The Wealth of Nations

ONCLUSION OF THE MERCANTILE SYSTEM.

Though the encouragement of exportation, and the discouragement of
importation, are the two great engines by which the mercantile system
proposes to enrich every country, yet, with regard to some particular
commodities, it seems to follow an opposite plan: to discourage
exportation, and to encourage importation. Its ultimate object, however,
it pretends, is always the same, to enrich the country by an advantageous
balance of trade. It discourages the exportation of the materials of
manufacture, and of the instruments of trade, in order to give our own
workmen an advantage, and to enable them to undersell those of other
nations in all foreign markets; and by restraining, in this manner, the
exportation of a few commodities, of no great price, it proposes to
occasion a much greater and more valuable exportation of others. It
encourages the importation of the materials of manufacture, in order that
our own people may be enabled to work them up more cheaply, and thereby
prevent a greater and more valuable importation of the manufactured
commodities. I do not observe, at least in our statute book, any
encouragement given to the importation of the instruments of trade. When
manufactures have advanced to a certain pitch of greatness, the
fabrication of the instruments of trade becomes itself the object of a
great number of very important manufactures. To give any particular
encouragement to the importation of such instruments, would interfere too
much with the interest of those manufactures. Such importation, therefore,
instead of being encouraged, has frequently been prohibited. Thus the
importation of wool cards, except from Ireland, or when brought in as
wreck or prize goods, was prohibited by the 3rd of Edward IV.; which
prohibition was renewed by the 39th of Elizabeth, and has been continued
and rendered perpetual by subsequent laws.

The importation of the materials of manufacture has sometimes been
encouraged by an exemption from the duties to which other goods are
subject, and sometimes by bounties.

The importation of sheep’s wool from several different countries, of
cotton wool from all countries, of undressed flax, of the greater part of
dyeing drugs, of the greater part of undressed hides from Ireland, or the
British colonies, of seal skins from the British Greenland fishery, of pig
and bar iron from the British colonies, as well as of several other
materials of manufacture, has been encouraged by an exemption from all
duties, if properly entered at the custom-house. The private interest of
our merchants and manufacturers may, perhaps, have extorted from the
legislature these exemptions, as well as the greater part of our other
commercial regulations. They are, however, perfectly just and reasonable;
and if, consistently with the necessities of the state, they could be
extended to all the other materials of manufacture, the public would
certainly be a gainer.

The avidity of our great manufacturers, however, has in some cases
extended these exemptions a good deal beyond what can justly be considered
as the rude materials of their work. By the 24th Geo. II. chap. 46, a
small duty of only 1d. the pound was imposed upon the importation of
foreign brown linen yarn, instead of much higher duties, to which it had
been subjected before, viz. of 6d. the pound upon sail yarn, of 1s. the
pound upon all French and Dutch yarn, and of £2:13:4 upon the hundred
weight of all spruce or Muscovia yarn. But our manufacturers were not long
satisfied with this reduction: by the 29th of the same king, chap. 15, the
same law which gave a bounty upon the exportation of British and Irish
linen, of which the price did not exceed 18d. the yard, even this small
duty upon the importation of brown linen yarn was taken away. In the
different operations, however, which are necessary for the preparation of
linen yarn, a good deal more industry is employed, than in the subsequent
operation of preparing linen cloth from linen yarn. To say nothing of the
industry of the flax-growers and flaxdressers, three or four spinners at
least are necessary in order to keep one weaver in constant employment;
and more than four-fifths of the whole quantity of labour necessary for
the preparation of linen cloth, is employed in that of linen yarn; but our
spinners are poor people; women commonly scattered about in all different
parts of the country, without support or protection. It is not by the sale
of their work, but by that of the complete work of the weavers, that our
great master manufacturers make their profits. As it is their interest to
sell the complete manufacture as dear, so it is to buy the materials as
cheap as possible. By extorting from the legislature bounties upon the
exportation of their own linen, high duties upon the importation of all
foreign linen, and a total prohibition of the home consumption of some
sorts of French linen, they endeavour to sell their own goods as dear as
possible. By encouraging the importation of foreign linen yarn, and
thereby bringing it into competition with that which is made by our own
people, they endeavour to buy the work of the poor spinners as cheap as
possible. They are as intent to keep down the wages of their own weavers,
as the earnings of the poor spinners; and it is by no means for the
benefit of the workmen that they endeavour either to raise the price of
the complete work, or to lower that of the rude materials. It is the
industry which is carried on for the benefit of the rich and the powerful,
that is principally encouraged by our mercantile system. That which is
carried on for the benefit of the poor and the indigent is too often
either neglected or oppressed.

Both the bounty upon the exportation of linen, and the exemption from the
duty upon the importation of foreign yarn, which were granted only for
fifteen years, but continued by two different prolongations, expire with
the end of the session of parliament which shall immediately follow the
24th of June 1786.

