert to one or two further arguments 
 of considerable weight ; though, as they are more 
 immediately before the pubHc, they may here be 
 despatched briefly. 
 
 The danger of putting a country in dependence 
 upon foreigners for subsistence, has often been 
 demonstrated with great force. By many states- 
 
of a Free Trade in Corn. 237 
 
 men of the first eminence it is deemed so momen- 
 tous, as to be insuperable and decisive of the ques- 
 tion. The arguments against it at all times have 
 appeared to me unsound and puerile. In the first 
 place it is said, that the inconvenience can only 
 exist during a state of war ; and that it is preposte- 
 rous to forego solid advantages in peace, merely to 
 avoid doubtful evils, which may proceed from an 
 unnatural state of things at some future period. 
 
 Even contemplating war as accidental, and not 
 admissible as a rule by which to shape pohtical mea- 
 sures, still its evils may be so signal and exten- 
 sive, as far to exceed all previous advantage. What 
 Avould avail the much- applauded social intercourse 
 of nations, if, by the sudden caprice of their rulers, 
 those ties should be severed, and one of the two 
 abandoned to privation, misery, and famine. But, 
 it is urged again, one state is as much interested in 
 getting rid of her raw produce as the other of her 
 manufactures. Mr. Whitmore's pamphlet enlarges 
 upon this point ; and to show the force with which 
 it acts in all nations, affirms that it was the closing 
 the ports of Russia against this country, during the 
 last war, that, more than any other circumstance, 
 roused the nobles and the people to throw off the 
 yoke of France. In examining the vaHdity of this 
 argument, there is just one little circumstance to be 
 attended to. Are manufactures equally indispensable 
 to the physical wants of man as food ? If not, then 
 the country producing the latter has undoubtedly the 
 
S38 Effects upon the Agricultural Interests 
 
 advantage ; and from all that we know of belligerent 
 rights, she will exercise it. Will any one assert 
 that individuals can prevent this 1 How easy is it, 
 with the smallest management, to animate men to 
 hostilities against an enemy — to oppose the ac- 
 clamations of one class against the murmurs of 
 another, and to obtain delay, by holding out hopes 
 of future benefit to all. I fear Mr. Whitmore ima- 
 gines that the people have more to say in these 
 matters than unfortunately they have. If we rely 
 solely on the good will of our neighbours, it is pro- 
 bable we shall one day discover it to be but a woful 
 and a frail dependence. 
 
 Another consideration remains. Is it natural or 
 reasonable to suppose that we can greatly increase 
 our supply of manufactures to foreign states, and 
 hope to make it permanent ? To bring the raw ma- 
 terials from a distance of many thousand miles, and 
 to transport them in a finished state back to the place 
 from whence they came, is at best an anomalous and 
 a singular traffic. What guarantee have we for the 
 continuance of the policy of foreign courts towards 
 us in this respect ? To state a practical instance, 
 are the people of this country aware of the senti- 
 ments held by the President of the United States of 
 America ? He inclines wholly to manufactures, and 
 extensive concerns are at this moment establishing 
 themselves in Massachusetts with prodigious ala- 
 crity. They not only manufacture coarse cottons 
 for themselves, but they export them to Columbia. 
 
of a Free Trade in Corji. 
 
 Why may not this policy extend and be imitated 
 by other countries ? National rivalry will often 
 prompt to measures which an abstracted view of 
 the case would never have contemplated. Mr. Mal- 
 thus has fully and ably illustrated this subject in 
 the fifth edition of his Essay on Population. Some 
 attempt has been made at reply, in the Art. '* Corn 
 Laws," in the Supplement to the Encydopcedia Brit- 
 tannica, but it is merely an attempt. It proceeds 
 on the vague and general assumption, that the rulers 
 of mankind are philosophers, united in brotherly 
 love, and disposed to inspire their people with sen- 
 timents, not so much adapted to the aggrandize- 
 ment of individual nations, as to the advantage of 
 them all. 
 
 To this philanthropic consummation there are 
 some few perverse obstacles, such as, I believe, will 
 prove insuperable. A cheap loaf is a good thing, 
 but the most sanguine enthusiast must admit, that 
 in England it cannot be obtained without many 
 drawbacks. It may, as a last resort, be asserted, 
 that our corn-laws defeat their own purpose, and are 
 inadequate to their end. This, however, is quite 
 another question, and will be examined in its proper 
 place. 
 
240 
 
 Section IV. 
 
 EXAMINATION OF THE EXPECTED BENEFITS TO ACCRUE TO 
 THE MANUFACTURING INTERESTS FROM A FREE TRADE 
 IN CORN. 
 
 After the statements just exhibited, it will at least 
 be conceded, that to justify a change of system, the 
 advantages to flow to the manufacturing interests 
 should appear clear and positive. Practical men, 
 engaged in the export trade, rarely embarrass their 
 thoughts with an attention to the principles by which 
 imports are regulated. They merely consider the 
 price at which their commodities are selling in the 
 foreign market ; and if this yields profit, they take it 
 for granted that the nation partakes of the benefit 
 which they themselves enjoy, and dismiss the sub- 
 ject as one too clear to demand further investigation. 
 Dropping, then, the position regarding the demand 
 for imported articles, let us now inquire if the opi- 
 nions of the manufacturers merit assent to the de- 
 gree affirmed. The statement is, that independent 
 of the additional trade derived by importation of 
 corn, our products in general will become so much 
 cheaper, that we shall, with our skill and capital, be 
 enabled to manufacture for the world. The manu- 
 facturer considers the present cost of his wares ; 
 thinks how materially they would be lowered if la- 
 bour were as cheap as it is on the continent ; and 
 
from a Free Trade in Cor?). 241 
 
 discovers that many markets would bo surrendered 
 to him in which he now finds it almost impossible 
 to sustain the competition of foreign rivals. To all 
 this there is one general answer : You have entirely 
 misunderstood the causes of high wages. But even 
 taking the Corn question on its own grounds, it yet 
 remains to be proved that cheap food would procure 
 cheap labour to an equal extent. In our view of the 
 principles of combinations, the mode in which the 
 conduct of workmen is influenced was fully ex- 
 plained. Men, paid according to the quantity of 
 work they perform, have much in their power when 
 they find themselves in request ; and does any per- 
 son possessed of the least degree of experience be- 
 lieve, that when they so find themselves in request, 
 they will consent to abridge their wages ? They are 
 mxuch more inclined to raise their tone when they 
 find they can earn, with more ease than ever, that 
 which they have been accustomed to receive as a 
 fair rate of wages. This may be effected by either 
 of two causes : by cheap food, or by high market 
 wages. The first is obtained by the importation of 
 corn ; and as it is assumed that business will become 
 brisk in consequence, the second would also follow. 
 In this juncture, therefore, every thing conspires to 
 allow the workmen to demand and to obtain their 
 own terms. Their love of ease would soon prompt 
 them to combine, and to abate the intenseness of 
 their application to their particular employments. 
 One mode alone of avoiding the evil presents itself. 
 
242 Benefits to the Manufacturing Interests 
 
 To return to our old English method of the master 
 personally superintending the workman, fixing a 
 prescribed task to be performed within a given time, 
 watching not only the labour, but the conduct and 
 the morals of those under him, and firmly binding 
 them to him by establishing a reciprocity of inte- 
 rests, and giving them the assurance of a paternal 
 concern for their welfare under every vicissitude of 
 circumstances. In the present structure of society 
 this is absolutely impossible. What officious par- 
 tisan of the working orders would counsel them to 
 relinquish the high-sounding appellation of opera- 
 tives, and sink to the opprobrium of submission to 
 their employers. No, they must maintain their high 
 prerogative inviolate. If these things then be true, 
 it is decided that the manufacturer derives not the 
 benefit of cheapness of food. 
 
 Facts must here be our sole guide ; and it is for 
 this reason that, out of a multiplicity of others, I 
 give the evidence of Mr. Milne before the Commit- 
 tee of the House of Lords, in their inquiries on the 
 Corn Laws in 1814. 
 
 Patrick Milne, Esq., M.P., examined. 
 Q. Can you state to the Committee any particular in- 
 stance of agricultural work that you may have contracted 
 for in a dear year and a cheap year ? — A. I can state a 
 very strong instance that happened to myself last year ; I 
 wished to enclose a farm at the latter end of the year 1812, 
 or the beginning of 1813 ; I sent for my bailiff, and told 
 him that I had enclosed, about twenty-five years ago, a 
 good deal of land, that the enclosure at that time cost me 
 
from a Free Trade in Corn. 24iJ 
 
 3^. per ell of 37 inches ; that a neighbour of mine, two or 
 three years ago, had made similar enclosures, which cost 
 him 5s. per ell ; that I thought he had paid too much, and 
 that I ought to do it clieaper : the answer I got from my 
 bailiff was, "that provisions were very high ; that the la- 
 bourers were doing double work ; and that, of course, 
 there was less demand for labour; and that he could do 
 those enclosures last year at a cheaper rate than I had ever 
 done them; and he actually executed this enclosure at 
 about 2s. ^d. per ell. He again came to me, and told me, 
 that I had proposed to him to do some ditching and drain- 
 ing upon another farm, which I did not intend to do till 
 about a twelvemonth after, from the circumstance of not 
 being fully in possession of the whole farm : he requested 
 I would allow him to do it that season, as he could do it 
 so much cheaper ; and that a gx*eat many labourers were 
 idle from having but little work, in consequence of those 
 who were employed doing double work. I desired him 
 to go on with that labour likewise, and he actually con- 
 tracted for very large ditches at 6aJ. an ell, which I do not 
 think I could now do under from 1.?. to 1^. 6<:^,, in conse- 
 quence of the fall of provisions. — Minutes of Evidence, 
 Lords'' Report, Corn Laws, 1814. 
 
 By the register of prices of wheat, kept by Eton 
 College, we find, that in 1805, the price was SSs. 
 per quarter; and in 1811, it was 108.s, Compare 
 with this the following evidence, also to the Lords' 
 Committee in 1814. 
 
 The Earl of Mansfield, a member of the Committee, 
 delivered in a letter from his factor in Scotland, Mr. 
 James Wood, containing answers to a set of queries, from 
 which the following are extracts : — 
 
 R 2 
 
244 Benefits to the Manufacturing Interests 
 
 Q. In what year of the last fourteen was manufacturing 
 labour the lowest? — A. In the year 1811. 
 
 Q. In what year of those fourteen was manufacturing 
 labour the highest?— A. In the year 1805. The average 
 price of weaving for the last fourteen years appears to be 
 6^. In 1805, 95. was paid for weaving a piece ; and, in 
 1811, the same work was done as low as 3^. 
 
 These statements sufficiently demonstrate, that 
 labour fluctuates on principles quite adverse to the 
 rate of food. A short time back, it was admitted 
 on all hands, that there was a brisk demand in 
 nearly every employment ; and, perhaps, there are 
 few persons engaged in business who did not, 
 either directly or indirectly, discover the accuracy of 
 what is here assumed. 
 
 During the last summer, I was personally inform- 
 ed, that a vessel freighted for the Columbian republic 
 was detained several days waiting the execution of 
 orders for articles from Birmingham. After com- 
 plaining of the remissness and neglect of the manu- 
 facturers, a person was despatched to the spot, and 
 found the state of the times there such, that the men 
 would not attend to their work. This day there were 
 the races, and the next a prize-fight, and other simi- 
 lar causes of idleness — proving that whatever delay 
 might be experienced from the increase of orders, 
 business was still greatly retarded by the want of 
 industry among workmen. A short time afterwards 
 another incident, which came under my own ob- 
 servation, occurred, to prove the state of feeling 
 
from a Free Trade in Com, 245 
 
 among this class. A merchant, who had given a 
 large order to a manufacturer, was proceeding to 
 give some minute directions to one of the foremen, 
 when he was taken aside by the master, and en- 
 treated not to let the men know the extent of his 
 order, as they would, in all probability, strike work 
 immediately on finding such extensive necessity 
 for their labour. 
 
 These are not insulated cases. Should any 
 reader find it difficult to reconcile to his huma- 
 nity the conclusions to which they lead, and deem 
 them harsh or arbitrary towards those entitled 
 to our compassion, I entreat him to acquit me 
 of the blame. They are no speculations of my 
 own ; but I have made every inquiry, and I feel 
 myself compelled to acknowledge that the facts 
 stated are incontestably indicative of the general 
 feeling. I have attempted to trace the matter to its 
 source, and have thus shown the difference in the 
 relations of labour, as regards the paying of men by 
 the day or week, and paying according to the quan- 
 tity of work performed. In considering this subject, 
 those writers, preposterously termed the advocates 
 of the poor, such as Mr. Brougham, Mr. Mill, Mr. 
 M'Culloch, and also Mr. Jeffrey, never touch on 
 the main branch of the question. A few subor- 
 dinate common-places are uttered, and enlarged 
 upon — but the real difficulties, though of vital im- 
 portance to the subject, are most conveniently dis- 
 posed of by some sucn phrase as — " It is noto- 
 
246 Benefits to the Manufacturing Interests 
 
 rious," — " It is self-evident," — and, *' No man of 
 the smallest information can doubt," ^c. Src This 
 large demand on the credulity of the reader, may 
 be convenient, but it is scarcely reputable. When 
 our scepticism is thus awakened, it not only lowers 
 our opinion of an author's understanding, but it 
 also diminishes our estimate of his ingenuousness. 
 
 Unsupported assumption commands little respect 
 from men practically engaged in the details of busi- 
 ness, and it is to them, after all, that the matter 
 must be referred for decision. It is very common 
 among them to hear it remarked, " These new- 
 fangled notions of equality and freedom of labour 
 may be beautiful in theory, and very fine philosophy, 
 but they wofuUy impede our business." To such, 
 then, I address myself, and it is they who clamour 
 for cheap corn. Do they imagine that when that 
 cheap corn arrives, their workmen will immediately 
 lower their wages ? If they do this, I shall not only 
 renounce my argument, but rejoice in its unsound- 
 ness. But, first, let them carefully contemplate, 
 not abstract principles, but the lessons of their own 
 experience ; and before they put forth petitions, and 
 express so vehemently their sentiments against the 
 present system, it is more than probable they may 
 admit that the case is less clear than they deemed 
 it, even as regards the advancement of their own 
 interests. 
 
 Abandoning the consideration of the question in 
 this light, the whole gist of it may be directed by 
 
from a Free Trade in Corn. 247 
 
 the liberalists to the concerns of the poor. It may 
 be said, they now work too much for their consti- 
 tutions — they should have the abiUty, not only to 
 live better, but to enjoy more leisure. It is appa- 
 rent that this is surrendering the main part of the 
 contention. If there be injury to the agriculturist, 
 without benefit to the manufacturer, there must be 
 a diminution of the national wealth. But then, it 
 is said, society will more tend to an equality. There 
 will be less luxury on the one hand, and less pri- 
 vation on the other, and thus will happiness be 
 promoted. Now, if it could indeed be demonstrated 
 that this amelioration of the lot of the poor could 
 be effected, then I would abandon to the winds the 
 prospect of advantaging either landlord or master- 
 manufacturer ; but, unfortunately, such speculations 
 are altogether delusive. 
 
 The population principle would at length multiply 
 labourers to the full demand for employment, and 
 if their prosperity would be temporary, as would in 
 reality be the case, the distress which would ulti- 
 mately overtake them, would infinitely outweigh 
 the alleviation they had tasted, but of which they 
 had fallaciously expected the continuance. When- 
 ever the market-rate of wages is high, — whenever 
 men can, with ease, procure the subsistence to 
 which they have been accustomed, all writers 
 allow, that an increase of population is the imme- 
 diate consequence. If the means of sustenance 
 have been previously of a very inferior description. 
 
248 Benefits to the Manufacturing Interests 
 
 it is probable that a higher scale may be attained 
 and perpetuated. But when it includes a fair pro- 
 portion of comforts, the additional means will not 
 be spent on extra objects ; the labourer will rather 
 consult his ease, and relax his efforts, until the com- 
 petition of his fellows again deprives him of such 
 gratification. To those who imagine that a mere in- 
 crease of numbers increases the power of a country, 
 it may be further observed, that it is more than ques- 
 tionable if such augmentation could be preserved — 
 it would, in all probability, be checked violently at 
 last, by privation, or other calamities horrible to 
 contemplate. Labourers are dependent upon the 
 general prosperity of the country : unless the su- 
 perior circles flourish, any appearance of prosperity 
 that may flash upon the former is but a fitful gleam, 
 prelusive of disaster to themselves. This fact should 
 make us guarded in our decisions upon the first 
 blink of apparent advantage. To use a very homely, 
 but not inapplicable illustration, it is banqueting 
 on a sumptuous breakfast, to which a meagre dinner 
 must follow. 
 
 What I have here contemplated, I believe to be 
 the certain consequences of the projected change. 
 Stir and excitement would unquestionably exist, 
 the working classes would reap the benefit, and 
 they would exult with premature joy on the happy 
 improvement. Those who confine their observation 
 to the present, and regard not the future, may, in- 
 deed, be excused in their clamour ; but can any 
 
from a Free Trade in Corn. 249 
 
 Statesman be justified in yielding to such influence. 
 No axiom in politics, perhaps, is more decided than 
 that a great fluctuation in wages must be injurious. 
 There is, in truth, no short step to improvement. 
 In the present condition of England, to shape mea- 
 sures merely for the encouragement of population, 
 is, in my opinion, the exact reverse of true policy. 
 And what less can be said of the proposal to con- 
 vert a hale and robust race of agricultural labourers 
 into a puny, sickly population of town-pent manu- 
 facturers. To keep up the physical endowments 
 and capabilities of our species, appears to me an 
 imperious duty ; and when, in fine, we dwell on the 
 many estimable attributes of an agricultural life ; 
 its simplicity, its morality — but the theme is of too 
 great a magnitude to be done justice to in a cursory 
 notice ; it may, however, be safely left to the 
 reader's imagination. 
 
250 Effects of removing Protecting Duties 
 
 Section V. 
 
 EFFECTS OF REMOVING PROTECTING DUTIES ON OUR 
 PRINCIPAL MANUFACTURES. 
 
 The principles of Free Trade come now to be con- 
 sidered in a very different light. The necessary 
 consequence of a free importation of corn must be 
 the removal of all prohibitory or protecting duties 
 upon manufactures. The President of the Board 
 of Trade stated, in the House of Commons, that 
 the recent innovations had been proved to him to be 
 beneficial by one striking circumstance, w^hich was, 
 that however strenuously any specific party claimed 
 protection for their own particular business, they 
 invariably admitted that in all other cases the new 
 system was correct and sound. So far then as re- 
 strictions are partially removed, it is but equitable 
 to conclude the rule to extend to all departments. 
 
 It is laid down as a fundamental maxim, that the 
 cost of an article is chiefly determined by the rate 
 of wages ; and that if wages be higher in this coun- 
 try than abroad, we cannot compete with foreigners. 
 I maintain the truth of this position. If an artisan 
 on the continent be paid but \0s. a week, whilst one 
 at home receives 18^., it is an absurdity to suppose 
 that their manufactures can be produced at equal 
 prices. But it has been said that wages may be as- 
 
on our principal Manufactures. 251 
 
 similated. I cannot admit it. Let the taxes be re- 
 mitted, and a reduction of Is. may probably follow. 
 Admit Polish corn, and 2s. more may be taken 
 away. There will still remain an excess of 5s. un- 
 touched, which stands beyond the reach of any di- 
 rect enactment of the Legislature. It may indeed 
 be urged in reply, that if we distress the workman, 
 agreeably to my own principles just stated he will 
 perform more work ; if to gain 2s. in the way of 
 cheaper food be no object, why not, on the same 
 principles, go the whole length of the 8^. difference 
 in wages ? Slight reflection will show this retort 
 to be inapplicable. Dismissing the consideration 
 of the great difference in amount, and for argument's 
 sake laying the claims of humanity aside, the ope- 
 ration in one case is temporary, in the other per- 
 manent. Why have we denied the benefits accruing 
 either to the master-manufacturer or his workman 
 from cheap food ? Not because they were unreal 
 in themselves, but because from concomitant cir- 
 cumstances they could not continue, as a reaction 
 was created. But, on the other hand, break down 
 the barriers which preserve the population in their 
 present condition ; constrain them to work for lower 
 wages ; deteriorate their mode of living ; and you 
 not only destroy the happiness of a vast majority of 
 your fellow-men, but you level a deadly blow at 
 vital and permanent advantages derived by capi- 
 talists in the extended demand for their products. 
 There is a prodigious difference between preventing 
 
252 Effects of removing Protecting Duties 
 
 an inefficient increase of the market-rate of wages 
 or lowering the price of food, and depressing the 
 natural rate ; and it is difficult to conceive how the 
 latter could continue, if you admit foreign competi- 
 tion. Those who seek to escape from this argu- 
 ment by insinuating certain doubts as to the com- 
 fortable condition of our working orders will still 
 find themselves involved in a dilemma. Do they 
 admit the fact ? Surely then it is desirable that such 
 habits be preserved. Do they deny it ? Why then 
 is it not equally desirable to establish them ? Yet 
 if the Free Trade system obtain, they never can be 
 established, because the wages of your workmen 
 must become the same as those of foreigners, and 
 the condition of both must consequently assimilate. 
 To increase their prosperity would require the con- 
 currence of other governments. 
 
 Having thus shown that, so far as labour is con- 
 cerned (admitted on both sides to be the main 
 point of the inquiry), it would be impolitic to allow 
 a perfect reciprocity of trade, it may be proper to 
 inquire what other advantages are possessed by 
 England to justify the measure. These, we believe, 
 may be comprised within two heads, capital and 
 machinery. That they are of vast importance, and 
 have hitherto enabled England to surmount every 
 opposite disadvantage, it is by no means attempted 
 to dispute. But it would certainly border on delu- 
 sion to maintain, that they are of a permanent na- 
 ture, and would, were commerce made free, remain 
 
on our principal Manufactures. 253 
 
 exclusively with this country. Ever since the sys- 
 tem of credit attained its present magnitude in 
 matters of traffic, it is well known to practical men 
 how easily, with adequate security, the means for 
 prosecuting extensive business are procured. Now 
 adequate security is found proportionably as there is 
 prospect of success, and a prospect of success arises 
 when in the nature of things there is some leading 
 advantage to prompt to the commencement of an 
 undertaking. Cheapness of labour then is the ad- 
 vantage possessed by rival nations ; and as credit 
 becomes gradually established^ the obstacle arising 
 from deficiency of capital must diminish. Undoubt- 
 edly, England will long retain her superiority ; but 
 it must be conceded that it would every year dimi- 
 nish, and cannot therefore be safely adopted as the 
 basis of a system, by a statesman mindful of the 
 future. 
 
 Some mistakes prevail, too, regarding machinery. 
 I am of opinion that the great perfection to which it 
 has been brought in various departments of industry 
 is attributable to the vast demand for articles in the 
 manufacture of which it has been chiefly employed; 
 and unless we arrogate an inherent superiority of 
 genius in our own countrymen, it is futile to imagine 
 that we shall go on multiplying inventions calcu- 
 lated to outweigh opposing disadvantages. With 
 regard to the machinery now existing, foreigners can 
 assuredly imitate it ; and nothing is more obvious 
 
254 Effects of removing Protecting Duties 
 
 than that the more you open the trade, the more 
 you present them facilities for imitation. 
 
 The propriety of permitting the exportation of 
 machinery forms a most interesting question, and 
 much information was eUcited through the evidence 
 given to the Parliamentary Committee in the Session 
 of 1824. As to those v^ritnesses who were exa- 
 mined, touching theoretical principles, it is scarcely 
 necessary to advert to them ; silence, perhaps, is 
 better adapted to preserve that implicit deference 
 which is habitually yielded to a Parliamentary do- 
 cument. But as the statements of practical men 
 are ever entitled to attention, I may be permitted 
 one or two observations on the evidence of parti- 
 cular engineers of eminence, though I am not able 
 to concur in their views. Mr. Martineau and Mr. 
 H. Maudslay appeared confident that this country 
 would benefit by a legalized exportation of every 
 description of machinery. The arguments on which 
 they grounded this conclusion may be condensed 
 into three : 1 st. That it would establish, or greatly 
 increase, an additional manufacture in this country. 
 2dly. That if we do not supply our rivals with ma- 
 chines, we excite them to make them for themselves ; 
 whilst from our superior science, and the increased 
 skilful iiess acquired by extended practice, we 
 should retain exclusive possession of this valuable 
 branch of industry. And 3dly. That added means 
 for the application of those machines to manu- 
 
on our principal Manufactures. 255 
 
 factures in other nations could not, correctly, be 
 presumed to supersede our own ; for, independently 
 of the time required to establish any extensive 
 manufacture, our own improvements would advance 
 in an equal ratio with those of foreigners. In 
 regard to the first consideration, it resolves itself 
 into the balancing of the benefits flowing from 
 increase of employment in making machinery, con- 
 trasted with probable diminution in our leading 
 manufactures when our rivals acquire the same 
 facilities for their fabrication as ourselves. If by 
 perfect freedom of export this be permitted, can it, 
 for a moment, be doubted that their production 
 would amazingly increase; and how must this, 
 eventually, operate upon the disposal of our own 
 goods. This appears to me the principal part of 
 the question ; and, I apprehend, the benefit derived 
 by the machinist would form but an insignificant 
 set-off" to the vast injury inflicted on the manu- 
 facturer. The second point has been strenuously 
 urged by those best acquainted with the state of 
 the useful arts in the two countries. That we de- 
 cidedly possess the superiority in the operative 
 branch of mechanics, I believe is beyond all doubt ; 
 but, perhaps, it may be imputed by national par- 
 tiality to causes more flattering to our pride than 
 accordant with truth. Many have declared that 
 science is almost exclusively indigenous to Great 
 Britain, or, at least, that it is a field in which we 
 outstrip every competitor. This sentiment has been 
 
^6 Ejects of removing Protecting Duties 
 
 stated in a variety of shapes, and so often repeated, 
 that it is cordially believed by almost all classes ; 
 as well as that in natural capability and powers of 
 mind, the French are greatly our inferiors. The 
 better informed, and the more liberal minded, will, 
 however, accord a somewhat higher degree of credit 
 to the country which has produced a La Grange, a 
 Cuvier, and a Laplace. They will esteem the po- 
 pular conclusion not altogether so decisive. In 
 regard to those at the top of the roll, and by them 
 it is that the tone is given to the community, we 
 shall, perhaps, gain little by comparison. What- 
 ever may have been our former glory, we seem 
 now to be quietly reposing beneath its laurels; 
 profundity in science, at any rate, seems not to be 
 exactly the present characteristic of the British 
 nation. 
 
 But it may be said that this observation only 
 relates to the theory of science, which enters not 
 into the concerns of commerce. There is the old 
 saying, that practice makes perfect, and if attended 
 to, it will frequently dissipate conclusions ascribed 
 by self-esteem to superiority of parts. The General, 
 constantly engaged in active service, will become a 
 greater adept in the art of war, than he who con- 
 ducts but one or two campaigns. The youth en- 
 tering into trade, will acquire far greater experience 
 in a house of large business, than in one whose 
 concerns are confined. Equally will the operative 
 workman prove dexterous or otherwise, in proper- 
 
071 our principal Manufacturer. 257 
 
 tion to the demand for his labour. It is, therefore, en- 
 tirely fallacious to trust to superior skill as a safe- 
 guard from competition. If we reflect on the labours 
 of Bonguer or Groignard in the art of ship-building, 
 or of Roudelet in joinery, and suppose a great de- 
 mand seconding their efforts, through the improve- 
 ment it will produce in the skill of workmen, we shall 
 then have cause to doubt our national superiority. 
 In reply to that part of the argument which main- 
 tains to disallow the exportation of machinery, will 
 lead the French to set about making it for themselves, 
 it has only to be observed, that there is less oppor- 
 tunity for them then to acquire the peculiar advan- 
 tages and improvements which we possess already ; 
 and that, if the main consideration be to uphold our 
 leading manufactures, any proposed or expected 
 benefit of an opposite nature sinks in comparison. 
 
 The point which remains to be examined has 
 generally been adduced as decisive. When Mr. 
 Arthur O'Connor was questioned in the proceed- 
 ings relative to the Irish Rebellion, as to the pro- 
 bability of Ireland equalling England in manufac- 
 tures, he replied, " Yes, if England stands still." 
 There is much epigrammatic force in this reply, but 
 a closer view of things may lead us to dissent from 
 the inference impHed. It supposes a prospect of 
 unlimited improvement, and that the elements of 
 production are, in other respects, equal. If, how- 
 ever, it has been shown that the advantages of 
 capital and machinery are accidental, and that they 
 
258 E frets of removing Protectwg Duties 
 
 are almost always established out of an active de- 
 mand for them, it is perfectly clear that, by whatever 
 length England now distances any other country, 
 that distance must progressively diminish, and her 
 relative superiority, in extent of manufactures, be 
 reduced. If labour were at the same rate in this 
 country as in France, then Mr. O'Connor's answer 
 would apply, and let her improve to what degree 
 she might, we might expect to advance in a cor- 
 responding ratio. But the rate of wages being 
 much higher in England, and labour forming the 
 chief item in determining cost, — by many, indeed, 
 supposed the sole item, as all machines must be 
 made by labour, — it is perfectly impossible to con- 
 ceive that our manufactures can advance in propor- 
 tion to those countries where indefatigable efforts are 
 exerting to establish them. Should we be superseded 
 in foreign markets, as would probably be the case, 
 there would, instead of increase, be palpable dimi- 
 nution. From these considerations, therefore, we 
 can easily judge of the propriety of giving to for- 
 midable rivals every facility to prosecute the same 
 employments as our own. 
 
 When trade diffuses itself extensively, it is al- 
 ways with accelerated effect. Activity in one branch 
 of business gives stimulus to another ; and thus by 
 reciprocity of benefit the progress is most rapid in 
 states where the natural advantages and elements are 
 considerable. Let us contemplate for a moment, the 
 effects of abandoning protecting duties on our prin- 
 
on our principal Manufactures. 259 
 
 cipal manufactures. The French manufacturer, find- 
 ing a great market open to him, which, through the 
 nature of things he ought to supply, and from the 
 cheapness of his goods keep possession of, would 
 strain every nerve to the utmost ; and through the 
 extended operations of men similarly actuated, new 
 facilities and the removal of old obstructions would 
 naturally follow. Many difficulties, hitherto deemed 
 insuperable, would give way before a very active 
 demand ; and if I mistake not, English capital would 
 flow over to invigorate those employments so likely 
 to prove detrimental to our interests. This is no 
 assumption. It is practically occurring in the silk 
 trade at the present moment. The great activity 
 and consequent high market- rate of wages now pre- 
 vailing in this branch of manufacture, was stated in 
 an early part of this work. What then will be the 
 effect of these high wages ? Doubtless the master- 
 manufacturers, as in other places, will neglect no 
 expedient to facilitate the division and abridgment 
 of labour ; and we may thus look for an eventual 
 double operation, leading to cheapness, improved 
 machinery, and the fall of wages to their ordinary 
 level. For a striking corroboration of the reasoning 
 I have advanced, I would appeal to every silk-ma- 
 nufacturer in the kingdom acquainted with the trade 
 of Lyons, to declare if there be any inferiority in 
 French machinery to our own. I will go further, 
 and undertake that the reply shall establish, that the 
 exact reverse is the state of the case. From the ac- 
 
 s 2 
 
^2ii0 flfects of removing Protecting Duties 
 
 tivity of the demand in France, and the languor of 
 that in England, the wages in this employment are 
 exactly equal, a sufficiently-convincing proof that in 
 this particular we possess no adventitious advan- 
 tage. Why then is this the case ? Incontestably for 
 the plain reason above stated, that our rivals have 
 had greater practice. Establish your free trade 
 system, and you will assuredly witness the same 
 result, or an approximation to it, in other employ- 
 ments. I am not ignorant that it takes a very long 
 time to establish, with permanence and success, any 
 great manufacture ; and it may be contended, that 
 almost from time immemorial the fabric of silk has 
 flourished in France. Allowing to this remark all 
 the weight it can claim, a little reflection will show, 
 that it still only impugns the argument in degree. 
 The fact is, that the French greatly excel us in this 
 particular manufacture, both with respect to science 
 and machinery ; and even supposing them at some 
 distance behind us in other branches, it is manifest 
 that, under perfect equality of trade, we must be to 
 a great extent superseded. Accordingly as imme- 
 diate labour enters more or less into the manufac- 
 ture, will be the rapidity with which that event will 
 ensue ; and no part of the inquiry merits more at- 
 tention than the axiom, that improvement in machi- 
 nery and division of labour will keep equal pace 
 with increase of demand. 
 
 It has frequently been attempted to prove the 
 futility of restrictions, by triumphantly advancing 
 
on our principal Manufactures. 261 
 
 what is termed the notorious fact, that, in markets 
 open alike to the commodities of both countries, the 
 British, from greater cheapness, had the decided 
 preference. The argument, however, is more strong 
 in appearance than in reality. M. Talleyrand, in 
 his celebrated work on Colonial Trade, has suffi- 
 ciently explained the reason for this preference, and 
 shown that the great length of credit given by the 
 English merchant to the Americans is the true 
 cause why the commercial dealings of the latter 
 with England are so much more extensive than 
 with other countries, equally capable of supplying 
 the same species of merchandize. Were a store- 
 keeper, either of the United States or of Columbia, 
 to visit Europe, for the purpose of selecting an 
 assortment of silks or woollens, with other articles 
 of minor importance, and to bring along with him 
 dollars to their amount, England would not be his 
 market. He would find that, wanting no credit, he 
 could lay in his goods cheaper in France ; and, if 
 that kingdom possessed equal facilities for shipping 
 and transfer with England, his advantage, on a 
 large purchase, would be most considerable. The 
 length of credit here particularized may not be given 
 directly by the British manufacturer to the American 
 trader ; there is frequently the intervention of 
 merchants, who serve the convenience of both, and 
 who, from the more advanced state of our com- 
 merce, and better division of labour, constitute a 
 much larger class in this country than in France; 
 
2b2 Effects of removing Protecting Duties 
 
 but still the ultimate operation is the same, and the 
 causes of the preference we have is advientitious 
 and unsubstantial. Besides this circumstance, 
 freights from France are higher, commercial inter- 
 course is less frequent, and the constant receipt of 
 fresh goods, so desirable on the opposite side of the 
 Atlantic, cannot be secured. Intrinsic cheapness, 
 however, is the main consideration, and will ulti- 
 mately bear down all opposition . Two circumstances 
 will conspire in time to change the channel of trade. 
 Capital, in all new countries, is limited, profits are 
 high, and it is found more advantageous to have 
 the command of large means of trade, than to seek 
 cheap purchases for ready money. If the average 
 of profit in America be 25 per cent., it will be ma- 
 nifestly more beneficial for the importer to give 
 10 per cent, higher price to the British manufac- 
 turer, receiving extended credit, than to go to the 
 French manufacturer with ready money. But 
 when the supply of capital increases in America, 
 profits will fall ; the relative advantage of long 
 credit, contrasted with the rate of profit, will conse- 
 quently diminish, and the importer will naturally 
 go for his purchases to the cheapest market. On 
 the other hand, as industry prospers in France, the 
 ability to give longer credit will increase, indivi- 
 duals will be tempted to push their business more, 
 and greater accommodation will be afforded. Co- 
 incident with this mutual operation will arise, im- 
 proved facilities of intercourse, the mode of carriage 
 
on our principal Manufactures. 263 
 
 and conveyance generally will be improved, in pro- 
 portion to the extension of business, and competi- 
 tion may then come to be held in less contempt than 
 appears at present to be the fashion. 
 
 This view of the subject is pursued for the pur- 
 pose of showing more clearly the necessary effect 
 of the admission of French goods into this country. 
 If it be imagined that we should continue success- 
 fully to compete with them in England, on the same 
 grounds as we do now in America, it will speedily 
 be discovered that the assumed parallel does not 
 at all apply. Branches of English commercial 
 houses would be established in France, and of 
 French ones in England, and thus would facilities 
 for sale be simultaneously introduced to accommo- 
 date all classes of purchasers. 
 
 The advocates for unrestrained competition fre- 
 quently advert to another incident, as illustrative of 
 the soundness of their opinions. It is stated that 
 there is a predilection for French goods, as being 
 both cheaper and more fashionable ; and so effectu- 
 ally does this prejudice operate, that goods are 
 known to have been made in Glasgow, and thence 
 conveyed to Dover, to get there the name of French 
 manufactures. Admitting this fact, it still does not 
 invalidate my views. Supposing that, from our ca- 
 pital and machinery, we excel the French at pre- 
 sent, what I maintain is, that if we establish the 
 system of free trade, 1830 will present to us a greatly 
 altered state of things, and 1835 a still greater. Be- 
 
264 Effects of removing Protecting Duties 
 
 fore France can greatly augment her commerce, she 
 has many difficulties to overcome ; these, perhaps, 
 are our best security, as I shall presently endea- 
 vour to explain. In the mean time it is only to be 
 observed, that to open to her our markets is the most 
 essential mode of rendering her assistance. 
 
 A restrictive system seems therefore necessary 
 for our protection, and expedient upon the principles 
 of enlarged policy. It requires no great minute- 
 ness of inquiry to point out the grounds upon which 
 it should be framed. To such a degree as the wages 
 of labour are higher in this country, to a correspond- 
 ing extent is it necessary to establish protecting 
 duties on our principal manufactures. This broad 
 basis would allow a fair and equitable competition, 
 to the advantage of industry in all its branches. Na- 
 tional rivalry depending solely upon skill, leads to 
 an improvement both in the fashion and the fabric 
 of any particular article. For this, then, scope 
 should be freely given ; but I believe that to do jus- 
 tice to our own subjects, duties, on a somewhat dif- 
 ferent scale from that commonly supposed, are in- 
 dispensable. 
 
