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 3505 
 
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 UC-NRLF 
 
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BRITAIN 
 
 INDEPENDENT OF COMMERCE; 
 
 OR, 
 
 PROOFS, 
 
 DEDCCBD FROM AN INVESTIGATION INTO 
 
 THE TRUE CAUSES 
 
 OF 
 
 THE WEALTH OF NATIONS, 
 
 THAT 
 
 OUR RICHES, PROSPERITY, AND POWER, 
 
 ARE DERIVED FROM 
 
 RESOURCES INHERENT IN OURSELVES,, 
 
 AND 
 
 WOULD NOT BE AFFECTED, IH^ 
 
 EVEN THOUGH 
 
 OUR COMMERCE WERE ANNIHILATED. 
 
 By WILLIAM SPENCE, F. L. S. 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 *• When the affairs of the society are once brought to this situation, a nation 
 may lose most of its foreign trade, and yet continue a great and powerful people." 
 
 Hums. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY W. SAVAGE, BEDFORD BURY, 
 FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, |51;RAJ.<»»' / 
 
 1807. ■,''''■ ^-' 
 
50^ 
 
 "^'k. 
 
 I'i 
 
 O'l 
 
 
r 
 
 » J , ' 
 
 BRITAIN INDEPENDENT, &c, 
 
 Buonaparte, agreeably to his usual custom of 
 heapiug abuse upon those he cannot seriously injure, 
 as the most cutting appellation, which his Billings- 
 gate common-place-book presented to him, has given 
 us the title of a nation of shopkeepers. He judged 
 rightly, that we should be more indignant at such an 
 appellation, than if he had called us anationof kna^-^cis, 
 or of fools ; for, though the age of chivalry be gone, 
 and other professions than that of arrrs are now 
 deemed honourable, still, there is something con- 
 temptible attached to the idea of trade, which makes 
 those engaged in it, willing enough to have their 
 occupation kept in the back ground. Yet though 
 we affect to be offended with this title, our words 
 and our actions evince, that we are neither willing 
 nor able to deny, that it is given to us with justice. 
 Out of a hundred persons witli whom you converse, 
 ninety-nine will maintain, that all our greatness is 
 derived from our commerce, and that our ruin will 
 be inevitable when it declines in any great degree. 
 And such opinions you will hear, not only from the 
 ignorant vulgar, not merely from the manufacturer, 
 or merchant, whose individual interest naturally in- 
 clines him to such a belief, but from the man of li- 
 terature and science, from the proprietor of land, 
 from the statesmen. When our enemy threatened 
 us with invasion, about two years since, and had 
 more leisure for giving a colour of reality to his 
 
 MSOrJOGS' 
 
6 , Britain Lidependent 
 
 threats than he has now, it was common to hear 
 those who disbelieved that he would make the at- 
 tempt, reason in this way; — "Buonaparte knows 
 what he is about. He will neverWvade us ; but by 
 putting us to vast expense in precautionary prepa- 
 rations, and, at the same time, by stopping up almost 
 every cliannel of our commerce, he is aware that he 
 is doing us the most serious injury possible, and if 
 he succeeds in cutting off our trade, God knows, he 
 will soon effect our ruin." We see, too, the deep- 
 rooted influence of this opinion, in the rapture with 
 which we hail any new opening for our commercial 
 speculations. Thus, tlie recent conquest in South 
 America has been valued, not on account of any mi- 
 litary glory which we have gained by its capture, 
 not because its acquisition has done any serious in- 
 jury to our enemy, but because the vivid imagina- 
 tions of all ranks of people, picture in its possession 
 an extensive mart for broad cloth and for hardware. 
 It would be endless to cite examples of the import- 
 ance attached to our commerce by our statesmen. 
 If we examine any of their speeches on the prospe- 
 rity of the nation for fifty years past, we shall find 
 them constantly dwelling with the greatest exulta- 
 tion on the amount of our imports and exports ; and, 
 in every enumeration of national wealth, placing 
 commerce in the foreground. 
 
 Now it must be confessed, that all this anxiety 
 for trade, seems to justify the obnoxious title, which 
 our adversary has given us; for they, who regard 
 the acquisition of new customers as the greatest 
 goi-d, and the loss of old ones as the greatest evil, 
 that can befall them, it must be allowed ^re consi- 
 derably imbued with the true spirit of shopkeeping. 
 Y c t, although my countrymen have not the art to con- 
 ceal how much they are influenced by the groveling 
 notions derived from the desk and the counter, it 
 wouid be a libel upon them not to presume, that 
 their ideas of the importance of trade are founded 
 upon a conviction of their truth; a conviction 
 
of Commerce. ' 7 
 
 W'hich is painful to them, and which they have 
 adopted with reluctance. Certainly no very pleas- 
 ing* reflections can occupy the mind of that Briton, 
 who is impressed with the belief, that his country's 
 greatness, the high rank she at present holds amongst 
 nations, and her eventual existence, depend on cir- 
 cumstances, which it is in the power of a thousand 
 accidents to render unfavourable to her. Every day 
 brings to his view fresh evidence of the precarious 
 footing on which our commerce rests. The idea, 
 which a few years ago would have been laughed at, 
 that any man could acquire the power of shutting 
 the whole Continent against our trade, seems now 
 not unlikely to be realized. Already all the Conti- 
 nent, with the exception of Russia, Sweden, and 
 Denmark, is under the direction of our enemy, and 
 we know, that if he chooses to give the command to 
 Denmark, to shut the entrance to the Baltic against 
 us, she dares not hesitate to obey. America, too, one 
 of the principal of our customers, has prohibited our 
 commercial intercourse with her, so that we are 
 nearly excluded from the two most important quar- 
 ters of the globe. Even if Buonaparte be by some 
 favourable occurrence obliged to give up his scheme 
 of excluding us from the Continent, and our dis- 
 putes with America be compromised, still the idea 
 is most humiliating and distressing, if our commerce 
 be really the source of our vigour, of our very life, 
 that the continuance of this commerce is dependent 
 on events wholly out of our power to control, and 
 such as are more likely to be against us than in our 
 favour. 
 
 There can be no doubt then, if such be the pain- 
 ful nature of those opinions, which resolve our great- 
 ness into our commerce, that all those who hold 
 such opinions, would be highly gratified to have 
 their fallacy proved to them. They would doubtless 
 be rejoiced to have it convincingly made out, that 
 our greatness is independent of our commerce, and 
 
8 Britain Independent 
 
 that our glory and our prosperity need not suffer di- 
 minution, even though we had infinitely less trade 
 than we have. Even our merchants and our manufac- 
 turers, much as they are individuklly interested in 
 the continuance of commerce, as patriots, must 
 listen with satisfaction to any arguments which 
 should set their mind at rest, as to the stability of our 
 wealth and our power. kuA surely the proprietor of 
 land, of funded property, indeed all who have no- 
 thing to do with trade, would be delighted, if they 
 could be convinced, that their country, and the 
 stake they have in it, are independent of the threats 
 of an emperor, or the caprice of a republic ; and 
 that though Europe and America, Asia and Africa, 
 were to resolve never more to use an article of 
 British manufacture, still this favoured isle has the 
 means within herself, not merely of retaining the 
 high rank which she possesses, but of progressively 
 going on in her career of prosperity and of power. 
 The author of these pages has long been satisfied, 
 that the importance of our commerce has been great- 
 ly overrated ; he has long indeed been convinced, 
 that the wealth we derive from it is nothing; that the 
 utility of by far the greater part of it, is to be resolv- 
 ed into its power of procuring for us certain luxuries, 
 which w^e could do very well without, and in ex- 
 change for which we give much more valuable ne- 
 cessaries ; and consequently, that our riches, our 
 greatness, and our happiness, are independent of it. 
 These convictions, however singular and unconform- 
 able to the public voice, have been sources of great 
 mental gratification to him. Whilst his fellow coun- 
 trymen have heard the news of the shuttmg up of a 
 port against us with terror arid dismay, and have re- 
 garded our exclusion from commerce with Hamburg, 
 with Holland, and with Italy, as the almost sure pre- 
 cursor of national ruin, he, 'persuaded of the fallacy 
 of. these fears, has looked upon these events with m- 
 difl^rence ; and has rather been inclined to pity the 
 
. of Commerce. 9 
 
 poor inhabitants of the countries, who are prevented 
 from buying our manufactures, than us that are 
 hindered from selling them, 
 
 Such being his sentiments, lie is desirous of laying 
 the grounds of them before the public ; to the end, 
 that, tried by such a touchstone, their truth, or their 
 error, may be made apparent; wishing, if the former, 
 that the diffusion of just ideas, on an important sub- 
 ject, may lead his countrymen to more manly views 
 of their independence ; and if the latter, that his own 
 erroneous notions may be rectified, and that, no 
 longer buoyed up by the delusions of indifference, 
 he may sympathize with the hopes and fears of his 
 fellow men. 
 
 In investigating the present subject, it will be ne- 
 cessary previously to inquire into the opinion s which 
 have been held relative to the real sources of wealth 
 and prosperity to a nation, and we shall then be Me 
 to apply the results deduced from such an examina- 
 tion to our own case. And in the first place, the mean- 
 ing of the terms, wealth and prosperity, must be set- 
 tled ; for, if the reader were to take these words in 
 their usual acceptation, if he were to conclude, that 
 by the first is meant gold and silver merely, and by 
 the latter extensive dominion, powerful armies, &c. 
 he w^ould be affixing to these terms meanings very 
 different from those which are here meant to be an- 
 nexed to them, and ideas, which, however common, 
 are founded in error. Spain has plenty of gold and 
 silver, yet she has no wealth ; whilst Britain is weal- 
 thy with scarcely a guinea : and France, with her 
 numerous conquests, her extended influence, and 
 Jier vast annies, is probably not enjoying much pro* 
 sperity ; certainly not nearly so much as we enjoy, 
 though we have far less influence, and much smaller 
 armies than she has. Wealth, then, is defined to 
 consist in afjundance of capital, of cultivated and 
 productive land, and of those things which man 
 usually esteems valuable. Thus, a country where a 
 large proportion of inhabitants have accumulated 
 
10 Britain Independent 
 
 fortunes; where much of the soil is productively 
 cultivated, and yields a considerable revenue to the 
 land-owner, may be said to be wealthy : and on the 
 contrary, a nation where few of the inhabitants are 
 possessed of property, and where the land is badly 
 cultivated, and yields but little revenue to the pro- 
 prietor, may be truly said to be poor. Britain is an 
 example of the first state, Spain and Italy of the 
 last. A nation may be said to be in prosperity, 
 which is progressively advancing in weaUh, where 
 the checks to population are few, and where employ- 
 ment and subsistence are readily found for all classes 
 of its inhabitants. It does not follow, that a pros- 
 perous nation must be wealthy ; thus America, though 
 enjoying great prosperity, has not accumulated 
 wealth. Nor, does it follow, that because a nation 
 possesses wealth, it is therefore in a state of prospe- 
 rity. All those symptoms of wealth which have been 
 enumerated, may exist, and yet a nation may in 
 prosperity be going retrograde, its wealth may be 
 stationary, its population kept at a stand, and the 
 difficulty of getting employment for those who 
 seek it, may be becoming greater and greater every 
 day. 
 
 Such being the meaning affixed to the terms 
 wealth and prosperity, let us inquire what are their 
 sources. 
 
 The political economists who have investigated 
 the sources of wealth, may be divided into two great 
 classes ; of which one may be termed the mercantile 
 sect, and may be considered as including* almost all 
 the authors who have written on this subject, as well 
 as almost all Avho talk upon it : the other, the agri- 
 cultural sect, the principles of which were first pro- 
 mulgated by Mons. Quesnoi, and others in France,^ 
 who" have been generally known by the name of 
 the French Economists, and who have had at any 
 time but few follov/ers. 
 
 , The mercantile sect contend, that comimerce and 
 manufactures are by far the greatest, if not the sole 
 sources of wealth, and thev refer you for proofs of 
 
of Commerce, 11 
 
 the truth of this opinion, to Tyre, Carthage, Venice, 
 Holland, — states, which, by their commerce, with ve- 
 ry little territorial possession, attained acknowledg- 
 ed wealth ; and to those who are actively engaged in 
 these employments, to the merchant and the manu- 
 facturer, whose riches are proverbial. Impressed with 
 this conviction, this sect has consistently advised the 
 most active encouragement of commerce and manu- 
 factures, by every means possible. In behalf of the 
 former, it has procured monopolies, restrictions, or 
 bounties, as seemed best likely to answer the end, 
 and in favour of the latter, it has even been thought 
 politic to oppress the agricultural branch of industry ; 
 and the farmer has for a very long period been pro- 
 hibited from exporting his wool, to the end, that 
 the manufacturer might purchase it on terms lower 
 than what might be obtained from other nations. 
 
 The agricultural sect, or the followers of the 
 French Economists, on the other hand, maintain, 
 that the only source of wealth to a nation is agri- 
 culture. Tliey deny, that any wealth is derived 
 from the fabrication of manufactures, and they al- 
 low but little to be derived from commerce ; and in 
 support of these singular opinions, they thus reason : 
 The farmer, say they, out of the produce of the 
 land which he cultivates, besides maintaining his 
 family, pays to the owner of his land a net surplus, 
 under the name of rent. This surplus must be re- 
 garded as clear profit; for it remains after every ex- 
 pense attending the cultivation of the land is re- 
 paid, and is, in fact, a new creation of matter which 
 did not before exist. Now it will be seen, that no 
 such surplus, or net profit, attends the labour of the 
 manufacturer. Though he certainly must be allowed, 
 by means of his industry, to add considerably to 
 the value of the materials he works upon, yet this 
 value is not greater than the value of his subsistence, 
 during the time he has been employed in adding this 
 additional value ; and whatever profit may be drawn 
 by the sale of such manufkctures, will be found 
 
12 Br it am Independent 
 
 merely to be a transfer of property from one to an- 
 other, and in no case to add to the sum of national 
 wealth. This will be evident if we consider an illus- 
 trative example : A lace maker, foi^ instance, may, by 
 means of a year's labour, convert a pdund of flax, 
 worth one shilling, into lace worth ten pounds. In 
 this case, says the disciple of the mercantile sect, 
 the nation is richer by this man's labour to the 
 amount of the additional value conferred upon the 
 flax. Through his industry, nearly ten pounds have 
 been added to the wealth of the nation. But this 
 the economist denies. The lace manufacturer, he 
 says, must, during the year he was employed in ma- 
 nufacturing his lace, have drawn his subsistence from 
 some where, and as in all countries the labour- 
 ing class derives but a bare subsistence from its la- 
 bour, he must in this period have consumed a quan- 
 tity of food equal in value to ten pounds. Thus then 
 we have gained lace worth ten pounds, but food has 
 been expended to the same amount, so that no profit 
 has been the result of this manufacturing industry. 
 All that can be conceded in favour of the manufac- 
 turer is, that he has fixed or transmuted the value 
 of a perishable article into one more durable. He 
 has converted ten pounds' worth of corn, into ten 
 pounds' worth of lac^e. Even if we suppose, that the 
 master manufacturer, he who furnished subsistence 
 to the labouring manufacturer, of whom we have 
 been speaking, until his work was finished, were to 
 aflfix to this lace an additional value of 5l. if he 
 were to sell it for J5l. still this would be no crea- 
 tion of wealth to the nation ; for precisely what he 
 gained, the consumer of the lace would lose ; a 
 transfer of wealth, therefore, not a creation of it, 
 would ensue. If he, to whom the lace was sold, had 
 bought it for lOl. the exact price which it cost, he 
 would then have been richer by the 5l. which on 
 the contrary supposition, would have gone to the 
 master manufacturer ; but it is plain, the nation 
 would not have been less wealthy, in consequence of 
 
of Commerce, 13 
 
 51. being in one man's pocket, rather than in that 
 of another. The same reasoning will apply to every 
 species of manufacture, the increased value of which 
 may in every case be resolved into the subsistence 
 of the labouring manufacturer, and the profit of his 
 employer. 
 
 Foreign commerce is of two kinds, commerce of 
 import and of export. Whatever a nation imports, it 
 pays an equivalent for, to the country of which it is 
 purchased : whence, then, say the Economists, springs 
 any wealth from this branch of commerce? But, in- 
 quire the disciples of the Mercantile sect, do not 
 those who import goods, sell them for more than 
 they give for them, and is not their profit an in- 
 crease of national wealth? The Economist replies, 
 No; for in this case, as in that of the master ma- 
 nufacturer, whatever is gained by the merchant, is 
 lost by the consumer of the articles he deals in, and 
 whether he sells for a profit or for none, is indifferent 
 as to its effect on the wealth of the nation. If a 
 merchant imports sugar, for which he has given 
 1000!. it is plain, that the wealth of the nation is 
 not increased by having lOOOl. worth of sugar, 
 rather than so much money, or so much of any 
 other article that may have been given for it. So 
 far then, no piofit attends this traffic. And if the im- 
 porter sell his lOOOl. worth of sugar for lIOOl. is.it 
 not self evident, that this lOOl. is derived from the 
 consiyners of this article? Whatever is his gain, is 
 their loss, and the nation would have been'just as 
 wealthy if the sugar had been sold at its original cost 
 
 The F.conomists, however, though they deny that 
 any national wealth is derived from commerce of 
 import, allow that national wealth may be, and is 
 derived from commerce of export. The profit of the 
 exporter, above what the articles exported have 
 cost, they grant, is so much profit to the nation ; yet 
 they contend, that a very small proportion of the 
 wealth of ariy nation, possessed of extensive terri- 
 tory, can be derived from this source, since the ut- 
 
14 Britain Independent 
 
 most profit which can be supposed to be gained on 
 the exports of the most trading nation, is trifling 
 when compared with its actual weajth. Britain, which 
 exports more than any other country ever did, does 
 not value her exports at more than fifty millions an- 
 nually, from which there cannot be more than ten 
 millions profit derived; a mere trifle in the wealth of 
 a nation which every year pays three or four times as 
 much in taxes. 
 
 Such being the opinions of the French Econo- 
 mists, it necessarily follows, that they should ear- 
 nestly recommend to governments, the encourage- 
 ment of agriculture above all other branches of in- 
 dustry. They do not absolutely advise the discou- 
 ragement of manufactures and of commerce, yet, as 
 they place these so low in the scale of causes of na- 
 tional wealth, they consider their existence as being 
 of small importance, and that a country may attain 
 the greatest possible wealth and prosperity, where 
 both are nearly unknown. 
 
 In these varying opinions of the commercial and 
 agricultural sects,"there seems to be some truth, and 
 some error, on both sides; yet an attention to the 
 facts on which the Economists build their system, 
 stripped of the intricacy which attends every inquiry^ 
 into matters of political economy, in consequence of 
 the custom of estimating the value of every thing 
 in money, will probably show, that they are coiTCCt 
 in deducing all wealth from agriculture, though they 
 may have erred in the practical application ()t' their 
 system, at least, to the circumstances of European 
 nations. 
 
 That the examination into the truth of the opi- 
 nion of the French Economists, that agriculture is 
 the only source of wealth, may be rendered as sim- 
 ple as possible, let us inquire what would take place 
 fn a country constituted much in the same way as 
 this country is ; where there should be a class of land 
 proprietors, a class of farmers, and a class of ma- 
 nufacturers, but where there should exist no money 
 
of Commerce, ^ 15 
 
 of any kind, no gold, silver, or paper, in fact, no 
 circulating medium whatever. In such a society, 
 the land proprietor must receive his rent in kind, in 
 corn, cattle, or whatever may be the pioduce of his 
 land ; and all transactions between man and man, 
 must be carried on by the medium of barter. How- 
 ever inconvenient such a state of society might be, 
 It may be very well conceived to exist, and has, in- 
 deed, existed in a great degree, at one period, even 
 m our own country. In a nation so circumstanced, 
 though part of the subsistence of the manufacturinff 
 class would be drawn from the farmer, from the pro- 
 fit which would remain with him after the mainte- 
 nance of his family, and the rent of his landlord 
 were deducted yet by far the largest portion of their 
 subsistence, it is evident, must be drawn from the 
 class of land proprietors; from that surplus produce 
 paid to them under the denomination of rent It 
 will therefore in a still greater degree simplify our 
 Illustration if we suppose, what will in no respect 
 mtiuence the accuracy of our reasoning, that the 
 X€kole of the subsistence of the manufacturinc. 
 class must be derived from the class of land pro^ 
 prietors. ^ 
 
 From this system results such as the followinjf 
 would ensue: the competition which would neces- 
 sarily take p ace amongst the class of manufacturers, 
 to dispose of their articles to the land proprietors 
 would restrict the pric^ of these articles, as is the 
 case at present, to a quantity of provisions barelv 
 necessary to replace the subsistence of the manufac- 
 turer, whilst he had been employed on them. This ^ 
 being the case all the articles which the manufac. 
 turer might fabricate in the course of a year, would 
 by the end of that year, be in possession of the land 
 ^Z^lr\ "'" 'fl'^'T ^^n^rovision. All the food 
 vnnlH I ^'" i land-proprietors had to dispose of, 
 would, by the^industryof the class of manufacturers 
 be transmuted into various articles oYuse, or of lux* 
 wry; and these remaining and accumulating with 
 
l6 Bintain Independent 
 
 the former class, it would in time heap up great 
 wealth, by this successive ancl constant transforma- 
 tion of its riches. None of this jwcalth, however, 
 could with truth be said to have been brought into 
 existence by the manufacturer, for, as the land pro- 
 prietor had given in exchange for the produce of the 
 manufacturer's labour, an eq\ial value in food, which 
 no longer remained in existence, all the merit which 
 could justly be conceded to him, would be his hav- 
 ing transmuted wealth of so perishable a nature 
 as food, into the more durable wealth manufac- 
 tures. 
 