The encouragement given to the importation of the materials of manufacture
by bounties, has been principally confined to such as were imported from
our American plantations.

The first bounties of this kind were those granted about the beginning of
the present century, upon the importation of naval stores from America.
Under this denomination were comprehended timber fit for masts, yards, and
bowsprits; hemp, tar, pitch, and turpentine. The bounty, however, of £1
the ton upon masting-timber, and that of £6 the ton upon hemp, were
extended to such as should be imported into England from Scotland. Both
these bounties continued, without any variation, at the same rate, till
they were severally allowed to expire; that upon hemp on the 1st of
January 1741, and that upon masting-timber at the end of the session of
parliament immediately following the 24th June 1781.

The bounties upon the importation of tar, pitch, and turpentine,
underwent, during their continuance, several alterations. Originally, that
upon tar was £4 the ton; that upon pitch the same; and that upon
turpentine £3 the ton. The bounty of £4 the ton upon tar was afterwards
confined to such as had been prepared in a particular manner; that upon
other good, clean, and merchantable tar was reduced to £2:4s. the ton. The
bounty upon pitch was likewise reduced to £1, and that upon turpentine to
£1:10s. the ton.

The second bounty upon the importation of any of the materials of
manufacture, according to the order of time, was that granted by the 21st
Geo. II. chap.30, upon the importation of indigo from the British
plantations. When the plantation indigo was worth three-fourths of the
price of the best French indigo, it was, by this act, entitled to a bounty
of 6d. the pound. This bounty, which, like most others, was granted only
for a limited time, was continued by several prolongations, but was
reduced to 4d. the pound. It was allowed to expire with the end of the
session of parliament which followed the 25th March 1781.

The third bounty of this kind was that granted (much about the time that
we were beginning sometimes to court, and sometimes to quarrel with our
American colonies), by the 4th. Geo. III. chap. 26, upon the importation
of hemp, or undressed flax, from the British plantations. This bounty was
granted for twenty-one years, from the 24th June 1764 to the 24th June
1785. For the first seven years, it was to be at the rate of £8 the ton;
for the second at £6; and for the third at £4. It was not extended to
Scotland, of which the climate (although hemp is sometimes raised there in
small quantities, and of an inferior quality) is not very fit for that
produce. Such a bounty upon the importation of Scotch flax in England
would have been too great a discouragement to the native produce of the
southern part of the united kingdom.

The fourth bounty of this kind was that granted by the 5th Geo. III. chap.
45, upon the importation of wood from America. It was granted for nine
years from the 1st January 1766 to the 1st January 1775. During the first
three years, it was to be for every hundred-and-twenty good deals, at the
rate of £1, and for every load containing fifty cubic feet of other square
timber, at the rate of 12s. For the second three years, it was for deals,
to be at the rate of 15s., and for other squared timber at the rate of
8s.; and for the third three years, it was for deals, to be at the rate of
10s.; and for every other squared timber at the rate of 5s.

The fifth bounty of this kind was that granted by the 9th Geo. III. chap.
38, upon the importation of raw silk from the British plantations. It was
granted for twenty-one years, from the 1st January 1770, to the 1st
January 1791. For the first seven years, it was to be at the rate of £25
for every hundred pounds value; for the second, at £20; and for the third,
at £15. The management of the silk-worm, and the preparation of silk,
requires so much hand-labour, and labour is so very dear in America, that
even this great bounty, I have been informed, was not likely to produce
any considerable effect.

The sixth Bounty of this kind was that granted by 11th Geo. III. chap. 50,
for the importation of pipe, hogshead, and barrelstaves and leading from
the British plantations. It was granted for nine years, from 1st January
1772 to the 1st January 1781. For the first three years, it was, for a
certain quantity of each, to be at the rate of £6; for the second three
years at £4; and for the third three years at £2.

The seventh and last bounty of this kind was that granted by the 19th Geo.
III chap. 37, upon the importation of hemp from Ireland. It was granted in
the same manner as that for the importation of hemp and undressed flax
from America, for twenty-one years, from the 24th June 1779 to the 24th
June 1800. The term is divided likewise into three periods, of seven years
each; and in each of those periods, the rate of the Irish bounty is the
same with that of the American. It does not, however, like the American
bounty, extend to the importation of undressed flax. It would have been
too great a discouragement to the cultivation of that plant in Great
Britain. When this last bounty was granted, the British and Irish
legislatures were not in much better humour with one another, than the
British and American had been before. But this boon to Ireland, it is to
be hoped, has been granted under more fortunate auspices than all those to
America. The same commodities, upon which we thus gave bounties, when
imported from America, were subjected to considerable duties when imported
from any other country. The interest of our American colonies was regarded
as the same with that of the mother country. Their wealth was considered
as our wealth. Whatever money was sent out to them, it was said, came all
back to us by the balance of trade, and we could never become a farthing
the poorer by any expense which we could lay out upon them. They were our
own in every respect, and it was an expense laid out upon the improvement
of our own property, and for the profitable employment of our own people.
It is unnecessary, I apprehend, at present to say anything further, in
order to expose the folly of a system which fatal experience has now
sufficiently exposed. Had our American colonies really been a part of
Great Britain, those bounties might have been considered as bounties upon
production, and would still have been liable to all the objections to
which such bounties are liable, but to no other.