 It will be seen that these views by no means mi- 
 litate against the general position, that each country 
 possesses certain natural advantages, to cultivate 
 which is more conducive to prosperity than to seek 
 other employments. This well-known doctrine of 
 Adam Smith may still be allowed ; but some fur- 
 ther considerations at the same time present them- 
 
on our pnncipal Manufactures. 265 
 
 selves, which must not be neglected. In the first 
 place, by abandoning some manufactures, for the 
 prosecution of which we have not facilities equal to 
 those of other nations, national loss will ensue, un- 
 less we can compensate for them by the increase of 
 others. It is contended that they will be so in- 
 creased in a multiplied degree ; but it is manifest 
 that industry thus dependent for support on elements 
 abridged in number, must be more precarious, and 
 the suffering caused by loss of employment must 
 press with much greater severity, should sudden ca- 
 lamity befall the nation. No trade dependent on the 
 supply of foreign states with manufactures can ever 
 be relied on as permanent or secure ; all internal 
 branches are certainly not likely to be visited with 
 distress at the same time ; and if, for the sake of a 
 more profitable distribution of industry, the princi- 
 pal employment in this country centres in cottons, 
 or in hardware, then when unexpected stagnation 
 ensues, no resource is left the artisan, and inevitable 
 distress awaits him . If the consideration of the hap- 
 piness of the lower orders come at all into the ques- 
 tion ; if it be desired to prevent, as far as lies in the 
 ability of human regulation, the sudden transition 
 from comfort to privation, then surely no means are 
 so suitably adapted to that end as variety of em- 
 ployments, so that the workmen, on being deprived 
 of one, can enter upon another at once, and almost 
 without difficulty. Thus if, from some casualty, we 
 
366 Effects of removing Protecting Duties 
 
 lose our northern market for woollens, the woollen 
 weaver may betake himself at once to the weaving 
 of cottons. If again the demand for cotton goods 
 stagnate in the South American market, the cotton 
 weaver may turn to that of silk, and there the em- 
 ployment must be less subject to fluctuation, de- 
 pending as it does principally upon home-consump- 
 tion. 
 
 It may then be justly deemed questionable, if 
 real benefit can accrue from the rigid adoption of a 
 system, of which the effect is to withdraw a fostering 
 protection from manufactures, not absolutely indi- 
 genous, but which have long flourished and attained 
 to extensive growth among us. If silks require a 
 higher protecting duty, by 10 or 15 percent., than 
 other leading manufactures, any perversion of in- 
 dustry here created would, if impartially weighed, 
 be found to inflict an exceedingly trifling injury on 
 the total national production ; an injury, at the worst, 
 incommensurate to the advantage of preserving to 
 our mechanics an additional resource against pro- 
 bable fluctuations of trade. Besides, I hope I am 
 not necessarily sceptical, when I cast a doubt upon 
 the assumed increase in other employments. Not- 
 withstanding the simplicity of adjustment, in the 
 systems of theorists, in the actual intercourse of the 
 world much difficulty is encountered ; and as the hu- 
 man body is more and more debilitated by every suc- 
 ceeding attack of disease, so may the body politic 
 
071 our principal Manufactures. 267 
 
 be so weakened by repeated and abrupt transitions 
 as utterly to preclude the recovery of its pristine 
 vigour. 
 
 Nothing is here advanced, having a tendency to 
 impose uncalled-for exactions on the produce of 
 other countries, w^hich v^re cannot easily produce 
 ourselves. Akin to the above observations may be 
 supposed the wish to encourage the consumption 
 of British articles, as opposed to all articles of 
 foreign production, though of different descriptions. 
 The exact reverse is intended ; it is where articles 
 are of the same description, and clash together, that 
 restrictions are advocated. It may, for example, 
 be prudent to protect the beer of England against 
 that of France, or any other country, but it is egre- 
 giously bad policy to protect English beer against 
 French wine. If the palate prefer the latter, why 
 should it be denied? there is little prospect of 
 our ever cultivating the vine. This equally applies 
 to some manufactures. It is not a little singular 
 that the legislature seems guided by principles dia- 
 metrically opposite: while, by a species of infatu- 
 ation, protection is withdrawn from our own pro- 
 ducts, that they may be superseded by others of 
 precisely similar description from abroad, foreign 
 luxuries, which we never can produce, are repro- 
 bated as injurious to the homely habits of England ! 
 One thing only is required, that these foreign luxu- 
 ries be a little dearer than our own commodities, in 
 order to preserve that graduation of wants through 
 
268 Effects of removing Protecting Duties, 8fC. 
 
 which, when calamity befalls, an inferior mode of 
 living may create a re-action, and counteract the 
 evil. To have the produce of every clime wafted 
 in abundance to our shores, to enable the humblest 
 of our population to display, at every meal, his mo- 
 dicum of the luxuries furnished from the remotest 
 regions of the globe, is the legitimate province of 
 commerce, and the noblest achievement a govern- 
 ment can contemplate, to promote the industry, the 
 power, and the happiness of its people. 
 
5^69 
 
 Section VI. 
 
 EFFECTS OF FREE TRADE UPON OUR NAVIGATION SYSTEM. 
 
 The celebrated Navigation Act of Charles II. has 
 furnished a theme on virhich so many eminent wri- 
 ters have enlarged, that scarcely any question of 
 state poHcy is more generally knov^^n, or so univer- 
 sally appreciated. The recent innovations made 
 upon it have been explicitly detailed in the ample 
 discussions v^hich took place in the last Session of 
 Parliament. The right of exclusively trading to 
 our foreign possessions was regarded, for a century 
 and a half, as the leading characteristic of our na- 
 vigation system, and the main support of our com- 
 mercial superiority. That right has now been 
 abandoned. The Colonial Intercourse Bill permits 
 European nations to trade freely with our colonial 
 possessions, and we are now to rely solely on the 
 progress we have already made, and the natural 
 means we have for raising seamen, to preserve our 
 maritime preponderance. It will not be necessary 
 to enter into minute details, touching subordinate 
 points, the object being to fix the attention on ge- 
 neral principles, or on the broad merits of the ques- 
 tion, and to inquire if we are justified in relying 
 on internal means for the preservation and supply 
 of our marine. 
 
270 Effects of Free Trade upon 
 
 In the first place, it is apparent that this country 
 possesses, comparatively, but scanty materials for 
 ship-building. We are dependent on foreign coun- 
 tries for the very elements with which we have to 
 work. This is a most serious drawback, and im- 
 peratively requires to be compensated by some ad- 
 vantage. When, then, we come to inquire what 
 else is wanted to build a ship besides materials, 
 we find it to be labour alone. Now, in this case, it 
 is contrary to reason to suppose that we could com- 
 pete with foreign countries in the building of ships. 
 America will surpass us, from her exhaustless pos- 
 session of materials ; the Northern States of Europe 
 will surpass us, both from superiority in materials, 
 and in cheapness of labour. Here, then, the prin- 
 ciple of free trade is not only erroneous, but it is 
 decidedly pernicious. Wipe off the national debt 
 to-morrow, and reduce the price of wheat to 30.y. a 
 quarter, and still you will be unable to build a ship 
 as cheaply as your rivals. Ship-building, however, 
 is but of secondary importance, compared to the 
 raising of seamen. Here, obviously, wages form 
 the paramount consideration. Every one, it is pre- 
 sumed, is aware, that wages, in any particular de- 
 partment of industry, are regulated by the rate paid 
 for labour in general. They vary accordingly as 
 the employment is irksome or agreeable. When, 
 therefore, the rate of ordinary labour is high, the 
 wages of seamen will be high also ; if certain 
 habits exercise any influence on the former, they 
 
OUT Navigation System. 271 
 
 equally extend to the latter. But it is not enough 
 to state that they proceed in equal ratio. It can be 
 proved that the latter go much farther. The love of 
 adventure, the desire to see other regions, the temp- 
 tation of frolicsome enjoyment when on shore, — 
 these are the inducements to a seafaring life. On 
 the other hand, there is inevitable hardship, expo- 
 sure to disease from unhealthiness of climate, and 
 the chance of shipwreck. Between these conflict- 
 ing objects the sailor makes his choice ; and wages 
 are, as it were, determined by a contrast of the 
 temptations to go to sea, with the inducements to 
 stay at home. But it is of importance to reflect, 
 that the former are of a definite nature, while the 
 latter are unlimited. You cannot increase the feel- 
 ing of curiosity, or the desire for adventure, nor can 
 you diminish the hardship and the risk incidental to 
 navigation ; but you can greatly" improve the con- 
 dition of labourers at home. When, therefore, the 
 wages of common labourers rise, from improved 
 habits, those of seamen must rise in a greatly aug- 
 mented proportion. A youth, who sees his fellows 
 all around him suffering privation, will look upon 
 the alternative of going to sea with far other feelings 
 than where he sees them living in the midst of com- 
 forts. If the scale of living among our lower orders 
 be improved, if the working classes can now attend 
 lecture-rooms and institutions, and participate in 
 enjoyments unknown to their forefathers, it is folly 
 to suppose that employments, unsusceptible of cor- 
 
272 Effects of Free Trade upon 
 
 responding amelioration, can escape the effects of a 
 comparison so disadvantageous. Thus, in time, 
 the very idea of a seafaring life may come to be 
 regarded with disgust, and the long-celebrated 
 mariners of England be succeeded by a race who 
 shall exhibit as great an aversion to navigate our 
 Channel, as do now the degenerate sons of Venice 
 to plough the Adriatic. 
 
 Let it not be inferred from what is here sug- 
 gested, that I would characterize the improvement 
 of the lower orders as an evil. These pages exhi- 
 bit proof sufficient to the contrary. Perfect freedom 
 of trade is now the ruling impulse, and I do but 
 depict some of its consequences. I persuade my- 
 self it has been incontrovertibly established, that 
 to make intercourse fully open, and to admit foreign 
 ships on the same terms as British, is to place it 
 physically out of our power to maintain a competi- 
 tion. 
 
 As reasoning is ever best supported by an appeal 
 to facts, I shall here exhibit the stated cost of vessels 
 built in foreign and in British ports, the rate of 
 wages actually paid, together with a view of the 
 changes which have taken place in the marine of 
 the principal states within the last few years. 
 
 The following minute account was given in by 
 Mr. Wm. Tindall, to the Parliamentary Committee 
 on Foreign Trade, in the year 1821, and the result 
 of every inquiry on the subject induces me to be- 
 lieve that it may be relied on as accurate : — 
 
our Navigation System. 
 
 273 
 
 A Statement of the Comparative Cost of three Ships, built | 
 
 in Eng'Iand, in Norway or Sweden, and in 
 
 Prussia, of 514 tons | 
 
 British register measurement each. 
 
 
 
 
 Tradesmen suppljing the 
 respective parts. 
 
 England. 
 
 Norway or 
 
 Sweden. 
 
 Prusiia. 
 
 No. 
 
 I. Shipwrights' ac- 
 count for the hull 
 
 £5,162 5 
 
 5 
 
 £1,309 
 
 13 
 
 11 
 
 £2,187 18 4 
 
 2. Blacksmith . . 
 
 641 11 
 
 3 
 
 641 
 
 11 
 
 3 
 
 641 11 3 
 
 3. Raff-merchant 
 
 235 2 
 
 9 
 
 56 
 
 
 
 
 
 65 
 
 4. Joiner 
 
 143 12 
 
 8 
 
 47 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 55 
 
 5. Ironmongery . 
 
 39 1 
 
 2 
 
 39 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 39 1 2 
 
 6. Plumber and Gla- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 zier .... 
 
 26 8 
 
 6 
 
 26 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 26 8 6 
 
 7. Tallow-chandler 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 8. Mast-maker . 
 
 458 13 
 
 
 
 292 
 
 15 
 
 8 
 
 260 15 8 
 
 9. Rope-maker . . 
 
 1,223 3 
 
 
 
 860 
 
 17 
 
 8 
 
 815 11 7 
 
 10. Rigger 
 
 77 10 
 
 
 
 54 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 49 14 
 
 11. Sail-maker 
 
 540 5 
 
 8 
 
 540 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 472 16 
 
 12. Anchor-smith 
 
 175 12 
 
 
 
 175 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 175 12 
 
 13. Boat-builder . 
 
 90 12 
 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 14. Cooper 
 
 39 9 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 15. Painter . . . 
 
 51 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 16 Ship-chandlery . 
 
 89 19 
 
 
 
 89 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 89 19 
 
 17. Miscellaneous la- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 bour & expenses 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 18. Cabinet-maker . 
 
 20 12 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 19. Brazier . . . 
 
 Total cost of each ship 
 Being at the rate 
 
 5 11 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 
 8 
 
 5 118 
 
 £9,130 9 
 
 7 
 
 £4,342 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 £5,123 19 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 per ton of . 
 
 17 15 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 lU 
 
 9 19 4 
 
274 Effects of Free Trade upon 
 
 It will be perceived that some of the items for 
 the foreign vessels, of which Mr. Tindall had not 
 an opportunity of ascertaining the exact amount, are 
 put down at the same rate as the British ; a mode 
 of proceeding in which he felt warranted by the fact, 
 that the prices of those particular articles were the 
 same, or nearly so, in all the three countries. 
 
 It has been usual with many merchants to attri- 
 bute the very great disproportion, above exhibited, 
 to the heavy duties imposed in England upon ship- 
 building materials ; but an attentive examination of 
 the Table will show that this cause operates to 
 a limited extent. The articles burdened with 
 duty are chiefly the timber and the hemp. On its 
 being asked of Mr. Tindall what proportion of the 
 first item (5162/,) arose from the high timber-duties 
 in England, he replied, "Very little, the ship being 
 principally built of English oak." The hemp was 
 taken at 40/, per ton, of which the duty was 10/. ; 
 and judging from this proportion, and estimating 
 the quantity of labour forming part of the rope- 
 maker's bill, the duty here must swell the total cost 
 in a comparatively small degree. 
 
 It should, however, be remarked, that the hull of 
 the British vessel, being of British oak, renders it 
 intrinsically more valuable than the others, in a pro- 
 portion, it was stated, of three to two. Part of the 
 disparity of cost is thus removed ; but still, to add 
 this difference to the cost of the foreign vessels, 
 would not increase the value much more than 30*. 
 per ton. 
 
our Navigation System. 275 
 
 The expense of victualling, in foreign ships, is 
 6d per man per day ; in British it is \s. 3d. to Is. 6d. 
 
 The rate of wages of British seamen before the 
 mast, may be averaged at 50*. per month ; lately, 
 indeed, so high as GO^r. hav^e been given. In the 
 ships of Norway and Prussia, the rate varies from 
 17*. to 255. 
 
 Such being the case, it would, indeed, be extra- 
 ordinary if Great Britain could open her ports and 
 expect to preserve her mercantile marine undimi- 
 nished. Statements have lately been advanced in 
 regard to the increase in the number of vessels re- 
 gistered within the last year ; but that increase is 
 certainly not in foreign trade, it is attributable 
 chiefly to the extended communication with Ireland. 
 
 Viewing the most important part of the question, 
 the number of seamen employed for a series of years 
 past, we find it was, 
 
 30th September, 1816 . . 178,827 
 30th September, 1824 . . 168,637 
 
 Decrease . . . 10,190 
 
 I admit, however, that at the first of these pe- 
 riods we almost monopolized the commerce of the 
 world, and some diminution was therefore to be 
 expected ; but still in the general revival of trade 
 which followed, and in the increased intercourse 
 between different states consequent on the peace, it 
 seems we are unable to compete with foreigners. 
 
 The relaxation in our navigation system com- 
 
 T 2 
 
276 Effects of Free Trade wpon 
 
 menced within the last few years, and it may be 
 useful to investigate the result. Within this short 
 period the trade of the country has been greatly 
 extended, owing, be it remembered, to our domes- 
 tic prosperity. A larger importation of every kind 
 of commodity has consequently been required, and 
 we have to see how much of this increase has been 
 brought home by British shipping. This is shown 
 by the following extract of the official return, or- 
 dered by the House of Commons to be printed, 
 11th May, 1825. 
 
 In the year 1822 
 
 British Sh 
 
 ipping. 
 
 Foreign Shipping. 
 
 entered the 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Ports of England . 
 
 1,398,476 
 
 82,661 
 
 387,812 
 
 23,964 
 
 „ Scotland . 
 
 176 ,.327 
 
 11,223 
 
 28,156 
 
 1,647 
 
 „ Ireland . 
 
 89,383 
 
 5,092 
 
 53,183 
 
 2,180 
 
 
 1,664,186 
 
 98,976 
 
 469,151 
 
 28,421 
 
 In 1823: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ports of England . 
 
 , 1,481,198 
 
 96,197 
 
 497,149 
 
 29,103 
 
 „ Scotland , 
 
 . 187,138 
 
 11,830 
 
 31,571 
 
 1,872 
 
 „ Ireland . 
 
 72,523 
 
 4,217 
 
 54,276 
 
 2,853 
 
 
 1,740,859 
 
 112,244 
 
 582,996 
 
 33,828 
 
 In 1824: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ports of England . 
 
 . 1,507,107 
 
 90,770 
 
 650,128 
 
 35,970 
 
 „ Scotland . 
 
 . 198,388 
 
 12,712 
 
 44,752 
 
 2,692 
 
 „ Ireland . 
 
 91,825 
 
 5,218 
 
 64,561 
 
 3,450 
 
 1,797,320 108,700 759,441 42,112 
 
 From this abstract it will be seen that foreign 
 shipping has derived the chief benefit from the im- 
 proved trade of the kingdom ; and the increase has 
 
our Navigation System. 277 
 
 been greatest among the states which possess su- 
 perior advantages for navigation. The increase in 
 British shipping v^ras principally to be attributed to 
 the coasting trade. Among the foreign states, 
 France is about stationary; so also the United 
 States of America, high wages operating there as 
 
 in England, 
 
 
 But 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1822. 1824. 
 
 
 
 
 Tens. 
 
 Men. Tons. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Prussia has increased from 6 1 ,74G 
 
 2,819 to 157,813 
 
 6,843 
 
 Norway 
 
 )> 
 
 >> 
 
 90,029 
 
 4,833 „ 154,130 
 
 7,969 
 
 Sweden 
 
 »> 
 
 »» 
 
 13,022 
 
 719 „ 25,022 
 
 1,356 
 
 Denmark 
 
 » 
 
 5? 
 
 3,435 
 
 222 „ 23,457 
 
 1,520 
 
 Russia 
 
 j> 
 
 »> 
 
 15,225 
 
 809 „ 29,937 
 
 1,617 
 
 Germany 
 
 >) 
 
 )» 
 
 14,808 
 
 725 „ 51,926 
 
 2,690 
 
 Holland 
 
 5> 
 
 J> 
 
 57,704 
 
 3,009 „ 104,409 
 
 5,193 
 
 Though the rate of wages in the United States 
 prevents her from possessing herself of the carrying 
 trade so rapidly as some of the European nations, 
 yet she is certainly destined greatly to extend 
 her maritime power. Her abundant supply of every 
 material for ship-building gives great advantages. 
 And one very important circumstance will sooner 
 or later operate still further to stimulate her na- 
 val enterprise; it could not be expected that an 
 American ship-owner would be satisfied with lower 
 profit than that generally pervalent in the country ; 
 being a young nation, this is far higher than in 
 Europe ; and here for the present rests England's 
 chief security. These relations, however, must 
 
278 Effects of Free Trade upon 
 
 change, and eventually we may calculate on having 
 America for a most formidable rival in the Western 
 seas. 
 
 In the mean time, in Europe, no such redeeming 
 protection, like that just stated, awaits us ; and in 
 addition to the extracts from the Parliamentary 
 papers above quoted, respecting the trade of the 
 several European states, I now proceed to give some 
 information, obtained direct from residents in the 
 respective countries. 
 
 In regard to Norway, I submitted to an intelli- 
 gent merchant established there, the two following 
 queries. First— In what proportion has been the 
 increase of seamen within the last few years ? 
 Second — Was that increase occasioned by the re- 
 turn of Norwegians who had been in our employ 
 during the war ; or is it attributable to the opening 
 of new sources of trade ? To these inquiries it was 
 rephed, that it was difficult, if not impossible, to 
 state the exact number ; but that the increase since 
 1822 was generally presumed to be more than one- 
 third of the whole, and that the altered policy of 
 England made a much further increase a matter of 
 certainty. As the increase, for a few years subse- 
 quent to 1815, was insignificant, the inference was, 
 that the late increase could not be attributed to 
 the return of natives of Norway from the British 
 service. 
 
 Prussia. — The following is the number and 
 
our Navigation System. 270 
 
 lastage of Prussian ships which loaded in the prin- 
 cipal ports in the years enumerated : 
 
 AT STETTIN. DANZIG. PILLAU. MEMEL. 
 
 Ships. Lasts. Ships, Lasts. Ships. Lasts. Ships. Lasts. 
 
 1515, 390 31,039 144 27,754 1S3 15,751 295 22,363 
 
 1516, 357 2S,079 152 28,792 201 17,859 136 13,780 
 
 1823, 383 31,002 368 54,488 127 12,354 185 22,669 
 
 1824, 420 32,238 395 67,353 126 14,867 327 39,118 
 
 The lasts noted in this statement are the rye- 
 lasts. Some slight variation in size has taken place 
 in the different years, from alterations in the mode 
 of measurement, but they may be taken at IJ tons 
 British, which is as near the proportion as can be. 
 In the year 1825 the increase of Prussian ships 
 has been much greater than in the year preceding ; 
 but the freights being high, the British ship-owner 
 does not feel the effects of competition, as he would 
 do were they at the ordinary rate. This is abundant 
 proof of the briskness of this branch of trade. 
 Freights must undoubtedly come down to such a 
 level as will afford the ordinary scale of profit in the 
 country ; and, if we have already been superseded to 
 a considerable extent, we may expect, when they 
 do come down, to be much more so. My informant 
 adds further, that though the increase of Prussian 
 ships has in some degree arisen from the general 
 extension of trade, yet it is principally to be ascribed 
 to their sailing their ships at much less expense. He 
 states, that to build a Prussian ship, ready for sea, 
 costs about 8/. per ton, whilst an English one can- 
 
280 Effects of Free Trade upon 
 
 not be fitted for sea under 24/. ; and provisioning 
 and wages are not more than one-half the price they 
 cost us. 
 
 In Russia it is principally in ship-building that 
 we are likely to suflfer injury. Her vast resources 
 of excellent materials will be called into use at home, 
 and not transported to England to encourage the 
 British ship-builder. At the same time her seamen, 
 like those of all northern states, are rapidly increas- 
 ing ; though, perhaps, not in equal proportion to 
 those of Norway, the latter possessing superior ac- 
 tivity and skill, and approaching, probably, the 
 nearest to the British. 
 
 In France, and the southern states, the ardour 
 for naval enterprise declines greatly in comparison 
 with the hardy inhabitants of higher latitudes. But 
 there is still a regular progression, and the entries at 
 Havre, in particular, show a considerable increase 
 within the last three years. 
 
 The Dutch display less eagerness for the carrying- 
 trade than was formerly their characteristic ; con- 
 siderable expenses cripple their navigation ; and the 
 general rate of wages being higher in Holland than 
 on the rest of the continent, they are not so likely 
 to injure us by competition. But the Hanse Towns 
 seem differently circumstanced. They aspire to 
 become carriers of the produce of all Germany. 
 Ships, from Bremen and Hamburgh, have already 
 commenced carrying supplies for the British West 
 Indies. When we consider the extent of territory 
 
mtr Navigation System. 281 
 
 to which these ports are the outlet, together with 
 the great variety of produce thus brought to a point 
 for shipment to form assorted cargoes, it is not diffi- 
 cult to perceive that British navigation must, to a 
 proportionate extent, be absolutely superseded. 
 Very many of their commodities are precisely the 
 same as our Irish exports, such as salt provisions, 
 butter, hams, linen ; all of which will thus, to a cer- 
 tain degree, be supplied in future from Germany. 
 In addition, therefore, to the loss sustained in our 
 navigation, there is a serious injury inflicted on the 
 sister kingdom, in a branch of trade from which she 
 has hitherto derived peculiar benefits. 
 
 After this rapid outline of the subject, it may be 
 proper to add a few remarks on the mode in which 
 British capital is daily extending in investments 
 in foreign shipping. Ships being able to be built 
 so much cheaper in the north of Europe, obtain 
 thence a decided advantage in the carrying-trade ; 
 and wherever the intercourse permits their compe- 
 tition, they are already, and will be still further, 
 employed. The British merchant, therefore, de- 
 sirous to avail himself of the profits of this trade, 
 procures foreign vessels to be built for him ; an 
 agent, to stand as nominal owner, is appointed ; a 
 transfer of the register and bill of sale takes place 
 between the parties ; and thus our own ship-builders 
 are superseded, the capital of the country goes abroad 
 for what has been pronounced the most pernicious 
 of all investments, and a race of seamen is reared for 
 
282 Effects of Free Trade upon 
 
 foreign nations, to become perhaps the future instru- 
 ments of abridging our own power. Under every 
 relaxation of our navigation system, we may expect 
 this result to ensue on a commensurate scale. Within 
 the last year several vessels have been built for Bri- 
 tish merchants, precisely in the manner detailed, to 
 be introduced into the carrying-trade, in consequence 
 of the alteration in our maritime system. The rate 
 at which these vessels have been fitted out for sea, 
 I am informed, does not exceed 8/. per ton ; and I 
 merely put the question, is it not evident that those 
 vessels, owned by British merchants, interested in 
 the trade in which they are to be employed, and 
 fully acquainted with all its particulars, must sup- 
 plant the shipping of Great Britain ? A union of 
 many circumstances is required to prosecute the 
 carrying-trade advantageously, such as the certainty 
 of procuring a return cargo, brief detention in port, 
 acquaintance with local peculiarities, all of which 
 obstruct the foreigner, resting solely upon himself 
 to compete successfully with the British subject ; 
 but when those obstacles are provided against, by 
 the merchant being virtually the owner of the foreign 
 vessel, and thus enabled to calculate and shape the 
 resources to the desired end, it is impossible to 
 deny that the shipping of this country must be gra- 
 dually reduced from its imposing magnitude, com- 
 manding but lately the major part of the commerce 
 of the world, to the diminutive scale proportioned 
 to her own domestic territory. 
 
our Navigation System. 283 
 
 The effects of a state of war ought moreover to 
 be carefully considered. A license for those foreign 
 vessels owned by British subjects is then procured, 
 that they may be entitled to the privileges belonging 
 to the neutral power ; and practitioners in the Admi- 
 ralty Court could give some idea how far this prac- 
 tice was carried during the late war. What would 
 now be the result of extensive naval hostilities, 
 when so incalculably greater an opportunity is pre- 
 sented ? Those foreign vessels are not only more 
 cheaply navigated, but being unliable to capture, 
 insurance is much lower ; and thus in a state of 
 war, the disadvantages against British vessels are 
 increased : to which may be added, the further 
 national injury sustained in cutting off the source 
 whence seamen are obtained. 
 
 If it be argued that British capital, under any 
 system, will be more or less vested in foreign ship- 
 ping, and that it is impossible to legislate for its 
 avoidance, I beg to observe, that that is at least 
 no reason why we should supply encouragement to 
 its increase. If we acknowledge it to be an evil, 
 wisdom surely dictates to us to curb it as far as 
 possible. The testimony of every ship-owner would 
 prove, that they do not like to make investments in 
 foreign ships trading exclusively between foreign 
 ports ; but such investments would be made freely 
 if one of the ports, no matter how distant, were 
 under the control of the British government. The 
 modern innovations accomplish this point ; and I 
 
284 Effects of Free Tiade upon 
 
 feel little hesitation in declaring that if they are fol- 
 lowed up in the spirit now prevalent in the nation, 
 men moderately advanced in life may witness a 
 great change in the distribution of naval power 
 throughout the world. 
 
 If it has been deemed proper thus to expose 
 the delusion of free commerce, as it regards that 
 branch of British industry, at all times esteemed 
 our bulwark, and associated with every feeling of 
 national pride, still let it not for a moment be thought 
 that there is irremediable cause for apprehension 
 or dismay. Fortunately for our country, she is not 
 yet left naked, or dependent upon her own unaided 
 resources. She is not so helpless and so destitute as 
 to be compelled to court the assistance, and to sub- 
 mit to the caprice, of foreign allies, to support her 
 commerce. The territories she has conquered, the 
 settlements she has herself peopled, still secure for 
 her her pre eminence in trade, and confirm her claim 
 to the first place among nations. If it has been 
 demonstrated that she cannot hope to maintain com- 
 petition with independent states, the conclusion is 
 surely irresistible, that it behoves her to foster her 
 own possessions, and to adopt that policy which shall 
 preserve, undiminished, a marine, on which depends 
 her power. Our colonies, it is unhesitatingly as- 
 serted, have contributed chiefly to the unrivalled 
 maritime prosperity of this country. Their value 
 will best be appreciated, when it is considered, that 
 they employ upwards of 40,000 seamen ; more than 
 
our Navigation System. 285 
 
 the entire number possessed by some other of the 
 most flourishing maritime states of Europe. These 
 men furnish by far the most valuable of all the re- 
 sources looked to for the manning of our navy in 
 case of war. It is in large ships, and in long 
 voyages, that men best acquire experience in naval 
 tactics. That due obedience to orders, that almosi 
 mechanical silence, that coolness and determination 
 in every variety of danger, which all form the very 
 essence of discipline, can only become habitual 
 by length of practice ; and the previous schooling 
 afforded in our large colonial vessels can alone im- 
 plant the germ of that subordination which in our 
 men-of-war strikes foreigners with such astonish- 
 ment. Doubtless our coasters and colliers rear a 
 hardy set of men ; but there is too little variety in 
 their occupation, and there is also too near an 
 equality between captain and crew, to inspire in 
 them that implicit submission which is indis- 
 pensable for manoeuvring large fleets at sea. 
 
 It is in this respect, then, that we see how vitally 
 important it is, that Great Britain should uphold her 
 colonies, and preserve their commerce entirely to 
 herself. National safety is the first of national 
 objects. Adam Smith, the chief of political 
 writers, who, had he enjoyed the advantage of 
 witnessing the many facts and lessons of expe- 
 rience with which late years have teemed, would, 
 perhaps, have modified some of his principles, 
 warmly advocated this salutary precept. In speak- 
 
286 Effects of Free Trade upon 
 
 ing of our celebrated Navigation Act, he acknow- 
 ledges that some of its regulations may have arisen 
 out of animosity to the Dutch, but he adds, " They 
 are as w^ise, however, as if they had all been dictated 
 by the most deliberate wisdom." The political re- 
 lations of the world are since changed ; causes 
 might not now be found to bear an exact parity to 
 those which produced the measure ; but the plain 
 fact that wages in foreign ships are lis. a month, 
 whilst they are 505. in our own, affords abundant 
 proof that there are grounds which warrant its 
 continuance. 
 
 Even supposing a change to bring an increase of 
 wealth (a fact which I deny, and have endeavoured 
 to disprove), I should conceive it far from justi- 
 fiable. Wealth may be too dearly purchased. It is 
 an object far nobler, and more worthy of a nation's 
 ambition, to lay deep and to strengthen the found- 
 ation of her independence, than to devote herself 
 
 to a sordid thirst of gain. To such a length are the 
 • . . . .... 
 
 modern principles prevailing, that it is begmning 
 
 to be openly avowed, that our mercantile marine is 
 
 of minor consideration, and that we may continue 
 
 great and powerful in spite of its decline. In 
 
 whatever altitude of estimation the supporters of 
 
 this doctrine may be held by themselves, those 
 
 whom the world considers best capable of judging 
 
 hold a very opposite opinion. The Admiralty 
 
 knows well the sentiments of our most experienced 
 
 naval commanders, our Rodneys, our Duncans, and 
 
our Navigation System. 287 
 
 our Nelsons. They united in upholding the regu- 
 lations of our navigation system, as indispensable 
 to the manning of our fleets. Their reasons are easily 
 appreciated. In war, so long as the trade to our 
 distant possessions is confined to British shipping, 
 it must be conducted under convoy of our fleet ; and 
 on one of these arriving, there is afforded a prodi- 
 gious resource for instantaneous employment. Now, 
 promptitude and despatch are indispensable to 
 naval operations, and without them the most impor- 
 tant measures are often frustrated. 
 
 To pursue the case further, would, probably, 
 subject me to a charge of imbecile apprehension, 
 or a disposition to commonplace declamation. 
 Derision is now the favourite weapon employed 
 against the advocates of British navigation ; but 
 derision is rarely the companion of knowledge ; and 
 afler the statements I have given, enforced as they 
 are by the authority of those heroes whose deeds 
 shed lustre over British story, I am not ashamed of 
 being left to my prejudices. 
 
288 Circumstances which determine 
 
 Section VII. 
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF 
 FOREIGN COMMERCE. 
 
 If the system of Free Trade be adopted, one of 
 three things must happen. First, some of the most 
 important branches of British industry will be 
 abandoned. Secondly, the superior habits of the 
 British artisan will be broken in upon, and his con- 
 dition brought down to that of the foreign workman. 
 Or thirdly, the habits of the foreign workman will 
 be improved, and elevated to the standard of the 
 British. The evils resulting from the two first re- 
 quire no further comment. The last, which is 
 generally considered as advantageous, gives rise to 
 other reflections. 
 
 It is a remark frequently heard, that the richer 
 you make foreign nations, the better it is for your- 
 self, as you then extend their dealings with you ; a 
 poor country cannot be so good a customer as a rich 
 one ; and no circumstance indicates so decisively 
 the riches of a country, as a large demand among its 
 lower orders for foreign commodities : in case, then, 
 a great improvement take place in France, a double 
 object is effected ; an increased demand for British 
 commodities, and a rise in the rate of wages, which 
 
the Extent of Foreign Commerce. 289 
 
 diminishes the dread of competition in other markets. 
 Imagining for the sake of argument, that this im- 
 provement takes place in France, it is still doubtful 
 if the beneficial consequences extend to this country. 
 
 On investigating the relations of our foreign 
 trade, one leading characteristic presents itself; 
 and that is, the almost exclusive interchange of ma- 
 nufactures for the raw produce of other countries. 
 When we examine the table of imports and exports 
 annually made public, it is very essential, in order 
 to form accurate ideas on this subject, to separate 
 that portion which relates to the real consumption 
 and production of the country, from that other 
 subordinate portion which relates merely to the im- 
 port of articles to be worked up, and exported in a 
 finished state. The latter is entirely dependent 
 upon the first. The taste and appetite of the com- 
 munity require a certain quantity of tea, sugar, 
 wine, brandy, tobacco ; and such fancy articles as 
 are required for our own population. For pay- 
 ment of these. Great Britain has not a suffici- 
 ency of product's derived from within herself; and 
 she accordingly imports the produce of other 
 countries, gives to them augmented value by means 
 of her labour and skill, and thus is enabled to pay 
 for the entire amount of her other and more general 
 imports. 
 
 It is not possible to extend this round-about, or 
 auxiliary, description of trade, if it may be so term- 
 ed, without primarily increasing the first or the 
 
290 Principles which determine 
 
 direct trade. But on the other hand, whatever im- 
 provement occurs in the condition of the people, 
 must, unavoidably, lead to an increase of manu- 
 factures to preserve the balance of payment. Let 
 us now make the application to France. The pro- 
 position is, that if the inhabitants of that country 
 generally were improved, we must* reap propor- 
 tionate benefit from her increased demand for our 
 commodities. The declared real value of our ex- 
 ports, for the last few years, averages about 
 450,000/. Let us suppose the commerce increased 
 to eight times its present extent, and this is surely 
 allowing ample latitude. There follows, undoubt- 
 edly, some advantage ; and they who advocate the 
 idea of enriching other countries, that we may 
 benefit by their prosperity, would consider the 
 point estabhshed, and set at rest. But I deem it 
 to be a paramount consideration to attend to the 
 effects created by the improved condition of France 
 on our trade, not with herself directly, but with 
 other countries. 
 
 It need not be observed that, prodigious as may 
 be the increase of our dealings with France, they 
 will still hold but a small proportion to our total 
 commerce ; by far the major part must continue to 
 consist in the import of those general and extensive 
 commodities of distant climates, the use of which 
 the taste of the British public has fully and widely 
 established among us. It is admitted by all classes 
 of political writers, that, in order to carry on com- 
 
the Extent of Foreign Commerce. 291 
 
 merce, each nation must be able to produce an equi- 
 valent. It is the absence, or the deficiency of these 
 equivalents, which presents difficulties or pre- 
 scribes limits to the intercourse of nations. A con- 
 ventional relation thus subsisting, an augmentation 
 of the trade of any one state obviously requires the 
 increase of the trade of some other. We daily hear 
 manufacturers complaining that, in all foreign coun- 
 tries, the market is overstocked with British goods, 
 and that no advantageous sale can be obtained. 
 The obvious reason of this is, a deficiency of equi- 
 valents on the part of foreign states. There is no 
 want of disposition to consume the goods of Great 
 Britain, but there are not the means to pay for them. 
 In a greater or less degree, the same thing may be 
 said of ourselves in many respects. The producer 
 of sugar or of wine may complain that he finds not 
 more sale for these articles, and say that we are 
 not rich enough to give immediate equivalents in 
 return. From this we clearly enough perceive, 
 that, to augment commerce, the ability and the con- 
 currence, if it may be so termed, of the trading 
 countries must be mutually obtained ; that, to 
 attain this end, the increasing the means of im- 
 portation, or of domestic consumption, is the most 
 efficacious mode ; and that this increase, virtually 
 depending on the progress of wealth, is slow, and 
 of difficult establishment. 
 
 Now, in assuming the trade with France extended 
 to the specified amount, it should be kept in mind 
 
 u 2 
 
292 Principles which determine 
 
 that, for the purpose of preserving unity in the 
 argument, the circumstance was supposed to pro- 
 ceed solely from the improved condition of her 
 people, not from her abandoning some branches of 
 industry, and, in consequence, taking supplies from 
 England, but continuing her employments as at 
 present, and making larger imports, as the wants 
 of her population called for additional commodities. 
 
 It is reasonable to infer, that the increase of trade 
 derived from England would indicate, from a gene- 
 ral similarity of products, but a small portion of the 
 total increase, inclusive of all other countries. If 
 increase of wealth occasion an augmentation in 
 such articles as we can supply of three millions, 
 her other imports, to satisfy the tastes and wants of 
 her people, may be presumed to amount at the least 
 to 15 or 20 millions. These imports she must ob- 
 tain from the same quarter whence we obtain ours, 
 and how are they to be paid for ? Precisely in the 
 same manner as we pay for ours — by the export of 
 manufactures ; by the same process of a round- 
 about trade, importing raw produce, giving it in- 
 creased value by means of skill and labour, and 
 then exporting it. -^ 
 
 The question to be considered is, therefore, sim- 
 ply this — if our manufacturers at present find great 
 difficuUy in selling their goods abroad, from defi- 
 ciency of equivalents to give in return, what will be 
 the effect when those equivalents, such as they are, 
 have to be divided with a competitor ? 
 
the Extent of Foreign Commerce. 293 
 
 The relations and proportions between import 
 and export should always be viewed connectively. 
 We are so much accustomed to regard merely the 
 operations of our own country, that, in almost every 
 instance, we mistake the true impediments or re- 
 straints on commerce. We export 100,000/. of 
 cottons to Egypt — why not a million ? Is it not our 
 own fault as much, in being unable to consume rice- 
 puddings enough to pay for them, as it is that of 
 the Egyptians in not being able to wear cottons ? 
 It may be said, that the springs of industry are dif- 
 ferent in those countries. This, then, is undoubt- 
 edly an additional consideration ; it adds to the 
 intricacy of the question, and shows how small a 
 part of the relations of commerce is determined, if 
 we merely view our own ability to export. No 
 man can acquire a correct insight into the princi- 
 ples of foreign trade, unless he first supposes him- 
 self an active British producer, and then betakes 
 himself in imagination to the several countries with 
 which he is to trade, and adopts the sentiments of 
 the producers in each. 
 