 But it may be asked, would not the master ma- 
 nufacturer draw from the land proprietor, as the 
 price of his articles, a greater quantity of food, than 
 he had advanced to his labouring manufacturers 
 employed in th^ir fai rication ? We may grant that 
 this would be the case, still, whatever might be the 
 amount of this surplus, even were it considerably 
 more than was necessarv for his own subsistence, no 
 wealth would be brouoht into existence by his pro- 
 fit. The master manufacturer might indeed acquire 
 riches, bv an accumulation of such profits, yet tie 
 whole of" his gains would be at the expense .of the 
 land proprietors, and no addition would be made to 
 the national wealth. An example will demonstrate 
 this : If a coachmaker were to employ so many men 
 for half a year in the building of a coach, as that tor 
 their subsistence during that time, he had advanced 
 fifty quarters of corn, and if we suppose he sold th>s 
 coach to a land proprietor for sixty quarters of corn, 
 it is evident, that the coachmaker would be ten 
 quarters of corn richer, than if he had sold it tor 
 fifty quarters, its original cost. But it is equally 
 clear, that the land proprietor would be ten quarters 
 of corn Doorer, than if he had bought his coach at 
 its prime cost. A transfer, then, not a creation of 
 ^vealth, has taken place, whatever one gums, the 
 other loses, and the national wealth is just the same. 
 This illustrative example will apply to every imagm- 
 
of Commerce, ij 
 
 able case, of the sale of manufactures fabricated 
 and sold in our supposed society, however complex 
 the operations they might pass through, or how- 
 many soever the number of hands employed on them. 
 In every instance, their price would resolve itself 
 into the amount of the food consumed during their 
 fabrication, by the labouring manufacturer, and into 
 the profit of the master manufacturer; the former, 
 we have shown, is merely a conversion of one sort of 
 wealth, into another sort of the same value, and the 
 latter is in every case a transfer of wealth, merely 
 from the pocket of the buyer to that of the seller. 
 
 It may be inquired, by those who are so dazzled 
 by the wealth gained by the manufacturer in this 
 country. Would he on such a system as we have ima- 
 gined, acquire wealth as he does now? for if he did 
 not, if all the wealth of the country remained with 
 the land proprietor, this supposed state of society 
 would be very different from the one we witness, 
 where so many manufacturers are rich, and so many 
 proprietors of land, poor. This query has been in 
 part answered already, as the admission has been 
 made, that the master manufacturer w^ouid demand 
 a profit on the articles he had caused to be fabricated, 
 and it is clear, that by an accumulation of these 
 profits, he would acquire wealth. At the same time, 
 it is not difficult to perceive, that in a society with- 
 out a circulating medium, as in a society with one, 
 many of the class of land proprietors would be al- 
 ways poor. There would be found tl^ere, men whose 
 love of grandeur and of pleasure, would lead them 
 to spend every grain of their income in kind, as 
 there are men found here, whom the same motives 
 cause to spend every guinea of their revenue in 
 money. ' 
 
 If the foregoing observations have convincingly 
 shown, that in a state of society in which every trans- 
 action should be carried on by barter, all the wealth 
 of such a nation would be created by agriculture, 
 none by manufactures, there will not be need of fur- 
 
 B 
 
IS Britain Independent 
 
 ther argument, to prove to the philosophical in- 
 quirer, that the very same results must take place in 
 a society where a circulating medium is made use of. 
 Yet as there is an idea prevalent,^ that the employ- 
 ment of a circulating medium materially aliects the 
 creation of national wealth, it will not be amiss to 
 examine this subject a little further. 
 
 The circulating medium of civilised nations, is 
 either gold and silver, or paper. Gold and silver are 
 undoubtedly wealth, yet they are but a small portion 
 of what has properly a claim to that title ; and a na- 
 tion which has abundance of gold and silver, is, in 
 fact, not richer than if it had none. It has paid an 
 equal value of some other wealth for them, and there 
 is no good reason why it should be desirous of hav- 
 ing this, rather than any other species of wealth ; 
 for the only superiority in value, which the precious 
 metals possess over other products of the labour of 
 man, is their fitness for being the instruments of cir- 
 culation and exchange. But, in this point of view, 
 the necessity of having gold or silver no longer 
 exists. Experience has in modern times evinced, 
 that paper, or the promissory notes of men of un- 
 doubted property, form a circulating medium, fully 
 as useful, and much less expensive. No one will pre- 
 tend to say, that the wealth of Great Britain consists 
 of gold and silver, because eviery one knows, that 
 these metals do not form.a tithe of her circulating 
 medium ; yet multitudes will maintain, that this cir- 
 culating medium, composed chiefly of paper, is a 
 portion of national wealth. No position, however, 
 can be more false than this. If gold and silver be 
 but the representative of wealth, much more is all^ 
 the paper in circulation, but the representative of 
 wealth, the shadow, not the substance, nay, in many 
 cases, it is the representative of nothing — the sha- 
 dow of a shade. When the Bank of England coins 
 a million of pounds worth of notes, does it issue 
 them without receiving an ecpial value for them, or, 
 at any rate, without having security for the amount? 
 
of Commerce, I9 
 
 And when a swindlino: country banker, without for- 
 tune, has persuaded the surrounding country to take 
 his notes in exchange for real property, do not his 
 deluded customers find, to their cost, that these notes 
 are not wealtli, but merely the representative of the 
 wealth of which they have been duped? If all those 
 wh( have any paper money in possession, were to de- 
 mand to be paid its value, would they be content to 
 be paid in other paper? Would they not say. Give us 
 gold or silver, or, if you have not these, divide your 
 property, your land, your houses, your merchandize 
 amongst us? 
 
 Thus, then, whatever is the circulating medium, 
 whether it be gold and silver, or paper, or both, be- 
 ing but the representative of wealth, there can be 
 no difference, as to the sources of wealth, between 
 a nation which has, and one which has not, a circu- 
 lating medium ; and consequently wealth can be 
 created by the same branch of industry only, in one 
 as in the other. Whether the manufacturer receive 
 the price of his manufacture in food, or in money, 
 with which he purchases food; whether he sell his 
 articles directly to the land proprietors, or to any 
 other class in society; whatever be the complexity 
 of transactions, resulting from the intricacy conse- 
 quent upon a circulating medium ; if the whole be 
 fairly analyzed, and every thing traced to its source, 
 it will in every case be found, in the most refiued, as 
 in the most barbarous, state of society, that agricul- 
 ture is the great source, manufactures no source at 
 all, of national wealth. 
 
 The grand axiom, then, of the Economists is un- 
 doubtedly founded in truth. It remains to be ex- 
 amined, whether the application, which they de- 
 duce from it, be equally accurate. .Believing\gri- 
 culture to be the grand source of wealth, they advise, 
 that the utmost encouragement should be given to 
 it; and they recommend, that as many as possible 
 of the manufacturing class, in those countries where 
 
 b2 
 
20 Britain Independcn t 
 
 manufactures abound, should become cultivators. 
 In the natural order of prosperity in a state, they 
 contend, that agriculture prodi^ces manufactures, 
 not manufactures agriculture. Hence, they say, 
 until every acre of waste land be cultivated, and 
 every field managed in the most productive mode, it 
 is advisable, that manufactures should be but 
 slightly, attended to. 
 
 That these opinions, however plausible, are not cor- 
 rect, that this advice, however apparently consistent, 
 is not, in every case, judicious, the following conside- 
 rations will serve to show. There can be no doubt, 
 that it is the interest of those countries, where land 
 is so cheap as to be purchased, or rented, for little 
 or nothing, to devote their chief attention to agri- 
 culture ; and America will be wise to import he; r 
 manufactures for a century to come. She certainly 
 needs not, at present, the stimulus of manufactures 
 to encourage her agriculture. The case, howev^er, 
 seems very different with Europe, and an attention 
 to facts will prove, directly in ojDposition to the opi- 
 nion of the Economists, that, in Britain, agricul- 
 ture has thriven only in consequence of the influence 
 of manufactures ; and, that the increase of this in- 
 fluence is requisite to its further extension. 
 
 The greater part of Europe, and Britain amongst 
 the rest, has been formerly subject to the feudal 
 system. On this system, the king was considered as 
 the proprietor of the soil. This he divided amongst 
 his nobles, on condition of their performing certain 
 military services; and they again subdivided their 
 portions, distributing part amongst their vassals, 
 who were bound to attend them in their warlike un- 
 dertakings, and retaining what they deemed suf- 
 ficient for their own wants. That part of the soil 
 retained by the lord, which was near home, was cul- 
 tivated by the Villeins for his immediate use and be- 
 nefit; and such lands as were at a distance, were 
 committed to the management of the Ceorls, or pea- 
 sants, on condition of their yielding up a portion of 
 
Of Commerce. 2 1 
 
 the produce as rent. At this period, manufactures, 
 as a separate branch of industry, were not known.- 
 The few articles necessary in such a rude state, were 
 fabricated by some individual of the family which 
 wanted them, and the class of manufacturers had no 
 existence. In such a state of things, agriculture 
 must have been in an extremely unimproved condi- 
 tion. The vassal, who was entitled to the whole 
 produce of his land, not having the means of dispos- 
 ing of any surplus, could have no inducement to 
 raise more corn than his own family required, and 
 the Villeins and Ceorls, by whom the food consum- 
 ed by the household, and the retainers of their lord, 
 was produced, having no motive for exertion, would 
 naturally content themselves with the inefficacious 
 processes of their forefathers, and raise not one 
 grain more than they could help. Indeed, the fact, 
 that at the period of which we are speaking, an acre 
 of the best land was not worth more than four 
 sheep, abundantly proves the w^retched state of agri- 
 culture. Neither could any wealth be accumulated 
 in such a state of society. For as there was no class 
 of manufacturers, to convert, by their labour, the 
 produce of the earth into more durable wealth, all 
 the surplus food brought into existence one year, 
 was consumed before the next, by those most unpro- 
 ductive of all the members of society, a crowd of 
 menial servants, and of military retainers. 
 ^ This system of things continued for some ccntu- 
 ries, and it is probable would have been in existence 
 in a great degree even at the present moment, had it 
 not been for the fortunate occurrence of an event, to 
 Avhich may, in truth, be attributed all our wealth and 
 greatness ; and to which, it is not exaggeration to 
 say, we are indebted, that we are not now as igno- 
 lant and as oppressed as are those wbere this event 
 has not yet taken place. The occurrence to which I 
 allude, was the establishment of a new and distinct 
 class in society— the < lass of manufacturers. It is not 
 to be supposed, that this event took place all at once 
 
^2' Britain Independent 
 
 — that it happened in consequence of some edict or 
 resohition of any part of the community: it was 
 broug-ht about gradually, by the operation of various 
 caus(^s: principally, perhaps, in consequence of the 
 invasions to vi^hich Britain was then subject, which 
 introduced, from the Low Countries, and the more 
 civilized parts of Europe, manufacturers of various 
 new articles of use, or of luxury. 
 
 The results of the institution of this new class of 
 society, were most important. Man is naturally self- 
 ish. The lords and land proprietors embraced with 
 eagerness the opportunity offered to them, of devot- 
 ing the surplus revenue which they were accustomed 
 to consume in supporting a crowd of dependents, to 
 the purchase of manufiictures of convenience, or of 
 elegance, for their individual gratification. To en- 
 able them to attain an abundant share of objects, 
 from their novelty so attractive, it was necessary, 
 that their surplus revenue should be as large as pos- 
 sible, and that it should be in money. Hence, they 
 were willing to let to the Villeins and Ceorls, for a 
 fixed sum oIF money, the land which the former had 
 been accustomed to cultivate wholly for their benefit, 
 and the latter to occupy, on condition of paying 
 them a rent of the greatest part of their produce. 
 "When once these grand events, the establishment of 
 a class of manufacturers, and the substitution of a 
 fixed rent in money, for an uncertain one in kind, 
 were brought about, improvements in agriculture 
 advanced with rapid strides. The farmer having 
 now a market for his produce, and the power of en- 
 joying, without interruption, any profit he might 
 make, would be stimulated to redoubled exertion. 
 He would be desirous of cultivating as much land, 
 and of rendering what he cultivated as productive, 
 as possible. Wealth would now begin to accumu- 
 late. The produce of the earth, which was before 
 dissipated by an unproductive tribe, which left be- 
 hind it no vestige of a return for its consumption, 
 would now be converted into permanent and durable 
 
Of Commerce. 23 
 
 wealth, by the manufacturing class ; which has the 
 great merit of always returning an equal value for 
 the subsistence it consumes. Affairs being thus ar- 
 ranged, prosperity would attend every branch of the 
 community. The increasing population of the ma- 
 nufacturing class, would require more land to be 
 cultivated, and thus employment would be provided 
 for the additional population of the agricultural 
 class, which ^vould consequently be enabled to give 
 greater rent to the land proprietors. These last, 
 again, would have increased power of providing 
 employment for the manufacturing class, and thus, 
 of affording its members the means of increased 
 consumption. 
 
 Without entering into the consideration of many 
 other beneficial and highly important effects which 
 resulted from the operation of this system, such as 
 the formation of privileged towns, the reduction of 
 the arbitrary power of the nobles, and the conse- 
 quent spread of liberty and of science, I think, it 
 is sufficiently obvious, from the reasoning which has 
 been nsed, that the extension and improvement of 
 agriculture has, at least in Britain, depended upon 
 the influence of manufactures, and consequently, 
 that the tenet of the Economists, that manufac- 
 tures are a consequence of improved agriculture, not 
 improved agriculture of manufactures, is, when 
 considered as an vmivcrsal doctrine, founded in 
 error. 
 
 1 he truth of this opinion will be stilLmore evident, 
 if we attend to the fticts which the. other nations of 
 Europe,, all of which were originally under the same 
 feudal system, present to us. We shall find, that 
 qll those countries which have abounded in manufac- 
 tures, liave been extensively cultivated, and have in 
 course become rich,, whilst, on the other hand, those 
 nations which have few manufactures, in which the 
 class of manufacturers does not exist as a separate 
 class in society, have made but small progress in 
 agriculture, and are comparatively poor. Thus, the 
 
24 Britain Ittdepcndent 
 
 Netherlands, where, piohably, manufactures wercr 
 first established in Europe, after the darkness of the 
 period consequent upon the destruction of Roman 
 civilization began to dissipate, have been always 
 celebrated for their extensive agriculture ; in their 
 minute attention to which, they may be said to rival 
 the Chinese, having converted the whole country 
 into a garden. France, too, has long had numerous 
 manufactures, and as she produces sufficient ibod 
 for her vast population, must be tolerably cultivated. 
 On the contrary, in Russia, Portugal, and Spain, 
 which are dependent upon other nations for the 
 bulk of their manufactures, agriculture has made but 
 little progress, and these nations are far from being 
 wealthy, notwithstanding the extent and fertility 
 of their soil. 
 
 But, not onh^ are the Economists in error, in de- 
 nying, that improved agriculture is the effect of ma- 
 nufactures : their opinion, that the wealth of na- 
 tions, constituted as those in Europe are, is to be 
 increased by attending chiefly to agriculture, and 
 by extending the farming, even at the expense of 
 the manufacturing class, is equally incorrect. The 
 Economists say, it would be much more to the in- 
 terest of a country, if the greater part of those who 
 are now employed in manufacturing articles of lux- 
 ury, were to become cultivators of the earth ; and 
 they contend, whilst a waste acre remains in any 
 country, it would be better, that its inhabitants 
 should engage in its cultivation than in any manu- 
 facture whatever. A very slight examination of this 
 doctrine, will show its fallacy. 
 
 It has been already admitted, that in countries like 
 America, where land is to be had for almost nothing, 
 where a farmer lives by consuming the whole produce 
 of his farm, not by selling it*, it is advisable, that 
 
 * " The general object of farming here, (America) is not the same it is 
 in England. Here a man proposes to live by his farm dirccily^ there it is 
 indirectly; that is, he raises wheat, barley, stock, &c. for sale, consuming 
 but a small proportion in his own family; here he raises almost every thinj^ 
 
of Commerce. 25 
 
 the chief attention should be directed to agriculture, 
 and so long as they can get manufactures from other 
 nations, in exchange for their corn, they will best 
 promote their interest by neglecting the former, and 
 cultivating the latter product of labour. But the 
 case is very different with respect to Europe. In this 
 part of the world, all the soil is private property, and 
 not an acre of it can be had for the purpose of culti- 
 vation, without paying rent for it. The farmer must 
 derive this rent from the sale of his produce. Now, to 
 whom is he to sell this produce ? Certainly not to 
 the class of land proprietors, which is a very small 
 class in point of number, and consumes but a small 
 portion of the food raised from the soil. To whom 
 then can he look for the sale of that part of his pro- 
 duce which is to pay his rent, but to the class of ma- 
 nufacturers? And if it be from the manufacturing 
 class, that the farmer is to derive his rent, it will fol- 
 low, that whenever this class is supplied with a quan- 
 tity of food sufficient for its wants, it will be impossi- 
 ble for a single acre additional to be cultivated. It is 
 not enough for the farmer, to raise a sufficiency of 
 food for his own family; he has to raise a surplus 
 produce, which must be converted into money for 
 the payment of his rent. But how can he dispose of 
 this surplus, if there be already as much food pro- 
 duced, as there is a demand for? An extension of cul- 
 tivation, then, cannot take place, without a corres- 
 ponding extension of demand for the products of 
 cultivation; and this demand can only arise from an 
 increase in the class of manufacturers. To apply these 
 remarks to Great Britain : It is calculated, that'in this 
 kingdom, there are twenty-two millions of acres of 
 waste land, and it is frequently asked, by the fol- 
 lowers of the Economists, as well as by those who 
 
 with a view to family consumption ; even his clothing is made at home, 
 and he sells no more than what will serve to buy him salt, and a few other 
 articles. 
 
 Letter from Mr. H. Toulmin, dated Frankfort, Kentuclcy, 28 June, 
 1802, in Monthli/ Ma^^. v. xxii. p. 427. 
 
S6' Britain Independent 
 
 are of a very different opinion in matters of political 
 economy; why this waste land is not brought into 
 cultivation, and why such a source of riches as this is 
 neglected ? For this very good reason, — that the 
 greater part of this land, with the present demand 
 for, and the present prices of, the produce that could 
 be raised from it, would not pay for cultivation. 
 Every person who has had occasion to let land, 
 knows, that there are many more farmery wanting 
 farms, than there arc farms to supply them ; and this 
 being the case, it follows, indisputably, that if the 
 waste land in the kingdom could be profitably culti- 
 vated, it would speedily be occupied by these farmers 
 who so eagerly seek employment for their capital. 
 Until then, in consequence of an increased demand 
 for the products of agriculture, arising from an ex- 
 tension of the manufacturing class, the price of this 
 produce is sufficiently advanced to leave a profit on 
 the cultivation of land at present suffered to lie 
 waste, any considerable portion of this land, cannot 
 be brought into cultivation without. great loss. The 
 cultivation of our waste land, is gradually taking- 
 place, in the only way in which it can take place, and 
 in consequence of the same causes which have effect- 
 ed the high state of cultivation in which the greater 
 part of Britain now is ; I mean, by the natural increase 
 of the numbers of the manufacturing class. In pro- 
 portion as the population in this class augments, an 
 increased quantity of food is required, and when the 
 competition arising from this demand, has gradually 
 and permanently raised the price of the produce of 
 the earth, then, and not until then, the land which 
 now lies barren will be cultivated. Jndeed, there 
 does not seem any other practicable way than this, 
 by which agriculture can be extended in a country 
 wliere the best portion of the soil is already cultivat- 
 ed, 3.nd. where the whole is private property, Even 
 America, though it may now be wisdom for her not 
 to meddle much with manufactures, yet, if her po- 
 pulation continues to multiply, as japidly as it has 
 
of Coinmcrce. 27 
 
 done, for another hundred years, will need the influ- 
 ence of a class of manufacturers to push the cultiva- 
 tion of her soil still further. 
 