The exportation of the materials of manufacture is sometimes discouraged
by absolute prohibitions, and sometimes by high duties.

Our woollen manufacturers have been more successful than any other class
of workmen, in persuading the legislature that the prosperity of the
nation depended upon the success and extension of their particular
business. They have not only obtained a monopoly against the consumers, by
an absolute prohibition of importing woollen cloths from any foreign
country; but they have likewise obtained another monopoly against the
sheep farmers and growers of wool, by a similar prohibition of the
exportation of live sheep and wool. The severity of many of the laws which
have been enacted for the security of the revenue is very justly
complained of, as imposing heavy penalties upon actions which, antecedent
to the statutes that declared them to be crimes, had always been
understood to be innocent. But the cruellest of our revenue laws, I will
venture to affirm, are mild and gentle, in comparison to some of those
which the clamour of our merchants and manufacturers has extorted from the
legislature, for the support of their own absurd and oppressive
monopolies. Like the laws of Draco, these laws may be said to be all
written in blood.

By the 8th of Elizabeth, chap. 3, the exporter of sheep, lambs, or rams,
was for the first offence, to forfeit all his goods for ever, to suffer a
year’s imprisonment, and then to have his left hand cut off in a market
town, upon a market day, to be there nailed up; and for the second
offence, to be adjudged a felon, and to suffer death accordingly. To
prevent the breed of our sheep from being propagated in foreign countries,
seems to have been the object of this law. By the 13th and 14th of Charles
II. chap. 18, the exportation of wool was made felony, and the exporter
subjected to the same penalties and forfeitures as a felon.

For the honour of the national humanity, it is to be hoped that neither of
these statutes was ever executed. The first of them, however, so far as I
know, has never been directly repealed, and serjeant Hawkins seems to
consider it as still in force. It may, however, perhaps be considered as
virtually repealed by the 12th of Charles II. chap. 32, sect. 3, which,
without expressly taking away the penalties imposed by former statutes,
imposes a new penalty, viz. that of 20s. for every sheep exported, or
attempted to be exported, together with the forfeiture of the sheep, and
of the owner’s share of the sheep. The second of them was expressly
repealed by the 7th and 8th of William III. chap. 28, sect. 4, by which it
is declared that “Whereas the statute of the 13th and 14th of king Charles
II. made against the exportation of wool, among other things in the said
act mentioned, doth enact the same to be deemed felony, by the severity of
which penalty the prosecution of offenders hath not been so effectually
put in execution; be it therefore enacted, by the authority aforesaid,
that so much of the said act, which relates to the making the said offence
felony, be repealed and made void.”

The penalties, however, which are either imposed by this milder statute,
or which, though imposed by former statutes, are not repealed by this one,
are still sufficiently severe. Besides the forfeiture of the goods, the
exporter incurs the penalty of 3s. for every pound weight of wool, either
exported or attempted to be exported, that is, about four or five times
the value. Any merchant, or other person convicted of this offence, is
disabled from requiring any debt or account belonging to him from any
factor or other person. Let his fortune be what it will, whether he is or
is not able to pay those heavy penalties, the law means to ruin him
completely. But, as the morals of the great body of the people are not yet
so corrupt as those of the contrivers of this statute, I have not heard
that any advantage has ever been taken of this clause. If the person
convicted of this offence is not able to pay the penalties within three
months after judgment, he is to be transported for seven years; and if he
returns before the expiration of that term, he is liable to the pains of
felony, without benefit of clergy. The owner of the ship, knowing this
offence, forfeits all his interest in the ship and furniture. The master
and mariners, knowing this offence, forfeit all their goods and chattels,
and suffer three months imprisonment. By a subsequent statute, the master
suffers six months imprisonment.

In order to prevent exportation, the whole inland commerce of wool is laid
under very burdensome and oppressive restrictions. It cannot be packed in
any box, barrel, cask, case, chest, or any other package, but only in
packs of leather or pack-cloth, on which must be marked on the outside the
words WOOL or YARN, in large letters, not less than three inches long, on
pain of forfeiting the same and the package, and 8s. for every pound
weight, to be paid by the owner or packer. It cannot be loaden on any
horse or cart, or carried by land within five miles of the coast, but
between sun-rising, and sun-setting, on pain of forfeiting the same, the
horses and carriages. The hundred next adjoining to the sea coast, out of,
or through which the wool is carried or exported, forfeits £20, if the
wool is under the value of £10; and if of greater value, then treble that
value, together with treble costs, to be sued for within the year. The
execution to be against any two of the inhabitants, whom the sessions must
reimburse, by an assessment on the other inhabitants, as in the cases of
robbery. And if any person compounds with the hundred for less than this
penalty, he is to be imprisoned for five years; and any other person may
prosecute. These regulations take place through the whole kingdom.