 The cause of the cheapness in France has already 
 been pointed out, together with some of the more 
 obvious circumstances which prevented her availing 
 herself of that advantage. It was moreover stated, 
 that to do so effectually there were many difficulties 
 to overcome. The nature of these, I think, must 
 now be fully understood ; they arise, not from her 
 inabihty to export, but from her inability to con- 
 
294 Principles which determine 
 
 sume commodities received in return. Let the 
 wants of her people require a great increase of any 
 foreign article — tea, for instance: I unhesitatingly 
 affirm, that the British silk and woollen merchant 
 would feel the effects of that in Columbia. To 
 procure this tea, an equivalent must be given, which, 
 for perspicuity's sake, we will suppose to be money. 
 To obtain that money, something must be given in 
 exchange ; and from her capabilities of producing 
 woollens and silk cheap, as contrasted with other 
 countries, it is reasonable to conclude silks and 
 woollens given. I acknowledge, however, that 
 payment might be made in wines : in this case, it 
 is obvious that England is not affected. But the 
 argument before us has reference to the competition 
 of two countries producing the same commodity ; 
 and the object is to shew the manner in which one 
 will be injured, when enlarged means of sale or in- 
 tercourse are obtained by the other. If the active 
 industry or riches of one country necessarily in- 
 creased those of another, no injury could be inflicted 
 on a third or intervening country, because then 
 equivalents on both sides would increase in equal 
 ratio. But the history of the world presents no such 
 example ; the exposition given on the causes of in- 
 dustry proves the contrary ; and it is surely evident 
 that, supposing the exportable products of France 
 to be the same as those of England, and conse- 
 quently disposed of in the same manner, any in- 
 crease of prosperity in the former will indirectly 
 
tke Extent of Foreign Commerce. 295 
 
 cause detriment to the latter. There may be some 
 benefit obtained from the direct intercourse between 
 them, and I estimated it, for the sake of presenting 
 a tangible object in the discussion, at three mil- 
 lions ; but there is, to counteract this, the cir- 
 cumstance of France, from her increase of riches, 
 enabled to trade with distant countries, to the amount 
 of 15 or 20 millions, in the very same commodities 
 as those in which England now trades ; whilst any 
 increase in the prosperity of those distant countries 
 cannot be assumed to give room, as it were, to the 
 dealings of both competitors : for extension of in- 
 dustry is derivable, not from extraneous sources, 
 but from internal operations working on the minds 
 of a people. 
 
 This exposition has been given, to combat the 
 extremely imperfect and superficial notion main- 
 tained by numerous writers, and which has been 
 already quoted, that to remove restrictions, and 
 thereby enrich our neighbours, we enrich ourselves, 
 from the extension of trade with them. If they ex- 
 ported to a third party, presumed to include all 
 other markets, and therefore supposed beyond com- 
 parison the principal outlet of commodities different 
 from ours, the benefit would be apparent ; but so 
 long as they are precisely similar, the disadvan- 
 tages must, I apprehend, greatly preponderate. 
 
 The trade of England may be briefly charac- 
 terized. It is, in its general elements, the export 
 of clothing and the import of luxuries. Of what 
 
296 Principles which determine 
 
 else can the trade of France consist, supposing it 
 greatly extended 1 Her exports must, in some de- 
 gree, approximate to those of England. Let any 
 man then survey the map of the world, and see if, 
 from the general condition of mankind, there be 
 likelihood of this trade extending indefinitely. In 
 what remote country can we hope to sell much more 
 of our manufactures than we do at present, unless 
 there be an amazing increase in the industry of its 
 inhabitants? If age has succeeded age without 
 this increase, what is to warrant its arrival upon 
 the aggrandizement of France ? M. Say, in his 
 reply to Malthus, in investigating the causes of glut, 
 has acknowledged, that an overstock of British ma- 
 nufactures in the Brazils may proceed from the in- 
 dolence of the people of the latter in not producing 
 equivalents. This is the point sought to be here 
 established. If France sends thither a large quan- 
 tity of goods, of the same description as those 
 of Great Britain, may not the same indolence 
 continue, and will not a glut be occasioned in 
 the exact manner adverted to by M. Say. But 
 there will be this difference : that the British manu- 
 facturer will not, for a short period, be con- 
 tending with his countrymen, to end it in mutual 
 adjustment, but permanently with a foreigner, who 
 will, in all probability, supplant him in the market. 
 Many who overlook the important consideration re- 
 specting the necessity of having demand for the re- 
 turned cargo to prosecute trade extensively, would 
 
the Extent of Foreign Commerce. 297 
 
 conceive that, if this result could ever happen, why 
 should not the enterprise of the French manufac- 
 turer lead to it at present ? One observation will 
 suffice to explain the reason, and to clear up any 
 obscurity or seeming contradiction as to what was 
 formerly stated. Exports to foreign states may be 
 made in a two-fold manner : the foreigner may come 
 to the manufacturer and purchase, or the manufac- 
 turer, impelled by the spirit of enterprise to push 
 his business, may go to the foreigner to sell. The 
 intercourse of rich countries with France would be 
 conducted in the former mode, under a perfect free- 
 dom of trade. The enterprise of the English retailer 
 would lead him to France to lay in his supplies. As 
 regards other states likely to be good customers, 
 the manner in which credit enters into their deal- 
 ings, has been explained in a preceding section. 
 It was in the case of France, as contrasted with 
 England, shown to be a leading obstacle, which 
 prevented the former from being so formidable a 
 rival as she might otherwise prove. But in addition 
 to this circumstance with its various relations as 
 described, it is now the object to point out, that a 
 great portion of the export trade of England is con- 
 ducted by the enterprise of manufacturers, who send 
 out adventures, and who are chiefly induced to do 
 so, from the frequency of communication, caused 
 by the large consumption of products received in 
 return. Let the same opportunity present itself to 
 France, and we may anticipate a similar result. 
 
298 Principles which determine 
 
 Cheapness of commodities will not, unassisted, do 
 every thing ; it is the basis, unquestionably, of ex- 
 tensive commerce, and only requires wise measures 
 on the part of a government, to lead to a beneficial 
 development ; but many other attributes belong to 
 it, and it behoves a rival nation to pause before she 
 steps forward to surrender those means which may 
 hereafter so seriously invade her own prosperity. 
 
 It may be argued, that while this progression is 
 taking place in France, labour will rise, and thus 
 her relative advantage will no longer continue. To 
 facilitate the argument, the effects of the increased 
 prosperity of France in the traffic with distant mar- 
 kets, were treated of singly, to show more clearly 
 the great omission on the part of writers who merely 
 view the effects of her increased intercourse with 
 England. It is, however, apparent that there are 
 intermediate steps, and that she may take from us 
 some of our customers long before the wages of her 
 operatives assimilate to our own. It is that we are 
 injured only in a less degree, by dividing our trade, 
 instead of its being superseded. 
 
 In all probability the whole of the three operations 
 stated in the commencement of this section would 
 ensue upon a perfect freedom of trade becoming 
 established. In the first place, some of our leading 
 manufactures, such as silk, would be abandoned : 
 the distress incurred would, in its effects, involve 
 other classes of operatives ; they would be con- 
 strained to work for lower wages ; the habits of the 
 
the Exterd of Foreign Commerce. 299 
 
 mass of our people would be reduced ; and thus 
 accelerate the distress. On the other hand a great 
 market opened to France would lead to activity of 
 trade, much excitement would be created, and the 
 general condition of her people of necessity improve. 
 On principles of philanthropy undoubtedly this 
 seems desirable for France, but those principles do 
 not require us to acquiesce at the expense of 
 England. 
 
 If my views be correct, there is not merely a re- 
 lative diminution of our power ; it is not that we 
 stand still, or move but slowly onward, whilst 
 another advances rapidly ; I have maintained that 
 we absolutely retrograde. 
 
 It ought, perhaps, to be observed, that in this 
 discussion I have supposed, what would most pro- 
 bably be the case, our adoption of the principles of 
 Free Trade, unconnected with the policy of foreign 
 states. The object is, to elucidate the relations of 
 our foreign commerce ; to show the basis on which 
 it stands ; and the injury it may sustain from 
 another country entering into competition, and pro- 
 ducing the same commodities with ourselves. I 
 think that, from all that has been stated, the de- 
 duction will be generally allowed, that domestic 
 consumption gives the primary impulse, and is the 
 chief stimulus to trade. Though I have drawn a 
 rather gloomy picture of the probable permanency 
 of England's foreign commerce, and of the serious 
 contingencies to which it is liable in the progres- 
 
300 Principles which determine 
 
 sion of countries in which labour is cheaper, to an 
 active state of manufacturing industry, yet it by no 
 means really overbalances the internal benefits de- 
 rived by a country from a high natural rate of la- 
 bour. We cannot have unmixed good. Let us 
 then console ourselves in the reflection, that the 
 leading cause which renders us fearful of being 
 superseded by rivals abroad, is the very same 
 which gives rise to the chief play of industry at 
 home, and which is a thousand times more bene- 
 ficial to the nation. The possession of the supply 
 of distant markets with manufactures may be stre- 
 nuously contended for, rather than surrendered by 
 our own policy to another ; but their preservation is 
 but a poor recompense for lowering the condition of 
 our workmen. An eminent writer has exclaimed, 
 " Accursed be the hour, when for some shilling a 
 yard on woollens, or a penny upon calicoes, the le- 
 gislature will seek to invade the poor man's com- 
 forts !" I applaud the sentiment, not less on 
 grounds of humanity, than of political wisdom. No 
 delusion can be greater, than to attribute all activity 
 or stagnation in trade to foreign sources. When- 
 ever any species of distress visits our country, the 
 first step is generally to consult the table of exports - 
 as a test whereby to ascertain at once the nature of 
 the calamity. To direct attention to the domestic 
 traffic would be the wiser course, for there in 
 reality originated every vicissitude we have wit- 
 nessed since the peace. 
 
the Extent of Foreign Commerce. 301 
 
 During the period of our public difficulties, the 
 hatter did not make his accustomed purchases from 
 the shoemaker, nor the shoemaker from the tailor. 
 Things stagnated ; and then by a combined reac- 
 tion heightened the distress. When a revival took 
 place, it was in geometrical progression ; the im- 
 pulse given to the business of one trade increased 
 that of another ; and a similar stimulant has con- 
 tinued to operate. What gave the primary impulse 
 it might, perhaps, be difficult to determine ; but the 
 return of our agricultural prosperity was certainly 
 not the least of its causes. 
 
 To exhibit more fully the misconception of those 
 who conceive foreign trade to be the main spring of 
 national prosperity, let us turn to the boasted in- 
 crease in our exports, and imagine it distributed 
 over the great mass of our operative classes. 
 What would it purchase, making due allowance for 
 the increase in population ? It would do little more 
 than buy each a new gown for his wife and daugh- 
 ters. No person who does not stretch his mind to 
 compass the entire numbers of the several classes 
 of society, can ever form accurate ideas on this sub- 
 ject, but, on the contrary, will be liable to the 
 greatest mistakes. He must not contemplate an 
 individual merchant — his workmen and his manu- 
 factures — but the great whole of these denomina- 
 tions respectively. Then it is he discovers that, 
 mighty and unparalleled as is the foreign trade, it is 
 still almost insignificant as compared with the do- 
 
302 Principles which determine 
 
 mestic ; and that the consumption caused by the 
 superior habits alone of English artisans over rival 
 nations, w^ould go a great vs^ay to equal the whole 
 exports of the country. 
 
 It is frequently asserted by public writers, that 
 the great improvement of the last few years has 
 been owing to the adoption of a more liberal com- 
 mercial policy. To ascertain this point, a very 
 simple mode presents itself. Demand of manu- 
 facturers, in the habit of supplying orders both for 
 foreign and home consumption, in what degree they 
 have respectively increased. I have taken every 
 pains in this inquiry, and have been assured that 
 the home demand exceeds the foreign in a four- 
 fold proportion. Which, then, is the most probable, 
 that one-fifth should occasion an increase of four- 
 fifths, or that the four-fifths should produce an 
 increase of one- fifth? Were further illustration 
 necessary, one fact might be stated which is re- 
 solvable into an arithmetical question, and which 
 will, perhaps, tend still more to give a true insight 
 into the relations of commerce. If an addition of 
 1*. a week were given to all the labourers of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, to be expended in the manner 
 advocated in this work, it would give more busi- 
 ness to the manufacturer than has arisen from the 
 increase of exports on the last fifteen years. 
 
 Let it not, however, be inferred from these state- 
 ments, that there is the least intention of under- 
 valuing foreign trade : its advantages are to be 
 
the Extent of Fcyreigii Commerce. 303 
 
 highly estimated, and, if all could be preserved, 
 undoubtedly so much the better. When, indeed, 
 we come to examine that substantial part which 
 depends on administering to the taste and appetite 
 of our population, and which gives rise to all 
 auxiliary branches, it is impossible to avoid being 
 struck with the immense proportion within our own 
 control, under a judicious restrictive system. In 
 the foregoing analysis, the liberalists were taken 
 on their own grounds ; the productions of all foreign 
 climates supposed alike open to every nation; and 
 the operations traced, through which a rival could 
 divide and injure our traffic. But when our imports 
 are investigated, when the amount of sugar, coffee, 
 and all the various productions of our own settle- 
 ments are considered subservient to the interests of 
 the mother country, we still feel secure in our 
 power, and assured that we possess those principal 
 elements of commerce which no competition can 
 destroy or injure. Throw open, however, or aban- 
 don, those vast resources, and, from the principles 
 developed, it is most evident, that the whole of our 
 foreign trade becomes from that moment precarious, 
 if not greatly reduced. Preserve them, and it is 
 equally apparent, that besides their secure pos- 
 session will be the further creation of auxiliary 
 branches. 
 
 Having dwelt so strongly on the advantages of 
 taste and appetite, as giving the chief excitement to 
 commerce, it may be contended that when those are 
 once established, they will soon, if things be left to 
 
304 Principles which determine 
 
 themselves, find the means of being satisfied. I 
 willingly admit the force of this argument ; but we 
 must avoid extremes. Nations, no more than indi- 
 viduals, are equal to impossibilities ; and though 
 much more energy, or intensity of application to 
 work, may be exerted by the English workman, it 
 will be found an arduous and an up-hill task. 
 Eventually we must give way ; and whether from 
 emigration, transfer of capital, or other causes, it is 
 still clear that there is a diminution of the national 
 power. 
 
 The whole of the expected consequences from 
 Freedom of Trade have now been examined. 
 
 In the first place, it was shewn that free trade in 
 corn visited overwhelming injury on a great portion 
 of the community, and that great delusion pre- 
 vailed as to the benefit it would afibrd to the manu- 
 facturer. 
 
 In the next place, it was shewn that to remove 
 protecting duties on manufactures would eventually 
 lead to an inundation of Great Britain with foreign 
 goods. Practical men would deem the establish- 
 ment of this fact perfectly sufficient, but as theorists 
 contend that, in paying for these goods, a counter- 
 benefit ensues, the question has been pursued a step 
 farther. 
 
 In this Section, therefore, the more remote rela- 
 tions of commerce have been investigated. It has 
 been shewn that the enriching of France, by free 
 access to the British market, would occasion, in that 
 country, a great excitement and activity : that the 
 
the Extent of Foreign Commerce. S05 
 
 immediate effects of that excitement would lead to 
 general facility and increase of communication and 
 intercourse with distant markets, and would enable 
 her to avail herself of her capabilities for supplying 
 those markets with manufactures : That assuming, 
 on the free trade principle, all ports abroad alike 
 open to every nation, a competitor, during the in- 
 terval in which she is progressing from cheapness 
 of labour to great prosperity, may do us great in- 
 jury : and That, in fine, our entire commerce would 
 thus be rendered fluctuating and precarious — It is 
 not necessary to strain the point, and instead of 
 precarious, say superseded — the former is fully 
 important enough. 
 
 The parallel has been pursued with France, for 
 the sake of clearness ; but it will be very easy, with 
 a little modification, to apply the reasoning to every 
 other country. 
 
iiOG Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 Section VIII. 
 
 EFFECTS OF PRECIPITATE INNOVATIONS IN DERANGING 
 FOREIGN EXCHANGES. 
 
 There remains one other point of investigation, to 
 leave which unnoticed would render the present 
 undertaking incomplete. Money is so important 
 an ingredient in commerce, that there can be little 
 surprise at finding it occupying a prominent place 
 in every investigation of the subject we are now 
 engaged upon. From a variety of concurring inci- 
 dents, there have appeared numerous treatises and 
 statements in detail, which have contributed to ren- 
 der this branch of the inquiry much more generally 
 and fully understood than any other. On this ac- 
 count it will not be requisite to enter into any ela- 
 borate examination of its elementary principles. 
 Some few preliminary points only require to be 
 explained, as well to remove particular difficulties 
 in the investigation of the topic immediately in 
 hand, as to facilitate a thorough comprehension of 
 the subject in its general views, under every modi- 
 fication. 
 
 It not unfrequently happens, that persons are so 
 strongly biassed in favour of certain terms and de- 
 finitions which they have had inculcated in their 
 
in derangiyig Foreign Exchanges. 307 
 
 early studies, that they scarcely ever think of sub- 
 sequent examination ; and, imagining that no doubt 
 could exist on the subject, they are loose in collat- 
 ing propositions in an advanced stage of the argu- 
 ment, proceeding with certain leading axioms on 
 which the whole train of reasoning depends. In 
 this temper of mind, whenever they meet with an 
 argument which, in some of its elements, does not 
 immediately harmonize with their own previous no- 
 tions, or which perhaps they cannot fully compre- 
 hend, they are apt to impute obscurity or confusion 
 to the writer, while perhaps the difficulty originated 
 in their pertinacious adherence to certain definitory 
 maxims of their own ; even though such had, in an 
 early stage of his task, been expressly rejected by 
 the author whose labours they are perusing. The 
 important term, Value, will immediately present 
 itself as an exemplification of this fact. More am- 
 biguity has arisen here, than in all other parts of 
 the science united. In adducing the proof, we may 
 go a step farther than in the preceding remarks, for 
 not only has the term been differently employed by 
 different writers, but in a single treatise we are 
 sometimes obliged to vary the interpretation, cor- 
 rectly to understand the writer's meaning. The pre- 
 cious metals, though, from their various character- 
 istics, admirably adapted for the purposes of inter- 
 change, and to measure the value of contempora- 
 neous commodities, are yet, owing to the varying 
 productiveness of the mines, ill adapted to measure 
 
 X 2 
 
3(te Effects of 'precipitate Innovations 
 
 the value of commodities, from century to century, 
 or at very distant periods. Writers have, in conse- 
 quence, as is well known, sought eagerly some fixed 
 and invariable standard, which should accurately 
 measure the value of commodities, at all periods 
 and in every place. By enumerating the expedients 
 employed for this purpose, pointing out certain in- 
 congruities, and subjoining a few explanations, 
 much of this seemingly intricate subject may be 
 rendered more easy of comprehension. 
 
 Dr. Adam Smith's standard, labour, or the remu- 
 neration given to a working man, in the ordinary 
 state of things, has already been condemned as in- 
 eligible ; and it ought, in addition, to be mentioned, 
 as illustrative of the statement just given, that even 
 this standard is not rigidly adhered to throughout 
 his treatise ; sometimes corn is expressly specified, 
 and sometimes what is termed a command over the 
 necessaries of life. 
 
 Mr. Malthus framed his standard upon a mean 
 between labour and corn. Now as the former is of 
 itself improper, and at the same time has been 
 shown to exercise considerable influence on the 
 latter, which is the converse of the popular impres- 
 sion, this standard of Mr. Malthus is still more ob- 
 jectionable, chiefly because, being equally inaccu- 
 rate, it is more complicated. 
 
 Mr. Ricardo laid down, as his standard, the 
 quantity of labour worked up in a commodity. 
 Though this appears to resemble the standard of 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 309 
 
 Adam Smith, there is a great distinction between 
 the two. The value of a hat, estimated in the quan- 
 tity of labour it will exchange for, is very different 
 from the value of a hat, estimated in the quantity 
 of labour required to produce it. These two defi- 
 nitions not only differ, but they are frequently 
 opposed to each other, and, accordingly as they are 
 adopted, may cause views essentially dissimilar. 
 At first sight it seems that labour, being the uni- 
 versal agent in producing wealth, to take the quan- 
 tity employed in producing any given article should 
 exhibit its true value. But a little reflection, I think, 
 will show, that this standard is the most erroneous 
 of the three. In the first place it excludes the opera- 
 tion of capital, which we all know must exercise, in 
 any commercial state, great influence on production. 
 This difficulty is got over by assuming, as formerly 
 stated, that all capital is merely accumulated or 
 hoarded labour, and resolvable into the same ele- 
 ments as the latter. All the adherents of this sys- 
 tem, however, by no means agree in this particular. 
 It was quaintly demanded how, when a person pur- 
 chased a pipe of wine, stored it two years in his 
 cellar, and then sold it at a profit, its augmented va- 
 lue could in this case be properly explained on the 
 principle of accumulated labour, since the cellar had 
 remained locked, and the wine untouched by any 
 individual ? A long metaphysical disquisition en- 
 sued, in reply, to show the afliinity between the opera- 
 tions of time and the operations of labour ; but I con- 
 
310 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 jecture that the erudite and interesting attempt failed 
 of producing unanimity among the several disciples. 
 
 Secondly, the Ricardo standard excludes the 
 principle of supply and demand. In determining 
 value, the concurrence of two parties is required ; 
 the one who furnishes and the one who obtains. 
 Arbitrarily to omit this modification cannot fail to 
 create much inconvenience. 
 
 Thirdly, and chiefly : all the objections before 
 urged respecting the uniformity of labour apply here 
 also. The practical applications of the principles 
 of value are chiefly required when we reason upon 
 the relations of commerce with foreign states ; and 
 when we are sensible how much labour differs in 
 its reward in those states, we cannot hesitate to re- 
 ject this as a most improper standard. 
 
 Since, then, I have ventured thus to differ from 
 authorities so eminent, it may be asked what 
 standard should be employed. I answer, none. No 
 one article could be selected, nor any one of the 
 component parts of cost, which does not vary both 
 between different countries and at different periods 
 in the same country. I go further, and maintain, 
 that, not only is a standard not to be found, but the 
 idea is inconsistent, and indicates confusion in the 
 mind. I perfectly coincide with the acute and 
 logical author of the " Critical Dissertation on the 
 nature, measure, and causes of Value," that to sup- 
 pose such a thing as absolute value, is as prepos- 
 terous, as it is to suppose such a thing as absolute 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 311 
 
 distance. The very term, in either case, implies 
 that it is relative. We say that one body is distant 
 in such a degree from another body. So do we 
 equally assert, that one commodity is more valuable 
 in a certain degree than another commodity. It is, 
 therefore, perfectly futile to seek after an absolute 
 standard. Whenever we meet with the term value, 
 it implies a comparison with something else ; and 
 the object is to find out what that is with which 
 comparison is so made. The writers quoted would 
 advance their several standards. I, on the other 
 hand, maintain, that there being no such thing, we 
 should take the aggregate, or sum of all commodi- 
 ties generally. The desideratum is to ascertain the 
 relation borne by any given article in traffic. For 
 this end I do not select capriciously any one article, 
 corn, for instance, but take them all in conjunction. 
 Some may have advanced, some declined. Since, 
 therefore, the affixing of value on any one of these is 
 a conventional agreement in traffic ; and since in in- 
 terchange the one can only be given for the other ; it 
 is certainly clear, that an alteration affirmed to have 
 taken place in one particularly, implies that it has 
 undergone an alteration to the rest generally. 
 
 An intelligent writer in the 29th Number of the 
 Quarterly Review, Art. viii., conceives, that this 
 would be a most clumsy mode of procedure, and 
 one by no means well calculated to determine 
 degrees of variation in value. I cannot perceive 
 the reason. It would, in my estimation, tend very 
 
312 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 materially to simplicity, and get rid of those con- 
 fused and perplexing terms, real value, nominal 
 value, and absolute value, occurring so often, when 
 they are, in reality, by no means required. It is 
 obvious that we must always employ a measure of 
 some kind in making exchanges of one article for 
 another; and it is needless to add, that for this 
 purpose, the precious metals have been universally 
 selected. To show, therefore, the mode of ascer- 
 taining variation in value, according to my views, 
 let us assume a case: an individual purchased 
 boots ten years ago, and he purchased a pair 
 yesterday — is there any alteration in their value? 
 The ordinary observer merely views the number 
 of shillings paid, and pronounces accordingly. The 
 political economist goes a step further; he scans 
 over the prices of all other commodities, compares 
 their prices at the two periods, and carefully dis- 
 tinguishes what is special from what is general, 
 before he ventures to decide. On the same prin- 
 ^ciple is the inquiry made, as to whether a change 
 have taken place in the precious metals. An ounce 
 coined into a certain quantity of pieces now ex- 
 changes for a proportion of some other article dif- 
 ferent from what it did at a former period. Has 
 the ounce of metal, or the purchased article, 
 changed in value ? We compare, then, this article 
 with the aggregate of all other commodities ; and if 
 there be a change contrasted with its former rela- 
 tions, we may decisively pronounce the alteration 
 
m dirrancfitis: Foreierji Exchano;e!i. 313 
 
 "to 
 
 to be in it: if there be not a change, we may pro- 
 nounce the alteration to be in the precious metal. 
 An uniform adherence to this procedure would re- 
 move much of the ambiguity pervading financial 
 discussions. What endless contrariety of opinion 
 do we witness, as to the true causes of variation 
 in the price of corn. Say it was 855. a quarter 
 eight years ago ; it is now 60.y. Scarcely two per- 
 sons would agree as to the extent of the decline in 
 its real value. Resorting to the mode generally 
 pursued to ascertain this point, will show how 
 wide a latitude is presented for debate ; a latitude, 
 indeed, which embraces such a variety of adven- 
 titious circumstances, as to render unity of opinion 
 almost impossible. The first thing is to inquire 
 into the depreciation in the currency in the former 
 period, as compared to bullion, owing to extensive 
 issues of paper-money. Venturing the very doubt- 
 ful supposition that all concurred so far, the task 
 would still be far from complete. It might be 
 alleged, that the superseding the use of gold by 
 the employment of paper-money, led to an over- 
 proportioned quantity of gold in the general distri- 
 bution throughout Europe, in regard to the ordinary 
 demand for it ; and, as a necessary consequence, 
 like every other commodity similarly affected, it 
 would undergo a diminution in value ; on the other 
 hand, when, in its turn, the issue of paper-money 
 was checked when cash payments were resumed, 
 gold would become more in demand, and its value 
 
314 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 would therefore rise. Here, then, to discover the 
 extent of this variation, would the several infallible 
 standards be brought into play. Those who made 
 choice of corn itself would have to consider what 
 was the average of price before they could decide. 
 Those who took labour would be in the same pre- 
 dicament ; besides that, scarcely two of this school 
 coincide as to the exact degree in which corn 
 operates in determining the rate of labour. Some 
 employ the term " mainly," some " chiefly," and 
 others " almost wholly," under which diversity of 
 ideas, there may lurk a difference of 2s. or 3*. a 
 week ; enough, certainly, in a fundamental point, to 
 cause the grossest error in subsequent deductions. 
 
 The least reflection then, I think, must show, that 
 any analysis, no matter how ingeniously conducted, 
 proceeding on the basis here examined, can be 
 viewed as little better than vague assumption. 
 But according to my plan of proceeding, to ascer- 
 tain the difference in value in corn in the two 
 specified years, we have merely to take a certain 
 quantity, say 100 quarters, and inquire what 
 quantity of other commodities — of furniture, cloth- 
 ing, and so forth, would these 100 quarters ex- 
 change for in 1818, and what in 1826 ? Strike the 
 difference, and you have the difference in value. 
 Is not this the real difficulty sought to be over- 
 come ? Wealth consists of a variety of objects 
 possessing exchangeable value ; and when we say 
 there is some change in one of these objects, and 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 315 
 
 wish to ascertain its extent, we can mean nothing 
 more than a change in comparison with those ob- 
 jects which constitute wealth in the aggregate. 
 For this purpose, what necessity is there for any 
 standard ? The immense range of products to be 
 taken into account, may seem to present difficulty ; 
 but if the mind be made to compass the whole ques- 
 tion, its bounds are gradually reduced to those 
 leading products which, if I may be allowed the 
 expression, are of a generic nature, and the con- 
 sideration of which will enable us to arrive at a re- 
 sult sufficient for practical purposes, or to decide 
 how far the interests of any particular class of the 
 community have been affected by recurring changes, 
 when their concerns are before the legislature. 
 
 As a further confirmation of the necessity for ex- 
 cluding the notion of absolute value, it may be re- 
 marked, that if all commodities in England under- 
 went a change with respect to the precious metals, 
 it would not follow that there was alteration in the 
 value of the latter. The alteration might apply ex- 
 clusively to the commodities of England, and not to 
 those of the rest of the world. Suppose our la- 
 bourers to receive a shilling a week additional 
 wages, to be spent on some new article of purchase. 
 The cost of all our commodities would thus in- 
 crease : gold, therefore, would vary in its relations 
 with England only, but in foreign countries it would 
 remain unaltered. This circumstance should al- 
 ways be kept in mind, because every tendency to 
 
316 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 dearness in England is apt to be attributed, by 
 many individuals, to a fall in the value of the pre- 
 cious metals, while in reality no such conclusion is 
 warranted. 
 
 I hope that this brief digression will tend to sim- 
 plify many intricate points attached to the con- 
 sideration of foreign exchange, and of money. It 
 has been my aim to divest the reader's mind of many 
 notions which, having been largely dilated upon by 
 our most celebrated economists, and twisted or 
 spun out to an endless number of modifications, 
 tend to perplex and confuse him at every step, and 
 distract his ideas from a due comprehension of the 
 real subject. 
 
 One of the commonest results is, in consequence, 
 to consider the precious metals as incessantly un- 
 dergoing a much greater variation in value than is 
 really the case. The merest tyro is aware, that 
 according to their scarcity or abundance, they are 
 affected like any other commodity ; and that a fall 
 in their value would produce a general rise in the 
 price of every thing else. But there is much to be 
 apprehended in pushing this consideration to an 
 extreme, which indeed many writers, to show, per- 
 haps, their acuteness, are too frequently disposed 
 to do. There has, in point of fact, for nearly two 
 centuries past, been very little alteration in the 
 value of gold. When we refer to those places on 
 the continent where cost of production has not been 
 influenced in the same manner as England, there is 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 317 
 
 scarcely any perceptible change. In Italy, many 
 articles which I should, in the nature of their pro- 
 duction, regard as generic, exchange for gold in 
 about the same proportion as they did 130 years 
 ago. The same is the case in many other parts. 
 If, therefore, the often-affirmed variation in the 
 value of bullion were founded in truth, it should 
 hold universally. It should not apply to one country 
 alone, but to all parts of the world where the pre- 
 cious metals are used as money. 
 
 As a further corroboration of the fact here stated, 
 we may refer to the corresponding proportions ex- 
 isting between the value of gold and of silver a 
 century and a half ago, and at the present period. 
 Some states have chosen gold as the standard of 
 their coinage, and some silver. Now, as the con- 
 tinual and abundant supply from the mines is the 
 cause assigned for the fall in value of the precious 
 metals, the supply of both gold and silver respec- 
 tively must be nearly equal, or some change must 
 have taken place in their proportionate value one 
 to the other, in case the alleged abundance dimi- 
 nished the value of either ; what then is the fact ? 
 In every received statement of the supplies from 
 South America, silver very greatly preponderates. 
 Yet in 1718, according to the information of Sir 
 Isaac Newton, the value of fine gold to fine silver 
 was rated in our Mint as 15 yt-/-j- to 1 : from the go- 
 vernment having taken the entire control of the sil- 
 ver coinage into its own hands, and a seignorage 
 being exacted, the Mint rating is now 14 -jVVV lo 1 ; 
 
318 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 but the bullion price is but little under the former 
 proportion ; and as the late Lord Liverpool was of 
 opinion that, at the coinage in 1718, there existed 
 an over-valuation of four-pence in the guinea, or a 
 little more than 1| percent., the aggregate difference 
 is very immaterial. In France, where a seignorage 
 is exacted of nearly ^ per cent, on gold, and \\ per 
 cent, on silver, the Mint proportion is 15J to 1. 
 Viewing then the combined result in the two coun- 
 tries, presumptive proof is afforded that the relative 
 cost of producing each metal has continued nearly 
 the same ; and in consequence, if we reject transi- 
 tory variations and view permanent effects, not- 
 withstanding the very abundant supply of silver 
 to Europe, its value has at the utmost declined al- 
 most imperceptibly. 
 
 It is undoubtedly a difficult thing to decide whe- 
 ther gold or silver be the most appropriate for a 
 standard in England, The former, from its greater 
 difficulty of obtainment, seems to ensure most steadi- 
 ness, and would be the most eligible for the world 
 at large ; but the latter having been chosen by the 
 majority of states, and there being perhaps difficulty 
 in procuring supplies of gold in time of emergency, 
 is a strong argument in its favour ; yet not, I think, 
 sufficiently so, under existing relations, to justify 
 a decided preference. In my opinion, however, 
 though at variance with some eminent authorities, 
 from what has been stated, and viewing the case 
 unconnected with extrinsic relations, and rejecting 
 temporary abuses, this is more a refinement than a 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 319 
 
 point of practical importance ; nor need we in the 
 least encumber our thoughts, by imagining that the 
 material of our coin is fluctuating in its own value, 
 and consequently that this assumed instability is 
 to be considered and provided against in every re- 
 gulation of our currency. Even supposing any of 
 those visionary mining-schemes to succeed, through 
 which an unwonted supply of bullion would be 
 poured into the channels of commerce, still the ope- 
 ration extends over the world, and though at a great 
 lapse of time many contracts might be effected, yet 
 as to transactions in foreign commerce, no derange- 
 ment would ensue: it must be the occurrence of 
 circumstances locally in England, and which extend 
 not to other countries, that occasions this latter de- 
 rangement. Still, indeed, confining ourselves to fo- 
 reign trade, political writers have been in the habit of 
 slighting the effects of a varying exchange, as imma- 
 terial in permanently affecting the imports and ex- 
 ports. According to their favourite maxim, things 
 will correct themselves, and require not special re- 
 gulation. In shaping its measures, the legislature 
 need not meddle with the balance of trade : if un- 
 favourable to a particular country one year, the 
 next it will remedy itself, and become more favour- 
 able. If we import more wine from Portugal than 
 we send woollen goods to pay for it, the exchange 
 with Portugal will become unfavourable — that is, 
 a bill on London drawn in Lisbon will be at a dis- 
 count, and a bill on Lisbon drawn in London will 
 
320 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 be at a premium. But when this event comes, 
 there will be less inducement for the Portuguese 
 wine-merchant to export his wines, when the bill 
 he draws in payment of it is disposed of at a loss, 
 whilst, on the other hand, there will be more induce- 
 ment to the English merchant to export his woollens, 
 because on his bill he can obtain a premium. This 
 mutual operation quickly sets all to rights, and the 
 commercial transactions of the two countries quietly 
 harmonize, as justly as some well- constructed piece 
 of mechanism. . 
 
 That a reaction is produced I thoroughly believe, 
 but I must deny that it takes place either quietly 
 or harmoniously. I conceive a derangement of 
 foreign exchanges, leading to a great drain of 
 specie, to be an evil, even supposing all our cur- 
 rency to consist of coin ; it is a great evil when 
 a large portion of our currency consists of paper ; 
 and it is an overwhelming evil when, in con- 
 junction with this latter circumstance, the cause 
 proceeds, from the supercession of our own, to make 
 way for foreign products. It wull presently appear 
 that, in this case, it is a mistake to imagine, that 
 there is greater ability to export other commodities, 
 as assumed in the above case of the woollens ; the 
 adjustmentof payment is accomplished by a much 
 less advantageous procedure. 
 
 Though the state of exchange is the general index 
 determining the favourable or unfavourable balance 
 of money-dealings with other countries, yet it does 
 
' in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 321 
 
 not necessarily imply that payment is to be made 
 with the precious metals ; and it is the general ad- 
 mission of this fact which has induced writers to 
 maintain, that a great drain of specie out of the 
 country more frequently indicates a derangement 
 or depreciation of the currency. Under ordinary 
 circumstances, when foreign commodities appear 
 cheap, owing to favourable seasons abroad, or other 
 contingencies, merchants will be more liberal in 
 their orders, and the imports of the year will appear 
 large in proportion to the exports. The exact 
 reverse may ensue, both as to unfavourable con- 
 tingencies abroad, or a spirit of enterprise at home ; 
 and, in either case, payments having eventually to 
 be made from one country to the other, whether it 
 will take place in bullion or other commodities, will 
 depend simply upon the degree of profit which can 
 relatively be derived from each proceeding. Pend- 
 ing this interval of adjustment, the current rate of 
 exchange will vary from the true p«r, precisely in 
 proportion to the magnitude of the exciting cause. 
 The circumstance creating these operations has 
 generally been denominated the balance of trade. 
 
 Even, however, supposing the imports and ex- 
 ports exactly to correspond, a variation in exchange 
 may be occasioned by derangements in the currency 
 of one of the countries. Suppose that country to 
 employ as her circulating medium partly coin and 
 partly paper, and the amount of her issues pre- 
 cisely proportioned to the extent of her commercial 
 
322 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 dealings; in this juncture the true par of exchange 
 with the other country would be exactly at a level. 
 Imagine, now, a great issue of paper to take place, 
 the relation between the circulating medium of the 
 two countries would be disturbed, the one would 
 become more valuable than the other, and the 
 country which made the large issues of paper- 
 money would find an unfavourable exchange 
 against her ; her specie would then flow abroad ; or 
 if the paper were not immediately convertible into 
 coin, or delay ensued in that convertibihty, from its 
 circulation in distant parts of the country, the coin 
 might be transformed by fusion into bullion. The 
 circumstance creating these operations has been 
 denominated depreciation of the currency. 
 
 Again, even supposing the imports and exports 
 precisely equal, and the currencies of the two coun- 
 tries to be both adjusted on a proper and equable 
 footing, a variation in the exchanges may still 
 ensue. The one may be a rich, the other a poor 
 country ; a very long credit may be given on the 
 exports, a very short one conversely on the imports ; 
 and if we assume a certain period when this com- 
 bined action may occur, a variation in the exchange 
 may prevail to a considerable extent. This ope- 
 ration I shall, for the sake of distinction, term 
 balance of payment. 
 