 The Economists seem to have been led into consi* 
 derable error, by not properly distinguishing betu eea 
 the wealth, and the prosperity of a state ; for these 
 terms are by no means synonymous. A nation may, 
 as has been before observed, be very prosperous, 
 without being wealthy ; and, on the other hand, may 
 be very rich, without enjoying prosperity. If the 
 question were, on what system may the greatest pros- 
 perity be enjoyed by the bulk of society ? there can 
 be no doubt, that the system recommended by the 
 Economists, which directs the attention of every 
 member of society, to be turned to agriculture, 
 would be the most effectual to this end. But such a 
 system could be efficaciously established in Europe, 
 in no other way, than by the overthrow of all the 
 present laws of property, and by a revolution, which 
 would be as disastrous in its ultimate consequences, 
 as it would be unjust and impracticable in its insti- 
 tution. This system could be acted upon only, by 
 the passing an Agrarian law; by the division of the 
 whole soil of a country, in equal portions amongst 
 its inhabitants. Let us attend a moment to the re- 
 sults which would ensue from the establishment of 
 such a system. 
 
 If the twelve millions of inhabitants of Great Bri- 
 tain, were to have the seventy-three millions of 
 acres of land, which this island is said to contain, di- 
 vided amongst them, each individual receiving six 
 acres as his share, there can be no doubt, that the 
 condition of the great bulk of the people, would be 
 materially improved. Such a quantity of land would 
 suffice for the production of " meat, clothes, and 
 fire," of every thing necessary for comfortable ex- 
 istence; and the peasant, no longer anxious about 
 the means of providing bread for his family, might 
 devote his abundant leisure to the cultivation of his 
 
28 Britain Independent 
 
 mind, and thus realize, for a while, the golden dreams 
 of a Condorcet, or a Godwin. Yet, however great 
 the prosperity of such a state of ^ociety, it would he 
 impossible for it to accumulate wealth. For, as all 
 its members would provide their ovvn food, there 
 could be no sale fur any surplus produce, consequent- 
 ly no greater quantity would be raised than could be 
 consumed, and at the end of the year, however great 
 might have been the amount of the wealth brought 
 into existence, during that period by agriculture, not 
 a trace of its existence would remain. Nor would 
 the prosperity of such a state of society be of long- 
 duration. In a nation where such plenty reigned, the 
 great command of the Creator, to increase and mul- 
 tiply, v/ould act in full force, and the population 
 would double in twenty-five years. Supposing, then, 
 this state of things to continue, in seventy-five years 
 from its establishment, Britain would contain ninety- 
 six millions of souls, a number full as great as could 
 possibly exist on seventy-three millions of acres of 
 land. Here, then, misery would commence; the dif- 
 ficulty of procuring subsistence would be greater to 
 the whole of society, than it now is to a small pro- 
 portion; population would be at a stand, and on any 
 occasional failure of food, all the dreadful conse- 
 quences would ensue, which so frequently befall the 
 over-peopled country of China. 
 
 If I have been successful in showing, that the ap- 
 plication which the Economists make of their grand 
 axiom, that all wealth is brought into existence by 
 agriculture, is, notwithstanding the indisputable truth 
 of that axiom, erroneous ; it will be obvious, from 
 what has been said, that agriculture and manufactures 
 are the two chief wheels in the machine which 
 creates national wealth; but, that of these two, (at 
 least in states constituted as these of Europe are) it is 
 the latter which communicates motion to the former. 
 To set these wheels in motion, there is, however, a 
 necessity for a moving power, without which the 
 
Of Commerce. $9 
 
 i^iacliine would act but very imperfectly. This 
 moving power, this mainspring of the machine, 
 which has been already hinted at, but which it will 
 be necessary in investigating the true causes of na- 
 tional wealth, to consider more fully, is the class of 
 land proprietors. 
 
 The members of every civilized society may be di- 
 vided into four classes; — the class of land owners, 
 - — of cultivators, — of manufacturers, which includes 
 those only who, by their actual labour, convert raw 
 produce into manufactures ; — and the class, to 
 which, for want of a better name, we may give Dr. 
 Adam Smith's title of the unproductive class. This 
 last class includes all not comprised in any of the 
 three former, all those who neither cultivate the 
 earth, nor receive rent for a part of it ; nor convert, 
 by their labour, their subsistence into fixed and per- 
 manent wealth, all those, in short, whose services, as 
 Dr. Smith expresses it, perish at the instant of their 
 performance, and leave no tangible trace of their ex- 
 istence. This class includes some of the most ne- 
 cessary and honourable, as well as the most useless 
 and despicable, members of society. It comprises 
 the defender of his country ; the teacher of religion, 
 or of science; the distributer of justice; the mem- 
 bers of the professions of law and physic ; the mer- 
 chant ; all those who derive their income from the 
 interest of money, whether on public or private se- 
 curity; the tribe of menial servants ; the actor; the 
 buffoon; and all who contribute to the mere amuse- 
 ment of mankind. Inasmuch as this last class con- 
 sumes the produce of the earth, it is plain, that its 
 extent, and its increase, influence the promotion of 
 agriculture, in the same way, that the extent and in- 
 crease of the class of manufacturers do ; the great 
 difference between these classes is, that while the 
 latter replaces the food consumed by it,. in some tan- 
 gible commodity ; the former leaves no such visible 
 and material trace of its expended subsistence. 
 
 As it has been shown, that the whole revenue of a 
 
50 Britain Independeiit 
 
 country, (deducting an insignificant portion some- 
 timesderived from foreign commerce)is derived from 
 its land, and as the class of land proprietors, are the 
 recipients of this revenue, it is evident, that from this 
 class** must be drawn the revenues of the two other 
 classes of society, the manufacturing and unpro* 
 ductive class. It is, in consequence of the den^and of 
 these two last mentioned classes, that tiie wealth 
 brought into existence by agriculture Is produced, 
 but, as these classes do not themselves create revenue, 
 and as tiiey cannot consume, without being possessed 
 of revenue to pay for the objects of their consumjr- 
 tion, it is indisputable, that their revenue, their 
 means of purchasing the produce of the earth, must 
 be derived from the only source it can be drawn 
 from, the class of land proprietors. 
 
 It is a condition, then, essential to the creation of 
 national wealth, that the class of land proprietors, ex- 
 pend the greater part of the revenue which they de- 
 rive from the soil. They are the agents, through 
 whose hands the revenue of the society passes ; but in 
 
 * Part of these revenues will be drawn from that portion of the whole, 
 which the farmer, besides ttie subsistence of his family, will retain ; but as 
 it greatly simplilies the argument, I have considered the land proprietors as 
 the receivers of the whole revenue derived from the land, after the deduc- 
 tion of the subsistence of the farmer. This supposition does not in the least 
 affect the truth of the conclusions to be drawn from the reasoning marie use 
 of; for thouiih, as the true rent of the land, is the value of the surplus re- 
 maining;, after the subsistence of all those occupied in producing it, has 
 been deducted ; and as the greater part of this surplus goes to the class of 
 land proprietors, it is more simple, to regard this class as the recipients of 
 the uhote surplus ; yet, it is clear, inasmuch as the members of the class of 
 cultivators retain a part of this surplus as their profit, that, with respect to 
 this piofit, they stand in the place of the class of land proprietors, and 
 consequently, that the reasoning applied to the latter class on this head, 
 will equally apply to them. The class of farmers may thus be considered, 
 with relation to the net profit they make, as belonging also to the class 
 of land proprietors, in the same way as the farmer, who cultivates his 
 own land, must be considered as belonging to both classes. Except we 
 bear this consideration in mind, vve shall not form a right estimate of the 
 net revenue derived from land. Many land proprietors, ivhose estatds 
 have been let on long leases, or who choose, from various motives, to let 
 them much below their real value, do not receive half the rem which is de- 
 rived from lands in the neighbourhood. In such cases, the farmer may 
 sometimes be receiving more net revenue from his land, than the proprietor 
 does, and therefore occupies the place of the latter, whom we raay^ never- 
 theless, for tiie sake of greater simplicity, conceive as receiving the wliole. 
 
^ of Commerce. Zl 
 
 order thatwealth and prosperity should accrue to the 
 community, it is absolutely, necessary, that they 
 should spend this revenue. So long as they perfoim 
 this duty, every thing goes on in its proper train. 
 With the funds which the manufacturing and the un- 
 productive classes appropriate to themselves, from the 
 expenditure of the class of land owners, from supply- 
 ing the members of this class with the various objects 
 of necessity or luxury, which their d.esires, whe- 
 ther natural or factitious, require, they are enabled 
 to purchase the food which the farmer offers to them^ 
 The farmer being enabled to dispose of his produce, 
 acquires the funds necessary for the payment of his 
 rent, and thus, therevenue again reverts to the land 
 proprietor, from whom it was in the first instance de- 
 rived, again to be expended, and again to perform 
 the same duty of circulation. 
 
 That the extension of the wealth of a society dt-. 
 pends on the yearly expenditure of the revenue which 
 the land proprietors dedve from its soil, will be still 
 more evident, if we consider what would be the re- 
 sult, if this class of society ceased to expend. Let us 
 make the supposition, that fifty of our great land 
 owners, each deriving 20,000l. a year from his 
 estates, which they have been accustomed to spend, 
 were to be convinced, by the arguments of Dr^ Smith, 
 ^hat the practice of parsimony is the most effectual 
 way of accumulating national riches : Let us suppose,, 
 that, patriotically induced by this reflection, they re- 
 solved not to spend, but to save, the 1,000,0001. which 
 their revenue amounted to. Is it not self-evident, 
 that all those members of the manufacturing and un* 
 productive classes, who had, dii'ectly, or indirectly, 
 been accustomed to draw the revenue destined for 
 their subsistence, from the expenditure of this sum, 
 would have their power of consuming the produce of 
 the earth diminished, by the whole amount of this 
 1,000,0001. And, if so, it follows, that they would 
 be obliged to submit to food, both less in quantity, 
 and deteriorated in quality. The farmer, consC" 
 
32 Britain Independeyit 
 
 quently, could not sell so much of his produce, 
 nor at so good a price, as before, and thus he 
 would be incapable of paying the rent, which he had 
 been accustomed to pay, and, id the end, the land 
 proprietor would be as much injured by this saving 
 scheme, as any of the other classes of society. Let it 
 not be urged, that as this supposed sum would not be 
 hoarded, (for misers, now a days, are wiser than to 
 keep tlieir money in strong boxes at home,) but would 
 be lent on interest : It would still be employed in 
 circulation, and would still give employment to mar 
 nufacturers. It should be considered, that money 
 borrowed on interest, is destined, not for expenditure, 
 but to be employed as capital ; that the very circum- 
 stance of lessening expenditure, decreases the means 
 of the profitable employment of capital, and conse- 
 quently, that the em})loyment of the sum alluded to 
 as capital, would in no degree diminish the hardships 
 of those who had been deprived of the revenue de- 
 rived from its expenditure. 
 
 If parsimony be the most effective mode of inr 
 creasing national wealth, certainly, ihen, this nation 
 would be much richer, if the whole of its class of 
 land proprietors, who receive, at least, seventy, per- 
 haps one hundred, millions f annually, as the rent of 
 
 * It is impossible to ascertain, with any great precision, the annount of 
 the revenue derived from land in this country. If the Tax-office, in receiv- 
 ing the Property Tax, distinguished betw^een the sums levied on lands, anil 
 on the profits of trade, &c. a near approximation to the truth might be had; 
 but I apprehend no such separate account is kept. I shall, perhaps, be ex- 
 cused for remarking in this place, that the gross amount of the Property 
 Tax, by no means points out the real revenue of the country; for, in thfe 
 greater number of cases, the tax is paid twice upon this revenue, which is 
 consequently, in fact, much less than what it would seem to be, by estimat- 
 ing its amount at ten times the sum of the gross tax. Since the whole re- 
 venue of the manufacturing and unproductive classes, upon which 10 per 
 cent, is paid, is drawn from the revenue of the class of land proprietors, 
 upon which also 10 per cent, has previously been paid, it is clear, that, in 
 most cases, the government receives, not 10, but 20, and sometimes even 
 ^0 per cent, on the real income of the nation. In many instances, this is 
 abundantly evident. A land proprietor, who pays 5001. a year for the reot 
 of a house in London, has already advanced io per cent, on this sum, but 
 the owner of the house also pays \0 per cent, on the rent which he receives, 
 and which becomes a part of his revenue ; so that 20 per cent, is, in fact, 
 paid on this amount. A physician, or a lawyer, who draws to himself an 
 
cf Commerce, 33 
 
 xp& sail, were to follow the example of Mr. Elwes, 
 and live on hard e^gs and a crust of bread, not 
 spendino^ more than lOOl. or 200l. a year. But a 
 single glance is sufficient to show the direful ruin 
 which would at once ensue, from taking such a sum 
 from the annual expenditure, and at the same time 
 making such an addition to the capital of the 
 country. 
 
 It is clear, then, that expenditure, not parsimony, 
 is the province of the class of land proprietors, and, 
 that it is on the due performance of this duty, by the 
 class in question, that \\id production of national 
 wealth depends. And not only does the production of 
 national wealth depend upon the expenditure of the 
 class of land proprietors, but, for the due increase of 
 this wealth, and for the constantly progressive 
 maintenance of the prosperity of the community, it 
 is absolutely re^jPsite. that this class should go on 
 progressively increasing its expenditure. If, in con- 
 sequence of the expenditure of this class, the other 
 classes of society be in prosperity, it infallibly fol- 
 lows, that their population will increase. Now, how 
 is this increased population to be subsisted, unless 
 the class, from whom the revenue of the whole is de- 
 rived, proportionably increases its expenditure? The 
 
 income of 20001. a year from the revenue of other individuals of society, 
 on which the property tax has been already paid, obviously pays this tax, 
 on a revenue which has been taxed once before. The law has provided, 
 that the tax shall not be twice paid on incontes derived from interest 
 of money, or from an annuity. But the revenue of a physician, or a lawyer, 
 is as certainly drawn from other revenues, which have already paid the tax, 
 as if it were derived from the interest of money, or an annuity. The only 
 difference between the cases is, that the annuitant, or receiver of interest, 
 has a right to draw his revenue from one person, whilst the physician, or 
 lawyer, draws his income from ma/y/ persons, who are not obligated to trans- 
 fer it to him. Every one must allow, that the property tax is twice paid 
 on the 25,000,0001. which 'i» annually advanced for the payment of the in- 
 terest of the national debt: first, by those who have advanced this sum, 
 by paying out of their revenue, taxes to this amount, on articles of their 
 consumption : and next, by the stockholders, who a second time pay 10 per 
 cent, on this sum. And if it were as easy to trace, with clearness, the origin 
 of the profits of a merchant, or manufacturer, it would be equally found, in 
 every such case, that the property tax had been previously paid on th« re- 
 TCflue which he drew to himself. 
 
3^4 Britain Independent 
 
 augmented population of the manufacturing class, 
 will demand an augmentation of food, and will rea- 
 dily furnish abundance of manufactures, but except 
 a market for the sale of these neW manufactures can 
 be had, how shall it pay for the food which it re- 
 quires : and in what class, but the class of land pro- 
 prietors, can this market be found ? Certainly not in 
 the class of cultivators ; for, however willing the new 
 members of this class would be to provide food for 
 the new manufacturers, they cannot exchange their 
 produce for manufactures ; they cannot exchange 
 corn for cloth, or for hardware, but for the circulat- 
 ing medium in which their rent must be paid. It is 
 from the class of land proprietors, that this circulat- 
 ing medium, this money, must be derived, and so 
 long as this class increases its expenditure in propor- 
 tion as the population of the other glasses augments, 
 universal prosperity will result to thil whole. So long 
 j^s the class of land proprietors purchases .the new ar- 
 ticles of use, or of luxury, which the new manufac- 
 turers will offer to sale, these last will be enabled to 
 create an effective demand for the produce of the 
 earth. This demand will, in course, raise the prices 
 of food ; thus the increased population of the agri- 
 cultural class, will be employed in bringing into cul- 
 tivation, and can now afford to pay a rent for, land, 
 before suffered to lie waste : and, in the end, the land 
 proprietors will receive back again, in an increase of 
 rent, the sums which they in the first instance had 
 advanced. 
 
 ' It will follow, as a consequence, from what has 
 been observed relative to the important part, which 
 the class of land proprietors have to act, m the systeni 
 requisite to produce the greatest possible degree ot 
 national wealth and prosperity, that, in coumnes 
 constituted as this, and those composing the rest ot 
 Europe are, the increase of luxury is absolutely es- 
 sential to their well being. Because the fall of some 
 of the greatest and most powerful of the nations ot 
 antiquitv, has been, with justice perhaps, attributed 
 
of Commerce. ^5r 
 
 t6 the spread of luxury amongst them, many poli- 
 ticians of modern times have prognosticated, that 
 the decline and eventual fall of Britain, would be 
 occasioned by the same cause. But they do not con- 
 sider, that there is an essential difference between 
 the system of this country, and of nations such as 
 ancient Rome. The latter despised the class of ma . 
 nufacturers ; their attention was in their infancy 
 solely devoted to agriculture and to arms, and their 
 wealth was derived from the plunder of conquered 
 countries, not from their own internal resources. 
 When, in consequence of extended conquest, an ac- 
 cumulation of wealth was acquired by every private 
 soldier even of their army, effeminacy took place of 
 the active courage which had procured their riches, 
 and they fell an easy prey to the hungry hordes of 
 northern barbarians which attacked them. No such 
 consequences, however, can result to nations, whose 
 wealth is derived from their own internal resources ; 
 for, however great may be the quantity of luxuries 
 produced by the manufacturing class, the bulk of 
 that class, from which the army of the state must be 
 chiefly supplied, will never enjoy more than the bare 
 necessaries of life, andconsequently cannot be ener- 
 vated by the luxuries it brings into existence. No- 
 body will pretend to say, that the artizans employed 
 in the fabrication of the most luxurious couch, or 
 the softest velvets, will be debilitated by their manu- 
 facture, or Nv^ould make w^orse soldiers, than if they 
 had never made any other than deal chairs, or 
 coarse woollen cloth. So that luxury cannot con- 
 tribute to our fall, in the same way in which it did 
 to the fall of ancient Rome; and that its increase 
 is necessary to our prosperity, few thinking minds 
 will deny. 
 
 It is impossible exactly to define, what are lux- 
 uries, and what necessaries; yet, a slight considera- 
 tion will show, that a very great proportion of our 
 manufactures cannot be included under the latter title, 
 
 c2 
 
96 Britain Iiidcpendein 
 
 Every one knows, that a few hundreds a year aie 
 sufficient to procure all tbe necessaries and onitons 
 of life : in what, thfcn, can the sums above this 
 amount, which are spent by the 'numbers in this 
 country, who have their 10,0001. and 20,0001 a 
 year, be expended but in luxuries? And as.trom this 
 consideration, it is plain, that the population ot the 
 manufacturing class, at present occupied m proviil- 
 ing necessaries, is fully ecjual to fabricate all that aie 
 wanted of this description, itfollo^vs, that theacUU- 
 tional population of this class, can only be employ- 
 ed in the manufacture of new luxuries. , . , 
 Though it is of little consequence to tlie physical 
 prosperity of a country, in what luxuries the revenue 
 of its land proprietors is expended, so that it be ex- 
 pended ; vet its wealth will gain a greater accession, 
 the more permanent these luxuries are, and it svill be 
 therefore desirable, that a taste for luxuries of this 
 description, rather than for such as are ot a transi- 
 tory nature, be infused into the minds ot the mem- 
 bers of society. Thus the prosperity of the country 
 would be as much promoted, if an owner of an estate 
 of 10,0001. a year, ^vere to expend this sum m em- 
 ploying 500 men to blow glass bubbles, to be broken 
 L soon as ma.le, as if he employed the same num- 
 ber in building a splendid palace ; yet in the latter 
 case, a permanent and desirable addition would be 
 ma.le to national wealth, in the former, none at a . 
 The 500 glass blowers would require as much weal li 
 to be brought into existence from the soil, woukl 
 consume as much food, and would consequently be 
 as prosperous, as the 500 palace builders ; yet, t. e 
 former would leave no valuable return tor their sub- 
 sistence- they would, in this case, be unproductive 
 kbouiSs, whilst the latter would produce such a re- 
 turn —would be productive labourers. 
 
 Ami as in a country, constituted as this is, the un- 
 productive class, will necessarily be very "umerous 
 hough, with respect to its enjoyment of physical 
 
of Commerce, ' sj 
 
 prosperity, it is of no moment what its members are 
 employed in, so that they are able to draw the funds 
 requisite for their subsistence from the class of land 
 proprietors ; yet, in a moral point of view, it is 
 hio-hly desirable, that they should be occupied m mi- 
 nistering to the wisdom, rather than the follies, of 
 society ; in contributing to its instruction, rather 
 than Its amusement. Thus, when a nobleman keeps 
 in his retinue, fifty menial servants, this luxurious 
 appendage of rank, undoubtedly contributes to the 
 prosperity of the country. Not only do these fifty de- 
 pendents themselves enjoy the greatest abundance of 
 food, but, at the same time, the expenditure, which 
 their clothing, &c. occasions, contributes to the sup- 
 port of a proportion of the manufacturing class. Yet 
 it^is undoubtedly much to be wished, that the place 
 of half this retinue were filled with men who would"^ 
 aid the cause of knowledge and of virtue, as well as 
 of national prosperity. It is doubtless desirable, 
 that it were the fashion for a man of fortune to have 
 twenty-five teachers of knowledge, or professors of 
 science, on his establishment, and twenty-five dor 
 mestics, whose services were really necessary, rather 
 Jthan fifty of the latter class, of whom a majority can- 
 not find employment for their time. 
 
