Chapter LVIII: Appendix: TO ARTICLES I. AND II.--Taxes upon the Capital Value of Lands, (5)

The revenue arising from this system of taxation, however, might not immediately increase in proportion to the number of people who were subjected to it. Great indulgence would for some time be due to those provinces of the empire which were thus subjected to burdens to which they had not before been accustomed; and even when the same taxes came to be levied everywhere as exactly as possible, they would not everywhere produce a revenue proportioned to the numbers of the people. In a poor country, the consumption of the principal commodities subject to the duties of customs and excise, is very small; and in a thinly inhabited country, the opportunities of smuggling are very great. The consumption of malt liquors among the inferior ranks of people in Scotland is very small; and the excise upon malt, beer, and ale, produces less there than in England, in proportion to the numbers of the people and the rate of the duties, which upon malt is different, on account of a supposed difference of quality. In these particular branches of the excise, there is not, I apprehend, much more smuggling in the one country than in the other. The duties upon the distillery, and the greater part of the duties of customs, in proportion to the numbers of people in the respective countries, produce less in Scotland than in England, not only on account of the smaller consumption of the taxed commodities, but of the much greater facility of smuggling. In Ireland, the inferior ranks of people are still poorer than in Scotland, and many parts of the country are almost as thinly inhabited. In Ireland, therefore, the consumption of the taxed commodities might, in proportion to the number of the people, be still less than in Scotland, and the facility of smuggling nearly the same. In America and the West Indies, the white people, even of the lowest rank, are in much better circumstances than those of the same rank in England; and their consumption of all the luxuries in which they usually indulge themselves, is probably much greater. The blacks, indeed, who make the greater part of the inhabitants, both of the southern colonies upon the continent and of the West India islands, as they are in a state of slavery, are, no doubt, in a worse condition than the poorest people either in Scotland or Ireland. We must not, however, upon that account, imagine that they are worse fed, or that their consumption of articles which might be subjected to moderate duties, is less than that even of the lower ranks of people in England. In order that they may work well, it is the interest of their master that they should be fed well, and kept in good heart, in the same manner as it is his interest that his working cattle should be so. The blacks, accordingly, have almost everywhere their allowance of rum, and of molasses or spruce-beer, in the same manner as the white servants; and this allowance would not probably be withdrawn, though those articles should be subjected to moderate duties. The consumption of the taxed commodities, therefore, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, would probably be as great in America and the West Indies as in any part of the British empire. The opportunities of smuggling, indeed, would be much greater; America, in proportion to the extent of the country, being much more thinly inhabited than either Scotland or Ireland. If the revenue, however, which is at present raised by the different duties upon malt and malt liquors, were to be levied by a single duty upon malt, the opportunity of smuggling in the most important branch of the excise would be almost entirely taken away; and if the duties of customs, instead of being imposed upon almost all the different articles of importation, were confined to a few of the most general use and consumption, and if the levying of those duties were subjected to the excise laws, the opportunity of smuggling, though not so entirely taken away, would be very much diminished. In consequence of those two apparently very simple and easy alterations, the duties of customs and excise might probably produce a revenue as great, in proportion to the consumption of the most thinly inhabited province, as they do at present, in proportion to that of the most populous.

The Americans, it has been said, indeed, have no gold or silver money, the interior commerce of the country being carried on by a paper currency; and the gold and silver, which occasionally come among them, being all sent to Great Britain, in return for the commodities which they receive from us. But without gold and silver, it is added, there is no possibility of paying taxes. We already get all the gold and silver which they have. How is it possible to draw from them what they have not?

The present scarcity of gold and silver money in America, is not the effect of the poverty of that country, or of the inability of the people there to purchase those metals. In a country where the wages of labour are so much higher, and the price of provisions so much lower than in England, the greater part of the people must surely have wherewithal to purchase a greater quantity, if it were either necessary or convenient for them to do so. The scarcity of those metals, therefore, must be the effect of choice, and not of necessity.

It is for transacting either domestic or foreign business, that gold or silver money is either necessary or convenient.