 By offering a few concise observations on each 
 of these several heads, means may be afforded to 
 solve a great part of the phenomena frequently 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 323 
 
 witnessed in foreign trade, and also to judge of 
 the effects of many alterations made in commercial 
 policy. 
 
 BALANCE OF TRADE. 
 
 Agreeably to the doctrine of the old mercantile 
 system, excess of exports over imports was the in- 
 fallible indication of national prosperity. Even be- 
 fore this false notion was entirely exploded, doubts 
 prevailed, if not of the possibility of ascertaining this 
 excess, at least of the mode of doing it correctly, 
 no allowance being made for the incomes of indi- 
 viduals spent abroad, or for remittances in payment 
 of troops, armaments, and subsidies in time of war. 
 Indeed, at the present hour, much more faith is 
 reposed in our tables of imports and exports than 
 they by any means deserve. It is apparent that 
 there is mingled up in the returns a large portion 
 of trade, which should, in strictness, be omitted, 
 as affecting the balance, since no value is given in 
 return. The large amounts of colonial produce 
 coming home to proprietors residing in the mother- 
 country, together with many individuals who derive 
 their revenue from abroad, must greatly swell one 
 side of the account, and exhibit avast disproportion, 
 while trade itself was virtually equal. Undoubt- 
 edly there is, on the other hand, the number of 
 British residents abroad, drawing their income from 
 hence, and also the expense of our distant garri- 
 sons, both causing a countervailing result, but still 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 Effects of jyreci-pitate Innovations 
 
 showing, no matter whether the influx or the efflux 
 predominate, that we have no criterion by which to 
 ascertain the exact balance of our foreign trade. 
 The overrating of the exports, and the underrating 
 of imports, has been adverted to by almost every 
 writer on this subject, as distinguishing all trading 
 nations, with the solitary exception of the United 
 States of America. As a decisive proof, therefore, 
 of the vagueness, not to say gross incorrectness, of 
 the tables exhibiting the foreign commerce of those 
 countries in the aggregate, it is only requisite to point 
 out how they contradict each other. All could not 
 have a favourable balance at the same time ; when 
 two countries trade together, and one of them lays 
 claim to a large balance in her favour, it would be 
 expected that a different result should appear in the 
 accounts of the other ; but if, instead of this, she 
 also makes the balance to be in her own favour, it 
 is conclusive that no confidence can be given to the 
 statement of either. It will be recollected that this 
 applies to their mutually maintaining that the exports 
 exceed the imports ; if the converse held, if the 
 imports on both sides exceeded the exports, there 
 would be nothing anomalous in the case, because 
 the excess constituted the reciprocal profit on the 
 transactions of each. Though the term " favourable 
 trade" is, in common language, used when the exports 
 exceed the imports, yet it is now well known by 
 persons conversant with the subject, that the dia- 
 metrically opposite term should be employed. The 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 325 
 
 greater the amount of imports over that of exports, 
 the more advantageous it is, as the higher is then 
 the rate of profit. Suppose a merchant to freight a 
 vessel, with an assorted cargo of British manufac- 
 tures, worth 10,000/., to a distant market ; on her 
 arrival there the goods are sold, and the vessel 
 takes in a return cargo. On reaching home, does 
 the merchant expect to sell this cargo of returned 
 produce for only 10,000/. ? If so, he obviously ob- 
 tains no profit; if profits are at 10 per cent., he 
 sells it for 11,000/.; if 20, for 12,000/, Let the 
 mind, then, take into contemplation the whole trad- 
 ing portion of the kingdom, and it will be found to 
 be situated precisely as this individual merchant. 
 If, therefore, the trade of the country be in a healthy 
 state, the exports being estimated at their value 
 when they leave the country, and the imports being 
 estimated at their value when they arrive in return, 
 the latter should always preponderate, the amount 
 of which preponderance shows the national gain. 
 
 Rejecting thus the very imperfect annual returns 
 for our guide, we have to refer to the state of ex- 
 change as the index to determine the relative 
 balance of trade. As before stated, contingencies 
 are incessantly occurring, leading either to more 
 extensive or Umited dealings in certain commo- 
 dities than ordinary, and consequently payment will 
 have to be delayed, or must be made in a manner 
 somewhat different from the usual course. Let us 
 imagine England to import from France more 
 goods than usual, and to a degree disproportionate 
 
326 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 to her exports, bills on London drawn in France 
 would then be at a premium, and bills on Paris 
 drawn in England would be at a discount compared 
 with the true par. But it is obvious that this va- 
 riation could not exceed the cost of transporting the 
 precious metals to the place of payment, amount- 
 ing, as it is generally stated, in a period of peace, 
 to only 1 to 2 per cent. Should the disparity 
 in any given year in the imports from France, con- 
 trasted with the ordinary traffic, be great, then it 
 would be natural to infer that a considerable ex- 
 portation of bullion, or of specie, would take place ; 
 but it will be borne in mind, that such is not of ne- 
 cessity required ; some time must elapse while the 
 bills are progressing to a high state of exchange ; 
 in the meanwhile, merchants in England may be in- 
 duced, from the state of exchange, to make ship- 
 ments of other goods ; and, in point of fact, whether 
 they do so, or send bullion, will depend upon the 
 probable profit expected by each mode of trans- 
 action. An unfavourable course of exchange 
 operates as a tax upon all imports, and conse- 
 quently as a bounty upon all exports ; and in this 
 case it is contended, that equality of trade is again 
 restored by dealings in merchandise, and not in 
 bullion, for which the following reason is assigned: 
 bullion, from the steadiness and uniformity of its 
 value, cannot be presumed otherwise than as mere- 
 ly going to pay the debt ; while the desire of gain, 
 on the part of merchants, would lead them to ex- 
 amine the Price Curretit, and select many articles by 
 
in deranging Foreign Ea;changes\ 327 
 
 which, from the bounty or premium on bills, they 
 would, with prompt shipments, fancy they could re- 
 alize a handsome profit. Proceeding on the prin- 
 ciple of this reasoning, intelligent writers on ex- 
 change have disputed the effects of balance of trade 
 in draining the country of specie ; and maintain, 
 that when such drain actually takes place, it must 
 proceed from other causes ; or at the least, that a 
 drain in England cannot be ascribed to the balance 
 of trade being against her. This leads us naturally 
 to the second head. 
 
 DEPRECIATION OF THE CURRENCY. 
 
 After the passing of Mr. Peel's bill, one would 
 have imagined that this prolific and almost ex- 
 haustless theme of contention had been set at 
 rest. Late occurrences, however, prove the con- 
 trary. The abundant issues of country bank paper 
 are assigned as leading to depreciation in our 
 general currency, by superseding the use of 
 coin, and driving it out of the country. It is 
 certainly an incontrovertible position, that when 
 the general currency is increased beyond its or- 
 dinary relations by profuse supplies of paper- 
 money, exchanges with foreign countries will be- 
 come unfavourable. It might be imagined, that 
 so long as bank-notes are convertible into coin, an 
 effectual control, as well as an efiectual remedy, is 
 provided against excessive issues of paper ; but it 
 is contended, that this position is more theoretically 
 specious than practically correct. Many qualifica- 
 
328 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 tions are to be admitted, which render nugatory the 
 effects deduced. If the opinions of the public do 
 not concur, or, what is the same thing, if they do 
 not avail themselves of the convertibility of their 
 paper currency, and forbear to demand a frequent 
 exchange of coin for bank-notes, the practice of ex- 
 tensive issues will gradually obtain, and the bankers 
 be led by degrees to view the risk with diminished 
 apprehension. The plain fact of the large circula- 
 tion of those banks which have failed, corroborates 
 this inference ; and as the great increase of paper- 
 money within the last two years, compared to for- 
 mer ones, is notorious, it is inferred that the recent 
 unfavourable exchanges proceed from this cause 
 alone. Against this conclusion, I am obliged, after 
 the fullest reflection, to dissent, and I shall state 
 briefly the reasons on which my opinion is founded. 
 When we speak of an over-proportioned circulat- 
 ing medium, we mean obviously an over-proportion 
 in relation to the commercial dealings of the country. 
 Let the imports and exports be 80 miUions con- 
 jointly, and the domestic transactions assumed to 
 be on a similar scale, amounting to several hundred 
 millions more ; and to circulate these, a currency, 
 say of 60 miUions, is required ; if the imports and 
 exports be increased to 90 millions, and the home 
 traffic augmented in a corresponding ratio, it is quite 
 manifest that a great increase of currency is re- 
 quired ; and whether the increase will consist of 
 gold or not, will depend as to whether or not the 
 nature of our foreign trade will give large supplies 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 329 
 
 of bullion. If bullion, being like any other foreign 
 commodity, Hows not freely into the country, or not in 
 a proportion commensurate with the recent extension 
 of trade, it cannot relatively be cheap, and conse- 
 quently, it will not be selected as the material to 
 increase the currency. But unless the currency did 
 increase, it must be inadequate to the augmented 
 trade, and thus a larger amount of paper is issued. 
 The average amount of Bank of England notes, 
 and Bank post-bills in circulation, was, 
 
 n the year 1S23 
 
 . £19,137,492 
 
 1824 . 
 
 20,616,015 
 
 1825 
 
 19,751,015 
 
 The amount of one and two pound country bank- 
 notes stamped in the same years was. 
 
 In the year 1823 . . . £2,019,978 
 
 1824 .... 2,544,849 
 
 1825 . . . 3,251,499 
 
 To afford an opportunity to judge of the deficiency 
 in the circulating medium, I subjoin the following- 
 statement : — 
 
 Account of the quantity of gold coin exported, 
 
 Oz. Coined Money. 
 
 In the year 1823, . 98,000 . £379,750 
 
 1824, . 764,109 . 2,960,922 
 
 1825, . 854,981 . 3,320,176 
 
 This is independent of what left the country as 
 private expenditure of individuals, and of the 
 amount paid in smuggling transactions. 
 
 Now the question simply is, is the increase of bank 
 
330 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 notes out of proportion to the increased trade? I 
 really believe, when the increase of ten millions in 
 our imports and exports is considered, together with 
 such a consequent increase in the domestic trade as 
 might reasonably be inferred from the views before 
 explained, that the increase of paper-money was not 
 beyond the purposes of traffic. This opinion is 
 strengthened by the fact, that exclusive of the in- 
 crease of trade, paper had to supply the place of 
 gold, a large amount of the latter, as just ex- 
 hibited, being, no matter from what cause, removed 
 from circulation. This is making the issues of 
 paper the effect and not the cause of a derangement 
 of exchange, and it diflfers, undoubtedly, from the 
 general opinion. It will be recollected, however, 
 that bank-notes are but partially the instruments 
 of credit ; in a period of briskness, or excitement, 
 there is always abundance of debentures, bills of 
 exchange, and promissory notes, by means of which 
 commodities may be purchased. We may, indeed, 
 judge of the extent of credit in British commerce 
 from the statement of Mr. Richardson, on the Bul- 
 lion question, before the Committee of the House 
 of Commons, that the sum of 4,700,000/., in bills 
 and drafts, was paid in London daily. About the 
 middle of last year this amount has been stated to 
 me to have increased to more than six millions, the 
 single clearance of one or two establishments having 
 been nearly a million a-day ; and if we allow a fair 
 proportion for bills, and the ordinary time for these 
 bills to run, the current amount of paper payable in 
 
in deranging Foreig7i Exchanges. 331 
 
 London could not have fallen short of 200,000,000/. 
 at any given time. All the evils of speculation are 
 attributed to the issues of bank-notes. Now I 
 merely put the question, viewing the prodigious 
 operation of credit as just stated, is it not more pro- 
 bable, that the increase of bills presented for dis- 
 count should have led to an increase of bank-notes ; 
 not that the latter, forming, perhaps, not a tenth of 
 the increase of current circulation on credit, should 
 have caused the increase of bills ? I do not mean 
 to deny that individual banking-establishments are 
 guilty of great imprudence; but I am contem- 
 plating aggregate effects, and in that view it does 
 not appear that a depreciation of currency, taken on 
 its own grounds, produced the unfavourable state of 
 exchange, to drain us of our coin. A rise of prices 
 is the general criterion employed to ascertain and 
 corroborate this result. Mr. Tooke, in his last able 
 publication, has inferred this to be the case ; but it 
 is apparent that we should exclude those commo- 
 dities in which there was a mania for speculation, 
 and take articles of home production, such as 
 corn, or cloth, for our guide ; and after my investi- 
 gation of the principles determining the cost of pro- 
 duction, I hope it will be acknowledged that the 
 alleged dearness here does not indicate a deprecia- 
 tion in the currency. 
 
 BALANCE OF PAYMENT. 
 
 Since I have, under the foregoing heads, rejected 
 the alleged operations leading to the drain of coin 
 
332 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 out of the country, it follows that I should now ex- 
 plain the circumstances by which it was really 
 caused. 
 
 It was formerly stated, that a wealthy country 
 generally gives the primary movement to commer- 
 cial transactions ; that is, the enterprise of mer- 
 chants leads them both to export and to import on 
 their own account. Now those who export may not 
 be immediately paid, while those who import will be 
 expected to make their remittances with all punc- 
 tuality. In this conjuncture a little reflection will 
 show that there will be a great derangement in pay- 
 ment ; and I think it can be established that such is 
 virtually the cause of the late unfavourable ex- 
 changes. The scene of import and that of export 
 may be at opposite parts of the world ; and if we 
 allow for the effects of any very extensive specula- 
 tion, a long period must elapse before any adjust- 
 ment will be brought about. Payment, however, for 
 the imports must be made ; and as the country may, 
 in some sense, be said to suffer under excess of ex- 
 ports, there will be no disposition to increase them 
 farther, and payment will therefore be made in specie. 
 If payment for imports and exports were made simul- 
 taneously, then I would admit the correctness of the 
 doctrine, that an unfavourable exchange would most 
 probably be corrected by increased export of goods 
 instead of bullion ; but when the importers reside in 
 England, and are anxious to preserve their credit 
 by punctual remittances, the rate of exchange will 
 soon attain to that length which will cause specie to 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 333 
 
 .leave the country. It may appear to savour of in- 
 fatuation, for men to persevere in exporting on a 
 ruinously long credit, and that such a practice could 
 not, for any length of time, continue. He, however, 
 who is acquainted with the mercantile world, is 
 aware, that in many men's thoughts there is an irre- 
 sistible persuasion as to the high profits in distant 
 markets ; new adventurers are continually starting 
 forward ; commission-merchants are daily visiting 
 this country, holding out alluring prospects of future 
 gain ; and there may thus be a large addition to the 
 number of unfortunate adventurers before the evil is 
 checked. All this is heightened in a period of 
 speculation. 
 
 The imposing amount of manufactures which 
 have left the country for the last two or three years, 
 exhibits a magnificent picture to the eye, but the 
 unfortunate shipper has too frequently found to his 
 cost, that to lose sight of his goods is to lose sight 
 of his property altogether. Other nations have been 
 gradually availing themselves of their advantages, 
 and almost every month the accounts of sales are 
 becoming worse. No wonder, then, that the ware- 
 houses of our manufacturers are becoming choked 
 with goods ; they will be constrained to limit their 
 concerns within humbler bounds, and the prodigious 
 amounts of bills arriving by every packet from 
 foreign parts are not very likely to be paid in 
 goods. 
 
 Presuming this elucidation sufficient to explain 
 the circumstances which lead to a drain of specie, 
 
334 Effects of jirecipitate Innovations 
 
 I approach the practical inquiry, as to whether any. 
 measures of the legislature have been conducive to 
 the result. 
 
 This inquiry, involving the entire principles of 
 Free Trade, has led to much contention ; and fear- 
 ful of being thought disposed to shape the argu- 
 ment to my own views, I shall give the heads of 
 the reasons advanced on both sides of the question. 
 
 The advocates for Free Trade maintain, that the 
 recent occurrences are entirely the fruits of specu- 
 lation, which might have existed independently of 
 any relaxation in our commercial policy : that ex- 
 tensive importations apply to all articles generally, 
 and not to those, the duties on which were remitted ; 
 and finally, that the existing distress succeeding 
 the dissolution of the speculation-bubble, is merely 
 the recoil of over-trading. 
 
 On the other hand, it is affirmed, that the great 
 importations of silk and some other articles proceed 
 entirely from the adoption of the new system : that 
 its spirit led to a new mercantile arrangement which 
 changed the direction of industry : that the state- 
 ments and the example of persons of exalted rank 
 served to stimulate and extend this feeling ; and 
 that in effect those interests which the new mea- 
 sures affected are now the most distressed. 
 
 I acknowledge I was at first inclined to think, 
 that sufficient time had not yet elapsed to demon- 
 strate the impolicy of the Free Trade system, but 
 one circumstance has impelled me to an opposite 
 belief. It is quite immaterial what may be thought 
 
ill derangitig Foreign Exchanges. 335 
 
 by persons in authority, by theorists, or by lookers 
 on ; the question must be decided by those per- 
 sonally interested, and whatever their opinion is, 
 it must be the right one, for the plainest and most 
 unanswerable of all reasons, that according to their 
 opinions are their actions, and according to their 
 actions, they being the instruments of production, 
 are the national consequences. 
 
 Although, when we have accurately traced out 
 the causes of a drain of specie, intelligent persons 
 will immediately perceive the inconveniences it will 
 occasion, even were our currency entirely of coin ; 
 yet it may be proper to trace further its mischief, 
 under the existing state of things in England. 
 
 It need scarcely be observed, that by far the 
 greater portion of our circulating medium consists 
 in paper money. It is stated, that previously to 
 the recent panic, there was not more than from I65 
 to 17 millions of coin in the country, while the 
 amount of Bank of England and provincial notes 
 together was computed at upwards of 40 millions. 
 In this condition of things, it need excite no asto- 
 nishment to find that a great demand for gold 
 should lead to much inconvenience, and if not 
 speedily counteracted, should embarrass all branches 
 of the banking business with still increasing pres- 
 sure. Much as uninformed persons may censure 
 what they term the improvidence of bankers in not 
 preserving a supply of coin sufficient to provide for 
 every contingency, it is quite certain that the whole 
 system, as now established in England, must 
 
336 Effects of frecipitate Innov>ations 
 
 cease to exist, if coupled with the condition or the 
 compulsion of hoarding up a large supply of gold at 
 all times ready to meet the amount of the paper in 
 circulation. The disproportion between the issues 
 of paper and the supply of gold constitutes the 
 profits of banking ; and though this state of things 
 is undoubtedly precarious, it cannot be superseded, 
 without probably giving rise to inconveniences much 
 greater. In ordinary occurrences, so long as the 
 quantity of gold preserves its general proportion in 
 the country, and foreign exchanges adjusted pretty 
 nearly to a proper medium, it is not greatly to be 
 apprehended, that embarrassment, though partial, 
 should become general, and involve all classes in 
 dismay, before a counteraction arrived to mitigate 
 the evil. But when innovations are introduced, ra- 
 ther a different result takes place ; transactions of 
 business work slowly to the change ; at a very great 
 distance, indeed, they follow the rapid movements 
 of theorists ; and this feeling tends to augment, 
 rather than counteract, the previously spreading de- 
 rangement. When, therefore, by throwing open the 
 British market to foreign competition, a great change 
 is effected in the channels of trade, either one or 
 other of the following circumstances is necessary : — 
 To get foreign states to be as liberal as ourselves, 
 and to remove impediments to the admission of our 
 goods into their territories, in order to preserve a 
 balance of payment ; or, in case this be imprac- 
 ticable, while, after grave deliberation, it is decided 
 that we shall ultimately derive advantage from re- 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 337 
 
 moving protecting duties — then, to provide before- 
 hand for a derangement in the currency, so that 
 credit, national as well as individual, shall sustain 
 no shock. In every approach towards the princi- 
 ples of free trade, even supposing those principles 
 correct, this conduct should be pursued. To neglect 
 it cannot fail to create mischief, the duration and the 
 mitigation of which will depend upon the degree 
 and apparency of the benefit expected to accrue 
 from the change. But if, instead of benefit, we find 
 evil, then will the transition be more portentous, 
 and it would be difficult to foretel the final conse- 
 quences. 
 
 In viewing the recent policy of the British le- 
 gislature, the application to these observations is 
 presented. Foreign nations did not relax the se- 
 verity of their restrictions in regard to the introduc- 
 tion of British manufactures ; nor, on the other hand, 
 was provision made in our currency to meet the 
 drain of gold reasonably to be expected from an 
 unfavourable state of exchange. The mercantile 
 world is now deploring the consequences. It is, I 
 believe, on all sides admitted, that the first symptom 
 of the recent alarm may be traced to an increasing 
 demand for specie at the Bank. A very considerable 
 time before the actual panic, indeed so far back as 
 towards the close of last session of Parliament, this 
 circumstance was noticed, and was sUghted by one 
 or two very distinguished members, as proceeding 
 from causes either unfounded, or but temporary. 
 
338 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 Temporary, however, they did not prove. Gold 
 continued in demand until a reduction in our entire 
 circulating medium produced a re-action, and 
 brought exchanges in favour of this country. In the 
 mean time the effects of this derangement extended 
 throughout the kingdom ; the provincial banks were 
 unprepared for the transition ; the distress of one led 
 to the distress of another ; and the whole became 
 unaccountably involved, ingulfing every other class 
 in the ruinous vortex, and exciting the more asto- 
 nishment, as following closely the declaration of 
 general and unequivocal prosperity. 
 
 Though it comes not within my plan to enter into 
 minute details, yet as Political Economy is pro- 
 perly the science of collating particular effects, to 
 deduce general principles, a statement of those cir- 
 cumstances heightening the susceptibility to alarm, 
 and forming the popular causes for the recent panic, 
 may not be misplaced. 
 
 The notorious fact, that the first symptoms of 
 alarm appeared in the difficulties of the country 
 banks, naturally leads all classes to look first to 
 them for a solution of the difficulty. Encouraging, 
 instead of checking, the mania for speculation, it is 
 affirmed that the issues of paper-money were car- 
 ried to an unprecedented and most injurious extent. 
 Availing themselves of the issue of one and two 
 pound notes, a privilege not exercised by the Bank 
 of England, the use of coin was, in many districts, 
 almost superseded. This extension of business 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 339 
 
 not being warranted by justifiable grounds, but 
 being the bloated fruit of an unnatural growth, was 
 speedily, and on the first reverse, checked ; in pro- 
 portion as it was reared on an unsubstantial basis, 
 was its downfal sudden and disastrous. The holders 
 of notes lost confidence, and, in addition to the 
 numerous failures, the demand for specie became 
 so great, as to put a stop to all discounts or accom- 
 modation. 
 
 It is undeniable that much of the subsequent dis- 
 tress may be attributed to these failures ; but having 
 shown that the issues of the country banks led not, 
 in themselves, to the exportation of specie, we are 
 hardly warranted in bringing in their misfortunes as 
 a primary cause. They may be charged with 
 neglect of their own interests, in locking up their 
 funds, or not providing against, or not foreseeing, 
 the coming storm ; but scarcely are they to be 
 censured severely, on public grounds, for making 
 the money of the country commensurate with its 
 dealings. If the issues went beyond this, and were 
 virtually on an extravagant scale, it appears to me 
 that a greater fluctuation in prices of home products 
 should have been exhibited. Of course we are 
 to judge from the period antecedent to the panic, 
 and not subsequent. This fluctuation is not satis- 
 factorily indicated ; and though I confess that it is 
 vague to judge of the state of the currency from 
 this criterion, yet the effects have been on such a 
 
 z 2 
 
340 Effects of 'precipitate Innovations 
 
 scale, that the indices of any imputed cause should 
 be, at least, more visible. 
 
 The reasons next assigned are, the Loans and 
 Mining Associations projected last year, and tending, 
 it is said, temporarily to drain the country of its 
 wealth. On this head, I imagine, that there is a 
 proneness to exaggeration. The total amount of 
 loans to foreign states effected in 1825, were less 
 by 10 millions than in 1824^; 3 millions less than 
 in 1823 ; and nearly 16 millions less than in 1822. 
 Is it, then, to be supposed that, if the preceding 
 years were prosperous, notwithstanding this drain 
 of money, the distress of the last year originated in 
 a drain to a far inferior degree ? The Greek Loan, 
 indeed, for two millions, and some of the South 
 American, are described as unfortunate. Granting 
 this fact, can any intelligent person, who contem- 
 plates the great monied capital of England, and 
 reflects on the disastrous result of some former 
 loans, which still left our stability unshaken, seri- 
 ously believe that these trivial mishaps should 
 embarrass every manufacturing district throughout 
 the country ? If such be, indeed, the case, Great 
 Britain's security is somewhat less safely esta- 
 blished than I, for one, am willing to believe. 
 
 As regards the Mining Associations, before we 
 decide that they have contributed to drain us of our 
 resources, let us inquire in what shape this money 
 went abroad. It is presumed that much bullion 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 341 
 
 was not exported to produce bullion. Manufjic- 
 tures, implements necessary to the process of mining 
 — these form the kind of expenditure ; and so far 
 from charging this species of speculation with hav- 
 ing contributed to the recent derangement, many 
 merchants (I do not say correctly) rather place it in 
 the opposite scale, and give it the credit of having 
 increased our exports. 
 
 Connected in some degree with this imputed 
 cause, are the various Joint Stodc Companies at 
 home, most of which, after fluttering for their day, 
 have peaceably expired. It is evident there could 
 be no national loss here. Some individuals might 
 be enriched and some might be beggared ; there 
 was a transfer of property ; but how the great basis 
 of public credit could thus be essentially injured, it 
 is not easy to discover. In those undertakings 
 which were decidedly bad, although unprincipled 
 speculators originated the scheme, they were not 
 the parties who suffered by the imposition. Shares 
 were distributed as widely as possible ; and, though 
 the deception attracted much public attention, and 
 received well-merited reprobation, yet the ultimate 
 losses do not appear to have affected a class of per- 
 sons who give the tone to the credit of the country. 
 
 The fourth assigned cause has, by some, been 
 conceived to possess greater pretensions to proba- 
 bility. The Bank of France, in favouring the new 
 scheme of converting its five per cent, stock into 
 three per cent., had called in its advances upon 
 French stock, giving the holder the option of con- 
 
Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 tinuing upon its books, if disposed to acquiesce in 
 the new arrangement. The low rate of interest in 
 England, it is conceived, rendered a loan to the 
 French stockholders a lucrative undertaking, and 
 for this purpose, an export of bullion would take 
 place. This is a point not easily ascertained, but 
 I am informed that monied men in the city do not 
 attach much importance to its effects. 
 
 It seems, then, that no one of these causes, nor 
 indeed all of them in conjunction, could have pro 
 duced the violent convulsion we have witnessed; 
 and we shall recur at last to the prominent cause 
 already illustrated, extensive importation, gene- 
 rated by a new feeling of commercial enterprise, 
 and unliquidated exportation, leading to a deranged 
 balance of payment. 
 
 Are we not then constrained to admit the con- 
 clusion, that the altered policy of our legislature 
 contributed essentially to derange the established 
 routine of mercantile transactions ; and in judging of 
 the free trade system, or in making up our opinion 
 as to its inseparable concomitants, we should be 
 chargeable with great negligence if we overlooked 
 the evidence of recent occurrences. I wish not to 
 be understood to say, that we have here the exclu- 
 sive cause of the convulsion. The circumstances 
 just enumerated did, doubtless, operate to a certain 
 degree. But on analyzing the general effects, it is, 
 from the quarter in which the embarrassment ori- 
 ginated, (juite evident that a derangement in the 
 currency was the primary exciting cause: that 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 343 
 
 derangement proceeded from the unfavourable state 
 of foreign exchanges, owing to which the country 
 was drained of specie; and of all the assigned 
 causes of this drain, payment of importations greatly 
 exceeding the country's exportation, and, therefore, 
 for the reasons assigned, fairly attributable to the 
 new system, seems to be that which is best founded 
 in probability. 
 
 When the effects began to display themselves, 
 people's eyes opened to the system of gambling 
 which had lately prevailed; and thus by creating 
 distrust, increased the evil. In addition, however, 
 to the more palpable effects of the altered policy, 
 there is also to be remarked, the disposition to 
 wariness and caution observable in the great ca- 
 pitalists by all who mix in commercial circles ; I 
 allude to the hesitation manifested by our eminent 
 merchants, before they make any extensive invest- 
 ment for home production. They are all willing to 
 see how the new measures will work, and how far 
 foreign competition will affect them, before they 
 complete their arrangements, or take any decisive 
 steps towards future transactions. To use a homely 
 phrase, they hang upon their oars; and thus a 
 double effect is produced : there is a great activity 
 of dealing as respects foreign manufactures, and a 
 great stagnation in that description of British in 
 which collision with foreigners may be anticipated. 
 The inference may, indeed, be carried farther ; for 
 it is no more than the truth to assert, that the opi- 
 nions of practical men are hostile to the new system. 
 
344 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 It is the easiest thing imaginable to promulgate 
 statements of expected advantages, or even to pro- 
 duce the evidence of individuals who have been 
 personally examined, to confirm the general accu- 
 racy of the principles of free trade ; but when the 
 practice of those individuals in their own business 
 is examined, we shall find that they are not so con- 
 fident in its merits as to preclude the wish that 
 others should venture on the actual experiment 
 before them. 
 
 In estimating the diffusion of mercantile know- 
 ledge throughout the community, it is a great mistake 
 to imagine that merchants are not well acquainted 
 with the theoretical principles found in our standard 
 writers on Political Economy ; the thing is, that not 
 perhaps being conscious where the fallacy may lurk, 
 those principles are either unheeded, or deemed in- 
 compatible with practice, without being exactly sup- 
 posed erroneous. Hence it is not unfrequent, in 
 abstract argument, to hear certain principles freely 
 admitted by an individual, who would, perhaps, 
 within an hour after, shape his transactions on a 
 rule entirely different. The legislature should not 
 disregard this fact. Men's actual practice merits 
 more consideration than their most dispassionate 
 statements. The latter are too frequently shaped 
 to coincide merely with received notions ; and even 
 the most ingenuous will sooner run into this incon- 
 sistency, than seem behind the rest of the world in 
 knowledge. 
 
 In every trading community this remark stands 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 345 
 
 exemplified ; and, however partial testimony may 
 represent the contrary, I have reasons for believing 
 that I speak correctly when I assert, that in practice, 
 the wealth, the respectability, and the intelligence 
 of the City of London, are inimical to the removal 
 of adequate protecting duties, or the abandonment 
 of the restrictive system. The close relation sub- 
 sisting between this feeling and the general state 
 of credit is apparent ; and its ^indirect, though 
 widely spread operation should be numbered 
 among the chief incidents tending to destroy mer- 
 cantile confidence. It lays open individuals to be 
 influenced by every passing alarm ; and it is my 
 belief, that, but for it, the great run upon the banks 
 would not have been succeeded by the stagnation 
 now witnessed in many of our manufactures. Con- 
 sequent, then, on the adoption of the free trade 
 policy are two predominant effects : the one obvi- 
 ous — leading to a derangement of the foreign ex- 
 changes, and occasioning a drain of specie, which, 
 in a country where paper-money forms the principal 
 portion of the circulating medium, must unavoidably 
 prove disastrous ; the other concealed — but serv- 
 ing to strengthen and extend the evil, by creating 
 uncertainty and distrust. 
 
 Agreeably to the maxim of writers on finances, 
 the first should quickly pass over, and not in the 
 least degree obstruct manufacturing industry. If 
 our imports exceed our exports, the consequent 
 drain of specie should diminish the quantity of our 
 
346 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 currency, thus lower prices, and enable us to export 
 to a sufficient extent to preserve the balance of pay- 
 ments. If, for example, the balance of trade were 
 5 millions against us, and the amount of currency 
 65 millions ; and if a revulsion occurred, creating 
 a great demand for specie, by which the currency 
 became reduced 10 millions; this reduction, sup- 
 posing the country's dealings unaltered, would 
 lower the price of commodities, and this lower price 
 would tend to restore a proper equality between the 
 imports and the exports. Part of the currency 
 being paper, would occasion no difference in the 
 effects. Suppose it to consist of 15 millions coin, 
 and 40 millions bank-notes. Even presuming that 
 after the shock of credit a re-action should occur, so 
 that the supply of coin increased to 20 millions ; if 
 the bank-notes were reduced to 25 millions, there 
 would still be a reduction of 10 millions in the en- 
 tire currency, and this must have the effect of lower- 
 ing prices. When they are so lowered, it is very 
 true that an equality is brought about between the 
 imports and exports, but it is not occasioned by the 
 seeming cheapness enabling us to export more ; it 
 is by the falling off in consumption of foreign arti- 
 cles, by our inability to furnish equivalents for them 
 through the diminution of national prosperity. Let 
 us conceive a general state of prices prevailing in 
 the country, so that the manufacturer cannot obtain 
 a profit by the exportation of silks, for instance. Let 
 prices fall 10 per cent., and he will still be unable 
 
in dirranging Foreign Exchanges. 347 
 
 to realise a profit. No real difference will take 
 place as to the cost of producing these silks. It is 
 said they are cheaper ; but what is meant by their 
 being cheaper ? By being lower in value. Value 
 in what ? Here we shall, probably, have the several 
 standards again brought forward. I trust, however, 
 that I have shown the proper standard to be, the 
 aggregate of all commodities ; and as they have all 
 in the same degree as silks varied with relation to 
 the currency, (the measure by which they are com- 
 pared,) silk is intrinsically no cheaper than before. 
 The whole operation, then, of bringing about a 
 balance of trade, is effected by our diminished con- 
 sumption of foreign commodities. Those com- 
 modities continued to be imported so long as they 
 could be advantageously sold ; but when payment 
 for them occasioned a drain of specie, the necessary 
 effect was to contract the supply. To make this 
 point more clear, let us suppose the imports and the 
 exports of the country to be each 40 millions, and 
 that the change of system, and the introduction of 
 foreign goods increased the imports to 50 millions. 
 If a fall of 10 per cent, in prices then took place, 
 in the manner just described, these aggregate values 
 of the total imports and exports, estimated in money, 
 would be reduced from 40 and 50, to 36 and 45, 
 millions respectively. But this apparent cheapness 
 would not give a greater inducement to our manufac- 
 turers to increase their production, and extend our 
 exports from 36 millions to 45, or even to meet the 
 difference halfway, as is generally asserted. The 
 
348 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 adjustment must be brought about by the 45 millions 
 decreasing to the 36. It is obvious that there is no 
 alteration in the real and intrinsic value of our goods. 
 If we fancy them cheaper, and imagine that we can 
 sell more of them to foreigners, we shall be much 
 deceived. Foreigners, when those goods go 
 abroad, measure the value of them by their own 
 currency, in which there has been no variation, and 
 not by ours which has fluctuated. When, there- 
 fore, there has been in these goods no real alteration 
 in the cost of their production, how will they appear 
 cheaper to these foreigners, or why should they buy 
 more of them than they did before. A yard of linen 
 exchanges for a peck of wheat, a peck of wheat for 
 a pen-knife, and a pen-knife goes to France, and 
 exchanges for a gallon of brandy. What avails it 
 then, whether the linen, the wheat, or the knife, cost 
 one shilling or three, accordingly as they may be 
 estimated in the varying currency of England ? The 
 knife still exchanges for the gallon of brandy, there 
 being as much right to measure its value by the 
 presumed steady currency of France, as the fluc- 
 tuating one of England. ;. j.l 
 It is thus evident, that when we are unable to 
 compete with foreigners in our own market, either 
 from want of skill, natural disadvantages, or in- 
 trinsic (not money or nominal) dearness, through 
 which ensues a disproportionate importation, 
 equality of payment is afterwards produced by 
 diminished consumption. This diminished con- 
 sumption is not confined to the foreign articles so 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 349 
 
 entering into competition, but to the aggregate of 
 imports. Its practical operation is manifested in 
 the persons whose industry is superseded. In plain 
 terms, if an immense body of silk operators be 
 thrown out of employment, the balance of foreign 
 trade will be adjusted by their diminished con- 
 sumption — that is, by their distress. 
 
 So long as bank-notes are convertible into coin, 
 a re-action must very speedily follow a great drain 
 of specie ; and the effects here exhibited cannot be 
 far behind. 
 
 To avoid confusion, the imports have here been 
 presumed to be exactly equal to the exports in the 
 ordinary balance of trade ; but the reader knows 
 that there should always be an excess of the former, 
 which is the profit, or national gain. 
 
 It is intended by these views, to show how de- 
 lusive it is to suppose cheapness a benefit, when 
 proceeding from a deranged, scanty, or restricted 
 currency. When commerce is in a healthy state, 
 when our sources of production have fair play, when 
 our bank-notes are convertible into coin on demand, 
 the community being judiciously on the alert to 
 avail themselves of that convertibility, and when 
 the trade in bullion, of which coin is formed, is 
 perfectly free, there is little fear of our currency 
 becoming deranged ; nor indeed need we scarcely 
 trouble ourselves about it : its quantity, that is, the 
 amount of circulating medium which we denomi- 
 nate money, will adjust itself to the amount of the 
 country's dealings. Its value will be the same as 
 
350 Effects of precipitate Innovations 
 
 in foreign countries, making allowance for a slight 
 difference, varying in proportion to the distance and 
 facility of communication of the respective countries 
 with the mines. 
 
 No bolstering up of money, no vaunted recipe of 
 state empirics, will enable it by any management to 
 remedy a high cost of production. Limit it ; re- 
 duce its quantity from 50 millions to such a degree 
 that we may purchase a loaf of bread for a penny, 
 it would not enable a single additional yard of 
 cotton to be exported from the country. We may, 
 indeed, rest assured, that so long as a bank-note is 
 convertible into coin, prices are just where they 
 should be ; any probable over-issue in the country- 
 banks will not be on a scale sufficiently extensive, 
 either in amount, or in the range of their local cir- 
 culation, to produce a general depression ; and if 
 those prices indicate dearness, we must, to discover 
 its cause, turn our attention to some other source 
 than that of the currency. 
 
 From the foregoing views we acquire, further, 
 an insight into the actual process by which a 
 country, eminent in industry, is lowered from her 
 station by an impolitic commercial system. It was 
 stated in the preceding section, I presume without 
 dispute, that no nation was equal to impossibilities. 
 Though I have admitted, nay strongly contended, 
 that an active demand for imports chiefly indicates 
 prosperity, yet when those imports are greatly dis- 
 proportionate to the exports, they must give way ; 
 and it is all-important to reflect, that it is the bene- 
 
in deranging Foreign Exchanges. 351 
 
 ficial portion which gives way ; luxuries which ad- 
 minister to the comfort of our population. That 
 which has occasioned the excess of imports in the 
 first instance, or the introduction of foreign manufac- 
 tures superseding our own, probably, still continues. 
 