 V^arious other considerations naturally arise out of 
 the views which we have now taken' of the great 
 causes of national wealth; but these may, with 
 greater propriety be hinted at (for to enlarge upon 
 them would require volumes), at the conclusion of 
 the observations that remain to be made relative to 
 the main subject of the present inquiry, 
 
 f have hitherto purposely avoided other than a very 
 slight allusion to the part which is acted by com- 
 merce in the creation of national wealth, because the 
 investigation of this subject will be greatly simpli- 
 fied by being treated of separately, and subsequent to 
 the preliminary inquiry which has been instituted. 
 It now remains to attend to this question. 
 
38 Britain Independent 
 
 It has been shown, that a nation possessed of 
 landed territory, may acquire great wealth, and en- 
 joy prosperity by the sole action,Und re-action, ot 
 manufactures and of agriculture upon each other. 
 Bur few countries that have made any progress in , 
 civilization, have contented themselves with these 
 two branches of industry. From the influence of dif- 
 ferent causes, one country has ])roduced a superfluity 
 of something of which another has been in want, and 
 vice versa; and, hence, an interchange or commerce 
 of commodities, has taken place between the two. 
 There is no question as to the conveniences arising 
 from this commerce, and the reader will greatly err, 
 if he suppose I am desirous of proving, that it would 
 be better for the world, if there were less of it than 
 there is. On the contrary, there cannot be a warmer 
 advocate than I am, for its reasonable extension. 
 But, it has been almost universally believed, that, be- 
 sides being an accommodation and convenience, com- 
 merce is the greatest possible source of national 
 wealth. In this country, particularly, where com- 
 merce has been carried to a greater extent than in 
 any other country of the same size, it is the opinion 
 of almost all its inhabitants, that its wealth, its 
 greatness, and its prosperity, have been chic fly de- 
 rived from its commerce ; and, that these advantages 
 can be continued, and increased, only by its conti- 
 nuance and extension. 
 
 That these opinions, as far as they respect this 
 country, are founded in truth, I cannot bring my- 
 self to believe, and I proceed to state the grounds of 
 my conviction of their fallacy. 
 
 As all commerce naturally divides itself into com- 
 merce of import and export, I shall, in the first place,^ 
 endeavour to prove, that no riches, no increase of 
 national wealth, can in any case bederivedfrom com 
 merce of import; and, in the next place, that, al- 
 though national wealth may, in some cases, be deriv- 
 ed from commerce of export, yet, that Britain, in 
 
' of Commerce. $9 
 
 consequence of particular circumstances, has not 
 derived, nor does derive, from this branch of 
 commerce, any portion of her national wealth ; and, 
 consequently, that her riches, her prosperity, and 
 her power are intrinsic, derived from her own re- 
 sources, independent of commerce, and might, and 
 will exist, even though her trade should be annihilat- 
 ed. These positions, untenable as at first glance they 
 may seem, I do not fear being able to establish to 
 the satisfaction of those, who will dismiss from their 
 mind the deep-rooted prejudices with which, on this 
 subject, they are warped ; and who, no longer con- 
 tented with examining the mere surface of things, 
 shall determine to penetrate through every stratimi 
 of the mine which conceals the grand truths of po- 
 litical economy. 
 
 As it will be requisite, in the course of our inqui- 
 ries, frequently to make use of the word consumers^ 
 by which is meant, those vfho Jinally purchase and 
 make use of the articles of commerce, it is necessary 
 previously to observe, that though this term is applir 
 cable to all the classes in society, as every class ne* 
 cessarily consumes ; yet, as it has been shown, that 
 the consumable revenue of the class of manufacturers, 
 and the unproductive class, is wholly derived from 
 the agricultural class, and the class of land proprie- 
 tors, it is these two last classes which are, in fact, 
 the sole consuming classes in society. Inasmuch, 
 however, as these two classes distribute part of their 
 revenue to the remaining classes, and thus enable 
 them to consume, the denomination of consumers 
 cannot, with propriety, be restricted to the class of 
 land proprietors and cultivators, but must be extend- 
 ed to the whole community. 
 
 Every one must allow ; that for whatever a nation 
 purchases in a foreign market, it gives an adequate 
 value, either in money, or in other goods ; so far then, 
 certainly, it gains no profit nor a,ddition to its wealth. 
 It has changed one sort of wealth for another, but 
 it has not increased the amount it was before pos- 
 
40 Britain Independent 
 
 sessed of. Thus, when the East India Company has 
 exchanged a quantity of bullion with the Chinese 
 for tea, no one will say, that thi$ mere excliange is 
 any increase of national wealth*. We have gained a 
 quantity of tea, but we have parted with an equal va- 
 lue of gold and silver ; and if this tea were sold at 
 home, for exactly the same sum as iK'd been given 
 for it, it would be allowed, on all hands, iliat no 
 wealth had accrued to the nation fron this tran ier. 
 But, because goods, bought at a foreign market, and 
 sold at home, have their value considerably augment- 
 ed by the charge of transporting them, the duty paid 
 to government, theprofitof the merchant, importer, 
 &;c. it is contended, by the disciples of the mercantile 
 sysrem, that this increased value is so much profit to 
 the nation ; so much addition to the amount of na- 
 tional wealth. Thus, a quantity of tea, say they, 
 which has cost in China lOOOl. will, by the charges 
 and profits which have occurred upon it, previous to 
 its exposure for sale in England, have its value aug- 
 mented to 15001. and will be sold for that sum at 
 home. Since, then, the tea cost but lOOOl. and it has 
 been sold for 15001. is not this 5001. an addition to 
 national wealth ? To this question, I answer, No ; 
 certainly not. There is no doubt, but the persons 
 concerned in this transaction, have gained a profit, 
 and have added to their individual wealth. The ship 
 owner has added to his wealth, by the freight of the 
 tea; the underwriter by his premiums of insurance 
 "Upon it ; the government has increased the revenue 
 by the duties of customs and excise ; and the East 
 India Company has augmented its dividend by the 
 profit gained upon this article. But, the question is, 
 
 * If by wealth be merely understood the greatest possible enjoyment of 
 things we most desire, there can be no doubt, that, inasmuch as it is proved 
 we have a greater desire for tea than for gold and silver, by the fact of our 
 exchanging one for the other, we may be said to have gained wealth by the 
 exchange : but this is not ^he sort of wealth which the disciples of the mer- 
 cantile system contend is gained by a nation from trade. What they call 
 wealth, is an increase of the capital, or stock of the society, not the mere 
 exchange of one coBiuwable comijjodity for another. 
 
of Commerce, 41 
 
 from whence have this profit of the ship owner, the 
 underwriter, the government, and the East India 
 Company been derived ? Have they not been drawn 
 from the consumers of this tea ; and is it not as clear 
 as noonday, that whatever the former have gained, 
 the latter have lost : that tlie latter are exactly poorer 
 in proportion as the former are richer, and, in short, 
 that a transfer, not a creation, of wealth, has taken 
 place? If this tea had been sold for lOOOl. the bare 
 sum which it cost, would the nation have been 
 poorer, than if it were sold for 15001? Certainly 
 not. In this case, the consumers of the tea would 
 have kept in their pockets the oOOl. which on the 
 other supposition, they transferred to the pockets 
 of the ship owner, the insurer, &c. ; but the na- 
 tional wealth would be neither increased nor dimi- 
 nished. 
 
 The same reasoning is applicable to all commerce 
 of import. In every case, the value of an article is 
 what it has cost in the foreign market, and whatever 
 it is sold for, more than this, is a transfer of wealth 
 from the consumers of the article, to those who gain 
 a profit by it, but in no instance is there any addi- 
 tion to national wealth created by this branch of 
 commerce. A gamester, who is not worth sixpence 
 to-night, may, by to-morrow, be possessed of 30,0001. 
 which he has won from the dupes of his knavery ; 
 but who would not laugh at him, that should ima- 
 gine this transfer of individual fortune, an accession 
 of national wealth? Yet this opinion might, with 
 every Avhit as much justice be maintained, as that 
 the honourable profit of those concerned in import- 
 ing articles of merchandize, is a creation of national 
 riches. 
 
 The arguments made use of to show, that no na- 
 tional wealth is derived from commerce of import, 
 will serve also to show the absurdity of their no- 
 tions, who talk of the importance of such and such 
 hranches of commerce, because of the great duties 
 which are levied on them at the custom house or ex- 
 
42 ■ Britain Independent 
 
 cise office. Such reasoners will insist upon the vast 
 value of our East India trade, because of the three or 
 four millions which the public revjenue derives from 
 the duties imposed on the articles imported from 
 thence. They do not consider, that all such duties 
 are finally paid by the consumers of the articles on 
 which they are laid ; and that these consumers are 
 equally able to pay the sums they advance, whether 
 or not they consume the articles on which they are 
 levied. Thus, an individual who annually consumes 
 lOl. worth of tea, contributes to the revenue 4l/; — 
 but, surely, it is not essential to the capacity of con- 
 tribuiing this sum, that he should consume a certain 
 quantity of tea yearly. Since he possesses funds ade* 
 quate to the payment of lOl. for tea, if no duty were 
 charged on this tea, and he could purchase it for 61. 
 he would still be able to advance the additional 4l. as 
 a direct tax. Indeed, if he were entirely to cease con- 
 suming tea, (though I do not advise that he should 
 do so, ) and were to substitute in its place the equally 
 nourishing, and far more wholesome beverage, water, 
 which he might have without cost, he would hav^e 
 the power of much more considerably contributing 
 to the public revenue; for in that case, he might af- 
 ford to pay, as a direct tax, the whole lOL which he 
 had been accustomed to spend in this luxury, and of 
 which before, 4I. only went to the Exchequer, the 
 remainder being divided between the Chinese, the 
 ship owner, the East India Company, &c. On the 
 same mode of reasoning, it would be preposterous to 
 maintain, that he who can afford to drinic a barrel of 
 ale, on which the duty is 10s. could not afibrd to ad- 
 vance this 10s. without drinking the ale. The fact 
 is, that it is a convenient way of raising a revenue, 
 to tax consumable articles at the custom house, or 
 the excise office; but, if the consumers of the arti- 
 cles, can afford to consume them loaded with taxes, 
 they certainly can afford to advance these taxes, even 
 though they did not consume the articles upon 
 which they are levied; and hence there is no neces- 
 
of Commerce, 43 
 
 sity whatever, that the articles in question should be 
 imported for the mere purpose of aiding the revenue 
 of the country. 
 
 If it be clear, that no increase of national wealth 
 can be derived from commerce of import, it is on the 
 other hand, equally plain, that in some cases, an in- 
 crease of national wealth may be drawn from com- 
 merce of export. The value obtained in foreign mar- 
 kets, for the manufactures which a nation exports, 
 resolves itself into the value of the food which has 
 been expended in manufacturing them, and the profit 
 of the master manufacturer, and the exporting mer- 
 chant. These profits are undoubtedly national profit. 
 Thus, when a lace manufacturer has been so long em- 
 ployed in the manufacturing a pound of flax into 
 lace, that his subsistence, during that period, has 
 cost 301. this sum is the real worth of the lace ; and 
 if it be sold at home, whether for 301. or 60l. the na- 
 tion is, as has been shown, no richer for this manu- 
 facture. But if this lace be exported to another 
 country, and there sold for 60l. it is undeniable, 
 that the exporting nation has added 501- to its 
 wealth by its sale, since the cost to it was only 30l. 
 
 Reasoning in this way; an Economist would ad- 
 mit, that Britain gains some increase of national 
 wealth, by her commerce of export. Yet he would 
 be truly astonished to observe the value which we 
 set upon this commerce, when he calculated the pro- 
 bable amount of our national gains from this source, 
 and compared it with the public revenue, and private 
 expenditure of the country. He would reason thus : 
 Great Britain, in the most prosperous years of her 
 commerce, has exported to the amount of about fifty- 
 millions sterling. If we estimate the profit of the 
 master manufacturer, and the exporting merchant, 
 at 20 per cent, on this, it will probably be not far 
 from the truth; certainly it will be fully as much, 
 as in these times of competition is likely to be gained. 
 Great Britain, then, gains annually by her commerce 
 
4-^ Britaiji Independent 
 
 of export, ten millions*. This sum, in itself, seems 
 considc rable, but compare it with the public and pri^ 
 vate revenue of the country, and ilt will be seen to be 
 perfectly insignificant, and tlie trade from whence 
 It springs, in no de^v^t entitled to rank as the 
 chief source of its wealth. More than twice this 
 sum is paid for tlie interest of the national debt! 
 More than four times this sum is paid to the govern- 
 ment in taxes 1 It cannot be supposed, that the re- 
 ceivers of thjs ten millions of profit from trade, pay 
 more than one fifth of the whole, which is two mil- 
 lions, in taxes. 'Jo this we may add, the custom- 
 house duties on exports, which may amount to nearly 
 two millions more. Four millions, then, is the ut- 
 most that we can suppose the revenue derives, from 
 British commerce of export. Whence, then, springs 
 the remaining 36 or 40 millions, which are annuafly 
 paid in taxes ? Certainly from some source more pro- 
 ductive than commerce of export. And, as no wealth 
 is created by manufactures sold at home, or by com- 
 merce of import, from what source can this enormous 
 amount of taxes be derived, but from the grand source 
 of wealth, the soil? 
 
 We should laugh at, or pity as insane, the proprie- 
 tor of a landed estate of 10,0001. a year, on which 
 there was a stone quarry, producing him annually 
 5001. profit, who should continually be dwelling on 
 the amazing importance of this quarry, and be miser- 
 able when he sold a few cart loads of stones less than 
 ■usual ; and, at the same time, should pay no regard to 
 the infinitely greater revenue arising from his land, 
 and should consider it as by far the least important 
 
 * If from this sum we deduct, as we certainly ought to do, the annual 
 amount of our commercial losses at sea, we should considerably lessen its 
 magnitude. The greater part of our exports, as well as of our imports, 
 being insured by British underwriters, the whole amount which they annu- 
 ally pay, is so much dead loss to the nation -, deducting the premiums 
 which they receive from foreign countries. Ic is impossible to ascertain 
 what is the annual amount of the sums paid by underwriters, and sustainc(t 
 by individuals from losses at sea, but it must be some millions. . . , 
 
of Commerce. 45 
 
 part of his riches. With equal justice might the Eco- 
 nomist laugh at our folly, or pity our insanity. 
 " These people, these Britons," he might say, "have 
 a territory the most productive, in proportion to its^ 
 size, of any in Europe. As their island contains twelve 
 millions of inhabitants, and each person on the ave- 
 rage annually consumes food to the amount of at 
 least lOl. they must derive from their soil a gross 
 yearly revenue of ISO millions. Their surplus pro- 
 duce, too, is greater than that of any nation in the 
 world ; for, in the raising of food for twelve millions 
 of people, there are not occupied more than two mil- 
 lions*, and consequently, the remaining ten millions 
 may be employed in fabricating manufactures of use, 
 or of luxury; in defending the state ; in communi- 
 cating religious, moral, or scientific, instruction ; in' 
 administering justice, and in contributing most essen- 
 
 ;■• From the result of the Population Act, it appears, tliat of the 8,300,000 
 persons, which England then contained, only 1,524,000 were chiefly eni-. 
 pioyed in agriculture; so that of the 12 millions, which Great Britain is 
 supposed to include, there cannot be computed to be much more than a 
 sixth of the whole population employed in cultivating the earth. This 
 fact strikingly confirms t!ie truth of the opinion here maintained, of the 
 vast wealth derived from our soil. And it is on account of the smallness 
 of the population, employed in bringing into existence such u largp pro- 
 duce, that the wealth of Britain is so greatly superior to that of other na- 
 tions with a much larger population. In most other countries, the bulk of 
 the people are employed in producing the food thev consume, consequently 
 the manufacturing class must be small, and there can be no accunaulation 
 of wealth, however great may be its production. Thus, in France, where 
 there is an infinity of small estates often and twenty, and even so low as 
 two and three acres, each, which are the bane of all national increase of 
 wealth, probM)ly more than halfW\e population is employed in agriculture. 
 When a nation has once gone into the system whicli we have adopted, on 
 which manufactures are made the cause of increased agriculture, it is de* 
 s'rahle that the land should be cultivated with tlie fewest possible number 
 of hands that are suthcient to cultivate it well. Thus if by some superna- 
 tural intluence 1000 Britons had the power of raising the same quantity of 
 food from our soil, which is now raised by 2,000,000, it would evidently be 
 a most important national advantage. Upwards of 1,900,000 labourers 
 might then become manufacturers, and by their labour convert the food 
 which they consume, into durable wealth. This subject might be greatly 
 enlarged upon, did not the limits of this publication forbid it. What has 
 been already hinted, is sufficient to prove the folly of the outcry which has 
 been raised in this country against the practice of throwing many small 
 farms into one large one. Such a practice is the surest proof of national 
 wealth; and farms cannot be too large, nor cultivated with •oo f«w hands, 
 if the greatest produce possible, be raised from them. 
 
46 Btntain Liddpendent 
 
 tially, in a thousand other ways, to the happiness and 
 prosperity of the community. And yet, strange infa- 
 tuation ! these islanders, notvvithstpnding their richer 
 and their greatness are so incontestahly. derived from 
 intrinsic causes, not to he affected by any thing ex- 
 ternal, notwithstanding they draw a gross revenue, 
 an absolute creation of wealth annually, to the 
 •amount of 120,000,0001. from their soil : regard this 
 true source of their wealth with indifference; with 
 unaccountable delusion fancy all their riches have 
 been derived from commerce; from a source, the na- 
 tional profits of which cannot be more than a twelfth 
 part of their whole revenue, and are miserable at the 
 idea of having a few ports shut against their trade ! 
 And still more strange is the consideration, that, not 
 only their merchants, whose self-interest might blind 
 them on this point; not only their ignorant vulgar 
 have raised this cry of their dependence on commerce: 
 even their landowners, their statesmen, whom, of all 
 liien. it behoved to have had right notions on such an 
 important subject, have re-echoed the senseless delu- 
 sion. Well might one of their greatest promoters of 
 agriculture, indignantly exclaim, on reading a speech 
 of their favourite minister, on the state of the nation, 
 in which agriculture was scarcely deemed worthy of 
 notice, as a source of national wealth ; ' This the 
 speech of a great minister at the close of the eighteenth 
 century ! — No : it is a tissue of the common places 
 of a counting-house, spun for a spouting-club, by 
 tlie clerk of a banker : — labour of the artisaji — iw- 
 diistry of manufacturers— -facility of credit — execu- 
 tion of orders — pre-emmence in foreign markets — 
 capital — compound interest — these are the gi eat il- 
 lustrations of national felicity! This the reach of 
 mind and depth of research, to mark the talents 
 framed to govern kingdoms ! These big words, to 
 paint little views, — and splendid periods, that clothe 
 narrow ideas ! These sweepings of Colherfs shop — • 
 These gleanings from the poverty of Necker ! — Are 
 these the lessons he learned from Adam Smith? 
 
of Commerce, 47 
 
 From a writer, who attributes the flourishing situa- 
 tion of England, more to the security of farmers in 
 their leases, than to all our boasted laws for the en- 
 couragement of foreign commerce*?" ' 
 
 I have supposed these reflections to be made by 
 an Economist, because he might consistently allow 
 an increase of national wealth to be derived from our 
 commerce of export, which I cannot admit to spring 
 from this source. If the absurdity of our conduct, in 
 estimating the value of commerce so highly, be evi- 
 dent, even on the supposition that we really do gain 
 a few mdlions annually from it, how egregious will 
 our folly, how excessive our blindness, appear, if it 
 can be proved, as I shall now endeavour to prove, 
 that Britain does not derive any accession of wealth 
 whatever from commerce of e.vport, and consequent- 
 ly, that her riches^ her greatness^ and her power ^ are 
 wholly derived from resources within herself and 
 are entirely and altogether independent of her trade! 
 
 I have already admitted, that there are cases in 
 which a nation may gain wealth from commerce of 
 export. I grant, that when a nation exports consider- 
 ably more than she imports, the profits charged on her 
 exported goods, will be national profit ; but, inasmuch 
 as Britain imports as much as she exports, and inas- 
 much as a great proportion of her imports consists of 
 luxuries, which are speedily consumed, and leave not 
 a vestige of their existence behind them; from these 
 circumstances I contend, tli^^t her wealth derives no 
 augmentation from her commerce of export. It re- 
 mains to point out the facts on which this opinion i$ 
 founded, and to show, that^ from these facts, the 
 consequences deduced necessarily result. 
 • The only documents to which we can refer for the 
 foundation of an opinion relative to the amount of 
 our imports and exports, are the accounts annually 
 laid before parliament by the Inspector General. From 
 
 * Remarks on Mr. Pitt's Specdi on the State of the NatFon, by A. Young, 
 Esq. Annals of Agriculture, vol. xvii, p. 373. 
 