But in the particular counties of Kent and Sussex, the restrictions are
still more troublesome. Every owner of wool within ten miles of the sea
coast must give an account in writing, three days after shearing, to the
next officer of the customs, of the number of his fleeces, and of the
places where they are lodged. And before he removes any part of them, he
must give the like notice of the number and weight of the fleeces, and of
the name and abode of the person to whom they are sold, and of the place
to which it is intended they should be carried. No person within fifteen
miles of the sea, in the said counties, can buy any wool, before he enters
into bond to the king, that no part of the wool which he shall so buy
shall be sold by him to any other person within fifteen miles of the sea.
If any wool is found carrying towards the sea side in the said counties,
unless it has been entered and security given as aforesaid, it is
forfeited, and the offender also forfeits 3s. for every pound weight, if
any person lay any wool, not entered as aforesaid, within fifteen miles of
the sea, it must be seized and forfeited; and if, after such seizure, any
person shall claim the same, he must give security to the exchequer, that
if he is cast upon trial he shall pay treble costs, besides all other
penalties.

When such restrictions are imposed upon the inland trade, the coasting
trade, we may believe, cannot be left very free. Every owner of wool, who
carrieth, or causeth to be carried, any wool to any port or place on the
sea coast, in order to be from thence transported by sea to any other
place or port on the coast, must first cause an entry thereof to be made
at the port from whence it is intended to be conveyed, containing the
weight, marks, and number, of the packages, before he brings the same
within five miles of that port, on pain of forfeiting the same, and also
the horses, carts, and other carriages; and also of suffering and
forfeiting, as by the other laws in force against the exportation of wool.
This law, however (1st of William III. chap. 32), is so very indulgent as
to declare, that this shall not hinder any person from carrying his wool
home from the place of shearing, though it be within five miles of the
sea, provided that in ten days after shearing, and before he remove the
wool, he do under his hand certify to the next officer of the customs the
true number of fleeces, and where it is housed; and do not remove the
same, without certifying to such officer, under his hand, his intention so
to do, three days before. Bond must be given that the wool to be carried
coast-ways is to be landed at the particular port for which it is entered
outwards; and if my part of it is landed without the presence of an
officer, not only the forfeiture of the wool is incurred, as in other
goods, but the usual additional penalty of 3s. for every pound weight is
likewise incurred.

Our woollen manufacturers, in order to justify their demand of such
extraordinary restrictions and regulations, confidently asserted, that
English wool was of a peculiar quality, superior to that of any other
country; that the wool of other countries could not, without some mixture
of it, be wrought up into any tolerable manufacture; that fine cloth could
not be made without it; that England, therefore, if the exportation of it
could be totally prevented, could monopolize to herself almost the whole
woollen trade of the world; and thus, having no rivals, could sell at what
price she pleased, and in a short time acquire the most incredible degree
of wealth by the most advantageous balance of trade. This doctrine, like
most other doctrines which are confidently asserted by any considerable
number of people, was, and still continues to be, most implicitly believed
by a much greater number: by almost all those who are either unacquainted
with the woollen trade, or who have not made particular inquiries. It is,
however, so perfectly false, that English wool is in any respect necessary
for the making of fine cloth, that it is altogether unfit for it. Fine
cloth is made altogether of Spanish wool. English wool, cannot be even so
mixed with Spanish wool, as to enter into the composition without spoiling
and degrading, in some degree, the fabric of the cloth.

It has been shown in the foregoing part of this work, that the effect of
these regulations has been to depress the price of English wool, not only
below what it naturally would be in the present times, but very much below
what it actually was in the time of Edward III. The price of Scotch wool,
when, in consequence of the Union, it became subject to the same
regulations, is said to have fallen about one half. It is observed by the
very accurate and intelligent author of the Memoirs of Wool, the Reverend
Mr John Smith, that the price of the best English wool in England, is
generally below what wool of a very inferior quality commonly sells for in
the market of Amsterdam. To depress the price of this commodity below what
may be called its natural and proper price, was the avowed purpose of
those regulations; and there seems to be no doubt of their having produced
the effect that was expected from them.