 The views in this section are of a nature both re- 
 trospective and prospective. 
 
 They are retrospective in showing to a certain 
 length the consummation of my principles, and 
 enabling me satisfactorily to point out an exemplifi- 
 cation of occurrences, bringing home to every man's 
 judgment the mode in which certain measures may 
 operate. 
 
 They are prospective, inasmuch as they serve 
 for a warning against further precipitate innova- 
 tions. Let the Free Trade system be adopted in 
 all its branches ; let corn pour in from foreign 
 ports ; and can any reasonable person, from the ex- 
 position given, have a doubt of its prodigious in- 
 fluence, in addition to other injurious effects, of 
 greatly deranging our foreign exchanges, and gra- 
 dually undermining the credit of the country, both 
 as regards our fellow- subjects, and in the eyes of 
 foreigners. 
 
 It may be said that all this may be prevented by 
 foreigners removing their heavy duties on the intro- 
 duction of our manufactures, to which it has been 
 the effect of tlie policy of Great Britain to give rise. 
 This is a distinct subject, and is now to be sepa- 
 rately considered. 
 
352 How far the Police/ of Foreign States 
 
 Section IX. 
 
 INQUIRY HOW FAR THE POLICY OF FOREIGN STATES IS 
 INFLUENCED BY A RESTRICTIVE SYSTEM ON THE PART 
 OF GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 " Heap on restrictions, and other nations will reta- 
 liate ! " Such is the favourite exclamation em- 
 ployed to show how a short-sighted policy, as it is 
 termed, fails in its object, and circumscribes in- 
 dustry, instead of protecting it. In treaties of com- 
 merce between independent states, two parties 
 must concur ; if, therefore, we adopt the exclusive 
 system, other nations will resort to counter-regula- 
 tions to meet it, and these, it is affirmed, must be 
 detrimental to the sum of British industry. Let 
 not the least apprehension prevail ; — foreign go- 
 vernments will assuredly discover, sooner or later, 
 the true theory of commerce. It will then be per- 
 ceived that all that has been here written applies 
 with inverse effect to most of the countries of Eu- 
 rope. When, for example, France imposes heavy 
 duties on British manufactures, who is the chief 
 sufferer ? Unquestionably France herself. She ob- 
 structs her facility of acquiring the only advantages 
 England possesses over her, those of capital and 
 machinery ; and protracts, indefinitely, the period 
 when her cheap labour would work its powerful 
 
is influenced by our Restrictive System . 35S 
 
 influence in giving her a preponderance, were com- 
 petition free. At the first, some of her manufac- 
 turers might suffer, but she must ultimately either 
 gain ground, or the habits of her people must im- 
 prove, and approach to the English standard. In 
 either case she reaps the chief advantage. This 
 reasoning will be found to bear in every case which 
 can be assumed ; and, to give a practical illustra- 
 tion, could but foreign governments behold the rapid 
 success with which the North of Ireland has latterly 
 emulated in its manufactures those of Scotland, 
 and many districts of England, they would perceive 
 the utility and the value of free communication. 
 Since the repeal of the Union duties, those very 
 manufactures, which it was at one time deemed so 
 essential to protect, have made more progress than 
 they did for twenty years previous. Indeed, no 
 truth in politics can be established with greater cer- 
 tainty than this, that in free intercourse between a 
 rich and a poor country, the latter derives, beyond 
 comparison, the chief advantage. She has not the 
 shadow of excuse for levying a single fraction in the 
 nature of protecting duty. 
 
 Well, indeed, might M. Say endeavour to en- 
 lighten his countrymen, and remove the apprehen- 
 sion of suffering from free intercourse with a country 
 so well calculated to excite exertion, assiduity, and 
 enterprise. The grounds on which benefits would 
 accrue, are perhaps different from those contem- 
 plated by M. Say, but still the result would be the 
 
354 How far the Policy of Foreigfi States 
 
 same, a quickening improvement in France, united 
 with a spirit of emulation which would impel her 
 forward with a celerity unknown in any period of 
 her history. Even in those parts of Normandy most 
 visited by the English, there is a discernible supe- 
 riority over the rest of the population ; but it is 
 active commerce, leading to rapid and frequent com- 
 munication, which affords, to an inferior country, 
 the opportunity of imitating the customs and in- 
 stitutions of a superior. Many intelligent men 
 engaged in business in France, are sensible of this 
 truth. A short time ago, M. Ternaux published a 
 letter, which was copied into most of our public 
 prints, stating that, in his opinion, no grounds 
 existed to prevent an extended reciprocity of com- 
 merce between the two countries. This eminent 
 manufacturer knew well that neither he nor his 
 country would lose by the event. Those who have 
 frequently visited England, and who have had time 
 to investigate the details of many manufactures as 
 they are conducted with us, are generally possessed 
 with the same sentiments. In the aggregate, how- 
 ever, it cannot be denied, that greater jealousy and 
 narrowness of ideas are evinced by Frenchmen, in 
 the closeness and mystery with which their concerns 
 are managed, than distinguish Englishmen ; but 
 this does not militate against the opinions of those 
 who have moved more at large, and who feel con- 
 vinced that they can compete with us successfully. 
 That candour and openness in traffic which cha- 
 
is injluenced by our Restrictive System. 355 
 
 racterize the British merchant is only attained to 
 by experience, and prevails exclusively in the great 
 mart, where dealings are extensive, and conse- 
 quently confine men's attention to their own affairs. 
 It is fallacious, therefore, to take the local feeling in 
 some districts of France, for proof that England is 
 most interested in establishing freedom of trade. 
 After all, probably manufacturers are not the best 
 judges, because the benefit lies, not in the sale of a 
 few yards more of this or that article, but in the 
 general example of industry which is presented by 
 a rich country, being better known and appreciated 
 from frequent intercourse. Experience will soon 
 teach this to the continental nations ; and I would 
 hazard the opinion, that much more anxiety is en- 
 tertained on the score of retaliation than can be in 
 any degree warranted. 
 
 That much common advantage would result from 
 a commercial treaty framed on equitable principles 
 may fairly be conceded ; but its spirit should en- 
 tirely relate to a better developement of the phy- 
 sical peculiarities of each country respectively. 
 On these grounds, the views of Mr. Pitt, as given 
 in his speech in 1786, relative to the treaty with 
 France, appear liberal, comprehensive, and politic. 
 " Having," as this celebrated statesman observed, 
 " each its own staple, having each that which the 
 other wanted, and not clashing in the great and 
 leading lines of their respective riches, they were 
 like two great traders in different branches ; they 
 
 2 A2 
 
356 How far the Policy of Foreign States 
 
 might enter into a traffic which would prove mutu- 
 ally and greatly beneficial." If our abundant 
 supply of coal, and our riches in mineral ore, thus 
 give us great advantage in certain manufactures ; 
 and if, on the other hand, the genial climate of 
 France produces wines, brandies, and oil ; who 
 would, for a moment, resist the interchange? the 
 benefit is conspicous at a single glance. But from 
 what quarter should the advances originate ? This 
 is now the point to which we have to attend. From 
 what has been stated, I apprehend that this side of 
 the channel is not the most interested. Our better 
 constitution, our pre-eminence in science, it is 
 argued, should prompt us to take the lead. This 
 is very fine, no doubt, and admirably specious — 
 but it may well be questioned if the point is best 
 attainable by a morbid zeal, or if it display real 
 political wisdom to solicit another to accept greater 
 advantage than she can possibly confer in return. 
 England should not refuse her aid to advance other 
 countries, so long as the welfare of the human race 
 is promoted, even though it may cause some dimi- 
 nution of her relative importance ; but I cannot 
 see that she should needlessly and officiously travel 
 with it to other nations, when it is a boon for which 
 they should themselves apply. 
 
 It has been said that our pre-eminence is arti- 
 ficial ; if by this it is meant, that it is an insecure 
 fabric, reared on an unsound foundation, I must 
 contest the assertion; but if it is implied that 
 
is xnjiuenced by our Restrictive System. 357 
 
 it consists of peculiar possessions and attributes 
 which cannot be laid open without risk and injury, 
 I uphold its truth. The spirit of equality is abroad ; 
 the individual advantage of nations is maintained to 
 be the advantage of all ; and industry is likened to 
 the gentle dew of heaven which descends to nourish 
 and to invigorate every country. 
 
 There is about this sentiment an imposing air 
 of liberality which makes many converts. Asso- 
 ciated also with the apparent philanthropy are 
 certain notions regarding the uniformity and the 
 universal principles of labour. It is their very 
 essence to suppose its reward alike in all places. 
 Which, then, has the greater claim to be lauded for 
 benevolence ? Is it the party which, with iron- 
 hearted speculation, esteems our fellow-man as a 
 mere spinning-engine — calculating the utmost point 
 to which his labour can stretch, and regarding, with 
 callous indifference, his privations, so he but render 
 the required tale of yards of calico ; or is it that which 
 looks upon the humblest of our citizens as of the 
 same species with the loftiest, and which upholds 
 the humane maxim, that if each day bring increased 
 gratification to ourselves, there should be prescribed 
 no immoveable standard nor impassable barrier to 
 curtail the enjoyment of the labourer ? 
 
ii59 
 
 PART III. 
 
 ON THE PROPER POLICY OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 Section I. 
 
 CURRENCY. 
 
 The state of uncertainty in which every branch 
 of business is involved, by derangement in money 
 transactions, plainly calls our first attention to the 
 investigation of means designed to counteract the 
 evil. The landlord finds difficulty in collecting his 
 rents ; the merchant is obstructed in the prosecution 
 of his accustomed pursuits : the colonial proprietor 
 finds, from unforeseen causes, that his produce is 
 dull of sale ; and the poor man, amid the general 
 despondency, not only suffers from the embarrass- 
 ment and the failure of those with whom he is con- 
 nected, but finds himself deprived of employment. 
 The eyes of all classes are, therefore, turned to the 
 legislature for relief; but it is, unfortunately, less 
 the province of legislation to relieve distress than to 
 prevent it. The important functions which credit 
 performs in every great commercial country, have 
 more than once been exemplified ; it is, in fact, the 
 soul of commerce ; but it is not to be upheld by 
 
360 Currency. 
 
 sickly expedients ; it must diffuse itself with ex- 
 pansive and elastic force, promptly and spontane- 
 ously invigorating every department of industry ; 
 and as its restoration is the grand object to be 
 attained, one or two considerations present them- 
 selves as more particularly deserving the attention 
 of the higher classes, which, with the utmost defer- 
 ence, I here submit. 
 
 No matter how gratifying it may be to any 
 statesman to have his own views engrafted on any 
 system of commercial policy, he may be assured 
 that all will prove inefficacious, unless the instru- 
 ments with which he has to work — unless, in a word, 
 the trading classes themselves think with him. 
 What avails the finest and most luminous harangue 
 of the legislator, if they who alone are practically 
 concerned disregard it, and in their individual 
 transactions, which collectively make up the sum of 
 national trade, are guided by opposite sentiments. 
 It is a common practice with some writers, whose 
 presumption may be said to outrun their judgment, 
 to denounce the ignorance of traders, and to 
 maintain that their views are too contracted to merit 
 the compliment of notice in any enlarged measure of 
 commercial legislation. There is but little of Lord 
 Bacon's notion of wisdom here conspicuous. It is, 
 undoubtedly, the business of judicious legislators to 
 enlighten the community at large ; but it is possible 
 to hold the torch so high as to leave those bewil- 
 dered in darkness, whose steps it was intended to 
 
Currency. 
 
 direct. Possessed with these sentiments, the task 
 before us is somewhat simplified. Regulations of 
 the currency relate either to measures to place it on 
 a permanent footing, or to temporary expedients 
 designed to counteract particular abuses. The 
 consideration of these differs greatly ; for sometimes 
 it may be inexpedient at a particular moment to 
 introduce that which is in principle perfectly cor- 
 rect. Regarding thus the permanent basis of our 
 currency, the popular voice calls out for a metallic 
 circulating medium, and the popular voice, whether 
 founded in prejudice or not, assuredly in this instance 
 should be obeyed. Previously to inquiring into the 
 precise mode and time of its proper introed induc- 
 tion, it may not be amiss to notice the grounds of ob- 
 jection advanced by two classes, usually very much 
 opposed in their sentiments upon commercial matters. 
 The abstract economists object to a large supply 
 of coin on the plea of expense ! Independently of 
 Mint charges, a large sum absorbed for the purpose 
 of circulating commodities is deemed so much taken 
 from the productive capital of the country ; and if 
 the rate of profit be 10 per cent., then an injury to 
 the extent of 10 per cent, on the amount of coin in 
 circulation is sustained. It is easily seen, that this 
 opinion supposes an universal disposition to em- 
 ploy the capital of the country in productive in- 
 dustry up to its entire amount. It is inherently 
 and radically dependent upon those peculiar notions 
 of production which distinguish this sect, and which. 
 
362 Currency. 
 
 if erroneous, equally invalidate the axiom here in- 
 culcated. If 10 per cent, profit be nationally lost 
 on the amount of coin in circulation, it must follow 
 that if paper currency were substituted, the whole 
 amount of that coin must then be employed in 
 manufactures, or other branches of production ; 
 which is plainly rejecting the consideration of cor- 
 responding demand. I do not pretend to say, that 
 a metallic currency is not expensive ; or that the 
 government might not derive a revenue from taking 
 the banking business into its own hands, after 
 the manner of Mr. Ricardo's projected national 
 bank ; but I do distinctly deny the sweeping asser- 
 tion, that it is a loss to the nation of the prevailing 
 rate of profit upon the entire amount of gold in 
 circulation. Some loss there certainly is, to which 
 are to be added the Mint charges, amounting on 
 gold, according to Mr. Mushet, to one-half per cent. 
 Against this we have to oppose the satisfaction 
 testified by all parties ; the security against risk, 
 embarrassment, or calamity; and above all, the 
 protection afforded to the lower orders against 
 accidental failures : benefits so signal, as to over- 
 rule the plea of expense, in support of a contrary 
 measure. Neither does there seem any reason 
 why a seignorage should not be exacted to defray 
 the expense of coinage. As was very properly 
 observed, a person who is possessed of bullion, 
 and desires it shaped into any utensil, has to pay 
 the expense of working ; so if he wish it converted 
 
Currency. 3G3 
 
 into coin he should equally bear the charge in- 
 curred. 
 
 In regard to any device that may be employed to 
 obtain the advantage of paper money, as that of 
 paying notes in stamped bars of bullion, and at the 
 same time to provide against those vicissitudes which 
 are of continual occurrence in the political world, 
 it is to be apprehended that much difficulty must 
 be experienced. Mr. Tooke has most satisfactorily 
 demonstrated, that the supply of bullion contemplated 
 by Mr. Ricardo and acquiesced in by Mr. M'Cul- 
 loch, as sufficient to remain in coffer under the plan 
 of paying notes not in coin but in bullion at once, 
 would be inadequate, and under many possible, 
 if not very probable, contingencies might lead to 
 a recurrence of the panic similar to that just wit- 
 nessed. If, then, a large supply of bullion be at 
 all times imperatively required, why not indulge 
 the popular predilection, and directly resort to coin 
 in its place. 
 
 The other objection against metallic currency 
 proceeds from the Agriculturists. They are fearful 
 of prices falling, not perhaps sufficiently examining 
 how their interests would be affected, even if they 
 did. A little reflection, however, teaches us, that 
 this apprehension on the part of the agriculturist is 
 far from surprising. Writers on finance have de- 
 claimed so much about high and low prices, that 
 they must have tinged the rest of the community 
 with their prepossessions. It not unfrequently hap- 
 
364 Currency. 
 
 pens, that where an individual is well versed in 
 any particular branch of study, and has devoted 
 to it much of his attention, he is prone to display 
 his acquirements on all occasions, and, consequently, 
 much more than necessary. It is said of Michael 
 Angelo, that his consummate knovs^ledge of anatomy 
 prompted him to delineate too strongly the anato- 
 mical developement of his subjects, and thus to 
 overstep those bounds of correct keeping required 
 by his art. If I may be allowed the parallel, I 
 would venture to remark, that with politicians both 
 in and out of Parliament, there is in principle a 
 similar disposition to thrust forward the question 
 we are now considering, that of the currency, to 
 illustrate much of the phenomena continually ap- 
 pearing in a highly-civilized society, while in re- 
 ality widely different branches of political economy 
 must determine its solution. Wheat cannot rise 
 \0s. a quarter, but we see some wiseacre plump- 
 ing down on the prolific currency as the cause ; 
 nor can a statement appear in the periodical press 
 shewing a deficiency in the quantity of dollars ex- 
 ported to the East, without some other ingenious 
 theorist expatiating on the probable fall in value 
 of the precious metals in Europe. In the discussion 
 of the subject of Foreign Exchange, I endeavoured 
 to shew, that virtually there was little fluctuation 
 in the value of the precious metals ; that in common 
 language, dearness or cheapness proceeded gene- 
 rally from other causes than variations in the cur- 
 
Currency. 365 
 
 rency, and what indeed scarcely requires elucidation, 
 that a supply of paper-money must not only be great 
 in itself, but much greater in proportion than the or- 
 dinary dealings of the country to cause a rise in prices. 
 The converse of the proposition will hold equally ; 
 and to lower prices, the supply of coin must be ina- 
 dequate to the ordinary dealings of the country. Is 
 it, then, to be expected that this deficiency should 
 occur I The answer, I presume, must be in the ne- 
 gative ; for bullion, through the transactions of trade, 
 must flow into the country like any other commo- 
 dity ; it must bear the same relation in England as 
 in other countries ; and its value would be such, that 
 if ever there were a disposition for prices to fall, 
 there would be an immediate inducement for indi- 
 viduals to carry bullion to the Mint to get it con- 
 verted into coin. There is, indeed, a manifest in- 
 consistency in most of those who are apprehensive 
 of low prices. When defending the country-paper 
 issues they deny the evil imputed to them, that of 
 raising prices ; yet when measures are agitated re- 
 garding the control of those issues, they object, on 
 the score of their lowering prices. Both opinions 
 cannot certainly be correct; and as I do not, of 
 course, allude to temporary and local difficulties in 
 payment of rents, but to the permanent principle of 
 the measure, I feel httle hesitation m avowing my 
 conviction, that no part of the agricultural body 
 would sustain the smallest inconvenience from a 
 metallic currency. When, indeed, we reflect that 
 
366 Currency. 
 
 in the two most populous districts of the kingdom 
 small notes are unknown, it seems a waste of words 
 to confute the idle apprehensions entertained from 
 the projected suppression of the most objectionable 
 description of country paper. The metropolis, and 
 the county of Lancashire, have not been inundated 
 with one and two-pound notes, and still we witness 
 none of the imagined evils ; no deficiency of credit, 
 nor one of those prognostications of ruinous depres- 
 sion which seem conjured up by particular parties to 
 frustrate the wishes of the people at large, and to 
 prevent their recurring to that legitimate measure of 
 value which all other civilized nations have adopted. 
 
 Having said so much regarding the permanent 
 principle of the measure, the question next arising 
 is, as to the time of introducing it, and the specific 
 mode to be employed, to create as little convulsion 
 or alarm as possible. It will be understood, that 
 when I speak of adopting a metallic currency, I 
 regard it in the sense at present understood through- 
 out the country, and mean simply the suppression 
 of bank-notes under 5/. : any further amendment in 
 the banking-system belongs to a separate inquiry. 
 
 It is amply proved, in all the affairs of life, that 
 when any great mischief befalls, an immediate cla- 
 mour is raised against the system, without attending 
 to the important consideration that that outcry comes 
 too late to remedy the evil by a change, and that 
 such a change being entirely shaped with a view to 
 the future, the degree in which its adoption becomes 
 
Currency. Q&J 
 
 urgent is solely dependent upon the greater or less 
 probability of a speedy recurrence of the evil. As 
 a consequence of the recent panic, all classes cry 
 out for a change ; and there can be little doubt of 
 the legislature being violently beset with claims for 
 its immediate interference. Many plans have been 
 proposed ; some to restrict the issues of the coun- 
 try-banks, some to put them entirely under the sur- 
 veillance of government; others again, to curtail 
 the privilege of the Bank of England ; but all tend- 
 ing to the most serious changes in our monetary 
 system. Amid this tide of feeling I shall subject 
 myself, I fear, to much animadversion, when I 
 pronounce it as my opinion, that, so early as the 
 present session of Parliament, nothing should be 
 done. Such, however, after every examination 
 which I am capable of giving to the question, is my 
 thorough conviction ; and it remains to state the 
 grounds on which it is founded. 
 
 In the first place, it is certainly evident, that if the 
 mischief proceeded from the large issues of the coun- 
 try-banks, there is no probability of that event again 
 occurring for at least a very considerable period. 
 Those of them which have weathered the storm will 
 continue circumspect ; and not only does the reason- 
 able appearance of things induce us to this belief, 
 but in reality confidence is gradually restoring, as 
 to this peculiar branch of business ; and if there be 
 increasing stagnation in the mercantile world, it no 
 longer originates from this cause. Notes issued 
 by responsible hrms are not inherently pernicious, 
 
368 Ourrency. 
 
 it is only the excess of them ; and, though the diffi- 
 culty of providing against that excess is such as, on 
 the broad principle, to justify the adoption of a me- 
 tallic currency, yet so long as there is no danger of 
 this excess actually recurring, or having a tendency 
 to recur, surely the interval will be better employed 
 in temperately and thoroughly digesting plans for 
 that eventual law, to which all persons may look for- 
 ward for years together, as the guide of their con- 
 duct, than in precipitately employing expedients 
 which may be reversed within two or three sessions. 
 In Ireland the banking system, for a long period, 
 was more vicious than in any other part of the em- 
 pire. In 1820 a most violent convulsion took place, 
 the number of banks which remained solvent by no 
 means equalling those which failed. Yet though a 
 considerable time has elapsed since that season of 
 calamity, imprudence was so effectually checked, 
 that no mischief or inconvenience of any kind has 
 subsequently arisen. Judging from analogy, I 
 should infer that in England those banks which had 
 not adequate funds for their business have been 
 swept off, so that we need not calculate on another 
 violent shock for several years ; nor imagine that 
 people will be so heedlessly lavish of their faith as to 
 encourage the growth of unstable establishments. 
 One of the chief circumstances occasioning misap- 
 prehension is the feeling generally prevalent, and, 
 indeed, avowed in a high quarter, that the continu- 
 ance of the distress, after the panic, is attributable 
 to the currency, and that all other considerations are 
 
Currency. 369 
 
 foreign to the question. Whether this be the case 
 or not, I think it can be shown that immediate le- 
 gislation is impolitic. It is generally admitted that 
 the predisposing cause of the agitation consisted in 
 the rage for speculation. Now this speculation 
 acted intrinsically from a feeling exerted by itself, 
 or it was superinduced by innovations in our mer- 
 cantile policy. Is the former affirmed? then all 
 allow that it must pass by, and leave, unimpaired, 
 the national vigour with that virtual essence which 
 supports our industry, and which requires not the 
 forced aid of government to operate its cure. Is the 
 latter supposed, or are there even any doubts upon 
 the subject ? then surely it would be better to sift 
 those doubts — to search minutely into the primary 
 causes of the whole movement ; lest, by proceeding 
 on false premises, the legislature may incur the in- 
 dignity of having its wisdom disputed. On these 
 grounds I advocate delay, convinced that it is 
 beyond the reach of the profoundest statesman to 
 master the subject with the imperfect data presented 
 for his guidance. One argument, indeed, which 
 has. been urged, merits attention. It is said that in 
 the present peculiar juncture it will be more easy to 
 accomplish a change than at any other time ; be- 
 cause men's minds being agitated, if not exaspe- 
 rated, against an alleged abuse of banking, impa- 
 tient haste will lead them to acquiesce in any 
 regulation to subvert at once a vicious institution. 
 I feel assured that such a course will never be re- 
 
 2 B 
 
370 Currency. 
 
 sorted to by the present administration. They who 
 have so often borne the country victoriously through 
 her struggles, and the result of whose councils will 
 be handed down to future generations as vying in 
 wisdom with the most illustrious era of our history, 
 would never have it said that they made their mea- 
 sures subserve to the times, and preferred what was 
 easy to what was proper. It is most certain that 
 there will always be parties to raise objections ; at 
 some future period, in all probability, the number of 
 such objections would be greater than at present ; 
 but if one period be demonstrably more proper than 
 another, that period should assuredly be selected, 
 unrestrained by any pretext of difficulty. 
 
 With regard to further measures for the improve- 
 ment of our banking system, lately promulgated in 
 a variety of shapes, I am constrained to acknow- 
 ledge that I cannot exactly approve of them. The 
 plan of making all bankers give security to the go- 
 vernment is a sweeping expedient, and I hope I am 
 not introducing an irrelevant idea, when I assert that 
 it could never have originated with a friend to civil 
 liberty. To put the government into the character 
 of a vast creditor upon every branch of the most re- 
 spectable, the most essential, and the most delicate 
 of all employments in trade ; to subject it to a clash- 
 ing with individuals in many legal transactions, or in 
 the case of accidental failure ; to give, in fine, an in- 
 quisitorial power to sit on the most invidious of all 
 investigations, that of property, would, indeed, be 
 
Currency. 371 
 
 to purchase a secure currency at a fearful cost. Be- 
 sides, does it at all appear that the chief object 
 would be accomplished? Excess of issues may- 
 take place, either as relates to the solvency of the 
 banking establishment, or as overstepping the pur- 
 poses of trade. It is the latter that has, in a na- 
 tional point of view, to be chiefly guarded against. 
 Where then is the guarantee that this will not occur? 
 Is it not more probable that the banks, relying on 
 the public confidence of their security, would each, 
 for the sake of obtaining the utmost profit, push 
 their issues to such an extent as might lead to the 
 total disappearance of gold, the preservation of 
 which is held so desirable. 
 
 The proposal to abridge the privileges of the 
 Bank of England to the limit of sixty-five miles 
 round the metropolis, and to establish branch or 
 joint- stock banks throughout the kingdom, has un- 
 doubtedly many arguments in its favour. The 
 statement given by Lord Liverpool and the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer, in their communication to 
 the Bank, that trade in the kingdom had so increased, 
 as that one single corporation was no longer ade- 
 quate to its money transactions, appears at first view 
 quite unanswerable ; but I would submit that one 
 grave consideration presents itself on the opposite 
 side. Competition in banking is not like competi- 
 tion in anything else. When two manufacturers op- 
 pose each other, the public may expect to derive 
 an advantage, either in greater abundance or greater 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 Currency. 
 
 cheapness of their particular goods ; but in money 
 we do not require beyond a specific quantity, nor 
 do we seek it cheap; we require merely appro- 
 priate adaptation of means to facilitate and main- 
 tain the commercial dealings of the country. All that 
 strict and harmonious dependence of one class upon 
 another in the trading world, which inspires faith and 
 is the regulator of credit, can be clearly traced through 
 every subordinate channel to some original source, 
 which should not, in a detached sense, be regarded 
 as an instrument of commerce, but rather as a great 
 national depository, identified with the stability 
 and the existence of the state. Such, in fact, will 
 ever be required, if we hope to preserve the energy 
 and the activity of our commerce, or if we wish that 
 England should be regarded by the other European 
 nations as a place of security in which to lodge 
 their wealth against emergency abroad. Respon- 
 sibility must thus exist on a great scale ; and as it 
 is notorious that foreigners repose confidence in 
 British monied institutions, chiefly because they are 
 under the direction and control of private merchants 
 largely interested in their support, and not under 
 that of government, the question is, how that respon-' 
 sibility at the fountain-head of credit should best work 
 and be most efficaciously exerted? In my opinion, 
 unity and singleness of purpose are by far the most 
 essential ingredients — of such importance, indeed, 
 as greatly to overbalance any local or other disad- 
 vantage. Is there a single court-day of the Bank of 
 
Currency. 373 
 
 England in which the directors do not feel assured 
 that the eyes of the whole community are upon 
 them ; and must not such a consciousness impart to 
 their proceedings some caution, as well as induce 
 an attention to the public good ? Those who are 
 hostile to the Bank seem entirely to forget that an 
 institution of some such nature is no longer a matter 
 of choice ; there is absolute necessity for some 
 extensive establishment to manage the public secu- 
 rities and other vast money transactions ; and the 
 very nature of that management must give rise to 
 such influence and operation as, under every modi- 
 fication, to be regarded as a leading index in deter- 
 mining the extent of mercantile transactions. The 
 admission of this point is material, for it shows that 
 no matter how you may control the mere issue of 
 notes, some other functions, as respects the giving 
 the tone to general credit, still remain ; and if re- 
 sponsibility to public opinion be weakened, those 
 functions may be exerted more profitably to the 
 Bank while more perniciously to the public. We 
 should not contemplate single errors or minor in- 
 conveniences ; but I would merely propose one ques- 
 tion : Has the Bank, in any of those critical situa- 
 tions in which it has been placed, ever availed itself 
 to the extent of the means within its power, for 
 realizing profit, regardless of the public interests ? 
 But if its privilege be divided with others, will it 
 not then justifiably do so ; and further, is it in the 
 power of government (some such institution being. 
 
374 Currency. 
 
 for Ihe reasons stated, deemed absolutely necessary) 
 to restrain this disposition? The proprietors of 
 the Bank must then conceive themselves circum- 
 stanced like any ordinary corporation, and, indiffer- 
 ent to public opinion, compete with other establish- 
 ments as to which should make most money. 
 Discretionary powers, we may be assured, must 
 rest somewhere, as to the supply of money and 
 credit in the present condition of England; and 
 though I acknowledge that a prodigious power is 
 reposed in so limited a number as that of the Bank 
 Directors, yet I cannot see how that power is to 
 be divided without greater mischief. 
 
 I should moreover add, that if we contemplate the 
 suppression of all notes under 5/., and the substitu- 
 tion of a metallic currency in their place, the alleged 
 inconvenience, of the Bank of England being in- 
 adequate to transact all the business required of it, 
 will no longer exist. The evil desired to be cor- 
 rected, is, that of existing regulations preventing the 
 establishment of banks on so secure a footing as 
 they otherwise would be throughout the country, 
 and the consequent suffering entailed on the rest of 
 the community in case of failures. It has been 
 usual to dwell on the effects of these failures to the 
 poor, as a leading argument in favour of joint- stock 
 banks ; but if all notes under 5/. be suppressed, the 
 poor man can scarcely run any risk ; and for those 
 other persons transacting business with the Bank, 
 they may be presumed to possess more accurate 
 
Currency, 375 
 
 information, and if they repose faith where faitli is 
 unmerited, they have to blame their own credulity. 
 I do not pretend to deny that the country-banks are 
 too numerous ; good might certainly arise from a 
 combination of several into one ; but in viewing the 
 establishment of joint-stock banks, coupled with the 
 proposed infringement of the privilege of the Bank 
 of England, I fear that the result must be a prepon- 
 derance of evil over good. 
 
 In closing this subject, I must again express my 
 belief, that commercial distress is too often attri- 
 buted to the currency. What is required to invi- 
 gorate the arm of industry, is, confidence ; and to 
 restore it, requires a process very different from 
 that of discussing our banking system. It has been 
 asserted, that as distress pervaded all classes, it 
 was a striking proof that it did not originate from 
 alterations in commerce, they only affecting par- 
 ticular classes. An opposite conclusion, however, 
 may be drawn. All traffic consists in barter. If 
 two men each produce a certain article, and their 
 dependence is solely on an exchange with each 
 other, if one loses the means of procuring, the traffic 
 of necessity ceases, and the other equally suffers. 
 The enlargement of this simple case exemplifies 
 the whole of the relations of commerce, and it is 
 easy to apply its illustration to the loudly-deplored 
 distress existing in England. If the silk trade ex- 
 tended to the prodigious amount stated by the 
 manufacturers in their petitions to Parliament, and 
 
376 Currency. 
 
 if the consequent privation be to the extent asserted 
 in the claim of the sufferers on public charity, the 
 diminished consumption of the several classes con- 
 cerned must severely press upon those who sup- 
 plied them ; and these being thus deprived of the 
 ability to make their accustomed exchanges, others 
 are involved in their embarrassment — thus, like a 
 body rolling onward through adhesive elements, 
 each advance augments its magnitude in fearful 
 proportion, and threatens to overwhelm all within 
 its track, unless its progress be arrested. 
 
377 
 
 Section II. 
 
 CORN LAWS. 
 
 When a nation attains a high state of civilization, 
 a rigid adherence to one great virtue is the only 
 course which can tend to mollify hostile interests, 
 and preserve the sacred union of the social compact. 
 Justice is the splendid attribute which should grow 
 with a nation's growth, and compensate for the 
 gradual decay and abolition of those virtues which 
 distinguished the primitive ages. To no other plea 
 should the community listen, and on no other ground 
 should the agriculturists attempt their defence. In 
 the preceding part of this work, the injury conse- 
 quent on the removal of restrictions was pointed 
 out, it is now proper to inquire to what extent the 
 agriculturists should be protected, together with the 
 mode best adapted to its accomplishment. 
 
 The extent of protection rests, in principle, upon 
 a very simple basis ; like as in other employments, 
 it should be determined by the amount in which the 
 natural rate of labour in Great Britain exceeds other 
 countries in Europe, taken in conjunction with our 
 heavier taxation. This can only be ascertained by 
 a careful investigation of such tables as those given 
 in the early part of this work ; and after a minute 
 
378 Corn- Laws. 
 
 inspection, I am of opinion that the present schedule 
 of duties is not very far from a fair and equitable 
 adjustment. The average price of wheat in France 
 is said to be 40*. a quarter, I put it, then, to the 
 candour, the judgment, and the justice, of the rest 
 of the community, if, considering the extent in which 
 immediate labour enters into the production of 
 corn, and the amount of tithes, poor-rates, and gene- 
 ral taxes in England, if the present price of 65*. to 
 67*. be very unreasonable ? The great argument, 
 deemed, in the higher political circles, justificatory 
 of the change, rests on the remission of duties which 
 has taken place within the last few years. Inde- 
 pendently of the income tax, there has been the 
 agricultural horse tax, entirely taken off, an abate- 
 ment in the malt and spirit duties, with many others 
 of a general nature, in all amounting to upwards of 
 17 millions. 
 
 It is, therefore, maintained, that if the agricul- 
 turists were content with the protection as last 
 enacted, which they claimed on the plea of heavier 
 taxation, the conclusion is surely irrefragable, that 
 the relief can no longer be demanded when the 
 burden is removed. On the contrary, the protec- 
 tion has every right to be diminished in the propor- 
 tion in which the taxes have been remitted. 
 
 To this the agriculturists reply, that the remission 
 of taxes has chiefly benefitted the consumer, and 
 has lowered, in a degree, but trifling, the cost of 
 production. Tithes and poor-rates, which bear 
 
Corn-Laws. 379 
 
 almost exclusively on their class, still remain, and 
 therefore warrant the continuance of liberal protec- 
 tion. 
 
 I partly concur in both of these statements, but 
 I am bound in candour to say, that, restricting the 
 argument to the views originally maintained by the 
 agriculturists themselves, the former appears to me 
 to preponderate. If protection amounting to up- 
 wards of 30^. a quarter was granted, on the ground 
 of excess of taxation in England over other coun- 
 tries, so very large a reduction of taxes as 17 mil- 
 lions, either taken generally or otherwise, must^ 
 remove a considerable portion of that excess, and 
 would furnish, therefore, indisputable grounds for 
 greatly lowering the scale on which such protection 
 was required. But I conceive that taxation, though 
 an important, is not the main, plea upon which the 
 agriculturists should rely. Remove both tithes and 
 poor-rates, and they, as well as the silk manufac- 
 turers, can still put in claims for protection. 
 
 To afford some idea how little the remission of 
 taxes has affected the leading elements which deter- 
 mine the cost of corn, I shall lay before the reader 
 the total expense of cultivating 100 acres, as stated 
 by the Agricultural Board : — 
 
 IS IS. f. s. d. 
 
 Rent . . 161 12 7| 
 
 Tithe . . 38 17 3^ 
 
 Wear and tear 31 a 10^ 
 
 Carryforward £231 12 9| 
 
380 
 
 Corn-Laws. 
 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 £231 12 
 
 H 
 
 Labour 
 
 161 12 
 
 iH 
 
 Seed 
 
 98 17 
 
 10 
 
 Manure 
 
 37 7 
 
 oi 
 
 Team 
 
 134 19 
 
 H 
 
 Rates 
 
 38 19 
 
 H 
 
 Interest 
 
 50 5 
 
 6 
 
 Taxes 
 
 18 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 £771 16 
 
 34 
 
 If rent be excluded, on the ground of not pro- 
 perly entering into the cost of production, immediate 
 labour is seen to be, beyond comparison, the chief 
 item of expense. Besides the direct amount placed 
 opposite to it in the above statement, a little reflec- 
 tion shows how essentially it enters into most of the 
 other charges. The seed naturally depends upon 
 the cost of producing it in the first instance, and in- 
 creases or diminishes in price with the rise or fall 
 of labour. The expense of the team is dependent 
 upon the cost of agricultural produce, in the feed of 
 horses, and is therefore equally influenced by the 
 rate of labour. The same is, to a certain degree, 
 the case with manure. Suppose labour to be de- 
 creased 50/. ; the other three items are reduced, if 
 not in a corresponding proportion, at least in a de- 
 gree very nearly approaching to it ; and when those 
 several amounts are added together, they form nearly 
 five-sixths of the entire cost. It is easy from this 
 to perceive how very little is saved to the farmer by 
 any reduction of taxes which has taken place since 
 
Corn-Laws. 381 
 
 the peace. The whole amount of the direct contri- 
 bution comes but to 18/. \s. 4d. If we even sup- 
 pose it reduced one-half, the benefit will still be 
 such a comparative trifle as scarcely to claim con- 
 sideration. The poor's- rates and tithes still remain 
 nearly the same, and if we turn to the expenditure 
 of the labourer, the real amount of relief extended to 
 him is still further below what is generally ima- 
 gined, or would be, at first sight, conceived. The 
 quantity of soap used in a labourer's family costs 
 Id. weekly, on which the diminution of duty does 
 not exceed OJd. The amount for beer is put down 
 at 0\d. Now, though the retail price seems to have 
 undergone but little variation, let the reduction be 
 estimated at 2d. a week, and this, to the labourer, it 
 certainly does not exceed. Salt may, perhaps, be 
 taken IJd., and leather, with all remaining reduc- 
 tions, at Id. more. The gross amount of this relief 
 is bd. per week, not the twentieth part of his entire 
 wages. 
 