The domestic business of every country, it has been shewn in the second book of this Inquiry, may, at least in peaceable times, be transacted by means of a paper currency, with nearly the same degree of conveniency as by gold and silver money. It is convenient for the Americans, who could always employ with profit, in the improvement of their lands, a greater stock than they can easily get, to save as much as possible the expense of so costly an instrument of commerce as gold and silver; and rather to employ that part of their surplus produce which would be necessary for purchasing those metals, in purchasing the instruments of trade, the materials of clothing, several parts of household furniture, and the iron work necessary for building and extending their settlements and plantations; in purchasing not dead stock, but active and productive stock. The colony governments find it for their interest to supply the people with such a quantity of paper money as is fully sufficient, and generally more than sufficient, for transacting their domestic business. Some of those governments, that of Pennsylvania, particularly, derive a revenue from lending this paper money to their subjects, at an interest of so much per cent. Others, like that of Massachusetts Bay, advance, upon extraordinary emergencies, a paper money of this kind for defraying the public expense; and afterwards, when it suits the conveniency of the colony, redeem it at the depreciated value to which it gradually falls. In 1747,[80] that colony paid in this manner the greater part of its public debts, with the tenth part of the money for which its bills had been granted. It suits the conveniency of the planters, to save the expense of employing gold and silver money in their domestic transactions; and it suits the conveniency of the colony governments, to supply them with a medium, which, though attended with some very considerable disadvantages, enables them to save that expense. The redundancy of paper money necessarily banishes gold and silver from the domestic transactions of the colonies, for the same reason that it has banished those metals from the greater part of the domestic transactions in Scotland; and in both countries, it is not the poverty, but the enterprizing and projecting spirit of the people, their desire of employing all the stock which they can get, as active and productive stock, which has occasioned this redundancy of paper money.

In the exterior commerce which the different colonies carry on with Great Britain, gold and silver are more or less employed, exactly in proportion as they are more or less necessary. Where those metals are not necessary, they seldom appear. Where they are necessary, they are generally found.

In the commerce between Great Britain and the tobacco colonies, the British goods are generally advanced to the colonists at a pretty long credit, and are afterwards paid for in tobacco, rated at a certain price. It is more convenient for the colonists to pay in tobacco than in gold and silver. It would be more convenient for any merchant to pay for the goods which his correspondents had sold to him, in some other sort of goods which he might happen to deal in, than in money. Such a merchant would have no occasion to keep any part of his stock by him unemployed, and in ready money, for answering occasional demands. He could have, at all times, a larger quantity of goods in his shop or warehouse, and he could deal to a greater extent. But it seldom happens to be convenient for all the correspondents of a merchant to receive payment for the goods which they sell to him, in goods of some other kind which he happens to deal in. The British merchants who trade to Virginia and Maryland, happen to be a particular set of correspondents, to whom it is more convenient to receive payment for the goods which they sell to those colonies in tobacco, than in gold and silver. They expect to make a profit by the sale of the tobacco; they could make none by that of the gold and silver. Gold and silver, therefore, very seldom appear in the commerce between Great Britain and the tobacco colonies. Maryland and Virginia have as little occasion for those metals in their foreign, as in their domestic commerce. They are said, accordingly, to have less gold and silver money than any other colonies in America. They are reckoned, however, as thriving, and consequently as rich, as any of their neighbours.

In the northern colonies, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, the four governments of New England, &c. the value of their own produce which they export to Great Britain is not equal to that of the manufactures which they import for their own use, and for that of some of the other colonies, to which they are the carriers. A balance, therefore, must be paid to the mother-country in gold and silver, and this balance they generally find.

In the sugar colonies, the value of the produce annually exported to Great Britain is much greater than that of all the goods imported from thence. If the sugar and rum annually sent to the mother-country were paid for in those colonies, Great Britain would be obliged to send out, every year, a very large balance in money; and the trade to the West Indies would, by a certain species of politicians, be considered as extremely disadvantageous. But it so happens, that many of the principal proprietors of the sugar plantations reside in Great Britain. Their rents are remitted to them in sugar and rum, the produce of their estates. The sugar and rum which the West India merchants purchase in those colonies upon their own account, are not equal in value to the goods which they annually sell there. A balance, therefore, must necessarily he paid to them in gold and silver, and this balance, too, is generally found.

The difficulty and irregularity of payment from the different colonies to Great Britain, have not been at all in proportion to the greatness or smallness of the balances which were respectively due from them. Payments have, in general, been more regular from the northern than from the tobacco colonies, though the former have generally paid a pretty large balance in money, while the latter have either paid no balance, or a much smaller one. The difficulty of getting payment from our different sugar colonies has been greater or less in proportion, not so much to the extent of the balances respectively due from them, as to the quantity of uncultivated land which they contained; that is, to the greater or smaller temptation which the planters have been under of over-trading, or of undertaking the settlement and plantation of greater quantities of waste land than suited the extent of their capitals. The returns from the great island of Jamaica, where there is still much uncultivated land, have, upon this account, been, in general, more irregular and uncertain than those from the smaller islands of Barbadoes, Antigua, and St. Christopher's, which have, for these many years, been completely cultivated, and have, upon that account, afforded less field for the speculations of the planter. The new acquisitions of Grenada, Tobago, St. Vincent's, and Dominica, have opened a new field for speculations of this kind; and the returns from those islands have of late been as irregular and uncertain as those from the great island of Jamaica.