This reduction of price, it may perhaps be thought, by discouraging the
growing of wool, must have reduced very much the annual produce of that
commodity, though not below what it formerly was, yet below what, in the
present state of things, it would probably have been, had it, in
consequence of an open and free market, been allowed to rise to the
natural and proper price. I am, however, disposed to believe, that the
quantity of the annual produce cannot have been much, though it may,
perhaps, have been a little affected by these regulations. The growing of
wool is not the chief purpose for which the sheep farmer employs his
industry and stock. He expects his profit, not so much from the price of
the fleece, as from that of the carcase; and the average or ordinary price
of the latter must even, in many cases, make up to him whatever deficiency
there may be in the average or ordinary price of the former. It has been
observed, in the foregoing part of this work, that ‘whatever regulations
tend to sink the price, either of wool or of raw hides, below what it
naturally would be, must, in an improved and cultivated country, have some
tendency to raise the price of butcher’s meat. The price, both of the
great and small cattle which are fed on improved and cultivated land, must
be sufficient to pay the rent which the landlord, and the profit which the
farmer, has reason to expect from improved and cultivated land. If it is
not, they will soon cease to feed them. Whatever part of this price,
therefore, is not paid by the wool and the hide, must be paid by the
carcase. The less there is paid for the one, the more must be paid for the
other. In what manner this price is to be divided upon the different parts
of the beast, is indifferent to the landlords and farmers, provided it is
all paid to them. In an improved and cultivated country, therefore, their
interest as landlords and farmers cannot be much affected by such
regulations, though their interest as consumers may, by the rise in the
price of provisions.’ According to this reasoning, therefore, this
degradation in the price of wool is not likely, in an improved and
cultivated country, to occasion any diminution in the annual produce of
that commodity; except so far as, by raising the price of mutton, it may
somewhat diminish the demand for, and consequently the production of, that
particular species of butcher’s meat, Its effect, however, even in this
way, it is probable, is not very considerable.

But though its effect upon the quantity of the annual produce may not have
been very considerable, its effect upon the quality, it may perhaps be
thought, must necessarily have been very great. The degradation in the
quality of English wool, if not below what it was in former times, yet
below what it naturally would have been in the present state of
improvement and cultivation, must have been, it may perhaps be supposed,
very nearly in proportion to the degradation of price. As the quality
depends upon the breed, upon the pasture, and upon the management and
cleanliness of the sheep, during the whole progress of the growth of the
fleece, the attention to these circumstances, it may naturally enough be
imagined, can never be greater than in proportion to the recompence which
the price of the fleece is likely to make for the labour and expense which
that attention requires. It happens, however, that the goodness of the
fleece depends, in a great measure, upon the health, growth, and bulk of
the animal: the same attention which is necessary for the improvement of
the carcase is, in some respect, sufficient for that of the fleece.
Notwithstanding the degradation of price, English wool is said to have
been improved considerably during the course even of the present century.
The improvement, might, perhaps, have been greater if the price had been
better; but the lowness of price, though it may have obstructed, yet
certainly it has not altogether prevented that improvement.

The violence of these regulations, therefore, seems to have affected
neither the quantity nor the quality of the annual produce of wool, so
much as it might have been expected to do (though I think it probable that
it may have affected the latter a good deal more than the former); and the
interest of the growers of wool, though it must have been hurt in some
degree, seems upon the whole, to have been much less hurt than could well
have been imagined.

These considerations, however, will not justify the absolute prohibition
of the exportation of wool; but they will fully justify the imposition of
a considerable tax upon that exportation.

To hurt, in any degree, the interest of any one order of citizens, for no
other purpose but to promote that of some other, is evidently contrary to
that justice and equality of treatment which the sovereign owes to all the
different orders of his subjects. But the prohibition certainly hurts, in
some degree, the interest of the growers of wool, for no other purpose but
to promote that of the manufacturers.

Every different order of citizens is bound to contribute to the support of
the sovereign or commonwealth. A tax of five, or even of ten shillings,
upon the exportation of every tod of wool, would produce a very
considerable revenue to the sovereign. It would hurt the interest of the
growers somewhat less than the prohibition, because it would not probably
lower the price of wool quite so much. It would afford a sufficient
advantage to the manufacturer, because, though he might not buy his wool
altogether so cheap as under the prohibition, he would still buy it at
least five or ten shillings cheaper than any foreign manufacturer could
buy it, besides saving the freight and insurance which the other would be
obliged to pay. It is scarce possible to devise a tax which could produce
any considerable revenue to the sovereign, and at the same time occasion
so little inconveniency to anybody.

The prohibition, notwithstanding all the penalties which guard it, does
not prevent the exportation of wool. It is exported, it is well known, in
great quantities. The great difference between the price in the home and
that in the foreign market, presents such a temptation to smuggling, that
all the rigour of the law cannot prevent it. This illegal exportation is
advantageous to nobody but the smuggler. A legal exportation, subject to a
tax, by affording a revenue to the sovereign, and thereby saving the
imposition of some other, perhaps more burdensome and inconvenient taxes,
might prove advantageous to all the different subjects of the state.

The exportation of fuller’s earth, or fuller’s clay, supposed to be
necessary for preparing and cleansing the woollen manufactures, has been
subjected to nearly the same penalties as the exportation of wool. Even
tobacco-pipe clay, though acknowledged to be different from fuller’s clay,
yet, on account of their resemblance, and because fuller’s clay might
sometimes be exported as tobacco-pipe clay, has been laid under the same
prohibitions and penalties.