 From this enumeration, if Mr. Whitmore pro- 
 posed a duty of \0s. the quarter on imported wheat, 
 to balance the higher taxation in England, what 
 should be allowed for the difference in the natural 
 rate of wages? The difference here with those 
 countries in Europe which would supply us with 
 grain, cannot amount to less than 2s. 6d per week, 
 which approaches to a third of the total earnings. 
 In the foregoing table of the cost of cultivating 100 
 acres, let this deduction be made in the charge for 
 
382 Corn^Laws. 
 
 labour, and let its effects on the other leading items 
 of expense be also deducted, and then the agricultu- 
 rists will exhibit, perhaps, fully as strong a case as 
 the manufacturers, when they maintain 65s. per 
 quarter for wheat to be no more than a fair remu- 
 nerating price. To any attempt to controvert this 
 position, by adducing the example of partial po- 
 verty, and low reward of labour in particular dis- 
 tricts, the reply may, finally, be reiterated. Supe- 
 rior habits and customs, more than equal to all the 
 purposes to which the argument has been applied, 
 are virtually and securely established in England ; 
 and if they are trenched upon, or if distress exist, it 
 is the fault of legislation. Every measure, there- 
 fore, of public policy should be grounded on the 
 principle of their permanent existence among us, 
 because if ever this consideration be neglected, our 
 labourers must, sooner or later, decline to the same 
 state as those abroad, and depend for melioration, 
 not exclusively on our own, but equally upon foreign 
 government. 
 
 Proceeding on these data, the great object is to 
 ascertain what scale of prices should be taken to 
 govern the admission of foreign corn. Individuals 
 will, of course, differ materially as to this point, but 
 it is my opinion that 65*. to 70*. is not far from 
 the standard. 
 
 To frame measures to accomplish this object sa- 
 tisfactorily, is undoubtedly a difficult task, and 
 perhaps no mode totally unexceptionable could be 
 
Corn-Laws. " 383 
 
 selected. Many writers maintain, that it is im- 
 practicable, under a prphibitory system, to preserve 
 a regular high price of corn in England, if much 
 above that in surrounding states. This objection 
 being strenuously urged by all those opposed to 
 the agriculturists, and involving as it does a general 
 principle, demands the first consideration. Mr. 
 Whitmore, in whose opinion Mr. Huskisson concurs, 
 rests the case on the impossibility of getting rid of 
 a redundant crop by export, through which a ruinous 
 depression of prices must infallibly ensue. In the 
 succeeding year, as a natural consequence, less land 
 is cultivated ; the supply falls short of the demand ; 
 and to a period of unnatural, plethoric abundance, 
 succeeds a season of privation and distress. In 
 such a state of things, the bounty of Providence is 
 turned into an evil ; instead of the farmer's having 
 to rejoice in ample crops, they are to him the fore- 
 runners of suffering ; for the greater the excess, the 
 greater must be the depression of prices. To the 
 rest of the community, and particularly to the la- 
 bourer, the alteration from cheapness to dearness 
 must be signally pernicious. They grow heedless 
 in prosperity, and when at length overtaken by 
 distress, the parish has to endure the burden of 
 their support. In confirmation of this, we need only 
 advert to the very high prices in 1818, and the very 
 low ones in 1822, at which latter period the farmers 
 became so clamorous for relief; and when it was 
 fully established that the evil sprang from an almost 
 
384 Corn-Laws. 
 
 unprecedented glut. We are now, it is contended, 
 approaching the opposite extreme; and thus the 
 interests of the agriculturists are subject to incessant 
 fluctuation, and the means designed for their benefit 
 defeat themselves. 
 
 Such is a general outline of the leading argument 
 against the present system, which Mr, Whitmore 
 has illustrated with considerable perspicacity in an 
 Essay, to which the reader is referred for more 
 minute information. It might be supposed that the 
 agriculturists were the best judges of their own 
 interests, and that they would promptly abandon a 
 system which worked them more injury than benefit. 
 They do not, however, seem so convinced. To 
 get over the rather staggering fact of the low prices 
 in 1822, they attributed the cause to taxation; al- 
 teration in the currency ; diminished consumption ; 
 and importation of foreign corn — all of which were 
 alleged with the greatest zeal and confidence. I 
 esteem it an injudicious line of argument, and one 
 which has tended so much to prejudice intelligent 
 men against the working of the present system. 
 None of these causes, excepting that of alteration 
 in the currency, could seriously operate, and I quite 
 concur in the opinion that even the influence of that 
 did not go beyond 7 per cent. The real cause, 
 that of a redundant crop creating a glut, must be 
 conclusive at first sight. To export is out of the 
 question, for prices would have fallen considerably 
 below 30?. to pay the expenses of freight and 
 
Coin-Laws. 385 
 
 shipping to a foreign market ; and it is evident that 
 any approximation tothis price would substantiate 
 Mr. Whitmore's argument, as regards a consi- 
 derable transition from dearness to cheapness ; but 
 in making this admission, I by no means agree that 
 the effects would be such as those ascribed. There 
 either is a tendency to high prices, or there is not. 
 If there be not, there remains nothing more to be 
 said ; for whence, then, the clamour — whence the 
 necessary dread of evil in the existing regulations ? 
 Assuming, therefore, a tendency to high prices, the 
 question simply is, when a large crop occurs, must 
 there, of necessity, be a great fall ? I cannot per- 
 ceive the reason ; it at once supposes the whole crop 
 to be consumed within the year, and that there was 
 no prospect of a future recovery in prices. If the 
 population of Great Britain, as that of Ireland, were 
 fed on potatoes, a description of food too bulky to 
 be stored up for several succeeding seasons, the 
 case would then be clear. But in England, where 
 the mass of the community subsists on white bread, 
 with a moderate proportion of flesh-meat, it seems 
 to me absolutely visionary to calculate on a transi- 
 tion from cheapness to dearness with any thing Uke 
 rapidity. It is granted that less variation is found 
 in the seasons, where we take the cultivation of a 
 considerable extent of territory, than if wc take only 
 a small district. Viewir^ the surface of the whole 
 British empire, there is really abundant room to 
 allow for partial vicissitudes. Should a failure 
 
 2 c 
 
386 Corn-Laws. 
 
 happen in England, in Scotland there may be an 
 average, and in Ireland an abundant crop. Many 
 improvements, also, have been introduced, through 
 which soils, formerly deemed incapable of a certain 
 species of culture, now yield productively. Mr. 
 Arthur Young stated, that no good wheat could be 
 grown in the northern districts of Britain. Now 
 excellent wheat is produced in Inverness-shire, and 
 it is probable that the culture is susceptible of still 
 further improvement. 
 
 Besides this circumstance, it will be remembered 
 that a comparatively small portion removed from 
 sale has the effect of preserving an equilibrium in 
 the markets ; and if the prevailing state of things 
 conduce to dearness, it is difficult to conceive why 
 speculators should not enter the market in a pe- 
 riod of cheapness, and lay in stores, with a view 
 to realizing a fair profit when the redundancy had 
 subsided. It may perhaps be asked, if the expense 
 of this, added to the speculator's profit, would not 
 amount to such a sum as could scarcely prevent the 
 ruinous transition it is intended to obviate? I 
 answer, that I believe not. Good wheat may be 
 kept for a period of six or even seven years. At 
 the end of the first year, its value will somewhat 
 increase, to the extent, perhaps, of 2s. a quarter. 
 At the end of the second year, its value will sink 
 I5., in consequence of gradually losing its spirit 
 and strength. The depreciation in the third year 
 may be estimated at ds. or 4*., and at the end of 
 
Corn-Laws. 387 
 
 the fifth, as much as 5.s. or 6.9. the quarter. Let 
 warehouse-rent be also taken into account, with the 
 various subordinate expenses, and it will be found, 
 that after affording a fair profit to the capitalist, it 
 will still prevent that ruinous fluctuation in prices 
 so much insisted on by the opposite party as in- 
 evitable. The usual estimate in Mark-lane of 
 the expenses of granary, airing, and contingent 
 charges, is Ss. 6d. per quarter per annum ; to this 
 is to be added the diminution which takes place in 
 quantity, averaging three-quarters on the hundred. 
 Derangement, then, and inconvenience arising 
 from superabundance are the objects to be reme- 
 died. Now it is contended, that as there may be 
 a successive series of good years, as well as of 
 bad, it is impracticable to store grain on a scale 
 sufficiently extensive, or for a period long enough 
 to avoid sooner or later the consequences of a glut — 
 No capitalist would run the risk. But a little re- 
 flection will show that this conclusion is by no 
 means warranted. There is no occasion to store 
 grain for a number of years. To remedy the 
 evil of scanty crops belongs to Providence — but it 
 is in the hands of man to counteract any inconve- 
 nience that may result from abundant ones. When- 
 ever a deficiency occurs, the cultivator sows more 
 seed next year, and if his labours are not rewarded 
 by success, he must submit with patience. Such 
 may be the case year after year, and though he use 
 progressively increased exertion and care, his ut- 
 
 2 c 2 
 
388 Curn-Laws. 
 
 most efforts may prove unavailing. But when at 
 last a large crop arrives, and there is a tendency 
 for prices to fall materially, it is the farmer's own 
 fault if he allow the evil to continue. He may sow 
 less seed ; and even supposing he neglects this in 
 the first, he will hardly do so in the second year 
 after such abundance. Extensive resources, and a 
 variety of culture, more remotely affected by the 
 general depression in prices, are still open to him, 
 and to these he will betake himself until the glut 
 abates. It is therefore straining the point to con- 
 tend, that the probability of a great glut continuing 
 for many years must be provided for ; one or two 
 years for a speculator to lay up grain is all the time 
 required; and allowing an annual rateof profit of 15 
 per cent., any fluctuation in prices, that could be pro- 
 nounced to visit positive injury on the rest of the 
 community, would be effectually precluded. It will 
 always be kept in mind, that the question contem- 
 plates a fair remunerating return to the farmer as the 
 natural state of things. Sometimes prices will be 
 above this rate, sometimes below it. In addition, 
 then, to the observations regarding the speculator, to 
 assume a very rapid fall unavoidably consequent on 
 a redundant crop, is to imagine great ignorance and 
 great poverty on the part of the farmer. Wheat keeps 
 best in the straw ; at the expiration of a very con- 
 siderable period it may be brought in and thrashed 
 as conveniently as when first cut. Taking then the 
 average of British farmers, generally a respectable 
 
Corn- Laws. 389 
 
 and opulent class of men, possessing fair capital for 
 conducting their business on an extensive scale, is 
 it, under a well-regulated system, to be supposed, 
 that when there appeared a tendency for prices 
 greatly to fall, they would passively acquiesce? 
 Would they not much rather withhold from sale? 
 But even imagine them in despair of better pro- 
 spects, and their patience exhausted, or their 
 means inadequate to holding over their stock any 
 longer, still there is the capitalist, possessing su- 
 perior judgment, and conversant with the principles 
 which govern the cost of production, knowing well, 
 too, that prices must soon range higher ; and he 
 confidently enters the market, and by his opera- 
 tions the ruinous fall of prices is materially pre- 
 vented. 
 
 A considerable fall there must be, no doubt, be- 
 cause such is necessary to induce the capitalist to 
 speculate ; but the argument advanced, simply is, 
 that that fall is not to the extent maintained by the 
 opposite party ; that the description of food used by 
 the mass of the people in England can be stored up 
 for a considerable period of time ; and that, in con- 
 sequence, the fluctuation in prices will not go be- 
 yond the expense thus incurred, (including the 
 speculator's profit,) until a re-action take place. 
 How then, it may be demanded, do you account for 
 the great fall in 1822? Much, undoubtedly, must 
 be attributed to the uncertainty, the agitation, and 
 the doubtful policy of the legislature. What man 
 in his sober senses would attempt, for some time 
 
S90 Corn-Laws. 
 
 back, to make his calculations, and to trade in corn, 
 in the same manner as in any other commodity ? 
 So long as great excitement and fluctuation exist — 
 so long as ambiguity alone is certain, and the law 
 of this year will in fair probability be repealed by 
 that of next, it were indeed vain to look for steadi- 
 ness of prices. 
 
 Mr. Whitmore labours to prove the corn-mer- 
 chant's averseness to speculate, to be attributable 
 to the system itself, it being impossible for any man 
 to found calculations upon the ultimate state of the 
 market. It is almost inconceivable how a writer 
 could distinctly lay it down, that the cost of pro- 
 duction was particularly high in England, to which 
 state things must ultimately gravitate, and yet, a 
 few pages further on, maintain, that no person could 
 form an estimate of the principles which governed 
 prices. The capitalist will not be at a loss to judge 
 of the vicissitude of the seasons, but until a decisive 
 quietus be given to Mr. Whitmore's annual motions, 
 the former is compelled to square his operations, 
 not so much upon his own judgment, as upon a more 
 capricious authority. 
 
 Prices, as every one knows, depend much upon 
 popular notions, echoed from one to another ; and 
 if all prospect of the future seem vague and incom- 
 prehensible, there is no scope for the exercise of 
 that counteraction which might remedy, or qualify, 
 recurring evils. During the debate, last session, 
 on Canadian corn, on a dread being expressed that 
 the importation of it would be larger than was an- 
 
Corn-Laws. 391 
 
 ticipated, it was observed, that the measure might 
 be tried for a few years, and then, if it did not 
 answer, we could resort to another ! This sort of 
 legislation may be not unaptly called the make- 
 shift. If its effect be uncertainty in prices, I con- 
 jecture that most men will be of one opinion as to 
 its source. It is permanent regulation that we re- 
 quire at the present moment, founded on plain and 
 enlarged views, intelligible to all, and such as will 
 enable men in business to make their calculations 
 relative to the corn-trade, or better, perhaps, the 
 corn-laws, in the same manner as they would in any 
 other branch of commerce. The less the price of 
 any article deviates from an uniform standard, cer- 
 tainly the better ; but in such a product as corn, it 
 seems absolutely fastidious and unreasonable, to 
 expect close adherence to any regular rate. It is 
 reasonable to be satisfied with measures which best 
 secure the object for which they were principally 
 enacted, provided no obvious injury attend their 
 operation. Under an exclusive system, perma- 
 nently established, so far from dreading incessant 
 and ruinous fluctuation, I do fearlessly affirm, that 
 a greater steadiness of price would prevail in Eng- 
 land, than in any other European country growing 
 its own corn. My reasons are, first and chiefly, 
 the great facility of communication between all parts 
 of the empire. Secondly : the expense and mode 
 of agriculture ; the condition and intelligence of the 
 farmer, and the general alertness and enterprise in 
 business among us : all of which tend to equable 
 
392 Corn-Laws. 
 
 returns upon capital invested. It seems almost 
 forgotten, that on the continent, or in provinces of 
 the same country, there is frequently greater varia- 
 tion in prices, than that which, when occurring in 
 England, is supposed to bring so much distress on 
 all classes. This is caused by the want of good 
 roads, and other facilities of transporting produce 
 from the cheap to the dearer districts. Mr. Mal- 
 thus has stated, on the authority of M. Gamier, 
 that taking the period from the commencement of 
 the Eton tables, to the French Revolutionary war, 
 the extreme of high prices, and the lowest in 
 France, exhibits a difference of seven times — in 
 England only three and a half 
 
 Next to the facility afforded the farmer of bring- 
 ing his produce to market, is certainly the ad- 
 vantage of a country possessing abundance of capi- 
 tal to preserve steadiness in price. In framing 
 regulations, therefore, we can, if circumstances 
 warranted, confine ourselves without injury to a 
 system strictly exclusive ; and after this exposition, 
 the different modes designed to protect the agricul- 
 turists can be better appreciated. They may be 
 reduced to three in number. First, to levy on 
 imported corn a general fixed duty. Secondly, to 
 fix a minimum of price at which corn shall be per- 
 mitted to enter. Thirdly, to fix a stated price at 
 which corn may enter, paying duty. 
 
 I. Judging from the debates in the last Session 
 of Parliament, the levying a regular fixed duty 
 seems to be the mode intended to be adopted. It 
 
Corn- Laws. 393 
 
 appears therefore a primary object to ascertain the 
 average price at which corn is selling in those mar- 
 kets from whence we should probably receive our 
 supplies. Notwithstanding the numerous inquiries 
 and elaborate publications which have appeared on 
 this subject, much contradiction prevails. Each 
 party adduces what they term an impartial series 
 of facts, but they take care that these are so selected 
 as to bear exclusively on their own theory, whilst 
 those of an opposite tendency are studiously re- 
 jected. Even when sometimes forced to admit the 
 latter, all possible ingenuity is employed to show 
 such a state of things to be accidental and unna- 
 tural, and therefore open to speedy alteration. For 
 instance, prices have, for some time past, been 
 exceedingly low at Dantzig, but arguments are 
 brought to show that this is influenced, not by the 
 agriculture of Poland, but by the state of affairs in 
 England. It would but fruitlessly fatigue the reader 
 to give lengthy extracts of the evidence of persons 
 examined before the Agricultural Committee, re- 
 specting the supposed price of corn in the ports 
 abroad, the more especially as their statements 
 have been brought so repeatedly before the public. 
 From the return given by the consuls abroad, of 
 the price of corn in the principal ports of Europe, 
 as laid before Parliament, it unequivocally appeared 
 that prices were much lower than those assumed in 
 the reasoning of the anti-agricultural party. In the 
 north of Europe, whither the attention is generally 
 turned on a discussion of this question, the price 
 
394 Corn-Laws. 
 
 at Dantzig was, in Jan. 1824, IS*, ^d. ; in Dec. 
 21*. Id. the quarter of eight Winchester bushels; 
 and to these the other Baltic ports bore an approxi- 
 mation. Now, the main object is, to examine the 
 grounds why a much higher rate should be taken 
 as the average cost at which corn can be imported. 
 It is said that the absence of the English demand 
 causes a large accumulation, and prices would im- 
 mediately advance if our ports were open. When 
 there is an increase of competitors to purchase an 
 article, the possessor naturally avails himself of 
 the circumstance, and promptly rises in his de- 
 mands. It is on this principle that a high shipping 
 standard is assumed as the basis on which the 
 measure should be framed. I am, however, of opi- 
 nion, that notwithstanding the seeming obviousness 
 of the conclusion, precipitately to act in reliance on 
 it might lead into much error. Enough attention 
 has not been paid to the cost of production in 
 Poland, and the great ability there is for having the 
 cultivation extended. To exclude the operation of 
 supply and demand, is a favourite dogma of the 
 anti-agricultural party, as applies to the elements 
 of Political Economy — whence comes it, then, that 
 in this case they admit and rely upon it solely ? 
 Can any member of the House of Commons, when 
 it may be the object to lull the country-gentlemen 
 into security, consistently expatiate upon the cer- 
 tainty of a great rise in prices abroad, whenever our 
 ports open, when perhaps almost in the same breath 
 he has laid it down as a fundamental position, that 
 
Corn-Laws. 395 
 
 the cost of production is the only permanent prin- 
 ciple to attend to, and that it argues egregious 
 folly to legislate upon casual variations in the 
 value of commodities. Rejecting, then, the state- 
 ment of the merchant, who attends merely to the 
 effect produced at the moment of exportation, let us 
 inquire at what price corn can be raised in Poland. 
 From every thing which I can learn, it will, I be- 
 lieve, be found, that the present depressed state of 
 the market is not imputable to the cause of glut 
 alone, on such solid grounds as some have claimed 
 for it. If we allow even a very high rate of profit to 
 the cultivator, it will still appear that ^bs. to 305. 
 a quarter is a remunerating price. Were an intel- 
 ligent English farmer to visit those districts from 
 whence the largest supplies are procured, and to be 
 shown the implements for cultivation, without con- 
 templating any further improvement in their con- 
 struction, and then made acquainted with the wages 
 of labour,! am convinced he would name a lower rate 
 as a fair average, taking one year with another. 
 
 Respecting the mere cost of cultivation, all agree 
 that it is very low, and, in consequence, other cir- 
 cumstances are generally adduced as tending 
 chiefly to enhance prices. The great difficulty 
 consists in transporting produce to the place of 
 shipment; but it is surely improper to conclude 
 that those difficulties are incurable. It was stated in 
 the House of Commons last year, that the average 
 price of wheat in Dantzig for the last forty years, 
 
396 Corn- Laws. 
 
 before its importation to this country was inter- 
 rupted, was 455. and a fraction. The implied in- 
 ference was, that any return much below that rate 
 must bring loss to the grower. It is, however, 
 very essential to examine if any improvements 
 have occurred in this interval, either in the mode 
 of culture or in the facility of conveyance, which 
 would tend materially to lower prices, while the 
 profits of stock continued unabated. We are not 
 in possession of sufficient information of an au- 
 thentic character to decide this point satisfactorily, 
 but the statements of those who have incidentally 
 touched upon the subject, induce us to believe that 
 such improvements have been considerable. Much, 
 undoubtedly, depends upon the tenure on which 
 the land is held, in determining the prices of agri- 
 cultural produce. In this respect there is, pro- 
 bably, a serious obstacle on the continent. Too 
 frequently it happens, that great natural advantages 
 are neglected, or are crippled in their developement, 
 from artificial and encumbering institutions ; but as 
 all who are interested, the landlord as well as the 
 farmer, are desirous to increase their gains, it is 
 reasonable to infer that they will ultimately avail 
 themselves of their advantages ; and in legislating 
 with a view to permanent measures, we are war- 
 ranted in assuming this conclusion. It may, there- 
 fore, be justly doubted, if freely opening our ports 
 to importation would produce on foreign markets 
 the eflfect anticipated. At first, there would be an 
 
Corn- Laws. 597 
 
 immediate rise ; but if there exist capabilities for 
 greatly extending the cultivation, to supply a 
 market held in such high estimation as that of 
 England, much exertion would be employed. 
 Competition would be roused in different quarters, 
 and the aggregate effect would most probably be 
 reduction rather than increase of price. The general 
 opinion of persons on the continent depicts England 
 crowded with a starving population, voraciously 
 craving the produce of their own more fertile soils. 
 While this prepossession exists, it is natural to 
 suppose, that any extensive relaxation in our sys- 
 tem would seem to offer an immensely enlarged 
 field for their enterprise. Such, indeed, is the 
 idea openly avowed by mercantile residents in the 
 places likely to benefit by the change ; and whether 
 their exportations to this country were eventually 
 equal to the expectations formed, or otherwise, the 
 result would still be a great diminution in the cost 
 of production. It is admitted on all sides, that 
 corn is very cheap in the immediate place of its 
 growth. What circumstance, then, would operate 
 most effectually to diminish the cost of transporta- 
 tion to the place of shipment ? I believe it would 
 be the opening of the British market. Like many 
 other operations in commerce, the disposition to 
 improve will come up to, and keep pace with, the 
 incentive ; and if the observation be correct, that 
 the inhabitants of the corn-districts abroad con- 
 ceive, that any great quantity of our supply is to 
 
398 Corn-Laws. 
 
 be taken from them, they will speedily find means 
 to reduce the incidental charges. On these grounds 
 should the agricultural body be quieted by the as- 
 sumption of Mr. Huskisson and Mr. Whitmore, 
 that prices would be permanently higher on the 
 continent, in consequence of the wider demand pre- 
 sented by the opening of the English market, and 
 that 40*. per quarter being thus deemed a fair and 
 proper rate as the average export price, should be 
 taken as the standard by which duties should be 
 regulated, I do not hesitate to affirm that they would 
 find themselves greatly deceived, and that they 
 sustained much covert injury, while ostensibly 
 they seemed fully protected. 
 
 It is their object, when the evidence of merchants 
 is adduced relative to the state of prices in the 
 shipping port, together with the chief causes leading 
 to briskness and rise in prices, to bring forward the 
 opinions of those competent to judge of the actual 
 cultivation, as well as the probability of improve- 
 ment both direct and collateral ; and, in a word, the 
 general effects which might reasonably be presumed 
 to follow a widely-spread excitement. 
 
 The result, I apprehend, would justify a scale of 
 duties higher than the nation is prepared to expect, 
 even adopting the views of the anti- agricultural 
 party, respecting that rate which they deem a fair 
 remunerating return. Let us, however, suppose all 
 parties satisfied as to the state of prices abroad, and 
 a sufficiently high duty levied on imported corn ; the 
 
Corn-Laws. 399 
 
 alleged benefit of that system which imposes a fixed 
 duty has yet to be examined. 
 
 The consideration mainly relied on, uniformly ad- 
 vanced as justificatory, and, indeed, as decisive of 
 the question, is, the promoting steadiness of price. 
 When so many sources would be presented to Great 
 Britain from which to derive her supplies, it would 
 be almost impossible for variations of season to 
 efiect a change in her market. Granting that cer- 
 tain districts abroad, but lying within her own 
 latitude, participated in any scarcity which visited 
 herself, still it is most improbable that such would 
 be the case with the remoter countries of Europe ; 
 but even, as an extreme case, admitting that all 
 Europe suflfered from dearth, there is still America, 
 both our own settlements and the United States, 
 open to us, and offering a resource until the evil 
 became counteracted. 
 
 The next plea advanced in behalf of the fixed- 
 duty system, is the establishing of greater freedom 
 of intercourse with foreign states. Those barbarous 
 barriers, as they are emphatically termed, which 
 fetter and paralyze the industry of nations, would 
 be in great measure broken down, and be succeeded 
 by a more social communication throughout the 
 world. 
 
 Let us now turn to the opposite side of the ques- 
 tion, and consider what may be urged in reply. 
 
 In the first place, when writers expatiate about 
 steadiness of price, they seem to forget the effects 
 
400 Corn-Laws. 
 
 of speculation, unconfined as it would be to this 
 country alone, but operating in other places, from 
 whence imports are obtained. In such a commo- 
 dity as corn, a slight variation in the proportions 
 between supply and demand produces extensive 
 effects ; and judging from actual practice and occur- 
 rences in other branches of trade, it really may be 
 inferred, without the least exaggeration, that a 
 greater variation in prices would obtain under this 
 system than under any other. Reasoning upon 
 theory merely, what article should preserve a greater 
 steadiness of price than the one of cotton-wool ? The 
 demand for it in this country is certain and uniform. 
 We are not confined to one exclusive quarter for its 
 production. All parts of the world — the United 
 States of America, the Brazils, Egypt, the East and 
 West Indies, contend with each other in supplying 
 us, and yet in what other article of commerce are 
 there fluctuations so extensive and so ruinous ? 
 Within the last ten years, a period, too, of profound 
 peace, two eras of calamity are recorded in Liver- 
 pool ; one in 1819, the other in the last year; in 
 which the transitions in price may be truly said to 
 have caused to individuals the loss of millions. Let 
 it be recollected that this proceeded not from legiti- 
 mate causes, but from the mere influence of opi- 
 nion — from the arts of some working on the credulity 
 and the ignorance of others, rendering such reverses 
 still more deplorable. 
 
 What then is to prevent similar occurrences in 
 
Corii-Laws. 401 
 
 the corn trade ? Let us conceive the system fairly 
 and fully adopted: all our internal arrangements 
 suitably adjusted, and our population dependent on 
 supplies from the North of Europe, to the extent of 
 a million and a half or two millions of quarters an- 
 nually. Suppose then the autocrat Nicholas sud- 
 denly to involve that source of supply in war — what 
 would be the consequence in England? Would 
 there not, at the very least, be a considerable fluc- 
 tuation in prices ? Even on a bare rumour, artfully 
 managed, this might be the effect. The great corn- 
 factors in Mark- lane would convert every such 
 incident to further their immediate interests ; and 
 experience shows that there are always^ ready in- 
 struments to propagate, and infatuated victims to 
 deplore, the fabrications of commercial cupidity. 
 
 When consumption depends exclusively on a 
 country's internal production, every man can form 
 a tolerably correct estimate of the state of things ; 
 and this general acquaintance with the subject pre- 
 cludes any very great change, beyond such as is 
 natural and warranted. But when the supply is 
 extraneous, and dependent on the operations of re- 
 mote countries, the case is widely different ; there 
 is immeasurably larger scope for the exercise of 
 artifice and undue influence ; and perhaps not an 
 article of commerce could be singled out which does 
 not, in a moderate series of years, exhibit a capri- 
 cious fluctuation in price, quite at variance with the 
 
402 Corn-Laws. 
 
 principles of those who maintain that a market has 
 only to be open generally to the world to ensure its 
 perfect steadiness. 
 
 The next objection to a fixed duty arises from its 
 effects in a period of scarcity, or the occurrence of 
 great deficiency in the home crop. When the feel- 
 ings and the passions of the lower orders are roused 
 by privation, they would not very patiently regard 
 any tax on bread, augmenting, as it would do, a 
 price considered as sufficiently high already. The 
 duty would have therefore to be remitted. For this 
 step, a power must be vested somewhere ; and to 
 provide against exigency, it would most probably 
 be in the Lords of the Treasury, or in the Privy 
 Council. Now it is not sufficient that the distin- 
 guished individuals who fill those high stations 
 should be guided by views the most enlarged and 
 correct — all those engaged in trade, or personally 
 interested, must be assured of the absolute poten- 
 tiality of such authorities to provide the means of a 
 speedy reaction; and it may be confidently as- 
 serted, that they never will, whether sceptically or 
 not, be so convinced, or hazard the shaping of their 
 own conduct on measures dependent not upon expli- 
 cit enactment, but upon the uncertain decision of 
 individuals. I conceive that great weight attaches 
 to this objection. It is a primary desideratum, that 
 the rich farmer or the capitalist be induced to re- 
 serve the surplus of an abundant season for one of 
 
Corn- Laws. 40.' J 
 
 scarcity. This can never happen, if the fair profit 
 of such a speculation be exposed to be defeated by 
 the admission of foreign corn free of duty. 
 
 There can be no fear that the reader should 
 confound the injurious effects of speculation in 
 foreign corn, as above deprecated, with the salu- 
 tary measure contemplated, of storing up the 
 superabundance of one year to compensate for the 
 deficiency of another. The first is established on 
 ignorance and uncertainty — the aspect and con- 
 currence of things in foreign states being necessary 
 to a thorough understanding on the subject. The 
 latter is within ourselves, and proceeds on an en- 
 tirely different principle. It is simply, that the 
 capitalist lays out his money for a reasonable return 
 of profit, through which he benefits himself and 
 serves the country. It may in addition be re- 
 marked, that when we depend on ourselves for 
 supply, the profit of thus storing up accrues to our 
 fellow-subjects, whilst that of importation goes to 
 enrich foreigners. 
 
 The remaining objection to the fixed-duty system 
 forms a natural context to the benefit alleged to flow 
 from a more social intercourse with rival states. 
 The characteristic of that intercourse is extensive 
 importation, and extensive importation must cause 
 a serious abandonment of home-cultivation. On 
 this point I should hope it is requisite to say no- 
 thing further here. It is the leading and primary 
 consideration ; and it is sufficient to observe, that 
 
 2 D 2 
 
404 Corn-Laws. 
 
 the adoption of a fixed duty, whatever be its 
 amount, must inevitably throw some number, both 
 of farmers and labourers, out of employment. 
 
 In concluding this head I have to observe, that I 
 am well aware many distinguished statesmen ad- 
 vocate the policy of a fixed duty as the best that 
 can be selected. I hope I am not presumptuous in 
 dissenting from such authority ; but having stated 
 the reasons on which my opinion is founded, I 
 cannot forbear adding, that of all the three modes 
 devised to protect the agricultural interests, it ap- 
 pears to me the worst. It may be superfluous to 
 add, that an annually-diminishing duty would be 
 still more objectionable. Besides being ineffectual 
 in the first instance, it tends ultimately to withdraw 
 that protection from the landed interests to which 
 they seem in common justice entitled. 
 
 II. The plan of determining the market price by 
 means of averages, and fixing a stated rate, below 
 which no importations should be allowed, has been 
 warmly espoused by many of the agricultural body. 
 Supposing it granted, that adequate protection 
 should be conferred, this system requires the rate 
 to be high to answer the intended end. The ad- 
 vantages generally urged may be cursorily enu 
 merated. It stimulates the home-growth, and averts 
 our dependence upon foreign states for a resource 
 so "momentous as that of sustenance. When a 
 scarcity occurs, it requires not the interference of 
 government to alter existing regulations, — as prices 
 
Cofm-Laws. 405 
 
 being then presumed to be above the rate govern- 
 ing importations, supplies would pour in from all 
 quarters. Yet, on ordinary occasions, we are by 
 no means subservient to the caprice of foreign go- 
 vernments ; it is only in cases of exigency that we 
 have recourse to them ; and though our labourers 
 are then subjected to some privations, yet limits are 
 prescribed, and their duration can be but temporary. 
 Respecting the consequences of a large influx of 
 foreign corn whilst our ports are open, it is affirmed 
 that any seeming evil of this nature would correct 
 itself The larger the importations, the greater the 
 fall in prices ; and as the judgment of individuals 
 would prompt them to perceive this result, they 
 would forbear to go beyond the strict demands of 
 the case. 
 
 If persons in business could be guided by really 
 scientific principles, we might rest satisfied with 
 this argument, but for the reasons assigned, 
 touching speculation, this harmonious co-operation 
 would never actually happen. If such be the case, 
 the objection to this regulation is fatal. Whenever 
 scarcity occurred, there would, as experience shows, 
 be a simultaneous movement in various quarters ; 
 speculators would give full scope to the ardour of 
 enterprise, and numberless candidates press for- 
 ward, in the hope of gaining first possession of the 
 market. No further comment seems necessary, as 
 it is apparent that evils of perhaps serious magni 
 tude must unavoidably follow. 
 
406 Corn-Laws. 
 
 III. From what has been stated, it will be seen that 
 I consider the last of the three proposed measures 
 as the most expedient to adopt for a permanent re- 
 gulation : that is, still preserving the averages, but 
 levying some duty on importation. This is similar 
 in principle to the mode now in use, following up the 
 recommendation of the Agricultural Committee in 
 1822. The price chosen as the standard by which 
 to govern importation ought, undoubtedly, to be 
 much lower in this mode than in the preceding one. 
 What should be its amount, belongs to more expe- 
 rienced persons to determine ; but I am of opinion, 
 as I have already stated, that it should not be below 
 655., and certainly not above 10s. 
 
 To fix the rate of duty is the next great object, 
 and I conceive it should be regulated at such a rate 
 as to allow a liberal profit on importations, when 
 there was a tendency in prices to get above what 
 appeared a fair remunerating return: 10^. per quarter 
 seems sufficient for the purpose. Many of the agri- 
 culturists may deem it too low ; but I anticipate that 
 that idea will yield to a just consideration of the 
 case, under all its circumstances. Examining this 
 system on its own basis, exempt from adventitious 
 occurrences, it does not really seem liable to any of 
 those great evils or inconveniences just detailed as 
 inseparable from the other two. At the outset there 
 is no extraordinary stimulus or excitement created 
 in foreign states, to supply us with corn. Not trust- 
 ing to England for a regular market, their culture 
 
Corn-Laws. 4-07 
 
 would proceed in its natural course ; so that in the 
 event of a deficiency of crop in this country, they 
 would not have the ability to pour in an overwhelm- 
 ing supply, eventually, perhaps, detrimental to the 
 merchant, and ruinous to the farmer. On the other 
 hand, for the very reason that a failure in crops is 
 not to be expected in all parts at the same time, 
 there would, in the case of our own falling short, be 
 little doubt of our obtaining an adequate supply from 
 abroad, whenever our necessities required it. 
 
 The duty of 10*. per quarter would prevent any 
 violent revolution in prices ; but as it would still 
 allow a liberal profit, it would not deter merchants 
 from negotiating extensive importations. A strong 
 inducement to do so ought to exist in seasons of de- 
 ficiency, on behalf of the consumers, or the labouring 
 population at large. Now, as the ordinary and na- 
 tural course of things presumes a remunerating, 
 and, therefore, a comparatively high price in Eng- 
 land, the importer of foreign corn, whenever he gets 
 his supplies admitted, need not be apprehensive of 
 sustaining a loss, provided he be wise enough to hold 
 over, when too sanguine merchants overstocked the 
 market. Eventually the temporary glut would disap- 
 pear, and prices conform to their ordinary rate. Nor, 
 on the other hand, should the agriculturists dread an 
 injury in the succeeding year from this over-propor- 
 tioned importation; it should be carefully considered, 
 that a very small excess in quantity tends to influence 
 prices ; our importations, in years deemed greatly 
 
408 Corn-Laws. 
 
 deficient, amount only to a few days' consumption ; 
 and, contemplating the nature and cost of production 
 in England, it would be surely delusive to conclude 
 that the residue of foreign corn unsold in the period 
 of deficiency could afterwards sensibly affect the 
 market ; the more especially, as the circumstance of 
 extraneous supply no longer presented a tangible 
 object in people's opinions to occasion forbearance 
 on the part of the miller or the baker in making 
 their purchases. The holder of foreign corn, even 
 leaving out of consideration the very limited scale of 
 his operations, would then be in the same predica- 
 ment as the holder of British ; both availing them- 
 selves of their capital to obtain a fair rate of profit. 
 As all regulations should provide for every contin- 
 gency, it may be demanded if the duty should be 
 continued in seasons of dearth. I think not. But 
 being a main object, it certainly appears advisable 
 that the price which should determine its cessation 
 be fixed by law. The present rate of 85,9. is, per- 
 haps, not unreasonable ; and it occurs to me that a 
 very extraordinary case must arise, to allow prices 
 ever to reach one so high. The grounds for this 
 opinion are simply the general state of prices 
 abroad, and the great multiplicity of sources whence 
 supplies may be obtained. It must be a great de- 
 ficiency, indeed, if ample importations could not be 
 made even long before the price reached 80*., sup- 
 posing (what wholly governs the question) that the 
 law be permanently fixed. If it be liable to altera- 
 
Corn-Laws. 409 
 
 tion annually, or incessant discussion, I freely 
 confess that scarcely any conceivable fluctuation in 
 prices would appear to me surprising. 
 
 Lest the agriculturists should confound the opera- 
 tion of the duty on this system, with that stated on 
 the plan first detailed, and conceive, from the eluci- 
 dation there given, that it must still be too low here, 
 I shall point out the distinction. 
 
 Agreeably to the first plan, foreigners, feeling 
 convinced that from their lower cost of production 
 they should supply us extensively, would seriously 
 commence the undertaking ; their utmost capability 
 would be brought into action ; and our ports being 
 regularly and permanently open, their sales would 
 be proportionate to the cheapness with which they 
 grow their corn. Prices would then be determined, 
 not by the cost of cultivation in England, but by 
 its cost abroad. 
 
 In the third plan, which is the one I deem most 
 eligible, the very reverse is the case. Prices would 
 still be regulated by circumstances within ourselves, 
 and the condition of things in foreign states remain 
 unaltered. 
 