48 Britain Independent 
 
 these accounts, it appears, that in 100 years, from the 
 year I7OO, to the year 1800, the total value of our ex- 
 ports exceeded that of our imports, by 348 nuUions 
 sterling. If, then, tliese accounts' were correct, we 
 ought, at this present time, to be vv'orth a quantity of 
 the precious metals ecjual to this amount, added to 
 the amount of the quantity which was in the country 
 prior to the year I70O ; we ought to possess gold and 
 silver to the amount of considerably more than 400 
 millions sterling. But every one knows, that we do 
 not possess a twentieth part of this amount of the 
 precious metals ; there is even great reason to believe, 
 when we reflect how very small is the value of the 
 gold and silver now employed as a circulating me- 
 dium, that there is not at present so much of these 
 metals in the kingdom, as there was a century ago, 
 notwithstanding a greater quantity of them may 
 be now convert^ed into plate, than there was at that 
 time. 
 
 This being tlie case, one of these two suppositions 
 must be true : Either the accounts of the value of our 
 imports and exports are incorrect, and the amount of 
 the former has more nearly equalled the amount of 
 the latter, than is there represented : or, the diffe- 
 rence in value between the two, has been applied to 
 the payment of foreign nations, for the expenditure 
 occasioned by our wars. The latter supposition is 
 maintained by IMr. Foster*. He conceives, that the 
 amount of our exports ^bove that of our imports, for 
 the last century, has been even more considerable than 
 is represented by the custom-house accounts, and, 
 that the whole of this difference has been paid to fo- 
 reign nations, for the maintenance of our armies, 
 for the subsidies granted to our allies, and the other 
 expenses consequent upon continental warfare. 
 
 If this opinion were well founded, there would 
 be no need to enter into any long argument to prove, 
 
 * Essay on the Principle of Commercial Exchange, p. 9, &c. 
 
of Commerce. 49 
 
 that we have gained no accession of wealth from our 
 commerce of export. For if we have, in the course of 
 a century, exported to the amount of 400 millions 
 sterling, in manufactured articles, for which we have 
 never received any return whatever, the warmest ad- 
 vocate for commerce will scarcely assert, that we can 
 have got rich by such a trade. 
 
 But, as Mr. Foster has notproduced any proof, that 
 our foreign expenditure, in the last century, has been 
 so immense as he supposes, though, no doubt, it has 
 been considerable, it may be questioned, whether it is 
 not a more probable supposition, that the custom- 
 house accounts are incorrect, and, that the value of 
 our imports has more nearly approached that of our 
 exports, then the statements of these accounts would 
 lead us to imagine. Nothing can be more vague 
 than the mode in which the value of our exports has 
 bee« formerly ascertained. How is it possible, that 
 any estimate at all approaching to accuracy, could 
 be formed of the value of the principal of our ex- 
 ported manufactures, such as woollens and cottons, 
 which paid no duty, and of which the custom-house 
 knew nothing either of the quantity or quality ; in- 
 asmuch as it was necessary to enter the number of 
 p^^ckages only, without specifying the number of 
 yiirds contained in them, or the price per yard ? 
 Such being the uncertainty of the data on which 
 these custom-house documents are grounded, and 
 it being obviously the interest of the minister to 
 make the amount of our exports as large, and of 
 our imports as small, as possible ; it does not seem 
 unreasonable to presume, that the value of each has 
 been always pretty nearly equal. And this opinion 
 will appear the more probable, if we attend to the 
 fact, that, since a duty, ad valorem, has been charg- 
 ed on most articles of export, and more attention 
 has been paid by the Inspector General, in calcu- 
 lating the real value of articles exported and import- 
 ed, the amount of each have been estimated to be 
 4;he same within a few 100,000 pounds. 
 
 D 
 
50 Britain Indepoident 
 
 If the estimated difference between the value of 
 our imports and exports has not been thrown away, 
 by being paid for our foreign expenditure, there is 
 not need of further argument to prove, that their 
 value must have been equaL For there is, in truth, 
 no principle, in the science of PoHtical P'conomy, ' 
 more certain, than, that the imports and exports of a 
 trading nation, must on the average of a few years, 
 exactly balance each other, afier it has acquired so 
 much of the precious n,etals as is necessary for the 
 purpose of circulation, and of supplying the demand 
 of its inhabitants tor articles of plate. For, if a na- 
 tion, fully supplied with the requisite quantity of 
 coin and of plate, were this year to export to t1»e 
 amount of ten millions more than it imported, and 
 receive the balance in bullion, inasmuch as this ad- 
 dition to its stock of the precious metals, would be 
 supertluous, their price would decline, until it would 
 be profitable for the dealer in bullion, to export this 
 superabundant quantity; and, as he would not ex- 
 port it, without receiving some other commodity 
 in return, the next year, the imports of this nation 
 would exceed its exports, and the equilibrium would 
 be restored. 
 
 It being then the fact, that our imports are of 
 equal value with our exports, consequently, that no 
 gold or silver is received for the profits of the latter 
 branch of commerce, it follows, that these profits 
 are received by the nation in other merchantable 
 commodities. This often takes place in a direct 
 way. A merchant, for instance, exports to Portugal 
 8001. worth of woollen cloth, which is there sold for 
 lOOOl. He thus gains i^OOl. profit on this sale; but 
 he orders wine to the amount of lOOOl. consequently 
 this gain is not received in gold or silver, but in 
 .wine; by the sale of which at home, he realizes his 
 profit. It more frequently happens, however, that 
 the importer and exporter of goods are wholly dis- 
 Jtinct ; that one merchant exports woollen cloth, for 
 example, and another imports wine : but this makes 
 
of Commerce. 51 
 
 no alteration in the result in a national point of view; 
 neither does the circumstance of the balance of trade 
 being against us with one country, and in our fa- 
 vour w-ith another ; for if the whole of our imports 
 collectively, be equal to the whole of our exports, 
 and if we receive no quantity of the precious me- 
 tals in payment for the excess of our exports, it is 
 indisputable, that the profits of our export trade 
 are received in vendible commodities. 
 
 Although every thing which man desires may be 
 called wealth, yet, of this genus wealth, there are 
 many species, varying very considerably in their 
 qualities, and in their real value. Permanency or 
 durability, in particular, seems one of the most im- 
 portant attributes of wealth, a quality, the possession 
 of which, renders one kind of wealth of much 
 greater intrinsic value than another, though of the 
 same nominal worth. Thus, of two nations, if one 
 employed a part of its population in manufacturing 
 articles of hardware, another in manufacturing wine, 
 both destined for home consumption; though the 
 nominal value of both products should be the same, 
 and the hardware should be sold in one country for 
 10,0001. and the wine in the other for the same sum, 
 yet it is evident, that the wealth of the two countries 
 would, in the course of a few years, be very different. 
 If this system were continued for five years, in the 
 one country, the manufacturers of hardware would 
 have drawn* from the consumers of this article, 
 50,0001. and^ at the same time, this manufacture be- 
 ing of so unperishable a nature, the purchasers of it 
 would still have in existence, the greater part of the 
 wealth they had bought ; whereas, in the other na- 
 tion, though the wine m.anufacturers would have 
 also drawn to themselves 50,0001. from the con- 
 sumers of wine, yet these last would have no vestige 
 remaining of the luxury they had consumed. It is 
 evident, therefore, that at the end of five years, the 
 wealth of the former nation, would be much greater 
 
 D21 
 
52 Britain Independent 
 
 than that of the latter, though both had annually 
 b. ought into existence wealth to an equal nomiual 
 amuunt. 
 
 bome wealth, then, being of so transitory and eva- 
 nesrtnt a nature, that after its consumption, no 
 trace of its having existed, remains ; and wealth of 
 another description, being endued with more durable 
 qualities, so that after its purchase and use by the 
 C(Misumers of it, it will still retain tbe whole, or part, 
 of its value: it follows, that a quantity of the latter 
 kind of wealth, may be exchanged for a quantity of 
 the former, of a much larger nominal value, and yet 
 no increase of wealth accrue to the nation making 
 the exchange. Thus, the two countries above men- 
 tioned, might agree to exchange the produce of their 
 industry. The manufacturers of hardware in the 
 one, might exchange with the other, the articles 
 which they had been accustomed to sell at home for 
 10,000l. tor as much wine as would sell at home for 
 lisj,000l. and thus get a profit of 20001. But, the 
 question is, would this profit be an increase of national 
 weiilth ? surely not. If we do not content ourselves 
 with skimuiing on the surface of things, but inquire 
 in this case, as we ought to do in every case, whence 
 this profit arises? we shall find, that it could proceed 
 from the c aisumers of the wine only: that, unless 
 these purchased the wine, the manufacturers of hard- 
 ware coud nrither realize the value of their hard- 
 ware, nor their profit upon the wine, and consequent- 
 ly, that whatever the latter gained, the former must 
 lose , and the national wealth would remain just the 
 same. And at the end of a very short period of time, 
 w icre would be the wealth which this nation had 
 received for its hardware? It would be consumed, 
 and every relic of it annihilated ; and, notwithstand- 
 ing the greater value of the wine imported, the na- 
 ti(»n would have been much richer, if it had retained 
 its ow n unperishable manufacture. 
 
 Let us apply this reasoning to our own case. If we 
 
of Commerce, 55 
 
 examine a list of the amount of our imports, we 
 shall find, that more than half the value of all that 
 we import, a much greater amount than any thing 
 we can possibly gain by our commerce of export, is 
 made up of wealth of the most fugitive and evanes- 
 cent kind, of articles no way necessary for even, 
 comfortable existence, and which are wholly con- 
 sumed before the end of the year, in which they are 
 imported, leaving not a vestige of their having ever 
 existed. Thus, we import annually tea to the amount 
 of four or five millions sterling ; sugar and coffee for 
 our own consumption to a larger amount; and we 
 may fairly estimate the value of the wine, rum, 
 brandy, geneva, and tobacco, which we consume, as 
 equal to eight or ten millions more. Twenty millions, 
 then, and upwards, do we pay for these articles, of 
 which there is not one, that we could not do very 
 well without; of which there is not one, (if we ex- 
 cept sugar*) that we should not be much be.ter 
 without, and the whole of which are speedily con- 
 sumed, leaving *' not a wreck behind. " 
 
 This being the case, with what* propriety can we 
 be said to derive any accession of wealth from our 
 commerce ? We do, it is allowed, gain annually a 
 few millions by our export trade, and if we received 
 these profits in the precious metals, or even in durable 
 articles of wealth, we might be said to increase our 
 riches, though still comparatively, butin a slight de- 
 gree, by commerce ; but we spend at least twice the 
 amount of what we gain, in luxuries which deserve 
 the name of wealth but for an instant, — which are 
 here to-day, and to-morrow are annihilated. How 
 
 * It may be said, that sugar, being highly nutritive, contributes to the 
 support of those who use it, whilst the other articles enumerated, aflford no 
 Dourishment whatever. But this substance is used in such small proportion, 
 by those who consume the least quantity of other kinds of food, that we 
 can scarcely, with justice, attribute any value to it, in this point of view: 
 and certainly none at all, unless it could be proved, which it would be very 
 difficult to do^ that a person who uses sugar, consumes, on that account, 
 so much less of other food. 
 
54 Britain Independetit 
 
 then can our wealth be augmented by such a trade ? 
 how will such a negative source of riches suffice to 
 be referred to, as creating the limmense positive 
 wealth which we enjoy ? 
 
 We are so much accustomed to the error of consi- 
 dering two things, that can be sold for the same mo- 
 ney, as equally valuable to the nation which con- 
 sumes them, because they are equally valuable to the 
 individual who sells them ; that we do not by any 
 means estimate with accuracy, the different value 
 of different kinds of wealth, in a national point of 
 view. Yet a case may be imagined in which this 
 difference would be intelligible to every one. 
 
 Suppose, instead of indulging in the luxuries of 
 tea, wine, and spirits, that it were the fashion for 
 every inhabitant of Britain, to inhale once a year, a 
 quart of the aeriform fluid, called, by chemists, ni- 
 trous oxyd; — that, this air was to be obtained only 
 from France, and that the price of it was one gui- 
 nea a quart. Suppose also, that we paid for this 
 10,000,0001.- worth of gas, by sending woollen 
 cloth to France to that amount, importing in return, 
 this invisible and elastic wealth, in a proper contriv- 
 ance of bladders, casks, balloons, &c. Would not an 
 unprejudiced observer laugh at our extravagant 
 folly, if we should make a clamour about the profit 
 which the nation gained by this trade, because it 
 took off our woollen cloth to so large an amount? 
 Would he not justly say, " These people are infa- 
 tuated. Because the individuals concerned in export- 
 ing this woollen cloth, and in importing this gas, 
 gained a few hundred thousand pounds profit, they 
 fancy, that their nation gains by this trade, not con- 
 sidering, that they are giving away ten millions of 
 permanent wealth, which may last for years, and 
 might have been hoarded to an immense amount, 
 for — what? for air; for the mere indulgence of a 
 moment, which is of no earthly benefit to its consum- 
 ers, and which in one day is expended, and ren- 
 
of Commerce, 55 
 
 dered of no value whatever! They do not see, tliat 
 if they were without this trade, and kept all their 
 woollens, they would be much richer than by ex- 
 changing them for such a fleeting substance ; they 
 do not perceive, that though their merchants may 
 draw to themselves a million per annum profit from 
 this trade, the nation loses by it ten millions per 
 annum." 
 
 If the consideration just adduced serve to show 
 the folly of the opinion, which should conceive any 
 national wealth to accrue from such a. ridiculous traf- 
 fic, as that alluded to , they will equally prove the 
 fallacy of the belief, that this nation gains great 
 wealth by its commerce. For, though the tea, su- 
 gar, wine, &c. for which we pay annually so marjy 
 millions in more permanent wealth, are not of quite 
 so volatile a nature, as an equal value of nitrous oxyd 
 would be: yet they are fully as unnecessary for all 
 the purposes of comfortable existence, and when con- 
 sumed leave no more traces of their having ever been. 
 And, inasmuch as we pay for them, an amount much 
 greater than the whole of any profit that we can pos- 
 sibly derive from trade, it is clear, that it is from 
 some other source that our wealth is created. 
 
 The circumstance, that a vast proportion of the 
 articles we import in return for our exported goods, 
 is of such a fugitive and evanescent description, does 
 not seem to have been sufficiently attended to ; and 
 as the deduction from the fact is of great importance, 
 and cannot be made too plain, I shall beg to make 
 one more illustration, to prove the impossibility -of 
 our getting rich from our commerce. 
 
 Sir Richard Arkwright, by his invention and em- 
 ployment of improved machinery, in the spinning of 
 cotton, annually gained great riches. But wouldhe 
 ever have been wealthy, if he had every year spent in 
 tea, wine, sugar, &c. destined for hisimmediate con- 
 sumption, a sum equal to, or greater than, the whole 
 of his gain ? Surely not. The dullest intellect must 
 see^ that he never could have acquired wealth, by this 
 
56 Britain Independent 
 
 constant expenditure of his gains, in articles to he 
 consumed by himself, which, when consumed, left no 
 relic behind them; however gre^t might be hh 
 gains, and however long he might have acted on 
 this system. If, then, a private manufacturer 
 cannot acquire wealth in this way, neither can a 
 manufacturing nation. The cases are precisely pa- 
 rallel. 
 
 If we would know who it is, that really get rich by 
 British Commerce, we should inquire into the qua- 
 lities as to permanency and necessity of the ar- 
 ticles which we export, and compare them in these 
 respects with the articles we import ; and having 
 made this comparison, we shall find, that it is Eu- 
 rope, Asia, America,— all the countries with which 
 she trades,— not Britain, that is enriched by her com- 
 merce. Thus, we supply the inhabitants of America 
 with clothes, with hardware, with pottery ; with a 
 thousand articles of the most pressing necessity, and 
 of the greatest durability ; and as we thus prevent 
 the need of any great part of their population being 
 engaged in manufactures, nearly the whole of it can 
 be employed in the infinitely richer source of wealth, 
 agriculture. And what do we receive in return for 
 these benefits? Why, a vile weed, tobacco; which, 
 doubtless, when it has gratified our gustatory organs 
 in its original form as tobacco, or has deliciously sti- 
 mulated our olfactory nerves, in its pulverized and 
 more refined form, suuff, has most marvellously ad- 
 ded to oiii stores of national wealth 1 The case is 
 the same with all the other countries with which we 
 trade. We supply them wath commodities of abso- 
 lute necessity to comfortable existence, and we re- 
 ceive in return from them such precious articles as 
 tea — which debilitates us, without afi'ording an atom 
 of nourishment : as wine, rum, brandy, which do 
 us the favour of shortening the days of a great pro- 
 portion of our population. It is the countries we 
 trade with, and not we, that get rich by our com- 
 merce. 
 
of Commerce, SI 
 
 Ever since the publication of Dr. Adam Smith's 
 •* Wealth of Nations," a work in which so many li- 
 beral and enlarged doctrines on subjects of political 
 economy, were first promulgated, it has been usual 
 for those who have embraced the Doctor's opinions, 
 to ridicule the axiom of the older politicians, viz. 
 that for a nation to gain wealth by commerce, it is 
 necessary it should export more than it imports, and 
 receive the balance of trade in the precious metals. 
 However enlarged are the views, and however cor- 
 rect the reasoning, of Dr. Smith, on most branches 
 of the subject on which he wrote, he has in many in- 
 stances fallen into errors, to the full as egregious as 
 those which he condemns : witness his doctrine, that 
 wealth is really created by manufactures made and 
 sold at home; and his confused and unintelligible 
 attempt to confute the opposite tenets of the French 
 Economists; and from what has been observed, it will 
 be obvious, that the absurdity charged by him and 
 his followers, on the doctrine of the Petty s, the Da- 
 venants, and the Deckers, of former times, is by no 
 means so convincingly made out as they would have 
 us to believe. It appears, these ancient politicians 
 had an accurate idea of the true nature of commerce, 
 though they erred in attaching too much import- 
 ance to it. They rightly considered commerce to be, 
 as its derivation implies, an exchange of one com- 
 modity for another : and hence they justly conceiv- 
 ed, that if a nation imported in return for its ex- 
 ports, a quantity of commodities only equal in value 
 to them, it would never get wealth by such an inter- 
 change of one value for another. They erred, how* 
 ever, and in this error they are countenanced by mo- 
 dern times, in regarding commerce as the only source 
 of wealth, and in considering it as the ne plus ultra 
 of political sagacity, to increase their exports, and 
 decrease their imports, as much as possible. The ab- 
 surdity, then, charged upon this doctrine of the ba- 
 lance of trade, does not belong to tlie principle itself, 
 3 
 
58 Brit am Independent 
 
 which is founded in truth, but to its application. 
 For though no nation can get rich by trade, with- 
 out having the balance of that trade in its favour; 
 yet, as a great nation, possessed of landed territory, 
 can never gain more than a trifling addition to its 
 wealth from commerce, it is utterly unworthy of its 
 character, to be anxious about the relative value of 
 its imports and exports. Such a nation, if it rightl}' 
 understand its own interests, will regard its com- 
 merce as a source of conveniencies, not of riches; 
 and will therefore deem it of small importance, 
 whether its imports are equal to, or less than, its ex- 
 ports ; or whether both branches of trade increase or 
 diminish. 
 
 An objection may be here started. It may be said : 
 •* Allowing that this country does not gain any di- 
 rect accession to her wealth by her commerce of ex- 
 port, yet inasmuch as the manufacturers employed 
 in fabricating the articles she exports, require food, 
 they will, by their demand for the products of the 
 earth, cause more land to be cultivated, and in a 
 better mode, just as it has been already shown, the 
 manufacturers of articles for home consumption 
 do; and thus indirectly increase the wealth of the 
 nation." I might admit the force of this objection, 
 without invalidating, by such a concession, the truth 
 of the conclusions previously drawn ; since the di- 
 rect creation of wealth by commerce, not its indirect 
 influence on agriculture, is the opinion insisted 
 upon by the disciples of the mercantile sect, the 
 truth of which is here controverted. But there is no 
 necessity foradmitting,thatour export commerce has 
 materially increased the wealth derived from agricul- 
 ture. A slight consideration of the matter will show, 
 that it is to the consumers at home, the manufac- 
 turers of goods for exportation, as well as the ma- 
 nufacturers of articles for home consumption, are 
 indebted for their subsistence; and consequently, 
 that the 'whole of the stimulus derived from manu- 
 
Of Commerce. 59 
 
 iactures, whicli acts beneficially upon agriculture, 
 is inherent in ourselves. 
 