By the 13th and 14th of Charles II. chap, 7, the exportation, not only of
raw hides, but of tanned leather, except in the shape of boots, shoes, or
slippers, was prohibited; and the law gave a monopoly to our boot-makers
and shoe-makers, not only against our graziers, but against our tanners.
By subsequent statutes, our tanners have got themselves exempted from this
monopoly, upon paying a small tax of only one shilling on the hundred
weight of tanned leather, weighing one hundred and twelve pounds. They
have obtained likewise the drawback of two-thirds of the excise duties
imposed upon their commodity, even when exported without further
manufacture. All manufactures of leather may be exported duty free; and
the exporter is besides entitled to the drawback of the whole duties of
excise. Our graziers still continue subject to the old monopoly. Graziers,
separated from one another, and dispersed through all the different
corners of the country, cannot, without great difficulty, combine together
for the purpose either of imposing monopolies upon their fellow-citizens,
or of exempting themselves from such as may have been imposed upon them by
other people. Manufacturers of all kinds, collected together in numerous
bodies in all great cities, easily can. Even the horns of cattle are
prohibited to be exported; and the two insignificant trades of the horner
and comb-maker enjoy, in this respect, a monopoly against the graziers.

Restraints, either by prohibitions, or by taxes, upon the exportation of
goods which are partially, but not completely manufactured, are not
peculiar to the manufacture of leather. As long as anything remains to be
done, in order to fit any commodity for immediate use and consumption, our
manufacturers think that they themselves ought to have the doing of it.
Woollen yarn and worsted are prohibited to be exported, under the same
penalties as wool even white cloths we subject to a duty upon exportation;
and our dyers have so far obtained a monopoly against our clothiers. Our
clothiers would probably have been able to defend themselves against it;
but it happens that the greater part of our principal clothiers are
themselves likewise dyers. Watch-cases, clock-cases, and dial-plates for
clocks and watches, have been prohibited to be exported. Our clock-makers
and watch-makers are, it seems, unwilling that the price of this sort of
workmanship should be raised upon them by the competition of foreigners.

By some old statutes of Edward III, Henry VIII. and Edward VI. the
exportation of all metals was prohibited. Lead and tin were alone
excepted, probably on account of the great abundance of those metals; in
the exportation of which a considerable part of the trade of the kingdom
in those days consisted. For the encouragement of the mining trade, the
5th of William and Mary, chap.17, exempted from this prohibition iron,
copper, and mundic metal made from British ore. The exportation of all
sorts of copper bars, foreign as well as British, was afterwards permitted
by the 9th and 10th of William III. chap 26. The exportation of
unmanufactured brass, of what is called gun-metal, bell-metal, and shroff
metal, still continues to be prohibited. Brass manufactures of all sorts
may be exported duty free.

The exportation of the materials of manufacture, where it is not
altogether prohibited, is, in many cases, subjected to considerable
duties.

By the 8th Geo. I. chap.15, the exportation of all goods, the produce of
manufacture of Great Britain, upon which any duties had been imposed by
former statutes, was rendered duty free. The following goods, however,
were excepted: alum, lead, lead-ore, tin, tanned leather, copperas, coals,
wool, cards, white woollen cloths, lapis calaminaris, skins of all sorts,
glue, coney hair or wool, hares wool, hair of all sorts, horses, and
litharge of lead. If you except horses, all these are either materials of
manufacture, or incomplete manufactures (which may be considered as
materials for still further manufacture), or instruments of trade. This
statute leaves them subject to all the old duties which had ever been
imposed upon them, the old subsidy, and one per cent. outwards.

By the same statute, a great number of foreign drugs for dyers use are
exempted from all duties upon importation. Each of them, however, is
afterwards subjected to a certain duty, not indeed a very heavy one, upon
exportation. Our dyers, it seems, while they thought it for their interest
to encourage the importation of those drugs, by an exemption from all
duties, thought it likewise for their own interest to throw some small
discouragement upon their exportation. The avidity, however, which
suggested this notable piece of mercantile ingenuity, most probably
disappointed itself of its object. It necessarily taught the importers to
be more careful than they might otherwise have been, that their
importation should not exceed what was necessary for the supply of the
home market. The home market was at all times likely to be more scantily
supplied; the commodities were at all times likely to be somewhat dearer
there than they would have been, had the exportation been rendered as free
as the importation.