 In the former, the corn we import is grown ex- 
 pressly for the British market. In the latter, our 
 importations, when they occur, are not grown with 
 any such view ; they have to be taken from the 
 supply originally intended for, and originally pro- 
 portioned to, the local demand in the foreign mar- 
 kets ; and, consequently, to take part away, causes 
 
ilO Corn-Laws. 
 
 an immediate enhancement of price. It is easy to 
 perceive from this that 10^. is a liberal protecting 
 duty, though I think not too much so. For the 
 reason here given, 1 am equally inclined to condemn 
 that diminishing scale which gradually reduces the 
 duty as prices vacillate, from the minimum at which 
 importation is allowed, to the maximum at which all 
 duty shall cease. I should prefer a stated duty, 
 continuing till prices reached a specific height, and 
 then altogether ceasing ; for this reason, that I think 
 it affords greater certainty to the merchant's calcu- 
 lations ; and also, perhaps, because I conceive 
 that the high price would be of exceedingly rare 
 occurrence. 
 
 The project of enacting, that three months shall 
 elapse before the ports open, when prices exceed 
 the rate governing importation, appears to have 
 been devised by the landed body, in an eager de- 
 sire to protect their own interests. Protection, 
 however, is not best secured by cumbersome ma- 
 chinery ; and I am obliged to confess, that I con- 
 sider this regulation as quite unnecessary, if not 
 decidedly pernicious. The delay leads to an accu- 
 mulation, by which large supplies are eventually 
 poured in all at once ; and besides, it compromises 
 the interests of the consumer, in not immediately 
 checking the tendency to dearness — a measure 
 certainly called for without delay, when prices rise 
 above that rate which the agriculturists themselves 
 acknowledge to be a fair remunerating return. 
 
Corn-Laws. 411 
 
 Having thus shown that no serious evils are to be 
 apprehended in a season of scarcity, and having 
 formerly exposed the delusion relative to the alleged 
 mischief of abundance, I have some expectation 
 that the expediency of this plan will be apparent. 
 It will be observed, that I have argued throughout 
 on a hypothetical case. This may possibly be 
 objected against, on the plea, that for some years 
 past the state of things in England has approxi- 
 mated to the regulations I have advocated. In 
 reply, I have decidedly to protest against the in- 
 troduction of adventitious circumstances to con- 
 trovert the doctrine I have supported. The very 
 high prices in 1818, and the very low ones in 1822, 
 should, as before remarked, be rejected as evidence 
 in any degree condemnatory of an exclusive system. 
 The reasons assigned are surely conclusive enough : 
 first, the unsettled state of the currency ; secondly, 
 the uncertain conduct of the legislature. Let those 
 two great points be distinctly, permanently, and 
 judiciously settled, and, dangerous as it is for an 
 author to stake his credit on a prophecy, I still 
 confidently put forth my opinion, that the agricul- 
 turist need not again dread any violent revolution 
 in prices. 
 
 Our attention has been hitherto exclusively di- 
 rected to the general question ; but there is a minor 
 point, — that concerning importations from British 
 America, which it would be improper to leave un- 
 noticed. 
 
412 Corn-Laws. 
 
 There seemed a disposition occasionally evinced, 
 in the recent discussions of the present subject, to 
 overrate the extent of supply which we might 
 reasonably calculate on receiving from this quarter. 
 The result of every inquiry I have made, induces 
 the belief, that from 65 to 70 thousand quarters 
 would be the utmost of our annual importations. 
 Such an amount is most trifling to the British agri- 
 culturist, but to the Canadian settler it may be 
 very important. In determining, therefore^ the 
 mode of its admission, a fixed duty seems in this 
 instance preferable. The distance is so great, that 
 an adequate opportunity is not given to judge of 
 the probability of our ports being open within a 
 definite time, or to allow calculations to be made 
 with the same accuracy as in the neighbouring 
 states of Europe. Besides, neither the cost of 
 cultivation, nor the expense of transporting produce 
 to the place of shipment, can be materially lowered 
 in Canada; and when the estimated extent of 
 export is in some degree definite, the agriculturists, 
 and all in England that are interested, know pretty 
 accurately what they have to expect. 
 
 It may also be remarked, that Canada, as being 
 a portion of our own empire, requires very dif- 
 ferent regulations from those applicable to foreign 
 countries. In fixing an undeviating and permanent 
 rate of duty, there being two parties to consult, the 
 British and the Canadian agriculturists, justice 
 alone should be the guide. So far as taxation 
 
Corn- Laws. 413 
 
 operates, so far as tithes, poor's-rates, and other 
 charges which bear upon the land in England only, 
 enhance the cost of production, in the same propor- 
 tion should the duty on Canadian corn be fixed. 
 This mode seems sufficiently clear, and it is one 
 with which no party can be dissatisfied. The 
 Canadian, fortunate in his exemption from taxes, 
 could assuredly not complain that a small impost 
 was levied on his produce, when admitted into the 
 parent state to which he is indebted for protection. 
 On the other hand, the British agriculturist (if we 
 may, without an absurdity, suppose him affected at 
 all) could not reasonably demur at the prospect of 
 a gradual extension of imports ; for it may be 
 whispered to him, that population in this country is 
 regularly increasing, and that it is better to look to 
 a province of our own as a source from whence to 
 make up our supply, than to depend on foreign na- 
 tions. The freight has been estimated at 12*. a 
 quarter ; and if an equitable duty (say 65.) be 
 added, the price must approach to that, presumed 
 to be a remunerating one in England — at least no 
 very extravagant profit can be derived by the im- 
 porter. 
 
 The reader is now in possession of those leading 
 points deemed essential to a thorough understand- 
 ing of this all-momentous question ; some subor- 
 dinate details, however, which the intelligent 
 inquirer will easily fill up, have been intentionally 
 passed over, from an unwillingness to occupy space 
 
414 Corn-Laws. 
 
 with matter easily procurable, or to divert attention 
 from the broad merits of the argument. In speak- 
 ing of duties or prices, T. have adverted, for the 
 sake of perspicuity, to wheat alone; it is unne- 
 cessary to add, that in adjusting the scale, other 
 descriptions of grain are to be estimated in propor- 
 tion to their value. All live stock, too, and every 
 species of agricultural produce, has been presumed 
 to have its value determined by the price of corn. 
 Such is the general calculation of farmers. When 
 grain is abundant, there is a much greater quantity 
 appropriated to feed the various kinds of animals ; 
 and thus the supply, either in their number or con- 
 dition, is so increased, as sensibly to lower the 
 price of meat. Thus, though the effects of abund- 
 ance are not so instantaneous here as on the price 
 of corn itself, yet the relation between the two is 
 apparent, and it is, therefore, needless to separate 
 them. 
 
 Such parts in the machinery of the present sys- 
 tem as relate to the mode of striking the averages, 
 which have attracted so much animadversion, insi- 
 diously contrived to prejudice the community in 
 regard to leading principles, are certainly capable 
 of being much improved, but these it was not 
 thought necessary to notice. The object is simply 
 to ascertain the price of corn in the country, and it 
 would savour little of the high-sounding omnipo- 
 tence of Parliament if it could not satisfactorily 
 accomplish what is done by every semi-barbarous 
 
Corn- Laws. 415 
 
 government, Mal-practices in rendering the re- 
 turns do certainly exist, and, perhaps, were all the 
 particulars laid open, the present direction of popu- 
 lar clamour would be greatly diverted. 
 
 The anti- agricultural party are prompt on all occa- 
 sions to enlist the feelings on their side ; but it is 
 more than probable that the feelings are open to the 
 most forcible appeal from ourselves ; however, as we 
 commenced, so let us end. 
 
 It may be again repeated, that when conflicting 
 interests are arrayed against each other, justice 
 alone should be their arbiter. Yet I do not hesi- 
 tate to assert, that if a doubt remain, the agricul- 
 turists are decidedly entitled to the benefit of that 
 doubt. Whatever may be advanced by rash theo- 
 rists, however greedy money-brokers may calum- 
 niate, they who furnish for us the support of life 
 are the most important, as well as the most es- 
 timable, portion of the community. Who is there 
 who stretches his eye across the cheerful fields of 
 this proud island, clothed in the livery of the 
 highest cultivation, that does not feel a thousand 
 pleasing associations rapidly crowding on his me- 
 mory, and justifying a predilection for that class 
 by whose labour the fair picture has obtained its 
 beauty ? What man who contemplates the rustic 
 habitation peeping from amid the shelter of our 
 fragrant hedge-rows, and blending in chaste sim- 
 plicity with the ripening fields from whence our 
 sustenance is drawn, could extend his sacrilegious 
 
416 Corn-Laws. 
 
 hand to lay it in ruins, and to drive its peaceful 
 inmates to pine in the profligate purlieus of a 
 manufacturing city ? 
 
 Should, in an evil hour, the mandate issue; 
 should the clamorous outcry of infatuation prevail ; 
 should the more than tenfold blindness of legislation 
 disregard the danger of reckless innovation — the 
 perpetrators of the deed may boast the unenviable 
 distinction of having commenced the ruin of the 
 fairest monument of order, stability, and social 
 happiness, which has ever yet been reared among 
 nations. 
 
417 
 
 Section III. 
 
 COLONIES. 
 
 Among all the effects attendant on the mighty revo- 
 lutions we have just witnessed in South America, 
 none is more momentous than the change in public 
 opinion regarding the general advantage accruing 
 to an European state from maintaining distant pos- 
 sessions. 
 
 A country, admirably situated to extend the 
 bounds of civilization ; long celebrated for her 
 achievements in arms ; once exercising sway over 
 the councils of nations ; possessing a fertile soil, 
 commodious harbours, magnificent cities ; the abso- 
 lute mistress of distant regions yielding all the va- 
 ried riches of the vegetable as well as mineral 
 world, and vying with each other for the distinction 
 of pouring those riches into her lap with the most 
 lavish abundance — the spectacle of such a country 
 falling with ignominy from her high estate, and 
 bowing her head to the unresented scorn and insult 
 of her neighbours and her late dependents, forces 
 home upon the mind a fearful proof of the insta- 
 bility and ultimate decline of nations. 
 
 But this is not the only picture presented to us 
 by the great incident alluded to. It stands accom- 
 panied by another of not inferior interest ; and this 
 
 2 E 
 
4,18 Colonies. 
 
 exhibits vast regions hitherto unnoted on the map, 
 and whose very names v^ere almost unknown in 
 the common intercourse of life, starting at once into 
 vigour, energy, and power ; standing forth as active 
 competitors in commerce ; offering a boundless field 
 for the industry of every nation ; and, more than 
 all, rearing their constitutions on the basis of civil 
 liberty and general good. 
 
 Examples such as these irresistibly engage the 
 attention, and cause the ingenuous observer to doubt 
 the wisdom of a policy which, in seeking to engross 
 exclusive possessions, seems to oppress and pa- 
 ralyze the rising energies of man. 
 
 It is impossible to suppress these reflections. 
 Spain and England, but a little time ago, were 
 alike distinguished for the value of their colonies. 
 Dire calamity has overtaken the one ; and it be- 
 hoves the other, while yet in the fulness of her 
 prosperity and power, to pause on the awful ex- 
 ample before her, and so to shape her course, that 
 if she, in turn, have to surrender her extraneous do- 
 minion, her prescient wisdom may stand unim- 
 peached, her national honour unsullied. 
 
 The opinion is gaining ground throughout all 
 classes, that the mother-country derives as much 
 benefit from the settlements she has peopled, after 
 they have renounced her authority, as during the 
 plenitude of her control. The aspiring offspring, 
 confiding in its own resources, and buoyed by the ar- 
 dour and the energy of youth, advances more rapidly 
 
Colonies. 419 
 
 towards prosperity than when restrained by the 
 trammels of distant rule. The astonishing advance- 
 ment of the United States, once glanced over as a 
 " small seminal spot" in the political horizon, but 
 now standing forth a mighty nation, whose alliance 
 is courted by the loftiest potentates, illustrates most 
 forcibly this argument. Our commerce with those 
 states far exceeds the wildest dreams of former cal- 
 culators on colonial trade. It is therefore asserted, 
 that if independence thus arouses a full and more 
 splendid developement of its faculties in the off- 
 spring, it is not less advantageous to the parent, the 
 ties of kindred and of a common language still ex- 
 ercising beneficial influence and perpetuating mutual 
 intercourse. Associated with this reasoning, the 
 mournful fate of Spain is presented to our view. 
 " What advantage," it is triumphantly demanded, 
 " has that country ever derived from her colonies? 
 Was it in exciting a feverish desire to emigrate ? 
 Was it in banishing moderate ideas as to profit, and 
 teaching men to scorn the salutary rewards of homely 
 industry? Are these the estimable fruits of pro- 
 sperous enterprise, tending to diffuse those arts 
 which embellish and elevate society ?" An appeal 
 thus supported has caused not a few to recant their 
 conviction of colonial advantages. 
 
 Among the higher political circles of the country 
 especially, these views of the subject have exercised 
 no inconsiderable influence. Reflecting that the 
 theatre of these great changes is close to our most 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 Colonies. 
 
 valuable possessions, and that their products bear an 
 affinity to the products of the revolutionised states, 
 they who constitute those circles seem either to de- 
 spair of our ability to avoid a similar consummation, 
 or deem it the soundest policy to meet it, by a 
 gradual abandonment of the entire system. 
 
 It is conceived that it becomes England, oc- 
 cupying her present lofty elevation, to extend the 
 boundaries of international independence. Her 
 high character for justice, her professions of un- 
 qualified philanthropy, standing boldly forward, at 
 once the guardian of liberty and the uncompromising 
 foe of despotism, — all prompt her to spurn selfish 
 advantage, and to hold up to the world's imitation 
 a pattern of disinterested generosity. Seated, too, 
 on the verge of the Atlantic, she seems peculiarly 
 fitted by her station to become a storehouse for the 
 wisdom and the attainments, venerable and ve- 
 nerated, of the old world, from whence she may 
 dispense them, digested and amended, to enlighten 
 the western hemisphere, and save it the wearisome 
 toil of groping its own way to truth and happiness. 
 For benefits such as these, what may she not expect? 
 Gratitude will exercise its benignest influence, and 
 a perpetual sceptre be given to England. But it 
 will be a sceptre governing the mind — gentle, yet 
 bending willing spirits to its way — durable as 
 adamant, and far more powerful than the rude 
 instrument of force employed to compel political 
 subjection. 
 
Colonies. 4)21 
 
 At the same time, she will have nothing to ap- 
 prehend as to the precariousness of supplying her 
 people with those foreign products which their 
 wants require. Similarity of soil and of climate 
 will enable independent states to supply the loss of 
 colonies ; and under reciprocal benefits, founded on 
 equality of commerce, wherever industry flourishes, 
 a thousand marts will readily open to administer to 
 its commands. 
 
 Considerations thus tending to obscure present 
 advantage, and to remove future alarm, have largely 
 sapped the foundation of our colonial system. I 
 have endeavoured to delineate grand and prominent 
 outlines, both to do full justice to adverse argument, 
 and to induce that extension of thought which can 
 alone compass this great question. Firmly believing 
 that a portentous delusion exists, and that the doc- 
 trine of Free Trade is infinitely more pernicious in 
 its application to our colonies, than to any other 
 branch of our commercial policy, I disdain to take 
 undue advantage, or to suppress any one particular, 
 tending to seduce the feelings to an opposite opinion. 
 
 I shall consider the leading characteristics in due 
 order, submitting the merits of the discussion to be 
 fairly canvassed, and omitting no topic that at all 
 appears to offer grounds of dissension. 
 
 Commencing, then, with the Spanish colonies, why, 
 I demand, is their fate to be incessantly exhibited in 
 ominous array as a warning to Great Britain ? Let 
 us refer to the organization and the government of 
 
422 Colonies. 
 
 the Spanish provinces, and see if no original evil 
 manifests itself— no latent seeds of dissension, gra- 
 dually undermining the authority of the parent state? 
 Whatever time we may devote to a review of the 
 various causes which tended to a final separation, one 
 unvarying solution presents itself — misgovernment. 
 That prompt attention to the claims of the colonists 
 for redress of grievances ; that fostering care which 
 spontaneously anticipated their wants, and thus by 
 indicating regard on the one hand, awakened grate- 
 ful attachment on the other, were never displayed. 
 Besides, in the institutions of the parent state there 
 was nothing to admire. The Spaniards who emi- 
 grated left a land for which they little cared, probably 
 disgusted with some of its vices, and utterly indif- 
 ferent to that regular and resuscitating intercourse 
 which could alone preserve a fiUal attachment. In 
 every point of view, therefore, the case of England 
 is widely dissimilar ; and so far from rejecting the 
 warning held out, I pronounce it entitled to deep 
 meditation. But it is the warning to avoid similar 
 errors, and not to consider them as inherent in the 
 system ; for it is surely too much to assume tfiat 
 infatuated misrule should characterize the conduct 
 of the British government, or injustice stain her 
 councils. Had Spain possessed an enlightened ad- 
 ministration ; if, in place of sluggish apathy, bi- 
 goted superstition, and degrading tyranny, her 
 policy had been to disseminate active industry 
 throughout her population, inciting to energetic 
 
Colo?iies. 425 
 
 enterprise, establishing useful manufactures, and 
 encouraging every undertaking to draw home the 
 accumulated advantages of her magnificent settle- 
 ments, is it to be supposed that she would now feel 
 destitute or defenceless, sinking into despair ; or 
 can it be presumed that, properly governed, the 
 South American provinces would have taken up 
 arms to assert their independence ? Far from dread- 
 ing the growing resources of her distant possessions, 
 the parent state should rather rejoice at the in- 
 creased opportunity afforded to promote her own 
 prosperity. Yet there is one admonitary precept 
 which should be more attentively regarded: in- 
 flexibly to cherish those immutable and eternal 
 rights of justice, without respect to which no attach- 
 ment can subsist — without which neither govern- 
 ment abroad nor government at home can feel 
 secure. 
 
 From this reflection, the transition to the in- 
 stance of the United States of America is easy. 
 The great tranquillizer of precipitation and of ill- 
 directed passion. Time, has fairly decided, that 
 the event of American dismemberment is a dark 
 stain on the British annals. Without now awaken- 
 ing unpleasant associations, let us at once attend 
 to the argument employed as condemnatory of 
 the colonial system. In the case of America we 
 derive, it is said, more advantage from her in- 
 tercourse in a state of independence, than whilst 
 she acknowledged our dominion. And can sober 
 
424 Colonies. 
 
 men have gravely urged this fact, not so much 
 in the nature of consolation under defeat, as of a 
 well-matured maxim for future guidance ! When, 
 in the last war, we had all Europe for an enemy, 
 was it no evil to find, at a most critical juncture, 
 another foe arrayed against us, dividing our force 
 and calling off our attention to a distant quarter. 
 Statesmen of every party deplored the commence- 
 ment of the last hostilities with America as signally 
 unfortunate, whilst many feared for the issue. It 
 would be altogether puerile to expatiate on the 
 difference as to the national good, between the 
 prompt services of a devoted ally, and the hostile 
 measures of a determined enemy. Even at the 
 present hour, when our recognition of South Ame- 
 rican independence is contemplated as likely to 
 provoke hostility on the part of the Holy Alliance, 
 no inconsiderable importance is attached to our 
 connexion with the United States, and we are told 
 that, with them for an ally, we might bid defiance 
 to the world. But it is said that this applies only 
 to a period of war, not to that natural state of things 
 which should contemplate peace and harmony among 
 nations. Viewing the question, then, in this light, 
 would it be no advantage to have free admission for 
 our manufactures, unsubjected to capricious or 
 arbitrary duties? Though we have now a large 
 vent for our products, we know not how long it may 
 continue ; and is there no distinction between pos- 
 sessing in ourselves the right of regulating such 
 
Colonies. •ISS 
 
 commercial arrangements, and the necessity for 
 submitting them to the will of others? Colonial 
 monopoly in commerce is either beneficial or it is 
 not. If the former, it is obvious that loss of colo- 
 nial dominion abridges that benefit. If it be not 
 beneficial, it is equally plain that we have it in our 
 own option to abandon it, and still, in points uncon- 
 nected with trade, preserve the advantageous rela- 
 tion. It is, however, affirmed, that independent 
 states flourish more than colonies. Why should 
 they do so ? It is no necessary consequence. The 
 fact only argues impolitic regulations or misgovern- 
 ment. Does Canada advance less rapidly than the 
 Union? Do its population feel cramped in their 
 energies, and less disposed to avail themselves of 
 the natural capabilities of their country, than those 
 settled in the more genial climate of the Republic ? 
 Judging from its increased population and rapidly- 
 extending traffic with Great Britain, I should 
 rather pronounce this flourishing British province 
 as foremost in the career of industry and improve- 
 ment. And do the Canadians feel discontented 
 with their lot, and desirous to renounce the sway of 
 the mother- country ? Far, very far, is such a sen- 
 timent from their thoughts. A full conviction is 
 felt of mutual benefit ; and let but the judicious 
 measures of England continue, hi regard to this 
 province, which may boast the solitary distinction 
 of being the only colony the world has ever yet seen 
 properly governed, and generation shall succeed to 
 
426 Colo7iies. 
 
 generation, almost indefinitely, before a feeling will 
 display itself incompatible with allegiance to its 
 protecting parent. 
 
 Viewing, therefore, every consideration with re- 
 gard to maintenance of possession, there is nothing 
 in the past to furnish solid grounds for mistrusting 
 the expediency of the colonial system. 
 
 Let us now look to the future. 
 
 Similarity of climate and of production, it is con- 
 sidered, will lead the South American states to 
 cultivate the same products as those of the British 
 colonies ; and reciprocity of commerce being esta- 
 blished, will give equal, if not increased, benefit to 
 England, and should urge her, on the grounds of 
 liberality and international freedom, to banish from 
 her councils antiquated notions of policy, and ac- 
 commodate her conduct to the enlightened spirit of 
 the age. 
 
 First, then, as to the diffusing of this ameliorating 
 spirit. Do the advocates and admirers of civil li- 
 berty, who wish to see it flourish far and widely, 
 think that contiguity to the offspring of an old mo- 
 narchy, long established as the chosen abode of 
 order and of social rights, operates not as an in- 
 spiring example in the new republics to cultivate 
 judicious institutions, and to dissipate the effer- 
 vescing libertinism of newly-acquired freedom ? He 
 who imagines that a democratic form of government 
 universally pervading the American continent, is un- 
 susceptible of improvement by an auspicious inter- 
 
Colonies. 427 
 
 mixture of monarchical settlements, when possessed 
 of constitutional rights inviolably respected, has 
 much further progress yet to make in his knowledge 
 of the human character. The stern spirit of the 
 republican is softened by the contemplation of gene- 
 rous loyalty ; selfishness sinks before a sense of 
 honour ; many deep rooted vices are eradicated ; and 
 the contact with opposing sentiments tends to 
 weaken prejudice, and to advance the general inte- 
 rests of humanity. 
 
 Such is the exalted benefit which, for ages yet to 
 come, the British colonies may render to America : 
 healthy scions of the venerable oak, rearing its head 
 in majesty and vigour, after weathering many a 
 storm, may give the example of checking a too lux- 
 uriant growth, whilst extending widely and bene- 
 ficially, the admiration of the world. 
 
 There is little fear that these reflections are dis- 
 regarded by the minister who directs our foreign 
 policy. He, the exalted tone of whose mind is some 
 preservative against the pernicious influence of 
 sordid cupidity, displaying itself with such infa- 
 tuated pertinacity all around us, will justly appre- 
 ciate the flourishing condition of the British pro- 
 vinces abroad. When he recalls the elevated deli- 
 neations of civil liberty which he has himself so 
 felicitously drawn at different periods of his brilliant 
 career, he must repel with scorn the attempt to 
 identify with them the spurious pretensions to libe- 
 rality, now so insidiously propagated. Neither are 
 the arguments urged against the maintenance of our 
 
428 Colonies. 
 
 colonial establishments, free from objection. The 
 example of our several colonial governors supporting 
 viceregal state, and exhibiting, in their own per- 
 sons, the revi^ard awaiting those distinguished ser- 
 vants of the country who have bled in her defence, 
 inspires every inhabitant of a newly-settled state 
 with deference and respect ; and however ignorance 
 may condemn, or faction may asperse, even the tur- 
 bulent democrat is secretly constrained to elevate 
 his ideas to a higher standard of duty ; to mark the 
 course by which distinction is attained ; and, in re- 
 nouncing mean and unworthy principles, to sub- 
 stitute for rudeness and presumption the attributes 
 of courtesy and refinement. 
 
 These reflections have been indulged to combat 
 the sentiment, that genuine unsophisticated libe- 
 rality would be best displayed in transferring our 
 intercourse from our own colonies to the new Ame- 
 rican republics, even viewing the question on these 
 exclusive grounds. It is an auspicious circum- 
 stance, when national advantage is found to be not 
 at variance with general good. The envy of other 
 nations is apt to vent itself in imputations of selfish- 
 ness on the part of England. Yet it may safely be 
 affirmed, that even in the cases adduced to exemplify 
 this charge, applause, and not censure, is her strict 
 desert. 
 
 But, after all, what new code of national law has 
 been adopted ? Even supposing the advantage of 
 the British nation solely consulted in every com- 
 mercial regulation, what liberalist would presume to 
 
Colonies. 420 
 
 question its propriety .' To the British statesman 
 one clear and obvious course lies open : to regard 
 his country as his only care, and unceasingly and 
 undividedly to seek every legitimate means to pro- 
 mote her welfare. It was not by the precious jargon 
 of so-called modern philanthropy that we attained 
 our power ; nor will it furnish us the means of its 
 preservation. Even if it displease other nations, it 
 should still be zealously upheld ; but, fortunately, it 
 does not aggrieve them ; it goes hand in hand with 
 humanity ; and we are chargeable with no exag- 
 geration when we assert, that the prosperity of 
 England promotes the prosperity of mankind. We 
 may well demand, why did she step boldly forward 
 to dissolve the bonds of the Holy Alliance, and 
 proclaim the imprescribable rights of the repre- 
 sentative system of government ? Why, to this hour, 
 among her people, do momentous changes in the 
 most overgrown power in Europe, barely excite 
 common curiosity? Ominous and portentous as 
 they are to her neighbours, perhaps the movements 
 of the Tartar despot no more disturb the routine of 
 the Englishman's pursuits, than do the squabbles of 
 some petty chieftain in the heart of Africa. It is the 
 consciousness of perfect security — the conviction, 
 that to the immediate instruments of his power we 
 may bid defiance, and that^ we have safe within 
 ourselves the keeping of all that is requisite for na- 
 tional grandeur. 
 
 Let such resources, then, be fairly examined and 
 unfolded. Our colonies stand out the most con- 
 
430 Colognes. 
 
 spicuous in the number ; and we not only inspire 
 confidence in our stability, but dispel every doubt 
 as to its continuance, if it can be shown that the 
 colonial system perpetuates to England the main 
 portion of that commerce to which avowedly she 
 owes her greatness. 
 
 After these general remarks, which regard the 
 principle of the system to the world at large, we 
 shall not be encumbered with any of those appeals, 
 which draw off the attention from argument, and lead 
 the mind precipitately to a negative conclusion, oc- 
 casioned by viewing the magnitude of recent occur- 
 rences in America, from which is augured the de* 
 struction of all transatlantic dominion. The various 
 relations of these occurrences have been explained ; 
 and having shown that they do not substantially affect 
 the colonial system of Great Britain, the object now 
 before us is, to point out the real extent of the 
 advantages accruing to the nation from colonial 
 trade. 
 
 There are few questions in politics so decisive, 
 and apparent in their results, as to preclude discus- 
 sion. In this field for contention it is a proof of im- 
 portance to find dissension ; because amid number- 
 less interests and relations, many conclusions are 
 more palpable than others, and accordingly as the 
 mind fails in the requisite degree of comprehensive- 
 ness to embrace the whole, so may detached deduc- 
 tions lead the inquirer to pronounce dogmatically on 
 what he conceives to be the entire result, while, in 
 reality, he has regarded but a part ; and we may 
 
Colomcs. 431 
 
 thus safely assent to the correctness of his individual 
 propositions, at the same time that we dispute his 
 conclusions. 
 
 This observation applies pre-eminently to the co- 
 lonial question. Far from presenting that unity and 
 simplicity of argument, supposed by most modern 
 writers to belong to it, it is in fact one of the most 
 complex and intricate discussions in political 
 economy. There are few sections in this work in 
 which the reasoning will not be adduced, to eluci- 
 date some particulars ; not that any repetition will 
 be resorted to, or required, but merely to point out 
 connexion ; a mode of proceeding which will greatly 
 facilitate and strengthen the inquiry, and which, it 
 is conceived, the arrangement pursued will render 
 consecutive and convincing. 
 
 Little observation is required to decide that 
 some colonies must be much more advantageous to 
 us than others ; and that there may, consequently, 
 belong to the former, attributes which the latter do 
 not possess. With a view, therefore, to afford as 
 enlarged an insight as possible, those which possess 
 all the attributes distinguishing the colonial system 
 shall be selected ; and as our West India settlements 
 come under this denomination, the reasoning shall 
 be applied to them. Besides the consideration here 
 specified, there are other reasons why we should 
 select the West Indies. First, their vicinity to the 
 Spanish republics, the great changes in which have 
 chiefly contributed to produce in the high political 
 circles, an anti-colonial feeling. Secondly, because 
 
432 Colonies. 
 
 political writers of adverse principles to those avowed 
 in this work, generally single out those possessions 
 as the object of their comments. And thirdly, be- 
 cause, in point of fact, they are by far the most 
 valuable of the whole, the amount of property in- 
 vested by British subjects exceeding 150 millions 
 sterling. 
 
 Commerce being on all sides upheld as the 
 means by which a state of small territorial extent 
 can acquire pre-eminence, it seems at the very out- 
 set to be of paramount importance to establish it 
 on a secure and permanent basis. 
 
 In the Seventh Section of Part II, the principles 
 which govern the extent of foreign commerce were 
 explained. It was shown that there was a direct 
 and permanent description of commerce, consisting 
 of those products of distant climates unproducible 
 at home, which ministered to the wants of our 
 population ; and that there was another descrip- 
 tion, auxiliary and fortuitous, which consisted in 
 the importing of goods from a distance of some 
 thousands of miles, and then exporting those goods 
 in a manufactured state to the same place pro- 
 bably from whence they came. It appeared to be 
 deducible from the reasoning employed, that the 
 latter was anomalous and precarious, and owed 
 its existence entirely to the first, — it therefore 
 followed, if this principal and legitimate branch of 
 trade suffered a diminution, the other must neces- 
 sarily decUne with it. The application to the colo- 
 nies is obvious. They furnish, under our own 
 
Colonies. 433 
 
 control, that beneficial commerce which it behoves 
 us so decidedly to foster and preserve ; and which, 
 if injured or curtailed, will involve collateral branches 
 in its fall. 
 
 It is not necessary, agreeably to our plan, to 
 enlarge the argument. In the Section referred 
 to, the subject has been illustrated on positions 
 previously developed, and we now pursue the 
 task a step farther, and point out the practical 
 relation to the colonial system. The question 
 resolves itself simply into this : Is it best to have 
 trade certain or precarious ? The opposite party 
 maintains that we are always sure of having foreign 
 products in exchange for our manufactures. I 
 cannot admit it. Has the world ever yet seen an 
 instance of free reciprocal traffic established be- 
 tween two independent states ? And is it not surpris- 
 ing, that while, in discussing the point, speculative 
 writers are proceeding on theoretical grounds, they 
 think not of turning to examine contemporaneous 
 incidents to substantiate their positions. In the 
 very face of the enlightened views of modern times, 
 has not the government of the United States but 
 recently avowed an opposite policy. The statement 
 of Mr. Rush, their treasury-secretary, as lately 
 published in the daily prints, is decisive on this 
 head. Restrictions are constantly heaping upon 
 British manufactures to encourage their own do- 
 mestic fabrics ; and it requires very little foresight 
 to perceive, that at a period far from remote, that 
 
 •i F 
 
434 Colonies. 
 
 great market for British industry must be lament- 
 ably circumscribed. This policy may be right, or 
 it may be wrong, but what peculiarly demands 
 attention is, if it be wrong, our incapability to 
 remedy it ; and it shows us, that though recipro- 
 city of interests may be a very plausible theme to 
 declaim upon, it forms but a rotten dependence to 
 those who confide in the good dispositions of a 
 rival nation. Suppose we relied on Columbia to 
 receive our woollens in exchange for sugar, in the 
 same manner as we now traffic for tobacco with 
 the United States; what is to prevent this new 
 republic from levying 25 or 50 per cent, duty at 
 their pleasure on our woollens ? And I put it to 
 plain common sense to decide which is preferable, to 
 exchange our woollens, untaxed, for sugar, wholly 
 within ourselves, or to subject them to such imposts 
 by a foreign power as may ultimately destroy the 
 trade. These views, be it remembered, apply to 
 a period of peace, when reciprocity of commerce 
 diffuses its most lavish benefits ; but it is to be 
 feared that a state of war will still recur, and it is 
 superfluous to add, that the gross impolicy of the 
 change will then be more conspicuous. 
 
 The next advantage of the colonial system is 
 the augmentation of the rate of profit in the mother- 
 country. In the Second Section of Part II., it was 
 shown, that as a country progresses gradually to 
 a high state of civilization, the profits of stock, 
 from the increasing competition of capitahsts, gra- 
 
Colonies. 435 
 
 dually decline. When the field at home is fully 
 occupied, there exists a difficulty to make advan- 
 tageous investments, and this difficulty cramps the 
 further advancement of industry. But when a 
 large colony is founded, a resuscitating channel is 
 opened, and a general incitement to enterprise is 
 rapidly diffused. It is this which has prevented 
 profits from falling to a very low rate in England ; 
 or, to speak more correctly, which has operated so 
 beneficially as to raise them higher now than they 
 were a century before. During the period from the 
 accession of George II. in 1727, to 1739, the rate of 
 interest was not more than 3 per cent. The public 
 securities, which had been reduced from 5 to 4 per 
 cent., rose considerably after the reduction, and the 
 3 per cents, were, indeed, at one time as high as 
 107. In 1750, the 4 per cents, were further re- 
 duced to 3 J per cent., for a period of seven years; 
 and after that they were reduced for a permanency 
 to 3 per cent. 
 
 The rate of interest, as indicated by the sum 
 paid for capital lent on good security, it is generally 
 admitted, depends almost exclusively on the exist- 
 ing rate of profit, falling as it falls, and rising as it 
 rises. It is, therefore, evident that the rate of 
 profit during the period of peace, in the middle of 
 last century, was very low, and unfavourable to 
 general enterprise. All the channels of trade were 
 amply, if not superabundantly supplied; and as 
 every nation is doomed to have this competition 
 
 2F2 
 
436 Colonies. 
 
 increased, there was reason to fear that much capital 
 might have left the country to enrich other nations 
 by its more profitable employment. But, about the 
 period of this juncture, the colonies began to rise 
 into importance. The abundance of fertile land 
 possessed by them, and the increasing disposition 
 throughout Europe to consume tropical products, 
 rendered colonial cultivation exceedingly lucrative. 
 The capital requisite for settling and clearing the 
 land, was invariably supplied from the mother- 
 country ; extensive works were, at a great outlay, 
 erected to facilitate and abridge labour ; large and 
 flourishing towns were estabUshed ; ships had to 
 be built, both to transport supplies to the planta- 
 tions, and to bring home their produce ; appropriate 
 buildings and accommodations were required in the 
 parent state, for transacting this additional branch 
 of trade ; and, throughout the whole of these com- 
 bined operations, a vast and most beneficial outlet 
 was presented to the capitalist for investments. 
 Had the rate of profit previously been high in the 
 country ; that is, had there been rather a scarcity of 
 funds for home production, then might some of the 
 reasoning of Adam Smith have been appUcable, as 
 to the injurious effect of withdrawing funds to a 
 distant part, when such funds would be more be- 
 neficially employed in the mother-country, in con- 
 sequence of putting in motion a greater portion of 
 domestic industry ; but when the rate of industry 
 unanswerably demonstrates that there was no want 
 
Colonies. 43T 
 
 of funds for domestic production, but that the very 
 reverse prevailed, it is surely evident, at a glance, 
 that the colonies prodigiously promoted the mer- 
 cantile interests in opening a source of profit other- 
 wise unprocurable. To the present hour this ad- 
 vantage is operating. If I have succeeded in 
 elucidating the principle of profit in the section 
 already referred to, and on the accuracy of v^hich 
 depends the whole of the reasoning on this head, it 
 appears convincing, that, after a nation attains to a 
 certain length in commerce, her difficulty consists, 
 not in procuring capital for employment, but em- 
 ployment for capital. Whatever statements may 
 frequently appear as to the amount of funds leaving 
 the country to invigorate others, it is well known 
 in the commercial world, that merchants are highly 
 averse to vest their capital in foreign commercial 
 undertakings, the accidental vicissitudes of which 
 are out of the control of their own personal authority. 
 The risk of a total loss in war, or the difficulty and 
 uncertainty of recovering debts in a foreign court of 
 law, deter them from such speculations. Such loans, 
 therefore, as leave the country, are generally made 
 to the respective governments, and are not those 
 beneficial aids to individuals for the purposes of 
 production, through which both parties expect to 
 derive profit, cementing the relation between bor- 
 rower and lender. On these grounds we may de- 
 cisively infer, that when a nation is possessed of 
 extensive colonies, capable of beneficially absorbing 
 
438 Colonies. 
 
 a large amount of capital, if she allow the rate of 
 profit to fall injuriously low, tending to remove to 
 foreign states funds devoted to the support of in- 
 dustry, the fault is her own ; it is the neglecting to 
 avail herself of her colonial resources, or the di- 
 verting or destroying their capabilities by mis- 
 government. No anxiety need prevail as to the 
 profit of the investment, nor any fastidious alarm 
 be manifested by government lest its subjects 
 should be guilty of either rashness or indiscretion. 
 A capitalist who has 20,000/. to lend, neither adopts 
 the sentiments of a minister of state, nor the lu- 
 cubrations of a theorist, as the guide for his conduct. 
 He judges from what has come under his personal 
 observation ; he goes, for instance, upon 'Change, 
 in London, in Liverpool, in Glasgow, in Bristol; 
 looks around, and contrasts with other branches 
 of business the splendid success of merchants en- 
 gaged in the colonial trade; he reflects on the 
 commencement and the gradual progress of such 
 a career, and thus shapes his conduct to what he 
 conceives the most profitable mode of investing his 
 money. 
 
 It would be an invidious task, yet, nevertheless, 
 an useful one, to pursue this practical test of colonial 
 advantages home, by comparing the great West 
 India establishments with the aggregate of those en- 
 gaged in other branches of trade, to ascertain their re- 
 lative superiority. I believe that he who is conver- 
 sant in business in any of the four great marts I have 
 
Colonies. 439 
 
 specified, would smile at the bare attempt to under- 
 rate the emoluments flowing from colonial trade. 
 