It is not, therefore, the poverty of the colonies which occasions, in the greater part of them, the present scarcity of gold and silver money. Their great demand for active and productive stock makes it convenient for them to have as little dead stock as possible, and disposes them, upon that account, to content themselves with a cheaper, though less commodious instrument of commerce, than gold and silver. They are thereby enabled to convert the value of that gold and silver into the instruments of trade, into the materials of clothing, into household furniture, and into the iron work necessary for building and extending their settlements and plantations. In those branches of business which cannot be transacted without gold and silver money, it appears, that they can always find the necessary quantity of those metals; and if they frequently do not find it, their failure is generally the effect, not of their necessary poverty, but of their unnecessary and excessive enterprise. It is not because they are poor that their payments are irregular and uncertain, but because they are too eager to become excessively rich. Though all that part of the produce of the colony taxes, which was over and above what was necessary for defraying the expense of their own civil and military establishments, were to be remitted to Great Britain in gold and silver, the colonies have abundantly wherewithal to purchase the requisite quantity of those metals. They would in this case be obliged, indeed, to exchange a part of their surplus produce, with which they now purchase active and productive stock, for dead stock. In transacting their domestic business, they would be obliged to employ a costly, instead of a cheap instrument of commerce; and the expense of purchasing this costly instrument might damp somewhat the vivacity and ardour of their excessive enterprise in the improvement of land. It might not, however, be necessary to remit any part of the American revenue in gold and silver. It might be remitted in bills drawn upon, and accepted by, particular merchants or companies in Great Britain, to whom a part of the surplus produce of America had been consigned, who would pay into the treasury the American revenue in money, after having themselves received the value of it in goods; and the whole business might frequently be transacted without exporting a single ounce of gold or silver from America.

It is not contrary to justice, that both Ireland and America should contribute towards the discharge of the public debt of Great Britain. That debt has been contracted in support of the government established by the Revolution; a government to which the protestants of Ireland owe, not only the whole authority which they at present enjoy in their own country, but every security which they possess for their liberty, their property, and their religion; a government to which several of the colonies of America owe their present charters, and consequently their present constitution; and to which all the colonies of America owe the liberty, security, and property, which they have ever since enjoyed. That public debt has been contracted in the defence, not of Great Britain alone, but of all the different provinces of the empire. The immense debt contracted in the late war in particular, and a great part of that contracted in the war before, were both properly contracted in defence of America.

By a union with Great Britain, Ireland would gain, besides the freedom of trade, other advantages much more important, and which would much more than compensate any increase of taxes that might accompany that union. By the union with England, the middling and inferior ranks of people in Scotland gained a complete deliverance from the power of an aristocracy, which had always before oppressed them. By a union with Great Britain, the greater part of people of all ranks in Ireland would gain an equally complete deliverance from a much more oppressive aristocracy; an aristocracy not founded, like that of Scotland, in the natural and respectable distinctions of birth and fortune, but in the most odious of all distinctions, those of religious and political prejudices; distinctions which, more than any other, animate both the insolence of the oppressors, and the hatred and indignation of the oppressed, and which commonly render the inhabitants of the same country more hostile to one another than those of different countries ever are. Without a union with Great Britain, the inhabitants of Ireland are not likely, for many ages, to consider themselves as one people.

No oppressive aristocracy has ever prevailed in the colonies. Even they, however, would, in point of happiness and tranquillity, gain considerably by a union with Great Britain. It would, at least, deliver them from those rancourous and virulent factions which are inseparable from small democracies, and which have so frequently divided the affections of their people, and disturbed the tranquillity of their governments, in their form so nearly democratical. In the case of a total separation from Great Britain, which, unless prevented by a union of this kind, seems very likely to take place, those factions would be ten times more virulent than ever. Before the commencement of the present disturbances, the coercive power of the mother-country had always been able to restrain those factions from breaking out into any thing worse than gross brutality and insult. If that coercive power were entirely taken away, they would probably soon break out into open violence and bloodshed. In all great countries which are united under one uniform government, the spirit of party commonly prevails less in the remote provinces than in the centre of the empire. The distance of those provinces from the capital, from the principal seat of the great scramble of faction and ambition, makes them enter less into the views of any of the contending parties, and renders them more indifferent and impartial spectators of the conduct of all. The spirit of party prevails less in Scotland than in England. In the case of a union, it would probably prevail less in Ireland than in Scotland; and the colonies would probably soon enjoy a degree of concord and unanimity, at present unknown in any part of the British empire. Both Ireland and the colonies, indeed, would be subjected to heavier taxes than any which they at present pay. In consequence, however, of a diligent and faithful application of the public revenue towards the discharge of the national debt, the greater part of those taxes might not be of long continuance, and the public revenue of Great Britain might soon be reduced to what was necessary for maintaining a moderate peace-establishment.