By the above-mentioned statute, gum senega, or gum arabic, being among the
enumerated dyeing drugs, might be imported duty free. They were subjected,
indeed, to a small poundage duty, amounting only to threepence in the
hundred weight, upon their re-exportation. France enjoyed, at that time,
an exclusive trade to the country most productive of those drugs, that
which lies in the neighbourhood of the Senegal; and the British market
could not be easily supplied by the immediate importation of them from the
place of growth. By the 25th Geo. II. therefore, gum senega was allowed to
be imported (contrary to the general dispositions of the act of
navigation) from any part of Europe. As the law, however, did not mean to
encourage this species of trade, so contrary to the general principles of
the mercantile policy of England, it imposed a duty of ten shillings the
hundred weight upon such importation, and no part of this duty was to be
afterwards drawn back upon its exportation. The successful war which began
in 1755 gave Great Britain the same exclusive trade to those countries
which France had enjoyed before. Our manufactures, as soon as the peace
was made, endeavoured to avail themselves of this advantage, and to
establish a monopoly in their own favour both against the growers and
against the importers of this commodity. By the 5th of Geo. III.
therefore, chap. 37, the exportation of gum senega, from his majesty’s
dominions in Africa, was confined to Great Britain, and was subjected to
all the same restrictions, regulations, forfeitures, and penalties, as
that of the enumerated commodities of the British colonies in America and
the West Indies. Its importation, indeed, was subjected to a small duty of
sixpence the hundred weight; but its re-exportation was subjected to the
enormous duty of one pound ten shillings the hundred weight. It was the
intention of our manufacturers, that the whole produce of those countries
should be imported into Great Britain; and in order that they themselves
might be enabled to buy it at their own price, that no part of it should
be exported again, but at such an expense as would sufficiently discourage
that exportation. Their avidity, however, upon this, as well as upon many
other occasions, disappointed itself of its object. This enormous duty
presented such a temptation to smuggling, that great quantities of this
commodity were clandestinely exported, probably to all the manufacturing
countries of Europe, but particularly to Holland, not only from Great
Britain, but from Africa. Upon this account, by the 14th Geo. III.
chap.10, this duty upon exportation was reduced to five shillings the
hundred weight.

In the book of rates, according to which the old subsidy was levied,
beaver skins were estimated at six shillings and eight pence a piece; and
the different subsidies and imposts which, before the year 1722, had been
laid upon their importation, amounted to one-fifth part of the rate, or to
sixteen pence upon each skin; all of which, except half the old subsidy,
amounting only to twopence, was drawn back upon exportation. This duty,
upon the importation of so important a material of manufacture, had been
thought too high; and, in the year 1722, the rate was reduced to two
shillings and sixpence, which reduced the duty upon importation to
sixpence, and of this only one-half was to be drawn back upon exportation.
The same successful war put the country most productive of beaver under
the dominion of Great Britain; and beaver skins being among the enumerated
commodities, the exportation from America was consequently confined to the
market of Great Britain. Our manufacturers soon bethought themselves of
the advantage which they might make of this circumstance; and in the year
1764, the duty upon the importation of beaver skin was reduced to one
penny, but the duty upon exportation was raised to sevenpence each skin,
without any drawback of the duty upon importation. By the same law, a duty
of eighteen pence the pound was imposed upon the exportation of beaver
wool or woumbs, without making any alteration in the duty upon the
importation of that commodity, which, when imported by British, and in
British shipping, amounted at that time to between fourpence and fivepence
the piece.

Coals may be considered both as a material of manufacture, and as an
instrument of trade. Heavy duties, accordingly, have been imposed upon
their exportation, amounting at present (1783) to more than five shillings
the ton, or more than fifteen shillings the chaldron, Newcastle measure;
which is, in most cases, more than the original value of the commodity at
the coal-pit, or even at the shipping port for exportation.

The exportation, however, of the instruments of trade, properly so called,
is commonly restrained, not by high duties, but by absolute prohibitions.
Thus, by the 7th and 8th of William III chap.20, sect.8, the exportation
of frames or engines for knitting gloves or stockings, is prohibited,
under the penalty, not only of the forfeiture of such frames or engines,
so exported, or attempted to be exported, but of forty pounds, one half to
the king, the other to the person who shall inform or sue for the same. In
the same manner, by the 14th Geo. III. chap. 71, the exportation to
foreign parts, of any utensils made use of in the cotton, linen, woollen,
and silk manufactures, is prohibited under the penalty, not only of the
forfeiture of such utensils, but of two hundred pounds, to be paid by the
person who shall offend in this manner; and likewise of two hundred
pounds, to be paid by the master of the ship, who shall knowingly suffer
such utensils to be loaded on board his ship.

When such heavy penalties were imposed upon the exportation of the dead
instruments of trade, it could not well be expected that the living
instrument, the artificer, should be allowed to go free. Accordingly, by
the 5th Geo. I. chap. 27, the person who shall be convicted of enticing
any artificer, of or in any of the manufactures of Great Britain, to go
into any foreign parts, in order to practise or teach his trade, is
liable, for the first offence, to be fined in any sum not exceeding one
hundred pounds, and to three months imprisonment, and until the fine shall
be paid; and for the second offence, to be fined in any sum, at the
discretion of the court, and to imprisonment for twelve months, and until
the fine shall be paid. By the 23d Geo. II. chap. 13, this penalty is
increased, for the first offence, to five hundred pounds for every
artificer so enticed, and to twelve months imprisonment, and until the
fine shall be paid; and for the second offence, to one thousand pounds,
and to two years imprisonment, and until the fine shall be paid.