 It is in consequence of the consamption of so 
 great an amount of foreign commodities in this 
 country, that there is so great a consumption of our 
 manufactures by other nations. From the very na- 
 ture of trade, it can never be carried on for any long 
 period of time, between two nations, of which each 
 does not produce something wanted by the other ; 
 for no nation could afford to purchase the produce 
 of another nation to any extent, except that other 
 would consent to take its produce in exchange. 
 Thus, except we purchased tobacco of America, and 
 wine of Portugal, these countries could never con- 
 sume our woollen cloth ; they would be forced to 
 deal with some other people, which would consume 
 their produce ; or if no such purchasers of their arti- 
 cles could be found, they must necessarily provide 
 themselves with clothing, in the best way their means 
 would admit of. If Britain were to proclaim to the 
 world, " I possess within myself all that I want ; I 
 will no longer purchase your superfluous produce, 
 though I will still permit you to buy of me what you 
 need," she would soon find herself without a custo- 
 mer. The rest of the world would answer, " Much 
 as we value your manufactures, and necessary as 
 they are to us, we cannot purchase them, without 
 you will consent to accept our produce in return. 
 We possess not gold or silver, in sufficient super- 
 fluous abundance, to supply us with even a year's 
 consumption of your articles, and we therefore must 
 resort to some other nation, more acquainted with 
 the just principles of trade for the supply of our 
 wants, or we must betake ourselves, however incon- 
 venient it may be to us, to our own resources." It 
 is, then, to the home consumers of foreign commo- 
 dities, that we are indebted for the existence of our 
 export trade. The British consumers of foreign ar- 
 . tides may be con^sidered as thus addressing our ma« 
 
60 Brit am Independent ' 
 
 iiufactiirers : *' You manufacture a greater quantity 
 of woollen and cotton cloth, of hardware, &c. than 
 our necessities, or our utmost luxu^ies, require : you 
 cannot, therefore, expect us to give you your sub- 
 sistence, for articles which we can make no use of; 
 but export your superfluous manufactures ; exchange 
 your woollen and cotton cloth, your hardware, which 
 we do not want, for wine, for tobacco, for brandy, 
 which we do want, or fancy we want, and we will 
 purchase the articles which have been thus trans- 
 muted by commerce, and eventually you will re- 
 ceive the same subsistence, the same profit, as if 
 we had directly consumed your manufactures." 
 
 Since, therefore, no nation can export her com- 
 modities, without importing other commodities in 
 exchange for them ; since these last are consumed 
 hy the home consumers ; and since, except they 
 consumed them, no considerable export trade could 
 be carried on, it follows that it is the consumers at 
 home, that actually are the means of creating all the 
 stimulus which improves and extends agriculture, 
 whether this stimulus arises from manufactures sold 
 at home, or exported. That this is an accurate state- 
 ment, will be still more evident, if we consider, that 
 at the very commencement of our commerce, and at 
 every period since, the consumers of the foreign 
 commodities imported, inasmuch as these commo- 
 dities have never been the necessaries of life; have 
 never been food or raiment; might have consum.ed 
 to the same amount of home manufactures, and thus 
 have directly supported the manufacturers employed 
 in fabricating the articles destined for export. Just 
 now, for instance, if the consumers of the articles, 
 which we import and sell at home, to the amount of 
 iifty millions, were to resolve no longer to consume 
 them, is it not self-evident, that if they chose, they 
 might take the place of our foreign customers, and 
 purchase, with the fifty millions thus saved, the goods 
 to the same amount which we now export? 
 
of Commerce. . * 61 
 
 All sudden changes in the system upon which a 
 country has been accustomed to act, must be pro- 
 ductive of some inconvenience ; and there can be 
 no doubt, that the loss of any extensive branch of 
 our export commerce, would for a while be heavily 
 felt, by that proportion of the manufacturing class, 
 which had been employed in fabricating goods for 
 that particular market. (We may observe, by the 
 by, that the sticklers for the importance of com- 
 merce,, do not particularly lament the loss of it, be- 
 cause of the inconvenience which such a revolution 
 occasions to a large body of people, but because of 
 the diminution of national wealth, which they falla- 
 ciouslv fancy ensued.) The remedy, however, for this 
 evil, is in our own hands. When, in consequence of the 
 caprice of one nation,or the en vy of another, the export 
 of our manufactures is materially lessened, we have 
 but to lessen our imports proportionably, and to spend 
 the money which we usually had consumed in the pro- 
 duce of other countries, in purchasing an additional 
 quantity of the manufactures of our own. Thus, if 
 the Americans persist in acting upon the non-im- 
 portation law, which their pettish folly led them so 
 hastily to pass, and in consequence, throw upon our 
 hands the two or three millions worth of woollen 
 cloths, &c. which they have been accustomed to buy 
 of us, we have but to prohibit the importation of to- 
 bacco, and the other articles which we get of thtm, 
 and we shall speedily see them upon their knees, re- 
 questing us to let things go on in their old train. 
 And the consumers in this country^ who will then 
 save the money they had before wasted in tobacco, 
 have but to expend the sums so saved, in a new 
 coat or two additional for each of them, and our 
 manufacturers will not be sensible of the change, 
 nor have occasion to regret, the substitution of a 
 British, for an American, market. If Buonaparte 
 succeed in his paltry scheme of preventing our trade 
 with the Continent, a scheme which abundantly 
 ^evmces the miserable littleness of his views on mat- 
 
6fi ' Britain Independent 
 
 ters of political economy ; we have but to abstain 
 from iniporting a proportionate quantity of the lux- 
 VII ies we indulge in ; to increase our consumption of 
 h(>me manufactures, and, far from being diminished, 
 our wealth will be increased, and the prosperity of 
 our manufacturers no ways affected by this master- 
 stroke of policy, as its sage author doubtless deems 
 it. 
 
 It may be urged, that though this plan, if acted 
 upon, might answer the proposed end, yet it does 
 not follow, that our consumers would be inclined to 
 expend the money with which they had been used 
 to purchase foreign luxuries, in articles which they 
 could scarcely be likely to want, even though thty 
 were prevented from obtaining these luxuries ; and 
 consequently, if this were not done, that great dis- 
 tress would unavoidably ensue, amongst the manu- 
 facturers of exports, from the loss of their market. 
 It mu5t be allowed, there is some force in this objec- 
 tion, when we recollect, that serious inconvenience 
 has sometimes ensued, to particular branches of the 
 manufacturmg class employed in tabricating goods 
 for home consumption, when, by the caprice of fa- 
 shion, a total cessation of demand for their manufac- 
 ture has taken place ; as in the case of the button and 
 buckle manufacture, &c. But admitting the force of 
 this objection, still a remedy for this evil may be 
 found. In all such cases; the government of the 
 country should interfere ; and these are perhaps the 
 only instances in which it shculd interfere in matters 
 of trade. It seems only just, that every industrious 
 branch of the community should be protected from 
 extreme misery, consequent upon sudden changes, 
 like those in question; and it certainly can never 
 be right, that the parishes of any particular town or 
 towns, M here any branch of manufacture fails, should 
 bear the whole burden of supporting those who are 
 thereby thrown into distress. Whenever, then, any 
 large body of the manufacturing class is deprived, 
 whether by the caprice of fashion in our own couit§ 
 
Of Commerce. 6S 
 
 try, or by our quarrels with other nations, of the 
 usual market for their manufactures, it seems pro^ 
 per, that the state should support them, employing 
 them in works of public utility, such as m'aking 
 roads, canals, &c. until, by the gradual demand for 
 hands, from old branches of industry, or the insti- 
 tution of new ones, there is found for them inde- 
 pendent and profitable employment. By this plan, 
 the temporary inconvencies, inseparable from a 
 system of policy, in which minufactures form a 
 prominent feature, is borne, as it ought to Le, by 
 the whole comniunity, and not by a single portioa 
 of it. 
 
 If it be asked, whence shall the government derive 
 the fund which would be necessary, to support, for 
 even a short period, such a numerous body as would 
 sometimes be dependent on it.^ I reply, from the 
 same source from whence it draws all the other funds 
 of its expenditure, from taxation. And however 
 heavy might be the load of taxes, which at any time 
 oppressed the community, they would still be capa- 
 ble of bearing an addition to them, adequate to tliis 
 end, if they had ceased to expend a part of their in- 
 come in toreign luxuries and products, and had not, 
 at the same time, increased their consumption of 
 home products and luxuries. 
 
 Let it not be said,.uhat the doctrine her^ incuU 
 cated, of giving up foreign luxuries, when other na- 
 tions cease to consume our products, is inconsistent 
 with the opinion I have before mamtained, that an 
 increase of the consumption of luxuries, is necessary 
 to our prosperity and well-being. It is the increase 
 of our consumption of luxuries fabricated at home, 
 which I contend for, not of foreign luxuries ; and 
 though it may be advisable, in so far as it contributes 
 to our innocent gratification, for us to indulge in 
 foreign luxuries, so long as we can obtain them in 
 exchange for our own manufactures ; yet, the mo- 
 ment our manufacturing class is deprived of its fo- 
 
64 Britain Independent 
 
 reign market, we ought to cease our consumption of 
 them, and supply the place of that market, by an 
 increased use of home products. If we are such 
 slaves to our appetites, that the cry is, " We cannot 
 do without tea, without sugar, without wine, with- 
 out tobacco." we prove ourselves unworthy of exist- 
 ence as a nation, and we confess, that we are ut- 
 terly unable to cope with the enemies that oppose 
 us, who do not hesitate to practise such Spartan self- 
 denial, when the object is our annoyance. 
 
 There remain two objections which will probably 
 be made by those who insist upon the importance of 
 our commerce, which seem to require attention. 
 
 It will be said, " Though we might give up some 
 of the luxuries which we import, without great in- 
 convenience, yet a very large portion of what we im- 
 port, is absolutely necessary to us, and could not be 
 done without." This may appear, at first glance, to 
 be the case ; but if any one will examine a list of 
 cur imports, he will be surprised to find how few of 
 the articles we get from other countries, are necessa- 
 ry even to comfortable and luxurious existence; and 
 of how comparatively small value these are, when 
 compared with the immense amount of what we con- 
 sume. We could not well do without some of the drugs 
 used for dying and for medicine : we should want 
 olive oil, perhaps, in the preparation of our woollen 
 clotlis; saltpetre (if we had not the art of the French 
 chemists, to form it from its principles) for our gun- 
 powder ; turpentine, and the various denominations 
 of wood, of which we do not grow enough for our- 
 selves. Of all the rest of our imports, I can see 
 scarcely one, that we might not very well do with- 
 out, or find fully as valuable succedaneums for, from 
 our own productions. Barilla, Turkey Carpets, 
 China ware, silk, fniit of all kinds, grocery of every 
 description, (except perhaps, pepper), bar iron, linen 
 of all kinds, skins of every sort, tar, in fact, every 
 thing besides the articles which I have pointed out, 
 
Of Commerce, ^ 
 
 (which no power on earth could hinder us from ob- 
 taining, and of which a few cargoes of broad cloth 
 Avouhl annually purchase all we can possibly have 
 occasion for), seem by no means necessary to us. 
 Some may be of opinion, that we could not do with- 
 out the hemp, flax, and tallow, which we import 
 from Russia; but there seems no reason why we 
 might not grow a sufficient quantity of the two for- 
 mer articles for our consumption ; and whale oil, of 
 the fishery producing which we have a monopoly, 
 will always abundantly supply us with the means 
 of obtaining light, if our own produce of tallow 
 should be insufficient. 
 
 With respect to hemp, it is infinitely desirable, that 
 we should raise as much in our own country, as 
 would be sufficient, at least, for the supply of our 
 navy ; and probably no mode of effecting this, would . 
 be equal to the prohibition of its importation, which 
 would at once create a demand for it, adequate to 
 raise its price to the point, at which land could in 
 this country be profitably devoted to its cultivation. 
 The bounties already allowed for effecting this end, 
 deemed by the legislature so important, are evidently 
 inadequate to its accomplishment, since but little 
 hemp is grown in this kingdom. It might cost five 
 or ten pounds a ton more, if produced at home, than 
 if importe^l froin Russia; but this difference, or 
 twice this difference of price, would be well sacri- 
 ficed for the sake of our being independent of the 
 world for this article, so essential to the existence of 
 our navy. We are now at peace with Russia, and it 
 is to be hoped, may long continue so ; but if another 
 Emperor Paul ascend the throne, or if we have a 
 quarrel with this, or with any future sovereign, we 
 shall lie entirely at his mercy: for, without cordage, 
 we cannot have ships, and at present all our hemp is 
 received from Russia. In fact, until we grow as 
 much of this article as is sufficient tor the use of our 
 navy, it is perfectly idle to talk of our being an in- 
 dependent maritime power. 
 
 E 
 
66r Britain Independent 
 
 It need not be apprehended, that we could not 
 spare the quantity of land required for the cultiva- 
 tion of hemp and flax. About si^ acres of land are 
 required for producing a ton of flax, and five acres 
 for a ton of hemp ; so that, supposing we consume 
 10,000 tons of the former, and 40,000 tons of the 
 latter, which is quite as much as we do consume, it 
 Xvould require only 260,000 acres to be applied to 
 the cultivation of these articles : an extent whicli we 
 can very well spare out of the twenty-two millii^is of 
 acres of waste land which are to be found in Great 
 Britain. All the hemp, however, requisite for the in- 
 dependence of the navy, might be raised from 
 20,000 acres * ; and if, after the narrow escape we 
 once had of being excluded for years from Russia; 
 and after the possibility which we have just witness- 
 ed, of our being shut out from all commercial inter- 
 course with a whole Continent; if, I say, we do not 
 take immediate steps for the cultivation of this most 
 indispensable of all our imports, to at least this ex- 
 tent, we shall be guilty of folly the most egregious, 
 of improvidence the most culpable. 
 
 That it is desirable we should grow the whole of 
 the hemp and flax which we make use of in every 
 way, I do not mean to assert; nor, indeed, that it 
 is either necessary, or to be wished, that we should 
 give up the consumption of all the foreign commov 
 dities, which we import, except the few above enu- 
 merated as particularly essential to us. AW that I 
 assert, is, that by far the greater part of what we im- 
 port, we could do very well without, and conse- 
 quently, that in every point of view, whether consi- 
 dered as sellers, or as buyers, we aie independent of 
 commerce. 
 
 The last objection likely to be made by the fa- 
 vourers of commerce, to which I shall advert, is, that 
 inasmuch as our navy is provided with men from 
 
 * See a note on this head, by Sir John Sinclair, in Y©i]Bg'» Annals **^ 
 Agriculture, Vol. xiii. p. i508. 
 
of Commerce, 67 
 
 t)Ur merchant ships, the existence of commerce is re- 
 <|uisiie to maintain this great bulwark of our na- 
 tion. Every Briton must be of one mind with re* 
 spect to the infinite importance of every mean by 
 which our naval superiority is kept up ; and as there 
 Can be no doubt, that our trade has been one grand 
 cause of our eminence at sea, we are certainly, there- 
 fore, in this point of view, highly indebted to it. 
 But the ques^tion we have now under consideration 
 is, whether we are nozv independent of commerce ; 
 and, surely, there can be no reason why the superi- 
 ority of our navy should not be continued, even if 
 all our trade were this instant to cease. . It has been 
 shown, that the wealth necessary for keeping up 
 either a naval or a military force, is not derived from 
 commerce. We have ships, and we have sailors. 
 What then should hinder us from increasing the 
 number, both of the one, and the other, as well witli- 
 out, as with commerce? Our shipbuilders will not 
 lose their art, it they are employed in building men 
 of war ; and a landsman may be educated into a 
 sailor, as well, surely, on board a seventy-four, as on 
 board a merchant ship. It may be said, ** But what 
 becomes of our navy in time of peace : and how is it 
 to be supplied with men on the recurrence of war, 
 without resorting to that nursery of seamen, com- 
 itierce.?'* Th^re is no absolute necessity, I reply, 
 that our navy should ever be dismantled, or our sea- 
 men ever disbanded. Other nations think it neces- 
 sary, to keep a standing army in time of peace. We, 
 if we were to lose our commerce, might maintain a 
 standing navy ; and a fertile imagination may easily 
 conceive and point out, abundance of important ancl 
 rational occupation for such a fleet, even when not 
 engaged in war. It may indeed admit of douBt, whe- 
 ther it would not be politic for this nation, even if she 
 had more extended commerce than she has, constant- 
 ly to maintain a fleet in time of peace ; and, in fact, it 
 would be madness in the present state of Europe, not 
 to do so. Let it be considered also, tliat we shall, at all 
 
^8 Britain Independefit 
 
 events, retain 'our coasting trade, and that this 
 trade is of as much importance, as all our other 
 branches of commerce collectively, as a nursery for 
 seamen. 
 
 It appears, then, in whatever point of view we re- 
 gard commerce, that Britain is wholly independent of 
 it. It contributes not a sixpence to her wealth. ' ts 
 influence is npt necessary for the promotion ^f her^ 
 agriculture. But a very small proportion of her ne- 
 cessities are supplied from it ; and her navy may be 
 maintained without its aid. Such being the case, 
 whence can have arisen the delusion which on this 
 subject has for so long a period clouded the judg- 
 ment of almost every individual in the country, from 
 the village alehouse politician, to the statesman in 
 the senate ? How can it be accounted for, that a na- 
 tion which has, for the last fifty years, annually on 
 the average created from its soil, wealth to the im- 
 mense arnount of at least one hundred and twenty 
 miUions sterling, of which a great proportion has, by 
 the labour of its manufacturing class, been constantly 
 transmuted into permanent riches, should have re- 
 garded this vast mine of wealth with indifference; 
 should have even denied its existence, and hould 
 most perversely have maintained, that all its wealth, 
 all its power, audits prosperity, were derived from its 
 commerce? This strange obliquity of mtellect, can 
 be explained in no other way, than by adverting to 
 the natural propensity which there is in man, to form 
 his opinions by the examination of the mere surface 
 of things, without ever aiming to penetrate to the 
 remote and efficient causes of events. , Because Tyre, 
 Venice, and Holland, states without any extent of 
 territory, and by being, in fact, the carriers merely, 
 of other nations, acquired riches by trade, and be- 
 cause countries of much greater ex tent of soil, suchas 
 Russia, Poland, &c. without commerce, have been 
 poor, we at once conclude, that commerce is the 
 only source of wealth, making no inquiry as to what 
 other circumstances, besides the mere presence or ab- 
 
of Commerctl 69 
 
 sence of trade, may have contributed, in the one 
 case to riches; in the other, to poverty. Because we 
 see merchants and ship owners heap up fortunes, 
 whilst men of landed property are often poor: be* 
 cause mercantile towns increase in population and in 
 splendour, whilst villages remain stationary in these 
 
 Eoints, we conclude, that wealth is created in towns, 
 y commerce only, not in the country, by agriculture. 
 Yet we do not form our opinions from such a super-< 
 ' ficial glance on many occasions. We do not say, be- 
 cause the government of this kingdom has a revenue 
 of thirty or forty millions sterling, that it creates 
 wealth annually to this amount, and that, inconse- 
 quence, the only way to be rich, is to increase-taxes. 
 We inquire from what source this revenue has been 
 derived, and having learned, that it comes from the 
 pockets of the community, we determine, that it 
 is the governed, not the governors, who create this 
 wealth. It is for want of making a similar investiga- 
 tion, that we imagine all who get rich are the crea- 
 tors of riches. Our opinion, in tine, is thus erroneous, 
 because, in matters of political economy, we form 
 our judgment from facts, which are but the sur- 
 face mould of a mine of innumerable strata, all of 
 which must be penetrated before we can arrive at the 
 truth we are in search of. 
 
 Let it not be imagined from any thing which has 
 been observed, that it is meant to be inferred, that 
 the character of a merchant, individually considered, 
 is not as estimable and as honourable as of any other 
 member of society. Though it is the farmer who 
 brings into existence all wealth, and the land pro- 
 prietor who dispenses the greatest share of it ; yet, 
 as the views of both are private advantage, not the 
 public good, neither the one nor the other, is on 
 this score entitled to any merit. Self-interest is the 
 impulse which directs the industry of every branch 
 of the community, and, in general, honest obedience 
 to this guide, will most effectually promote the ad- 
 vantage of society. 
 
