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sort of the inhabitants of towns。 Such trades were; at Athens and

Rome; all occupied by the slaves of the rich; who exercised them

for the benefit of their masters; whose wealth; power; and

protection made it almost impossible for a poor freeman to find a

market for his work; when it came into competition with that of

the slaves of the rich。 Slaves; however; are very seldom

inventive; and all the most important improvements; either in

machinery; or in the arrangement and distribution of work which

facilitate and abridge labour; have been the discoveries of

freemen。 Should a slave propose any improvement of this kind; his

master would be very apt to consider the proposal as the

suggestion of laziness; and a desire to save his own labour at

the master's expense。 The poor slave; instead of reward; would

probably meet with much abuse; perhaps with some punishment。 In

the manufactures carried on by slaves; therefore; more labour

must generally have been employed to execute the same quantity of

work than in those carried on by freemen。 The work of the former

must; upon that account; generally have been dearer than that of

the latter。 The Hungarian mines; it is remarked by Mr。

Montesquieu; though not richer; have always been wrought with

less expense; and therefore with more profit; than the Turkish

mines in their neighbourhood。 The Turkish mines are wrought by

slaves; and the arms of those slaves are the only machines which

the Turks have ever thought of employing。 The Hungarian mines are

wrought by freemen; who employ a great deal of machinery; by

which they facilitate and abridge their own labour。 From the very

little that is known about the price of manufactures in the times

of the Greeks and Romans; it would appear that those of the finer

sort were excessively dear。 Silk sold for its weight in gold。 It

was not; indeed; in those times a European manufacture; and as it

was all brought from the East Indies; the distance of the

carriage may in some measure account for the greatness of price。

The price; however; which a lady; it is said; would sometimes pay

for a piece of very fine linen; seems to have been equally

extravagant; and as linen was always either a European; or at

farthest; an Egyptian manufacture; this high price can be

accounted for only by the great expense of the labour which must

have been employed about it; and the expense of this labour again

could arise from nothing but the awkwardness of the machinery

which it made use of。 The price of fine woollens too; though not

quite so extravagant; seems however to have been much above that

of the present times。 Some cloths; we are told by Pliny; dyed in

a particular manner; cost a hundred denarii; or three pounds six

shillings and eightpence the pound weight。 Others dyed in another

manner cost a thousand denarii the pound weight; or thirty…three

pounds six shillings and eightpence。 The Roman pound; it must be

remembered; contained only twelve of our avoirdupois ounces。 This

high price; indeed; seems to have been principally owing to the

dye。 But had not the cloths themselves been much dearer than any

which are made in the present times; so very expensive a dye

would not probably have been bestowed upon them。 The

disproportion would have been too great between the value of the

accessory and that of the principal。 The price mentioned by the

same author of some Triclinaria; a sort of woollen pillows or

cushions made use of to lean upon as they reclined upon their

couches at table; passes all credibility; some of them being said

to have cost more than thirty thousand; others more than three

hundred thousand pounds。 This high price; too; is not said to

have arisen from the dye。 In the dress of the people of fashion

of both sexes there seems to have been much less variety; it is

observed by Doctor Arbuthnot; in ancient than in modern times;

and the very little variety which we find in that of the ancient

statues confirms his observation。 He infers from this that their

dress must upon the whole have been cheaper than ours; but the

conclusion does not seem to follow。 When the expense of

fashionable dress is very great; the variety must be very small。

But when; by the improvements in the productive powers of

manufacturing art and industry; the expense of any one dress

comes to be very moderate; the variety will naturally be very

great。 The rich; not being able to distinguish themselves by the

expense of any one dress; will naturally endeavour to do so by

the multitude and variety of their dresses。

     The greatest and most important branch of the commerce of

every nation; it has already been observed; is that which is

carried on between the inhabitants of the town and those of the

country。 The inhabitants of the town draw from the country the

rude produce which constitutes both the materials of their work

and the fund of their subsistence; and they pay for this rude

produce by sending back to the country a certain portion of it

manufactured and prepared for immediate use。 The trade which is

carried on between these two different sets of people consists

ultimately in a certain quantity of rude produce exchanged for a

certain quantity of manufactured produce。 The dearer the latter;

therefore; the cheaper the former; and whatever tends in any

country to raise the price of manufactured produce tends to lower

that of the rude produce of the land; and thereby to discourage

agriculture。 The smaller the quantity of manufactured produce

which in any given quantity of rude produce; or; what comes to

the same thing; which the price of any given quantity of rude

produce is capable of purchasing; the smaller the exchangeable

value of that given quantity of rude produce; the smaller the

encouragement which either the landlord has to increase its

quantity by improving or the farmer by cultivating the land。

Whatever; besides; tends to diminish in any country the number of

artificers and manufacturers; tends to diminish the home market;

the most important of all markets for the rude produce of the

land; and thereby still further to discourage agriculture。

     Those systems; therefore; which; preferring agriculture to

all other employments; in order to promote it; impose restraints

upon manufactures and foreign trade; act contrary to the very end

which they propose; and indirectly discourage that very species

of industry which they mean to promote。 They are so far; perhaps;

more inconsistent than even the mercantile system。 That system;

by encouraging manufactures and foreign trade more than

agriculture; turns a certain portion of the capital of the

society from supporting a more advantageous; to support a less

advantageous species of industry。 But still it really and in the

end encourages that species of industry which it means to

promote。 Those agricultural systems; on the contrary; really and

in the end discourage their own favourite species of industry。

     It is thus that every system which endeavours; either by

extraordinary encouragements to draw towards a particular species

of industry a greater share of the capital of the society than

what would naturally go to it; or; by extraordinary restraints;

force from a particular species of industry some share of the

capital which would otherwise be employed in it; is in reality

subversive of the great purpose which it means to promote。 It

retards; instead of accelerating; the progress of the society

towards real wealth and greatness; and diminishes; instead of

increasing; the real value of the annual produce of its land and

labour。

     All systems either of preference or of restraint; therefore;

being thus completely taken away; the obvious and simple system

of natural liberty establishes itself of its own accord。 Every

man; as long as he does not violate the laws of justice; is left

perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way; and to

bring both his industry and capital into competition with those

of any other man; or order of men。 The sovereign is completely

discharged from a duty; in the attempting to perform which he

must always be exposed to innumerable delusions; and for the

proper performance of which no human wisdom or knowledge could

ever be sufficient; the duty of superintending the industry of

private people; and of directing it towards the employments most

suitable to the interest of the society。 According to the system

of natural liberty; the sovereign has only three duties to attend

to; three duties of great importance; indeed; but plain and

intelligible to common understandings: first; the duty of

protecting the society from violence and invasion of other

independent societies; secondly; the duty of protecting; as far

as possible; every member of the society from the injustice or

oppression of every other member of it; or the duty of

establishing an exact administration of justice; and; thirdly;

the duty of erecting and maintaining certain public works and

certain public institutions which it can never be for the

interest of any individual; or small n

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