 The third great advantage of the colonial system 
 consists in its furnishing a vent for our manufac- 
 tures. The modern economists have attempted to 
 ridicule this consideration, by maintaining that what- 
 ever tropical produce we require, must be paid for 
 by our manufactures, and that it, consequently, 
 matters not whether we procure it from the eastern 
 or the western hemisphere, from our own settle- 
 ments, or from strangers. I am compelled to retort 
 upon this sect their own charge of superficiality. It 
 never was contended by intelligent colonial writers, 
 that an additional vent was here furnished to the 
 whole amount of the manufactures exported to the 
 colonies ; but it was asserted, and is maintained, 
 that a greater quantity is consumed by them, from 
 the circumstance of their population following 
 British customs and manners, from the facility 
 of intercourse through identity of language, and 
 from that innate predilection which men retain 
 for the country of their birth, prompting them to 
 conform to all its variations of fashion, and to 
 adhere with affectionate pertinacity to its minutest 
 usages. 
 
 In the section in the Second Part, on foreign trade, 
 it was shown, that a proportion must exist in the 
 equivalents given by any two countries carrying on 
 traffic. A due attention to the whole of the relations 
 there detailed will make it apparent that more trade 
 
440 Colotiies. 
 
 must be carried on with British colonies than with 
 foreign countries yielding the same products ; chiefly 
 from the equivalents more nearly assimilating ; and 
 which circumstance is occasioned by the wants of 
 the British colonies being more extensive and gra- 
 duated to the scale of the mother-country. It is 
 perfectly true, that there is not the minutest article 
 of dress or of furniture — to express the idea at once, 
 with the emphasis of Lord Chatham, " there is not 
 a nail used in the colonies, which is not manufactured 
 in Britain." It is not less true that much of the 
 immense impulse thus given to domestic industry 
 must cease, without the exclusive support of the 
 colonial system. Our principal articles of manu- 
 facture, such as cottons and woollens, would con- 
 tinue to be exported, as before observed ; but minor 
 articles, individually trivial, but important in the 
 aggregate, would be superseded in the interchange, 
 and the undoubted result would be a diminution of 
 our commerce. The doctrine of equivalents, indeed, 
 is the most intricate, the most important, and yet 
 the least attended to, in the whole theory of foreign 
 trade. It would be easy to enlarge upon its opera- 
 tion, and to point out how many extensive employ- 
 ments must be instantaneously destroyed in this 
 country, on the loss of the West Indies ; and further, 
 to refute the position, that if such employments 
 were destroyed, and if we imported our coffee and 
 our sugar from the Brazils or the East Indies, instead 
 of the West, other branches of industry in this 
 
Colordss. 441 
 
 country must be correspondently increased, to pre- 
 serve the balance of payment. 
 
 Decrease of consumption, on the part of those 
 thrown out of employment, and deprived of sub- 
 sistence, would be the true mode of balancing the 
 external transactions of the country. Cottons, 
 woollens, or such leading articles, the export of which 
 is supposed to become increased, must, to pay for 
 all the tropical produce we require, reach an amount, 
 in quantity far beyond the wants of the people, 
 from whom that produce is procured ; and if we 
 grant the customs of foreign countries to be essen- 
 tially different from those of England, and conclude 
 that those countries would not wish to be dependent 
 upon strangers for every minute manufacture they 
 stood in need of, it is quite apparent that a great 
 derangement of equivalents must succeed. To re- 
 medy this obstacle, it would be indispensable that 
 those foreign nations should be greatly enriched. 
 What would be the consequence ? If we import 
 cotton from India, and send it back manufactured 
 into goods, does any reasonable person imagine, 
 that if India possessed capital, and those charac- 
 teristics for commerce contemplated under the 
 reciprocity system, we could hope to continue that 
 forced and artificial traffic—importing the produce 
 of her own soil, and after defraying the cost of 
 transportation, sending it to her again for sale after 
 a lapse of two or three years ? Yet to this result 
 are the opponents of the colonial system reduced, 
 even supposing our goods to be free from duty on 
 
442 Colotiies. 
 
 their importation abroad. But under the first head 
 of this examination it was shown, that our leading 
 articles, exported in payment of such commodities 
 as, on the abandonment of the colonial system, we 
 should be compelled to receive from foreigners, 
 might be capriciously subjected to a duty. Thus, 
 then, it appears, that consequent on the change, 
 there is not only diminution of our commerce, but 
 that much of what remains is rendered preca- 
 rious. Commercial monopoly sounds invidiously ; 
 but when it collects and concentrates into one focus 
 the many scattered rays which constitute commer- 
 cial glory, it is of far greater value to the nation 
 distinguished by its possession, than the transient 
 praise of generosity, which may possibly be ac- 
 corded to her for the surrender of a superiority so 
 inestimable. 
 
 The fourth distinguishing characteristic of the co- 
 lonial system consists in the advantages of emigra- 
 tion, and the consequent increase of population 
 among the middle classes, the most valuable portion 
 of the community. Long before the principles of 
 population were properly understood, the state of 
 many Spanish provinces had led to inquiries into 
 the effects of emigration, and given rise to opinions 
 at variance with those previously received. It was 
 ascertained, that those provinces which had contri- 
 buted most largely to people the Spanish possessions 
 in South America, proved afterwards to be still the 
 most populous districts in Spain When an oppor- 
 tunity is afforded to provide for the different branches 
 
Colonies. 443 
 
 of a family, it removes the principal anxiety from 
 the minds of parents, and sufficiently explains how 
 it is that in prosperous times population increases 
 rapidly. Whatever dread may be apprehended of 
 the lower orders outrunning the means of support, 
 the very reverse must apply to the increase of those 
 who supply means for employing those orders. 
 Colonies effectually contribute to this end. An 
 opening is afforded to enterprising branches of 
 families to push their fortunes abroad, and thus the 
 burden of providing for them no longer obstructs the 
 advancement and the increase of the better classes. 
 On reference to some of the recently-published me- 
 moirs, illustrative of the manners of society a few 
 generations past, as contrasted with the present, we 
 cannot fail to be forcibly struck with the want of 
 employment, the pernicious idleness, the species of 
 genteel beggary, which characterized the younger 
 branches, not only of many respectable but of many 
 noble families. No suitable means of subsistence 
 were opened to them, and the state of society in 
 those classes which should give the tone to industry, 
 resembled what we now witness in many parts of 
 Germany, where there is no colonial outlet. A su- 
 pineness, associated with feelings of stubborn pride, 
 hating industry, yet envying its fruits, and pining 
 under the contemptible expedients continually em- 
 ployed to disguise their real and humihating po- 
 verty. Men will do abroad what they will refuse to 
 do at home. Under the observation of their com- 
 
444 Colojiies. 
 
 panions they will scorn many industrious avoca- 
 tions, which, in a strange land, they will voluntarily 
 and cheerfully embrace. Thus, in our colonies, are 
 often seen individuals actively engaged in the busi- 
 ness of production, who, had they remained at home, 
 must have been, in all likelihood, a burden to their 
 families. In the face of this example, who will ven- 
 ture to deny the moral and the political benefit of 
 those possessions ? Independence is the most es- 
 timable boon for which men can exert themselves : 
 to administer to its attainment, is to supply the 
 wholesome nutriment which sustains our best fa- 
 culties, and cements the social union. 
 
 The association of a common language, together 
 with the continued protection of their native coun- 
 try, added to the consciousness of security to their 
 earnings, will always lead persons to emigrate to 
 settlements peopled by their countrymen, in pre- 
 ference to foreign lands. So long as this resource 
 is open, we have an effectual barrier against retro- 
 gression of rank in the respectable but not opulent 
 classes of the community. Who that has ever vi- 
 sited the West Indies has failed to remark with 
 satisfaction the flush of honest exertion suffusing 
 the countenances of the young men around him ; and 
 who would not regret a change that should return 
 them to discontented idleness at home ? Let not, 
 however, an idea prevail, that the benefit of this 
 emigration stops here. What is just described 
 exhibits the first stage. 
 
Colo77ies. 445 
 
 We come now to the second, and to consider that 
 part of the advantages of the system, which is gene- 
 rally suppressed by the anti-colonial party, but 
 which constitutes its most important feature. 
 
 The return of those emigrants who have prospered, 
 and who bring all their wealth along with them, to 
 settle in the parent state, is peculiar to the West 
 India colonies. It is allowed on all sides, that 
 when two countries carry on trade with each other, 
 they are supposed to derive equal benefit. Let us, 
 then, conceive the colonies to be for a given period 
 in the situation of one of these countries. In conse- 
 quence of the beneficial trade so carried on, they 
 must have amassed considerable wealth : now, if 
 all this wealth be transferred to the mother-country, 
 will any person venture to dispute the position, that 
 a traffic with any foreign independent state could 
 not have produced the mother-country this advan- 
 tage ? In reality, it is erroneous to say that, view- 
 ing ultimate effects, we purchase our sugar and rum 
 with manufactures ; the sugar and rum form part of 
 the national income ; and it would be as correct to 
 pronounce that the Welsh landlord residing in Lon- 
 don is unserviceable to the state, as to pass similar 
 judgment on the Jamaica planter. 
 
 The decisive argument here used to establish the 
 fact of colonial advantage to the country at large, 
 has excited much cavil, and, as a despairing re- 
 source, the anti-colonial party have pronounced that 
 the trade is unprofitable, and that no money comes 
 
446 Colonies. 
 
 home ! The pretext for this assertion rests on the 
 frequent changes and transfers of property wit- 
 nessed in the West Indies. It is affirmed, that sugar- 
 planting is most unprofitable, that few proprietors 
 keep possession of their estates for twenty years 
 together, and, generally speaking, they live upon 
 the silly credulity of capitalists in England, who are 
 weak enough to lend them money : national in- 
 dustry is thus impeded by the removal of funds from 
 the country, which should be devoted to the en- 
 couragement of domestic industry. By pointing 
 out the extent of trade which the colonies give this 
 country, we shall be enabled more satisfactorily to 
 estimate the correctness of this reasoning : 
 
 The total amount of Imports from the West India Colonies, 
 according to official documents, taking the average of a 
 series of years, is . . • • £8,200,000 
 
 The return of Exports does not exhibit the actual consumption 
 in the Colonies, as considerable shipments are made to the 
 Columbian Republics and the Continent of America gene- 
 rally. A short time since, government instructed the naval 
 officers in the respective colonies to transmit to our Custom- 
 House returns of these exports. The documents have not 
 yet been printed, but their details have been obligingly com- 
 municated to me, and from them it may be computed that 
 the actual consumption of British manufactures in the colo- 
 nies amounts to ... • 3,600,000 
 
 There is thus a balance of . . . £4,600,000 
 
 annually flowing to this country. 
 
 When, however, we are told that this is delusive, 
 
Colonies. 447 
 
 and that the balance is only in payment of loans of 
 a former period, it is essential to discover in what 
 shape those loans went out. The process is very 
 simple. The colonial trade we have hitherto had 
 entirely to ourselves. There are neither foreign 
 exchanges, nor the intervention of dealings with 
 other countries, to perplex the inquiry. Since, 
 then, no gold or silver, dollars or bullion, go out to 
 the West Indies, all loans made since the Aboli- 
 tion of the Slave Trade must be included in the 
 3,600,000/. of manufactures exported from this 
 country. The profit of the investment is thus exhi- 
 bited in a still more striking degree. 
 
 With regard to that Trade, before its abolition in 
 1807, the same reasoning applies. There is only 
 to be taken into the account the amount of exports 
 to Africa to purchase the slaves, as well as a return 
 for the capital sunk in the ships employed. This, 
 as given in evidence during the period of the agita- 
 tion of that question, did not amount to more than 
 a few hundred thousand pounds, to be placed oppo- 
 site to millions flowing to this country. Let the 
 trade be traced up to its very commencement, and 
 the result will be found uniformly the same — a 
 large excess of produce remitting to the parent 
 state. What then becomes of the assertion, that 
 West India cultivation has been ruinous? If I un- 
 derstand the term here, it implies an outlay exceed- 
 ing the return. Try the colonies on this ground ; 
 compass the question in a national view, and I will 
 
448 Colonies. 
 
 venture to pronounce that the assumptions of those 
 who advocate the Free Trade system will shrink 
 beneath the test. 
 
 Of the powerful effect produced on the community 
 in general by West India expenditure, the remarks 
 of a strenuous anti-colonial champion afford us an 
 opportunity of judging. Mr. Stephen, in a recent 
 publication, has observed : " As to the commercial 
 body, a great part of it, in the principal seats of 
 foreign commerce, London, Liverpool, Bristol, and 
 Glasgow, is directly or indirectly chained by pri- 
 vate interest to the colonial cause. Thousands who 
 are not themselves engaged in West India trade, 
 are much connected in business with those who are ; 
 and derive from them profitable employment, which 
 might be lost if they were to give offence by openly 
 acting with the anti-colonial party, or even by re- 
 fusing to lend themselves, on certain occasions, to 
 extend the ranks of our opponents." 
 
 Mr. Stephen has added many more comments of 
 a similar nature, employed for the ludicrous pur- 
 pose of exciting the community against the quan- 
 tity of political power possessed by the West India 
 interests ; but, to illustrate his subject, he has so 
 clearly pointed out the extent and variety of em- 
 ployments dependent on the colonies, that no per- 
 son could hesitate in perceiving that his own state- 
 ments demonstrate the vast importance of those 
 possessions in the commercial scale. 
 
 On this head, as to the general diffusion given in 
 
Colonies. 449 
 
 different departments of production, the task is also 
 abridged in conformity to our plan of consecutive 
 deduction. 
 
 In the Sixth Section of Part II. the effects of 
 consumption on the part of the affluent orders upon 
 production were explained ; and having given some 
 idea of the amount to which West India circles 
 enter into the question, on reference to the reason- 
 ing there pursued the whole train of operation may 
 be ascertained. 
 
 In a subsequent Section, likewise, some remarks 
 were made regarding English landlords, and the 
 question of Absenteeism. 
 
 A third party is now added, and becomes in- 
 volved in the discussion : if the general voice pro- 
 nounce that the gentry of a country living and 
 spending all their incomes abroad is injurious, 
 then the mere allusion is only necessary to show, 
 proceeding on the converse of the proposition, that 
 the residence of rich West India proprietors in 
 England must be beneficial. 
 
 The only remaining topic to which it is deemed 
 necessary to advert, is formed of those grand na- 
 tional considerations which relate to our defence, 
 and the support of our political power. 
 
 In the Section on Navigation, statements were 
 
 given at length, showing the important proportion 
 
 of seamen which were raised exclusively by our 
 
 colonial system. Conceiving this primary and 
 
 vital part of the inquiry to have been satisfactorily 
 
 2 G 
 
450 Colonies. 
 
 illustrated, I abstain from further comment ; but as 
 affording some confirmation to my views, I shall 
 quote the words of one, considered both in and out 
 of Parliament, as no mean authority, and whose 
 sentiments in this particular are the more entitled 
 to attention, as he is generally an advocate for 
 freedom of commerce. 
 
 Mr. Alexander Baring, in his speech of March 
 16, 1824, on the West India Question, observed: 
 " For himself, he was convinced, that if the colo- 
 nies should ever become independent, they would, in 
 fact, be in the possession of America, and she would 
 then cease to be the second maritime power in the 
 world. If the naval and commercial prosperity of 
 this country depended, as much as he believed it 
 did, on the West India colonies, he thought he was 
 well justified in asking the House to take no pro- 
 ceedings calculated to put them to hazard." 
 
 Few, I should think, who are anxious for their 
 country's good, will refuse to subscribe to the ac- 
 curacy of such an opinion. Our colonies once lost, 
 America would too surely cover the seas with her 
 fleets, and wrest the trident for ever from the hands 
 of Britain. 
 
 In viewing, then, the whole combined advantages 
 of the colonial system, the main question presented 
 for decision is simply. Do the colonies constitute an 
 integral portion of our empire? If this be unanimously 
 assented to, and it is impossible to perceive how it 
 can be consistently denied, then, are not the colo- 
 
Colonics. 451 
 
 nial interests entitled to the same protection as those 
 of fellow- subjects at home? The colonies contri- 
 bute to support the main pillar of our strength, ex- 
 tend our power, and bring within our control the 
 produce of every climate. They should yield to 
 the interests of the mother-country, and the more 
 they are cherished, the more they are hkely to fur- 
 ther those interests. 
 
 If, under a wise commercial system, the mother- 
 country thus avail herself of all the benefits yielded 
 to her by her progeny, she is, in common justice, 
 bound to protect them from the injurious competi- 
 tion of foreigners. The agriculturist claims a pro- 
 tecting duty on corn, the silk-manufacturer a pro- 
 tecting duty on silk, why, then, should the producer 
 of sugar be sacrificed, and, while he is, essentially 
 contributing to the prosperity and safety of the state, 
 be denounced as unworthy of favour or assistance ? 
 The difference in duty, at present enjoyed as a pro- 
 tection to the colonial interests, is, for sinister ends, 
 brought forward to excite the community against 
 them ; but the community is made up of many in- 
 terests, claiming correspondent advantages, and it 
 is not difficult to foresee that, if justice be violated 
 in one instance, no security exists for the remainder. 
 There must either be an exclusive commercial sys- 
 tem, or unbounded reciprocity of trade. There 
 can be no intermediate course, such as the adoption 
 of restrictions upon particular interests, and their 
 remission upon others. All must be regulated on 
 
 2 G 2 
 
452 Colonies. 
 
 one consistent and harmonious line of policy, admit- 
 ting no dispute either of undue partiality or unme- 
 rited harshness. The Free Trade advocates, 
 singling out the colonies as the object of their 
 bitterest animadversions, frequently assert that any 
 protecting duty allovired to them is so much taken 
 out of the pockets of the people. When the silk- 
 manufacturer has a protecting duty of 30 per cent, 
 do we hear any such charge ; or when the corn 
 question is agitated, is there not always an acknow- 
 ledgment that, from existing circumstances in 
 England, some duty should be levied on foreign 
 importations ? I have endeavoured to show on what 
 grounds those duties should be granted, and I do 
 now but complete the analysis, by showing the close 
 relation on the same great commercial system with 
 our settlements abroad, and that the colonial planter 
 is circumstanced precisely as the British agricul- 
 turist. 
 
 It would, perhaps, be improper in this place to 
 omit to advert to the East Indies : these settlements, 
 it is affirmed, being a part of our own empire, are 
 entitled to the same privileges as the West. A 
 little reflection, however, must show that the main 
 plea for protecting duties must solely depend on 
 the degree of advantage yielded to the parent state. 
 If two portions of the empire brought her equal 
 benefits, it might certainly be invidious to make a 
 distinction between them ; but so long as one, as 
 far as commerce is concerned, preponderates greatly 
 
Colunies. 453 
 
 over the other, at the same time that the former 
 alone can be considered of secure possession, their 
 claims are no longer equal. Putting, then, the 
 East Indies to this test, we discover that none of 
 the previously enumerated benefits floviring to the 
 mother-country from her West India colonies, are to 
 be found, with the single exception of the commerce 
 not depending for regulation upon a foreign power. 
 But those other more distinguishing attributes, the 
 large investments in productive industry, the vent 
 for manufactures created by the adoption and pre- 
 servation of British customs, the active and invigo- 
 rating intercourse, and the return of all those who 
 succeed in business to spend the remainder of their 
 days in their native land, are looked for in vain as 
 distinguishing East India commerce. Cultivation 
 of tropical produce is conducted in the West Indies 
 by Britons — in the East by Hindoos ; and if it be 
 proposed to force capital to the latter, to supplant 
 the former, it can be distinctly proved as a neces- 
 sary effect of that transfer of British wealth, that 
 the Hindoos may be led in other respects to supply 
 themselves with manufactures of their own to the 
 supercession of the British. 
 
 There is here no intention to undervalue our 
 Eastern empire. It is merely affirmed, that its 
 commerce, in all its ramifications, is neither so be- 
 neficial nor so stable as that of the West Indies ; 
 and that where similarity of produce may clash in 
 their respective claims, the latter, being, in ail its 
 
454 Colonies. 
 
 relations, essentially British, should obtain the pre- 
 ference. It ought besides to be remarked, that in 
 the one cultivation cannot be changed without sub- 
 version, but that a great diversity of cultivation is 
 practicable in the other without difficulty. Weighing, 
 then, this important point, it would surely argue but 
 a weak judgment to propose to destroy the former, 
 when under a proper policy the advantages of both 
 may be preserved. To encourage and protect those 
 products not obtainable from the West Indies, but 
 for the supply of which we still depend upon fo- 
 reigners, seems the legitimate use of the magnifi- 
 cent, the widely-extended, and the diversified soil 
 of India ; and the wisdom of those who preside over 
 that vast empire, as well as of the British legisla- 
 ture, could not be more beneficially exerted than in 
 effecting so desirable an object. Though the fruits 
 of the industry of Englishmen claim more of our 
 protection than that of Hindoos, yet the latter should 
 still have the preference over foreigners. On this 
 account, to have one scale of duties for Britain, and 
 those possessions peopled by, and essentially being, 
 British ; another for those possessions not colonised 
 by Britain, but acknowledging her supremacy ; and 
 a third for foreigners: being the line of policy 
 avowed by a distinguished minister, appears judi- 
 cious and satisfactory. Indeed, the unequivocal 
 avowal is viewed by all parties as a guarantee for 
 the investment of property, unliable to capricious 
 alteration. 
 
Colonics. 4-55 
 
 Confiding in a firm adherence to this measure, 
 respecting, as it does, the long-established rights of 
 property, the West Indians may feel secure ; but as 
 the modern system of economy would involve their 
 interests, along with numberless others, in ruin, it 
 may be some consolation to them to know, that 
 sound policy, no less than impartial justice, vindi- 
 cates their cause. 
 
 In this inquiry it has been deemed unnecessary to 
 allude to the question of Negro Slavery, latterly 
 so much agitated in this country. The illustrious 
 statesmen who first exerted their eloquence to put 
 a stop to the Slave Trade, (a very different question 
 indeed from that of the Abolition of Slavery) have 
 been succeeded by interested individuals engaged 
 in trade in another quarter, whose idle declamation 
 is scarcely of a character to claim notice in a work 
 of this description. In my publication entiUed 
 Considerations on Negro Slavery, I examined this 
 question on what I conceived to be a comprehensive 
 scale. Although two editions of this work are in 
 circulation, and though independently of this testi- 
 mony of public approbation, those persons who are 
 systematically opposed to the colonies were not ig- 
 norant that it had produced some impression in the 
 parliamentary circles deemed neutral, the suffrages 
 of whom the anti-colonial party are so desirous of 
 obtaining, yet not a solitary attempt has yet been 
 made to reply to one of its statements. The great 
 points which I aimed to establish, besides depicting 
 
456 Colonies. 
 
 the actual condition of the slaves, were — First, that 
 the loss or ruin of the British colonies must inevi- 
 tably lead to a great increase of the Slave Trade, 
 to the benefit of foreigners. Secondly, that the 
 idea of free voluntary labour, where men almost 
 without an effort could supply all that their wants 
 require, was unphilosophical and preposterous. 
 Should the reader of these pages be disposed to 
 think that my reasoning on that important though 
 perhaps repulsive subject may be worthy of perusal, 
 I have some expectation that he will find I have not 
 given utterance (which, indeed, if I had, would 
 have caused me much regret) to one uncandid insi- 
 nuation or one ungenerous sentiment. I attempted, 
 on the subject of Free Labour, to trace out the 
 origin of property with the first springs of industry ; 
 an inquiry forming the first elements of political 
 study, and without a thorough knowledge of which 
 no person can hope to become even a tolerable eco- 
 nomist. 
 
 The distance of the scene of action, in the colo- 
 nial question, makes discussion respecting it less 
 noticed than that which respects the great manu- 
 facturing or agricultural interests. Still one vital 
 consideration presents itself, which, exclusively of 
 the amount of property at stake, renders it by much 
 the most important of all the great political mea- 
 sures now agitated throughout the country. It is, 
 that whatever is done in this cannot be recalled. 
 If 30 per cent, be found to be an inadequate pro- 
 
Colonies. 4<57 
 
 tectirig duty on silk, after a trial, 45 per cent, may 
 be levied. If the admission of foreign corn be 
 found to inflict serious detriment on national pro- 
 sperity, the old system can be restored. But once 
 destroy cultivation in your colonies, regrets, remorse, 
 attempts at reparation will be vain, for you will 
 never again restore the stately fabric thus demo- 
 lished. 
 
 This reflection should make the statesman pause 
 on the very brink — should awaken sentiments of 
 veneration for the destiny of possessions long asso- 
 ciated with his country's pride and her prosperity — 
 and as the new light of the Free Trade doctrine 
 breaks in upon him, impel him to examine carefully 
 if it come not through a false medium, lest by acting 
 with unwariness and precipitation, his name be 
 recorded with opprobrium by the future historian. 
 
458 
 Section IV. 
 
 CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 
 
 No one of the consequences of the modern philo- 
 sophy is so truly pernicious as the placing of in- 
 terests, which ought to harmonize, in hostile array 
 against each other. When the various members 
 of the community are impressed with the idea, that 
 their own advantage is only to be promoted at the 
 expense of their neighbours, they are stimulated to 
 denounce and even to calumniate those whom they 
 conceive to be their opponents ; and thus the evils 
 of social discord are augmented to a degree of 
 painful inveteracy, tainting the manners, and de- 
 stroying every generous sympathy. It is impos- 
 sible to mingle in English society at the present 
 day without being forcibly struck with the contrast 
 exhibited between it and the polite states of the 
 continent. With us the whole bent of the mind 
 seems directed to counteract the efforts of either 
 real or assumed enemies, lest the distribution of 
 property should be subverted, and one party exalt 
 itself on the ruins of the other. Hence a body 
 of manufacturers cannot club together without de- 
 claiming against the agriculturists, and hatching 
 plans to foment popular indignation against their 
 alleged monopoly. This provokes retaliation, en- 
 gendering in every subordinate branch feelings of 
 
Concluding Rejiections. 459 
 
 almost unappeasable animosity. To the disciples 
 of economy the public may return thanks for the 
 introduction of these sentiments. They it is who 
 can boast the merit of inspiring Englishmen with 
 hatred against Englishmen, whilst their own exqui- 
 site liberality wings its flight to distant regions to 
 find exercise. 
 
 If, therefore, such views be shown to be unsound, 
 scarcely is the relief afforded in the concerns of 
 private life less appreciable, than is the result im- 
 portant as the basis of national policy. Some de- 
 gree of dissension must always be expected to be 
 found in a great commercial country among those 
 who are absorbed in the pursuit of gain ; but I feel 
 assured that the number of these may be so con- 
 tracted, as to include none of the legitimate branches 
 of production. Were it practicable thus to oblite- 
 rate all traces of prejudice or of mistaken interest, 
 what a rankling sore would be healed — what a re- 
 generating ebullition of happiness might yet await 
 the community of England. This, however, can 
 only be accomplished by a strict coalition of great 
 interests, decidedly and effectually to put down 
 those pernicious principles regarding commerce, 
 broached first by sordid money-brokers, and since 
 suffered to contaminate the whole land, and destroy 
 nearly all those sterling English feelings by which 
 this country rose and prospered. It cannot have 
 escaped observation, that the mode insidiously pur- 
 sued by the libcralists, is to take each interest de- 
 
460 Concluding Reflections. 
 
 tached, and to run it down unheeded by the others, 
 who appear so supine as not to imagine their 
 own concerns involved in the principle, or their 
 defence made weaker and weaker after each in- 
 novation. Has there, in any of the great discus- 
 sions on the leading questions before the commu- 
 nity, been ^anything like that comprehensive view 
 of a general system, exhibiting its operation through- 
 out every class ? Far from it. The corn question 
 is discussed in such a manner as to leave it to be 
 supposed that corn-growers alone were involved : — 
 The silk duties, as if it solely concerned the manu- 
 facturers whether the rate was to be 30 per cent, 
 or 50 : — The navigation laws, as if their abandon- 
 ment preceded no other result than that of touching 
 the interests of the ship owners. There is indeed 
 much of the Bobadil mode of fighting evinced by 
 the liberalists. They single out an individual 
 party ; despatch it ; then proceed to' another ; and 
 thus dispose of the objects of their hostility piece- 
 meal, carefully avoiding a general engagement. 
 Though I am sensitively fearful of being thought 
 disposed to descend from the contemplation of great 
 national principles to any appeal designed to in- 
 fluence single interests, yet as it is impossible en- 
 tirely to avoid a controversial air, I feel constrained 
 to make a few observations, to show the fatal eflfects 
 which must arise, if delusion continue in the best 
 portion of the community, as to the effects of pre- 
 cedent when inroads are made on our commercial 
 
'Concluding Reflections. 461 
 
 policy. The rank, the property, and the import- 
 ance of the landed interest, naturally place that 
 class in the van, and give them the first claim to 
 attention. It has become the fashion loudly to 
 declaim on the power possessed by this body, and 
 to insist that it requires unceasing assiduity on the 
 part of the whole community to counteract their 
 machinations. If by power is meant that respect 
 and deference which the highest class of society is 
 entitled to command, I feel little hesitation in avow- 
 ing my opinion that it would be no slight evil to 
 abridge it ; but if it imply the exertion of undue 
 authority or control, opposed to reason, I pronounce 
 it utterly unfounded. What, at the present hour, 
 may be described as the great arbiter of the 
 destinies of this kingdom? The public opinion. 
 Not, it is to be hoped, the mere will of the people, 
 rude, superficial, and undigested, but that purer 
 spirit, rectified and distilled through a severe pro- 
 cess of analysis, and constituting what may be 
 emphatically denominated public intelligence. 
 But even granting that this latter influence should 
 eventually prevail, still it is slow in its progress, 
 and the louder voice of vulgar clamour too fre- 
 quently impels to action, unrestrained by ulterior 
 consideration. How then are the agriculturists 
 situated ? Distributed over the whole country, 
 separated in their avocation from those bonds of 
 union which enable men to co-operate for their 
 common good, possessing not the opportunity to 
 
462 Concluding Reflections. 
 
 give vent to their opinions in as efficient a manner 
 as those by whom they are opposed, holding out 
 less inducement, too, to the periodical press to 
 advocate their cause, I should pronounce that there 
 is more apprehension of the voice of this great 
 portion of the community being stifled by clamour 
 and violence, than that w^hat power they do possess 
 should be injuriously exerted. The manufacturers, 
 on the other hand, reside in large towns ; they are 
 able at all times to coalesce, there is more general 
 information among the various persons engaged, 
 they are better customers to the daily prints, and 
 we may hence be assured, that whatever can be 
 urged on their behalf is not likely to remain con- 
 cealed. It is thus that the prepossession has 
 gained so much ground, that the Corn-Laws are 
 improper and pernicious. Appearances being, at 
 the first blush as it were, against them, the manu- 
 facturers have appeared in arms, and by their acti- 
 vity have brought many lookers-on to think with 
 them. We destroy the germ of this mischief could 
 we remove the fallacy lurking in the minds of the 
 manufacturers as regards what is, intrinsically, 
 their best support. I would implore them to 
 employ the test of their own experience : to ex- 
 amine, carefully, the results in the sale of those 
 goods they have exported, and contrast them with 
 the supply of their customers at home. Let them 
 attempt some estimate of that portion consumed by 
 the landlords, the farmers, and their labourers ; 
 
Concluding Reflections. 46S 
 
 imagine it greatly diminished, and consequent on 
 that diminution, their being subjected, at best, to 
 the uncertainty and risk of courting trade with 
 foreigners ; and then I have hopes, if they go to the 
 bottom of the inquiry, that they will cease to peti- 
 tion for the privilege of eating foreign com. They 
 are virtually seeking the detriment of their best 
 support, cheapness being but a poor compensation 
 for the loss of business. 
 
 If, however, the chief delusion be manifested by 
 the manufacturers, there may still be some impru- 
 dence on the part of the landholders. In most of 
 the discussions the leading country-gentlemen dis- 
 played an impatience, and, perhaps, too great a dis- 
 position to slight the representations of their as- 
 sailants, instead of convincing them of their error. 
 This led to a perpetuation of hostility, which being 
 industriously strengthened by the liberalists, each 
 party has laboured to take away protection from 
 the other, without considering that at every blow 
 they assailed principles which in their own case 
 they most sought to defend. 
 
 Jealousy like this can never fail to recoil ; and 
 we are thus taught how essential it is, not to view a 
 measure in legislation on confined or local grounds, 
 but carefully to examine how it fits in, when making 
 part of a great system. 
 
 To several other branches in the state will the 
 argument apply. The colonial proprietors, how- 
 ever great their property, are comparatively few in 
 
464 Concluding Rejiections. 
 
 number, contrasted with the other leading interests, 
 a disadvantage which renders them more defence- 
 less, and therefore generally the first object of attack. 
 But when the modern tactics are thoroughly under- 
 stood, it is easy to perceive that whatever is done 
 here is but the prelude to more arduous encroach- 
 ments. The moment that the anti-colonial party 
 succeeds in its efforts against the colonies, the agri- 
 culturists may well feel alarmed, for the sacrifice of 
 their interests will inevitably follow. So close is 
 the analogy, that the same commercial policy which 
 supports any alleged monopoly in the one, must, 
 of necessity, support the other, — they will stand or 
 fall together ; and, on the ground of principle, it 
 behoves those interested to weigh gravely their 
 actions, lest their own conduct be afterwards ad- 
 duced as an argument against themselves. The 
 common dictates of national policy, as regards the 
 welfare of our navigation, may lead the West Indies 
 to feel secure that their commerce must still receive 
 protection; but what, in this age of sweeping 
 change, proves safe, if left solely to its own merits ? 
 When men are thoroughly convinced of the wis- 
 dom, propriety, and justice of certain ends, it would 
 surely argue infatuation to sit tamely by, and ne- 
 glect to employ all legitimate means for their at- 
 tainment. Nothing further seems requisite to 
 prevent the threatened mischief which lowers over 
 the nation. The classes whose interests I have 
 advocated, may be said to constitute the best por- 
 
Concluding Reflections. 465 
 
 tion, indeed almost the whole, of the community. 
 Set apart the agriculturists, the manufacturers, 
 (supposing them, as I believe they are, unopposed 
 to each other) the colonists, with the various pro- 
 fessions and artists of every description naturally 
 dependent on these classes for support, and who 
 remain ? They cannot, I presume, be a very im- 
 portant body ; and the charge of those interested 
 in a restrictive system clubbing their interests to- 
 gether to cheat the nation, appears inexpressibly 
 ludicrous. 
 
 I hope it will not be forgotten that the welfare of 
 our labourers stands in the very fore-ground of my 
 object. Should these pages, through the thirst for 
 reading, come into the hands of some boisterous 
 claimant for cheap bread, I would submit to him a 
 very brief statement. Along with that cheap bread 
 must come the removal of duties on manufactures : 
 foreign goods will clash with British goods ; his 
 master will be able just to give him the same 
 wages that a foreign workman receives. Now, 
 he must well observe, that if he has only the same 
 wages as the foreigner, he must live like him. He 
 cannot expect his present wages to continue ; be- 
 cause his master, contending with the foreigner, 
 would obtain no profit for himself. If, therefore, 
 the workman abroad be obhged to content himself 
 with a dinner of a few beans, boiled into wupe- 
 maifrre, our operative at home must reconcile him- 
 self to similar fare ; and if the Sunday's garb of 
 
 2 H 
 
466 Concluding Reflections. 
 
 the one be the second-hand coat of a stranger, that 
 of the other will very speedily decline to the same 
 standard. He should be informed that the system 
 of liberality, about which he has heard so much 
 professed by those who call themselves his friends, 
 supposes the wages in all parts of the world alike ; 
 so that, unless a man works more, he must be re- 
 duced to the scale on which the most needy of 
 foreign workmen subsist. 
 
 And now, having closed our review of the dif- 
 ferent interests merged in the question of Free 
 Trade, does no other consideration present itself 
 beyond that of the mere distribution of wealth? 
 The presumptuous sneers incessantly thrown out 
 against the Upper House of Parliament demonstrate 
 too clearly that a political feeling is astir, seeking 
 to destroy, in the subversion of property, that cor- 
 recting influence of the legitimate aristocracy which 
 forms, perhaps, the finest feature in the British 
 Constitution. Before the altar of modern economy 
 every sacred and venerable institution must fall: 
 an insatiable thirst after lucre, regardless of moral 
 consideration, forms the beginning, the middle, the 
 end of the system. Not one elevated association, 
 nor exalted sentiment, casts its solitary gleam over 
 their long analysis, to teach the world that the pre- 
 servation of the social compact has nobler attributes 
 than the eternal jingle of value, and profits, and 
 cheap production, and the whole vocabulary of 
 
Concluding Reflections. 467 
 
 terms with which we have of late years been sur- 
 feited. 
 
 Well and truly may we now exclaim, " the age 
 of chivalry is gone? Never, no never again, shall 
 we behold the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic 
 enterprise, the unbought grace of life, which feels a 
 stain like a wound, which ennobles whatever it 
 touches, and under which vice itself loses half its 
 evil by losing all its grossness." 
 
 Far from echoing the demoralizing cry for the 
 dissemination of principles which regard our fellow- 
 creatures as mere manufacturing tools and engines, 
 I would desire to see it checked, or rather to have 
 its sounder precepts adopted into a general system 
 of ethics, where they would be properly subdued 
 and made subservient to the higher qualities of 
 charity, of virtue, and of happiness. Pohtical 
 economy may be useful to those whose rank in life 
 directs them to the pursuits of trade, but it will be 
 a day portentous of evil to England when the 
 flower of her gentry shall descend to its details, 
 and abandon those higher attributes which embel- 
 lish and exalt society. 
 
 When the mind has long been devoted to a study 
 which teaches that gain is the chief end of life, the 
 warmer and the kindlier sympathies of our nature are 
 paralyzed, a cold-blooded calculating spirit predo- 
 minates, selfishness usurps the place of generosity, 
 and the sense of high honour, which gives its chief 
 dignity to existence, sinks, extinguished in the tide 
 of general degradation. 
 
468 Concluding Reflections, 
 
 There may still be even a heavier charge brought 
 forward. Under the vague universality implied in 
 the idea of reciprocity of interests, the first of civil 
 duties, patriotism itself, falls prostrate. We are 
 called on to act as though the millennium had really 
 arrived, and that envy, jealousy, and warfare are 
 to be no more among nations. 
 
 If these be indeed the characteristics and the 
 fruits of genuine liberality, I do not covet its pos- 
 session ; neither can I contemplate so lamentable 
 a perversion of public feeling, as to believe there 
 can be many proselytes to a doctrine which would 
 sacrifice the pre-eminence of England. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON ; 
 
 I'KINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES, 
 
 Noithumbciland-court, 
 
FOURTEEN DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
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 Ren«5wed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 
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 'UN 9 1961 
 
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 JUN 3 1972 
 
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