70 Britain Independent 
 
 it must however be admitted, that in a national 
 point of view, its cultivators, its land proprietors, 
 and its manufacturers of articles fc^r home consump- 
 tion, are of far more importance to a nation, than 
 its merchants, or its manufacturers, for exporta- 
 tion ; and hence it is the height of folly in any go* 
 vernment to neglect the interest of the former, 
 whilst undue attention is paid to the latter ; or to 
 elevate the latter at the expense of the former. Thus, 
 never was there a more irrational, impolitic, and un- 
 just, measure, than the monopoly which has for the 
 last hundred and fifty years, been given to the ex- 
 porters of woollen cloths in this kingdom, at the 
 cost of the landed and farming interest. The export-^ 
 ationof wool has been prohibited, and the price de- 
 pressed one half, for the alleged purpose of enabling 
 the manufacturer of woollens, to meet the competi- 
 tion of foreign manufacturers in foreign markets ; as 
 though the circumstances of growing the raw pro- 
 duce, of possessing improved machinery, and exten- 
 sive capital, were not sufficient to give the English 
 manufacturer a decided advantage over every foreign 
 one. And so completely have the landed interest 
 been duped by the interested cry of the exporting 
 manufacturer, that commerce is the heart-blood of 
 our system, the very essence of our prosperity; and 
 of every part of our commerce, the woollen manu- 
 facture the most important ; that they have consent- 
 ed to give out of heir own pockets annually, to these 
 manufacturers, from two to three millions sterling ; 
 an amount sometimes greater than the whole amount 
 of our export of woollen cloths*. No wonder the 
 exporters of woollens should get rich, when the land 
 proprietors have, in one hundred and fifty years, 
 made thom a present of two or three hundred mil- 
 lions of pounds sterling ! 
 
 Nor let it be conceived, that the opinion is here 
 
 * See a ponvincing statement of these facts, by Sir Joseph Banks, in 
 Young's Annals of Agricuiture, vol. ix. p. 479. 
 
of Commerce. ?! 
 
 maintained, that a diminution of our eommerce is 
 desirable. No one can be more deeply impressed 
 than I am, with the conviction of the value of com- 
 merce, as a mean of procuring a mutual interchange 
 of convenicncies between distant countries; none 
 can more highly appreciate its vast importance, 
 considered as an engine for communicating and ex- 
 tending civilization, virtue, and knowledge, ovelv 
 every part of the globe. The sole tendency of the ar- 
 guments employed, has been to place commerce on 
 its proper basis ; to strip it of the delusive and false 
 value which has been so long attached to it, and to 
 inculcate more just ideas of our independence. Every 
 true iover of his country, would deny with indigna- 
 tion, the assertion, that Britain is in a state of de- 
 pendence : yet, how can she with truth be said to be 
 otherwise than dependent, if her wealth, her power, 
 and her prosperity, be, derived from her commerce, 
 from a source, which the caprice of one set of cus- 
 tomers, or the slavery of another, may at once anni- 
 liilate? But fortunately this opinion, however preva- 
 lent, is founded in error. Britain is truly independent. 
 Her resources, the cause of her wealth and prospe- 
 rity, are intrinsic, inherent in herself, and cannot be 
 influenced by any thing external. From her soil 
 every year is brought into existence real wealth, to 
 the amount of at least one hundred and twenty rail- 
 lions sterling; and this too, by a sixth of her whole 
 population, so that five sixths of her inhabitants are 
 released from all care of directly providing themselves 
 with food, and are left at liberty to be employed as 
 manufacturers, as soldiers, as sailors, or in themulti- 
 farious other occupations which the refinements pf 
 civilized life require. '. , 
 
 Such being the immense amount of oijr internal 
 wealth, let us no longer entertain ideas of our dig- 
 nity, so mean and degrading, as to believe, that all 
 our riches and greatness, are derived from the sale of 
 a few cargoes of manufactures, the whole profit of 
 which, ev<2n if we did not spend more than twice 
 
72 Britain Independent ^ 
 
 this profit in consumable luxuries, could not amount 
 to above a twelfth part of the revenue we derive from 
 our land. Let us no longer elevate our commerce to 
 an importance so much above its clue, but, consider- 
 ing it, as it really is, the mean of procuring us luxu- 
 ries merely, which we could very well do without, 
 let us deem ourselves wholly independent of it, and 
 regard those whom we supply with our necessary and 
 durable articles of manulkcture, as much more oblig- 
 ed to, and dependent on us, than we on them. Let 
 us no longer give ourselves up to degrading tenor 
 and apprehension, at the idea of losing an old mart, 
 for our manufactures ; nor to infantine and irrational 
 joy, at the prospect of acquiring a new one ; but re- 
 garding such events with the indiifereuce they 
 merit, let us view these fluctuations of affairs with 
 unconcern : in fine, let us cultivate our own internal 
 resources ; let our consumers increase their consump- 
 tion of home-made luxuries, in order to give em- 
 ployment to the increasing population of the manu- 
 facturing class, and thus contribute, by the only 
 mode practicable in Europe, to the advancement of 
 the grand source of all wealth, agriculture: and by 
 continuing to act on this system, there would be no 
 assignable limit to our wealth and prosperity, which 
 may be gradually augmented, till the population of 
 Great Britain and Leland is one hundred, instead 
 of sixteen millions; and every acre of land in the 
 two islands is cultivated like a garden. 
 
 Besides the advantages just mentioned, resulting 
 from the acquisition of right ideas, relative to the 
 value of commerce, there are several other consider- 
 ations which render correct notions on this subject 
 highly desirable, some of which are of such import- 
 ance, as to deserve a distinct attention. 
 
 Having estimated the value of commerce aright, 
 we need not look forward with dismay, to the oc- 
 currence of an event, which, in all probability will, 
 in no very long period of time, take place; I mean, 
 the very considerable diminution of our trade. The 
 
of Commerce. 73 
 
 malignant attempt of Buonapart6, to shut us out 
 from the Continent, will certainly not be long effec-. 
 tive; nor will the Americans persevere many months 
 in punishing themselves, by way of being revenged 
 on us. It is not, therefore, to the operation of causes 
 such as these, that I allude, as being likely perma- 
 nently to diminish our trade, but to the influence of 
 causes acting within ourselves, which, though their 
 effect may not be perceived in ten years, nor in 
 twenty years, will, almost certainly, eventually be 
 productive of this result. 
 
 How is it, that we have been able so greatly to 
 surpass the other nations of the globe, in the extent 
 of our commerce? Because, from the amount of our 
 capital, and the excellence of our machinery, we 
 have had the power of underselling all competitors 
 in the foreign market. The question is, whether we 
 shall be able to retain this superiority? for the mo- 
 ment the manufacturers of France, or of Germany, 
 can offer as good an article as ourselves, at a lower 
 price, our commerce with these countries, and with 
 other nations, to which they have unrestrained ac- 
 cess, must naturally cease. Now there are many rea- 
 sons, which make it probable, that we shall not long; 
 retain this superiority, in the foreign market, arising 
 from the lowness of price, and goodness of qualitv, 
 of our manufactures. The advantages derived from 
 our extent of capital, and excellence of machinery, 
 are already counterbalanced by the high wages of la- 
 bour in this country, which are probably twice as 
 much as on the Continent. Even in Dr. A. Smith's 
 time, the English manufacturers complained, that 
 the wages of labour were so high, that they could 
 scarcely enter into competition with the foreign 
 manufacturer. Since then, wages have greatly risen, 
 and if we advert to the cause of their rise, we 
 shall see reason to believe, that they will be still 
 higher. 
 
 The much greater value of land and of food^ 
 
'■74t Britain Independent 
 
 and consequently of labour, in tins country, tlian 
 in the neighbouring nations, must be attTibuted 
 to the operation ot* some internal and peculiar 
 cause ; for if it had arisen from the depreciation in va- 
 lue of the precious metals, this circumstance would 
 have influenced the prices of land and food and hi- 
 bour in an equal degree in the rest of Europe. Some 
 have accounted for this rise, from the great issue of 
 a fictitious circulating medium in this country : but 
 probably without reason : for there does not seem to 
 be a possibility of keeping a greater circulating me- 
 dium in the market, than is really wanted for the 
 purposes of trade, and the fticihty of obtaining such 
 a portion of this circulating medium as is wanted 
 tends to lower, not to raise, prices. It is more proba- 
 ble, that these advanced prices, are to be attributed 
 to the existence of onr immense national debt, in 
 which circumstance it is, mc chiefly differ from the 
 rest of Europe. In the creation of the national debt, 
 large sums have, at intervals, been converted from 
 capital into revenue, and have been expended, either 
 in articles of food, or of manufacture. In both in- 
 stances, the demand for food has increased ; its 
 piice has advanced ; and, in the end, the price of la- 
 bour and of every thing else, which naturally depends 
 on the price of food, has advanced in an equal degree. 
 Now, if the increased rate of wages in Britain, has 
 been brought about in consequence of the augmented 
 amount of the national debt *, as this debt will, ac- 
 
 * As the high rate of wages in tliis country is to be attributed to the na- 
 tional debt, and as these hi{i;h wages vf'iU probably in tlie end destroy our 
 trade; if this nation were really dependent on its commerce, the existence 
 of the national debt, and jts increase, ought to be looked upon as the most 
 baneful impediments of our wealth and prosperity : and, indeed, they are 
 regarded as such, by most writers on political economy. For my own part, 
 however, I am inclined to believe this opinion to be erroneous, and that 
 the national debt, instead of being injurious, has been of the greatest ser- 
 vice to our wealth and prosperity. This apparently paradoxical position it 
 is impossible to consider at large in this place, and I shall merely mention 
 the general argument- on which it is built. It has been shown, that in 9, 
 country, acting on a system similar to the one we follow, agriculture can 
 only be extended by a constant and increasing expenditure amongstabe 
 
of Commerce, 75 
 
 tiording to the present appearances of things in Eu- 
 rope, be yet considerably increased, we must look 
 forward to a still greater rise in the price of food and 
 
 class of land propiietors; and the baneful consequences which would en- 
 sue, if this class were to cease to expend, and were to convert its revenue 
 into capital, have been pointed out. Notwithstanding all the declamatioil 
 which has been made by moralists against the extiavagnnce and profusion 
 of man, it appears, that he is, in fact,, much more inclined to save and to 
 hoard than to spend. Hence onr land proprietors have never fully per- 
 formed their duty, they have never expended the whole of their revenue, 
 and thus they h/ive not contributed so essentially, as they might have done, 
 to the prosperity of the country. What tlie land proprietors have neglected 
 to do, has been accomplished by the national debt. It has every now and 
 then converted twenty or thirty millions, of what was destined for capital, 
 into consumable revenue, and it has thus given a most beneficial stimulus 
 to agriculture. Capital is essential to a nation, but a nation may have too 
 much of it: for what is the use of capital, but to prepare articles on which 
 a revenue may be spent: and where is the revenue to be spent to be de- 
 rive<l from, if it be all converted into capital? When, during a war, a loan 
 of twenty or thirty millions is made, in what is the sum expended? Is it not 
 consumed in providing food and clothing for the array and navy ; in build- 
 ing ships; in purchasing arms and amunition, &c. ? From this expenditure, 
 then, results great direct advantage to the farmer, to the clothier, to tlje 
 shipbuilder, to the owner of timber, &c.? And as in consequence of their 
 profits their own expenditure increases, the advaiHuge is disseminated 
 amongst every branch of society. Expenditure, in short, is the very essence 
 of a system like ours, and what difi'erence can it make to the prosperity of 
 the country whether it is indebted for this expenditure to the government 
 or the subjects? But it will be said : " Admitting the original conversion 
 of capital into revenue to have been advantageous, are not the taxes with 
 which the community is burdened in perpetuity, for the payment of the in- 
 terest of the different loans, injurious to the wealth of the society; inas- 
 much as by the payment of these taxes, the consumers have their power of 
 consuming diminished ?'' I answer, No. These taxes, paid for the intdest 
 of the national debt, are, perhaps, a greater cause of prosperity than the 
 original debt was, since they are, for the most part, constantly devoted to 
 ^hc purchase of consumable commodities. And inasmuch asall taxes, in 
 the end, fall upon the land, the grand source of all revenue; the land pror 
 prietors, by means of the sums drawn for the interest of the national debt 
 are obliged to spend much more than they would otherwise do, and thus 
 more essentially contribute to the national prosperity. Those who contend, 
 that the deprivations to which the payers of the interest of- the national 
 debt, are obliged to submit to, must necessarily diminish the demand for 
 the industry ofthe country, forget, that although the sums they pay, are 
 not! by themselves expended in consumable commodities, yet they are s<y 
 expended by the receivers ofthe interest of the national debt. Thouti^h the 
 land proprietor, the farmer, the manufacturer, now consume less luxuries 
 than if they had not to pay one half of their income (which they really do 
 pa^r) in taxes : yet the stockholder takes their place; he^xpends the sums 
 which they save, and thus the effect is just the same on tiie prosperity of 
 the nation. It may be hard, perhaps, that one large branch of society should 
 have its enjoyments curtailed, in order that ano her smaller branch may 
 partake a share of tliem ; yet, as members of the same community, there 
 2eems no just reason wh^ the interest of pne should be preferred before 
 
76 Britain Independent 
 
 of labour, and consequently, our manufacturers will 
 find it more than ever difficult to meet the competi- 
 tion of foreign rivals, who can purchase labour at a 
 
 that of the other: and it should be recollected, that in virtue of the mort- 
 gage which the stockholder holds on the real property of the kingdom, he 
 has, in fact, a right to his share of the revenue which it produces. The sole 
 effect which results from the payment of so large a sum as the intereit of 
 the national debt, is, that twenty or thirty millions are taken annually from 
 one part of the society and given to another ; and inasmuch as by this ope- 
 ration, enjoyment is communicated to a larger number of human beings, 
 the nafional debt is in this point of view also, beneHcial. Heavy taxes are 
 doubtless oppressive to many of the members of a society, individually con- 
 sidered, yet, where the whole, or by far the greater part of the taxes of a 
 nation, are expended in that nation, taxation may be carried to a very great 
 extent without injuring national prosperity. Of the thirty or forty millions, 
 which this couniry pays annually in taxes, all that part which is destined for 
 the service of government, and by far the greater part of that portion which 
 is to pay the stockholders, is expended before the end of the year, in the 
 purchase of food and of manufactures, and is thus returned to the society 
 which has advanced it. But it is urged again, that the sums paid in taxes arc 
 expended in maintaining unproductive labourers, and that if the subjects, 
 instead of the go\Ternment, had had the spending of this money, it would 
 have employed productive labourer?. This is certamly the case; but if we 
 have already productive labourers sufficientfor the supplying all our wants, 
 why increase the ninnber? It appears, that of the population of Britain, 
 about two millions only arc required to furnish us with all the articles of 
 trade and manufacture, which we have ourselves occasion for, as well as all 
 we export. Why then should we wish for a greater number of productive la- 
 bourers than we need ? A nation which should determine, that all its mem- 
 bers should do something, and therefore manufacture ten times more than 
 it could make use of, accumulating an ijnmense stock of pots and pans, of 
 tables and chairs, would be just about as wise, as a virtuoso, who should 
 collect all the hats and wigs he could lay his hands on. An extended 
 population enjoying prosperity, that is, abundanceof food, of clothing, and 
 a tolerable share of luxuries, is what a nation should chiefly endeavour to 
 attain; not merely an accumulation of wealth. Now, in this country, when 
 the most taxes are paid, that is^ in time of war, the bulk of its population 
 enjoy greater prosperity than at any other time. Just now, for example, 
 never were the bulk of the people so prosperous. In consequence of the 
 demand for men for the army, where they are well fed, well clothed, and 
 live in indolence, there is a deficiency of labourers in every branch of indus- 
 try : in course, the wages of labour are high, and food being at the same time 
 cheap, the whole of the lower class enjoys a state of prosperity, which it is 
 impossible it should enjoy on the return of peace, (even though the taxes 
 should be much less then, than they are. now), when 300,000 competitors 
 will be throwrr into the market of industry. Though, therefore, the \yeight 
 of taxes should grievously oppress several hundred thousand of those in the 
 middle rank oif society, whose incomes are fixed and small, yet this very 
 oppression is the means of bcttfring the condition, and materially relieving 
 several milions of the lower ranks of society. It does not indeed follow 
 from hence, that heavy taxes are desirable ; because the prosperity of the 
 whole of society might be maintained without them; yet it follows, that 
 heavy taxes caimot easily be the ruin of a state, where by their very means, 
 the majority of that state enjoys greater prosperity, Thetibove considera- 
 
of Commerce. 77 
 
 price 80 much less. Even if we look forward to a 
 continuance of the present price of labour, the in- 
 creased industry and capital, and improved machi- 
 
 tions will also show the absurdity of all those calculations, by which it is en- 
 deavoured to prove, that if the national debt had not been contracted, we 
 should have been at this time six hundred millions richer then we now are. 
 We might, with as much propriety calculate, that if the land proprietors of 
 this country, had for the last hundred years saved, instead of spent, their 
 revenue, the nation would have been worth six' or ei^ht thousand millions 
 more than it is worth now. But we perceive at the first glance, that if the 
 land proprietors had converted their revenue into capital, for the first fivcf 
 years of tiiis period, in the next five years, they would have had no revenue 
 at all. We know, that their expenditure has increased', not lessened, their 
 wealth ; and if the national debt have tripled and quadrupled the value of 
 landed property in this kingdom, though most other things which the land 
 proprietor has to purchase, may be also increased in value, still it cannot 
 have lessened the national wealth. If a land proprietor now receive 
 10,0001. a year for land, for which fifty years ago, he would have gotten 
 only 30001. a year, even though he has now to pay 30001. a year in taxes, 
 and had formerly nothing to pay, aud the articles of consumption be now 
 twice as dear as they were, still he can»ot be said to be poorer in conse- 
 quence of the national debt; and still less can the nation be said to be 
 poorer in consequence of the debt, since the greatest part of the 30001. 
 paid by the land proprietor, is transferred to the revenue of some other 
 part of the community. It is not meant to be asserted, that tlie expenditure 
 of the xokole of the sums constituting the national debt, has contributed to 
 the wealth or to the prosperity of the country. A considerable portion of 
 it has been expended for the maintenance of our armies in foreign coun- 
 tries, and another but too considerable portion of it has been spent in sub- 
 sidies granted to our allies. Both these portions of the national debt have 
 been completely thrown away, and have been of no service whatever to the 
 national wealth or prosperity. Nor do I mean to say, that the sums spent 
 at home, might not have been much better employed, than in maintaining 
 the lai^e naval and military forces rendered necessary for our protection, 
 in consequence of the wars in whiah we have been engaged. If three or 
 four hundred millions of tbe national debt, which has been spent in this way, 
 had been expended on national improvements, in the formation of excel- 
 lent roads over every part of the kingdom, in the widening and deepening 
 of rivers and harbours ; in, the building of public edifices ; in the instruction 
 of youth, and in other national undertakings, the very same advantage would 
 have accrued to the country from the expenditure of this sum, and Brithia 
 would, by this time, have been an earthly paradise. All that I contend for, 
 therefore, is, that notwithstanding the unprofitable way in which the greater 
 part of the national debt has been consumed, notwithstanding the absolute 
 and entire loss of a large portion of it, still, with all these disadvantages, it 
 has been on the whole favourable to national wealth and prosperity. If the 
 formation of the national debt, by the conversion of superfluous capital into 
 consumable revenue, have been advantageous to the prosperity of the 
 country, by the'same mode of reasoning it will follow that all attempts to 
 pay off this debt, by the conversion of sums destined for consumable re- 
 venue, into capital which is. not wanted, must be injurious to national 
 prosperity: and hence, that the sinking fund, if it were to operate exten-, 
 sively, which, from the cpnstant creation of new debt, it has never yet done, 
 would be in its consequences highly baneful and injurious. But on this point; 
 
78 Britain Independent 
 
 iiery of the nations we now supply witlr manufac- 
 tures, will, in the course of twenty or thirty years, 
 when added to the advantage whibh their luw rate of 
 Jabour gives them, enable them to undersell us in 
 their own, and perhaps in foreign markets. If we 
 cast a glance at the probable improvements which 
 would take place in the manufactures of other na- 
 tions of Europe, in a ft\N^ years, if peace should be 
 concluded, we shall be satisfied of _ the accuracy of 
 this statement. France, for instance, has, at present, 
 five or six hundred thousand soldiers. When this 
 mass of population (a much greater mass than we 
 now employ in the manufacture of our articles of ex- 
 port,) shall be disbanded, and have ceased to live on 
 the plunder of other countries, they will naturally 
 become manufacturers; and, as France already fabri- 
 cates nearly as much as she has occasion for, she will 
 then not only fully supply her own wants, but pro- 
 bably have a considerable portion to disposeof. The 
 manufactures of Germany, too, will, in time of 
 peace, regain the importance they once had. Spain 
 and Portugal, in their present state of apathy and in- 
 dolence, need not to be feared as competitors^ but if 
 their energies be aroused, as seems likely to be the 
 case, by anew government appointed by Buonaparte, 
 we certainly cannot calculate upon their custom for 
 any length of time, since they possess within 
 themselves a profusion of materials, tor manufactur- 
 ing all we furnish them with. Russia, even now, 
 does not consume any great amount of our manufac- 
 tures, and in proportion as she advances in civiliza- 
 tion, and increases her manufacturing class, will re- 
 quire still less. So that, even though America should 
 find it her interest to purchase her manufactures for 
 a century to come, and even though other openings 
 
 the unreasonable length to which this note has already extended, forbids 
 ine to enlarge, and I must refer such of ray readers as wish for farther in- 
 formation, to the Earl of Lauderdale's reasoning on this subject, in his 
 " Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public^ Wealth:" which, to mj 
 mind, is convincing, and has not been substantially refuted by any of tke 
 objections made against it which 1 have seen. 
 
of Commerce. 79 
 
 for commerce should be made in South America, in 
 Asia, or in Africa, still we should have so many 
 competitors, all able to afford goods cheaper than we 
 could, by reason of the cheapness of the labour em- 
 ployed on them, that our trade would, upon the 
 whole, be greatly diminished. It is in vain to talk 
 of the excellence of our machinery, as insuring us a 
 decided advantage over other nations. From the 
 very nature of things, it is impossible that we should 
 be able to keep secret the construction of any large 
 machine, made use of in an extensive manufacture, 
 and, accordingly, the fabrication of our impr<>ved 
 cotton and woollen machiner}^ is as well understood 
 in France, as in England. Our capital, then, will be 
 the only remaining circumstance in which we shall 
 probably, for a time, be superior to the rest of Eu- 
 rope. But this superiority cannot last long. When 
 capital is at all required^ it rapidly accumulates ; and 
 even supposing our capital to increase, in the same 
 degree with that of our rivals, this event would re- 
 duce the profit of stock so low in this country, that 
 we should be willing to lend it, as the Dutch did, to 
 any other nations, which, in consequence of the 
 cheapness of labour, could afford to give more for it. 
 As far, then, as we are at present able to foresee, it 
 seems highly probable, that in the revolution of no 
 very long period of time, we shall lose a portion, per- 
 haps a considerable one, of our commerce. If the sys- 
 tem, which esteems commerce the source of our wealth 
 and our prosperity, were well founded, this would 
 be a dreary and melancholy prospect. To every dis- 
 interested patriot, who carries his ideas farther than 
 the present moment, it would cause the most distress- 
 ing feelings, to reflect, that in a few years, in less 
 than half a century perhaps, his country was destined 
 to lose the source of her greatness, and after hav- 
 ing stood so proudly pre-eminent amongst nations 
 so long, was at length doomed to retrograde into po- 
 verty and insignificance. But when we entertain cor- 
 
so Britain Independent 
 
 rect notions on this subject, no such gloomy apprc- 
 prehensions need dismay us. We know, that all our 
 riches and greatness have been derived from our in- 
 ternal resources, which, whether we have little or 
 much commerce, will remain to us ; and we know, 
 that we can always obtain the very few necessary ar- 
 ticles which w^e do not produce. The diminution of 
 our commerce, is therefore a matter of perfect indif- 
 ference to us. We shall be debarred, in consequence, 
 from the use of a few luxuries, which, on the whole, 
 do us more injury then benefit, but all the splid 
 foundations of our prosperity and happiness, will be 
 unaffected and unmoved. 
 