By the former of these two statutes, upon proof that any person has been
enticing any artificer, or that any artificer has promised or contracted
to go into foreign parts, for the purposes aforesaid, such artificer may
be obliged to give security, at the discretion of the court, that he shall
not go beyond the seas, and may be committed to prison until he give such
security.

If any artificer has gone beyond the seas, and is exercising or teaching
his trade in any foreign country, upon warning being given to him by any
of his majesty’s ministers or consuls abroad, or by one of his majesty’s
secretaries of state, for the time being, if he does not, within six
months after such warning, return into this realm, and from henceforth
abide and inhabit continually within the same, he is from thenceforth
declared incapable of taking any legacy devised to him within this
kingdom, or of being executor or administrator to any person, or of taking
any lands within this kingdom, by descent, devise, or purchase. He
likewise forfeits to the king all his lands, goods, and chattels; is
declared an alien in every respect; and is put out of the king’s
protection.

It is unnecessary, I imagine, to observe how contrary such regulations are
to the boasted liberty of the subject, of which we affect to be so very
jealous; but which, in this case, is so plainly sacrificed to the futile
interests of our merchants and manufacturers.

The laudable motive of all these regulations, is to extend our own
manufactures, not by their own improvement, but by the depression of those
of all our neighbours, and by putting an end, as much as possible, to the
troublesome competition of such odious and disagreeable rivals. Our master
manufacturers think it reasonable that they themselves should have the
monopoly of the ingenuity of all their countrymen. Though by restraining,
in some trades, the number of apprentices which can be employed at one
time, and by imposing the necessity of a long apprenticeship in all
trades, they endeavour, all of them, to confine the knowledge of their
respective employments to as small a number as possible; they are
unwilling, however, that any part of this small number should go abroad to
instruct foreigners.

Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production; and the
interest of the producer ought to be attended to, only so far as it may be
necessary for promoting that of the consumer.

The maxim is so perfectly self-evident, that it would be absurd to attempt
to prove it. But in the mercantile system, the interest of the consumer is
almost constantly sacrificed to that of the producer; and it seems to
consider production, and not consumption, as the ultimate end and object
of all industry and commerce.

In the restraints upon the importation of all foreign commodities which
can come into competition with those of our own growth or manufacture, the
interest of the home consumer is evidently sacrificed to that of the
producer. It is altogether for the benefit of the latter, that the former
is obliged to pay that enhancement of price which this monopoly almost
always occasions.

It is altogether for the benefit of the producer, that bounties are
granted upon the exportation of some of his productions. The home consumer
is obliged to pay, first the tax which is necessary for paying the bounty;
and, secondly, the still greater tax which necessarily arises from the
enhancement of the price of the commodity in the home market.

By the famous treaty of commerce with Portugal, the consumer is prevented
by duties from purchasing of a neighbouring country, a commodity which our
own climate does not produce; but is obliged to purchase it of a distant
country, though it is acknowledged, that the commodity of the distant
country is of a worse quality than that of the near one. The home consumer
is obliged to submit to this inconvenience, in order that the producer may
import into the distant country some of his productions, upon more
advantageous terms than he otherwise would have been allowed to do. The
consumer, too, is obliged to pay whatever enhancement in the price of
those very productions this forced exportation may occasion in the home
market.

But in the system of laws which has been established for the management of
our American and West Indian colonies, the interest of the home consumer
has been sacrificed to that of the producer, with a more extravagant
profusion than in all our other commercial regulations. A great empire has
been established for the sole purpose of raising up a nation of customers,
who should be obliged to buy, from the shops of our different producers,
all the goods with which these could supply them. For the sake of that
little enhancement of price which this monopoly might afford our
producers, the home consumers have been burdened with the whole expense of
maintaining and defending that empire. For this purpose, and for this
purpose only, in the two last wars, more than two hundred millions have
been spent, and a new debt of more than a hundred and seventy millions has
been contracted, over and above all that had been expended for the same
purpose in former wars. The interest of this debt alone is not only
greater than the whole extraordinary profit which, it never could be
pretended, was made by the monopoly of the colony trade, but than the
whole value of that trade, or than the whole value of the goods which, at
an average, have been annually exported to the colonies.

It cannot be very difficult to determine who have been the contrivers of
this whole mercantile system; not the consumers, we may believe, whose
interest has been entirely neglected; but the producers, whose interest
has been so carefully attended to; and among this latter class, our
merchants and manufacturers have been by far the principal architects. In
the mercantile regulations which have been taken notice of in this
chapter, the interest of our manufacturers has been most peculiarly
attended to; and the interest, not so much of the consumers, as that of
some other sets of producers, has been sacrificed to it.