 Another important advantage which would result 
 from the general spread of correct ideas, on the re- 
 lative value of our commerce, would be the cessation 
 of the jealousy and envy with which we are now re- 
 garded by the rest of the po^vers of Europe, and by 
 America, and a consequent diminution of the causes 
 of future wars. 
 
 The false opinion, that all our ricbes and our 
 greatness are deriv-ed from our commiCrce, is not pe- 
 culiar to the inhabitants of this country. All the rest 
 of the nations of Europe, as well as the Americans, 
 are of exactly the same sentiments. And no wonder 
 they should be. If we, who are on the spot, are so 
 blinded by the superficial appearances of things, can 
 it be expected, that foreigners, at a distance, should 
 form more accurate conceptions? They see, that with 
 an extensive trade, we are rich; whilst they, with- 
 out trade, are poor. What then can be more natural, 
 than that they should deem our commerce the cause 
 of our riches ; especially when they bear our senators 
 and our statesmen maintaining the same doctrine,, and 
 in their sj)eeches on the state of the nation, dwelling 
 M'ith rapturous exultation on the vast amount of our 
 imports and our exports, whilst every other source of 
 wealth is deemed unworthy of atcention ? ^ 
 
 Now, it follows from the very conformation of the 
 
of Commerce, 81 
 
 human mind, that the other powers of the globe 
 must regard with envy, a rival which monopolizes 
 what they esteem the grand source of wealth. They 
 must necessarily embrace with eagerness every op- 
 portunity that presents itself, of diminishing our 
 share, and increasing their own, of this supposed 
 mine of riches. Hence arose the Northern Confede- 
 racy, the late non-importation law of America, and 
 air the various attempts which Buonapart6 has made, 
 at different times, to injure our commerce. The 
 framers of all these schemes, have acted on the con- 
 viction, that the most effectual way of injuring us, 
 was to do all that laid in their power, to lessen our 
 trade. No such plans for our annoyance would ever 
 have been projected, if correct notions of the value 
 of commerce had been adopted by ourselves, and 
 proclaimed to the rest of the world. If other nations 
 knew, that we believed all our wealth to spring from 
 our internal resources, and esteemed our commerce a 
 mean of procuring us luxuries merely, and that we 
 regarded them as much more dependent on it than 
 ourselves ; they would scarcely entertain such idle 
 hopes, as that they could ruin us, by prohibiting that 
 part of our commerce w^hich depended, on them ; or 
 be such fools as to injure themselves, for the sake of 
 inconveniencino: us. 
 
 The people of America have been so long accus- 
 tomed to hear English writers expatiate on the im- 
 portance of the market wlvich their country affords 
 to our manufactures, that they have persuaded them- 
 selves, they could not he more effectually revenged 
 for the insults which they fancy they have received 
 from Britain, than by shutting up this market against 
 her. They vainly imagine, that the loss of a market 
 for two or thr^e millions of our manufactures, will, 
 be of such serious injury to us, that we shall ^a^*erly 
 accede to all their demands, in order to g,vert so dire 
 a misfortune; and, therefore, though they are sensi- 
 ble that we can do. much better Vithout their to- 
 bacco, than they can do without our woollens and 
 
82 Britain Independent 
 
 hardware, they are willing to suffer this inconveni- 
 ence, fancying that they can exist a year or two 
 without our custom, whilst we shall be ruined with- 
 out theirs. ^ 
 
 Buonaparte, too, reasoning in the same way with 
 the Americans^ has believed, that if he could annihi- 
 late all our commercial intercourse with the Conti- 
 nent, he should do much towards destroying our re- 
 sources for carrying on the war. He has accordingly 
 long ago interdicted the use of English manufactures 
 in France and in Holland ; and having now unfortu- 
 nately acquired the means of enforcing his mandates 
 over the whole of Europe nearly, he makes himself 
 full sure of accomplishing his purpose. 
 
 But neither Buonaparte nor the Americans, would 
 have ever formed such wild projects for our annoy- 
 ance, much less would they Imve resolved, even to 
 injure their own subjects, in order, if possible, to ruin 
 us, if they had nor been so grossly deluded, with 
 regard to the actual importance of our commerce to 
 us, by the erroneous ideas on this point, which wc 
 have so long maintained, and so industriously pro- 
 pagated. 
 
 It may be sai(l,if our commerce be really no source 
 of our wealth, it is of little consequence, whether our 
 enemies diminish it or not; but it should be consi- 
 dered, that though the loss of any particular branch 
 of commerce, is of small moment in a national point 
 of view, it is 'a very serious inconvenience to the in- 
 dividuals who are concerned in it; and on this ac- 
 count, an evil which it is highly desirable should be 
 avoided. For the sake of humanity, too, it is greatly 
 to be wished, that more correct notions, as. to the 
 real sources of national wealth, and the relative value 
 of trade, were universally spread amongst the nations 
 of the world. They would then no longer think it 
 necessary to wage destructive wars, for the sake of 
 extending their commerce. They would no longer 
 endeavour to trick and cajole each other iu the form- 
 ation of commercial treaties ; nor think it necessar^jr 
 
V of Commerce. 83 
 
 to permit the importation of the products of one 
 neighbour, whilst those of another were prohibited, 
 or loaded with heavy duties; thus giving constant 
 occasion to jealousies and disputes. But, being con- 
 vinced, that the only source of riches is the soil ; that 
 every country possesses within itself abundant 
 sources of wealth and prosperity, and that commerce 
 is but an interchange of superfluities, ahke beneficial 
 to all, and the origin of wealth to none; they would 
 apply themselves, in the first place, to their concerns 
 at home, and be little anxious to extend their trade 
 with other nations, except as a mean of increasing 
 the enjoyments of the human race, and of spread- 
 ing religion, civilization, and science, over the 
 
 jrlobe. 
 
 Another advantage, and the last which I shall ad- 
 vert to, which would result from the spread of cor- 
 rect ideas on the relative importance of commerce, 
 would be, freedom from all anxiety respecting our 
 present or future possession of the colonies which 
 belong to us in different parts of the globe. 
 
 On the system, which esteems commerce as the 
 grand source of wealth, colonies, inasmuch as they 
 confer a monopoly of their trade on the nation which 
 possesses them, are regarded as of first rate import- 
 ance ; and no expense is thought too great for the 
 purpose of acquiring new, or retaining old, establish- 
 ments of this kind. Of all the powers of Europe, 
 Britain has engaged most deeply in the colonial 
 system, and she herself, as well as the nations around 
 her, attributes a great portion of her wealth, to the 
 number and extent of her f)Ossessions in the eastern 
 and western hemispheres. If this opinion' were 
 founded in truth, if our colonies were really such 
 sources of wealth as they are represented, we should 
 have great cause to look with dread into futurity ; 
 for the chances, that we shall for any long time 
 maintain possession of them, do not seem much in 
 our favour. We have seen one colony, in the imme- 
 mediate neighbourhood of our own, wrested by the 
 
84 Britain Independent 
 
 negroes from its European mother country; and 
 have we not great reason to fear, that the slaves of 
 our colonies, with such an example before their 
 eyes, will, sooner or later, release themselves from 
 our authority ? Should the blacks of St. Domingo be 
 able to resist the attempts of the French for their 
 subjection, and succeed in establishing an independ- 
 ent and regular government, they will not fail, by 
 means of their commercial intercourse, speedily to 
 become civilized and powerful. When these changes 
 have taken place, they will certainly leave no stone 
 unturned, to break the chains of their brethren under 
 our dominion; and, with the local advantages vi^hich 
 they possess, it will be next to a miracle if they do 
 not succeed. 
 
 Our possessions in the East are still less secure. 
 Of late years, the difficulties of maintaining our au- 
 thority there, have rapidly augmented ; and it seems 
 morally impossible, that a native population, of 
 thirty or forty millions, surrounded by jealous 
 powers, ever ready, on a favourable opportunity, to 
 aim at the reacquisition of the territory they have 
 lost, and, assisted by the military skilf and know- 
 lege of our European enemies, should long con- 
 tinue in subjection to a few thousand Englishmen. 
 
 If, then, our colonial possessions are held by so 
 unstable a tenure; if we have so good reason to be- 
 lieve, that we shall be deprived of them, before any 
 long period has elapsed, surely we must gladly listen to 
 any vvell-foundcd arguments, which shall prove, that 
 on this score we have nothing serious to apprehend ; 
 and that though'our East and West India colonies, 
 were lost to us to-morrow, inasmuch as we gain no 
 wealth from our commerce with them, it would, 
 in a national point of view, be of no importance 
 to us. 
 
 But, as the false doctrine of the importance of 
 colonial possessions, as a source of wealth, has taken 
 such deep root-in the minds of most persons, and as 
 it is almost deemed an axiom, that our commerce 
 
of Commerce, 8-5 
 
 with them is particularly profitable, I sh^J^ ^eg to 
 advert a while lonoer to this point, though 1 shall be 
 obHo-ed to repeat part of what I have beiore advanced 
 on the subject of trade in general, and though 
 this is not exactly the regular place for this dis- 
 cussion. .1 
 
 It is maintained, that our commerce with our 
 colonies, is particularly advantageous, because^ the 
 capitals employed in raising the produce vyhich we 
 import from thence, are British capitals; and because 
 the profit derived from the employment of these ca- 
 pitals, is drawn into, and expended in, the mother 
 country. But a slight attention to the subject will 
 5how, that these circumstances do not render this 
 species of commerce more profitable than any other 
 species. I admit, that if the greater part of our colo- 
 nial produce, were sold with a profit to foreign na- 
 tions, and if this profit were drawn, either m gold or 
 silver, or in any other wealth, into the mother coun- 
 try, we should then gain an accession of wealth, 
 equal to this amount from our colonies. But the tact 
 is, that by far the greatest portion of the produce ot 
 our colonies, is sold and consumed at home; and the 
 West India planter does not realize his profit, until 
 this event has taken place. It is therefore from the 
 consumers at home, that the profits of this, as well 
 as of all other commerce of import, is derived, and 
 consequently, there is no creation of wealth effected 
 by it. The" proprietors of land in the Wesl^ Indies, 
 annually import into this country, sugar, rum, cof- 
 fee, &c. to the amount of about ten millions, and in 
 general mav gain on these articles, a profit of one 
 million. But is it not self evident, that this profit is 
 drawn from the consumers of West India produc^e, 
 and, that exactly in proportion to the gams of the 
 planter, is their loss? It may be said, perhaps that 
 as the value of our imports from the West Indies is 
 tenmiUions, and the value of our exports not half so 
 much; and as we certainly do not send there any ba- 
 lance of the precious metals, there must remain a clear 
 
i>6 Britain Independent 
 
 national profit of the difference in value, between the 
 imports and the exports. This, however, isamistaken 
 supposition. Though Britain does not directly ex- 
 port, perhaps, more than five milliions worth of her 
 manufactures to the West Indies, still, as it is with 
 the capital of her subjects, that these islands are cul- 
 tivated, she must eventually pay the whole cost of 
 bringing their produce to market ; and consequently, 
 she cannot gain more profit by this trade, than the 
 West India proprietor gains. Now, it is very well 
 known, that the profits of West India planters 
 are by no means one hundred jDer cent. Twenty years 
 ^g^j fey the estimation of one of the strongest advo- 
 cates for the colonial trade, Mr. Long, ti^ht per cent. 
 only, was the profit of a West India planter upon his 
 capital*. Since then, complaints of the unprofitable- 
 ness of the trade, have been increasing every year, 
 and, just now, the merchants concerned in it, find it 
 necessary to apply for permision to open a new 
 channel at home, for the consumption of their pro- 
 duce, in order to realize their ordinary profits f . The 
 
 * Young's Annals of Agriculture, vol. x. p. 338. 
 
 t It has been lately announced in the public papers, that the West In- 
 dia merchants have had communications with government, for the purpose 
 of obtaining permission for the use of sugar in the breweries and distilleries, 
 in lieu of barley, and it is added, that such an arrangement has been made. 
 I sincerely hope this is a mistake. If not, well may we exclaim, — When will 
 governments learn to let affairs of trade take their own course, and cca^e 
 their pernicious schemes of relieving one part of the community at the ex- 
 pense of another ! At different periods it has been thought requisite, for 
 the encouragement of agriculture, to give a bounty on the exportation 
 of grain. Now, it seems, it has been discovered, that agriculture Honrishcs 
 too much, and it is proposed to deprive the farmer of one of the principal 
 markets for his ba:fley, for the advantage of the West India merchant. But 
 can any thing be more impolitic than to discourage the cultivation of our • 
 own soil, for the sake of promoting the cultivation of soil in the West 
 Indies } The principal reason, however, why such a measure should be de- 
 precated, is, that we shall thereby deprive ourselves of one valuable re- 
 source in times of occasional scarcity of food. The same senseless clamour 
 *whicb has in this country been raised against dealers in corn, has been fre- 
 quently turned against our practice of devoting so much land to the pro- 
 duction of corn for horses, for breweries, and distilleries. It has been said 
 ' VVhat a shame, that the food of so many human beings should be thus 
 consumed V It is not considered, that our habit of raising so large a quantity 
 of the inferior kinds of grain, which we apply to other purposes than the 
 food of man, but which may at any time be made to contribute to his sub- 
 sistence, furnishes us with a granary, if it may be so called, to which, when- 
 
of Commerce. 87 
 
 only profit, then, that Britain can get by this trade, 
 is the profit of those concerned in it. The West India 
 merchant would never pretend, that the nation gets 
 rich by our colonial commerce, when he derives no 
 profit from his trade. But the profit ofthe West India 
 merchant, is merely transferred to him from the con- 
 sumers of his articles ; the nation, therefore. Cannot 
 gain any accession of wealth whatever from this 
 trade, any more than from any other trade of import. 
 From our possessions in the East Indies, it is still 
 more clear, that we derive no accession of wealth : No 
 one will pretend, that the tea, &c. which we import 
 from them, are raised by British capital, and conse- 
 quently, every one must admit, that whatever may 
 be the profit of the East India Company, on the ar- 
 ticles they import, the whole of it is drawn from the 
 consumers of these articles ; and therefore, that the 
 dividends ofthe East India proprietors, are no crea- 
 tion of wealth, but a mere transfer from the pockets 
 of the community to theirs. The only way in which 
 
 ever there is need, we can have recourse, and most effectually ward off the 
 possibility of famine. If all the grain in this country were consumed as the 
 food of the inhabitants, what would be our condition, if the next year, for 
 instance, our harvest should fail, and we should continue to be, as we now 
 are, excluded from supplies from the Continent? Or, what %vould our con- 
 dition be, at any period, if, what is by no means an improbable supposi- 
 tion, the countries from wheuce we usually draw our supplies of grain, ia 
 times of scarcity, had at the same time a samty crop, and not more than 
 their own needs required? It is evident, that on such a supposition, we 
 must submit to all the horrors of famine. But whiLt we continue to raise 
 so many millions of quarters of barley, of oats, of beans, none, or very lit- 
 tle of which, we make use of for food, it is obvious, that we can scarcely 
 in any case, suffer more than a sli^^ht inconvenience from a deficient crop of 
 our usual food, wheat: since we can always, on such an occurrence, cease 
 to drink ale, to distil spirits, and to feed our horses witli corn, and can 
 make u»e ofthe barley, oats, and beans, thus diverted from their usual 
 office, as food for ourselves, until the return of another har\'est. In this 
 point of view, it is of incalculable importance, that the production of graia 
 usually devoted to other purposes than the food of man, but which, when 
 occasion requires, can be employed as a mean oFsubsistence, should be en- 
 couraged in the jrreatest degree possible : and hence the proposed per- 
 mission for distilling spirits from sugar, will be injuriojis to the country in 
 two ways. It will depress the most profitable of all branches of industrv, 
 agriculture, for the sake of encouraging a bmnch of industry, which is lio 
 source of profit whatever; and it will materially tend to diminish the in- 
 ternal and certain, and therefore inestimable, resources of the nation, 
 against occasional deficiencies of grain. 
 
88 Britain Independent 
 
 any national profit could be drawn from our East 
 India territories, would be from taxes levied upon 
 the inhabitants there, and transmitted to England. 
 But it is well known that the East ^ndia Company's 
 expenses, far exceed any territorial revenue which 
 theyderivefrom their unwieldy dominions ; so much 
 so, that they are already sixteen or eighteen millions 
 in debt, which, in all probability, the nation will very 
 shortly have to take upon its own shoulders. 
 
 Thus, then, in every point of view, it appears, that 
 this nation derives no wealth from its colonial com- 
 merce,- any more than from any other branch of com- 
 merce ; and hence, although there is certainly no rea- 
 son why we should give up our colonies, so long as 
 we can preserve them without any enormous expense, 
 yet we may dismiss from our minds, all fear and anxi- 
 ety as to our future possession of them. If we are 
 deprived of them by the occurrence of events, out of 
 our power to control, we have, for our consolation, 
 the reflection, that they are by no means essential to 
 our well being; and, that as our wealth has increased 
 since the loss of the most important of our colonies, 
 North America, so, it certainly would continue to 
 increase, though we had not an inch of territory on 
 the globe, besides our own favoured island. 
 
 Many other considerations naturally arise out of 
 this subject, but the limits which I have prescribed 
 to myself, forbid any further extension of my re- 
 marks. I shall have attained the end which I had in 
 view, in writing these observations, if even a few of 
 my countrymen are induced by them, to give up 
 the humiliating and degrading opinion, that Britain, 
 —of all the nations that ever existed, the most rich 
 and prosperous,— is indebted for her prosperity to 
 the powers around her, and dependent for a conti- 
 nuance of these blessings, on the caprice of one set 
 of custon)ers, or the tyranny of another ;— -If even 
 a very small proportion of my readers are led by 
 the arguments here adduced, to participate with 
 me in the gratifying conviction, that our wealth and 
 
t>f Commerce, 89 
 
 our greatness, are wholly derived from our own re- 
 sources, and independent of every thing external; 
 and that, though Britain, according to Bishop Berk- 
 ley's idea, were surrounded with a wall of brass, ten 
 thousand cubits in height, still she would as far excel 
 the rest of the nations of the globe in riches, as she 
 now does, both in this secondary quality, and in 
 the more important ones, of freedom, virtue, and 
 science. 
 
 c 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 William Savage, Printer, 
 Bedford Bury. 
 
YB 66856 
 
 ivi203668 
 
 no"- 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA UBRARY