The territorial acquisitions of the East-India Company, the undoubted right of the Crown, that is, of the state and people of Great Britain, might be rendered another source of revenue, more abundant, perhaps, than all those already mentioned. Those countries are represented as more fertile, more extensive, and, in proportion to their extent, much richer and more populous than Great Britain. In order to draw a great revenue from them, it would not probably be necessary to introduce any new system of taxation into countries which are already sufficiently, and more than sufficiently, taxed. It might, perhaps, be more proper to lighten than to aggravate the burden of those unfortunate countries, and to endeavour to draw a revenue from them, not by imposing new taxes, but by preventing the embezzlement and misapplication of the greater part of those which they already pay.

If it should be found impracticable for Great Britain to draw any considerable augmentation of revenue from any of the resources above mentioned, the only resource which can remain to her, is a diminution of her expense. In the mode of collecting and in that of expending the public revenue, though in both there may be still room for improvement, Great Britain seems to be at least as economical as any of her neighbours. The military establishment which she maintains for her own defence in time of peace, is more moderate than that of any European state, which can pretend to rival her either in wealth or in power. None of those articles, therefore, seem to admit of any considerable reduction of expense. The expense of the peace-establishment of the colonies was, before the commencement of the present disturbances, very considerable, and is an expense which may, and, if no revenue can be drawn from them, ought certainly to be saved altogether. This constant expense in time of peace, though very great, is insignificant in comparison with what the defence of the colonies has cost us in time of war. The last war, which was undertaken altogether on account of the colonies, cost Great Britain, it has already been observed, upwards of ninety millions. The Spanish war of 1739 was principally undertaken on their account; in which, and in the French war that was the consequence of it, Great Britain, spent upwards of forty millions; a great part of which ought justly to be charged to the colonies. In those two wars, the colonies cost Great Britain much more than double the sum which the national debt amounted to before the commencement of the first of them. Had it not been for those wars, that debt might, and probably would by this time, have been completely paid; and had it not been for the colonies, the former of those wars might not, and the latter certainly would not, have been undertaken. It was because the colonies were supposed to be provinces of the British Empire, that this expense was laid out upon them. But countries which contribute neither revenue nor military force towards the support of the empire, cannot be considered as provinces. They may, perhaps, be considered as appendages, as a sort of splendid and shewy equipage of the empire. But if the empire can no longer support the expense of keeping up this equipage, it ought certainly to lay it down; and if it cannot raise its revenue in proportion to its expense, it ought at least to accommodate its expense to its revenue. If the colonies, notwithstanding their refusal to submit to British taxes, are still to be considered as provinces of the British empire, their defence, in some future war, may cost Great Britain as great an expense as it ever has done in any former war. The rulers of Great Britain have, for more than a century past, amused the people with the imagination that they possessed a great empire on the west side of the Atlantic. This empire, however, has hitherto existed in imagination only. It has hitherto been, not an empire, but the project of an empire; not a gold mine, but the project of a gold mine; a project which has cost, which continues to cost, and which, if pursued in the same way as it has been hitherto, is likely to cost, immense expense, without being likely to bring any profit; for the effects of the monopoly of the colony trade, it has been shewn, are to the great body of the people, mere loss instead of profit. It is surely now time that our rulers should either realize this golden dream, in which they have been indulging themselves, perhaps, as well as the people; or that they should awake from it themselves, and endeavour to awaken the people. If the project cannot be completed, it ought to be given up. If any of the provinces of the British empire cannot be made to contribute towards the support of the whole empire, it is surely time that Great Britain should free herself from the expense of defending those provinces in time of war, and of supporting any part of their civil or military establishments in time of peace; and endeavour to accommodate her future views and designs to the real mediocrity of her circumstances.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] It is mentioned, that when about three years old, he was stolen from the door of his uncle, Mr. Douglas, in Strathenry, where his mother had been on a visit, by some tinkers, or gypsies. He was rescued in Leslie wood by his uncle, who was thus the happy instrument, Mr. Stewart observes, of preserving to the world, a genius, which was destined, not only to extend the boundaries of science, but to enlighten and reform the commercial policy of Europe.

[2] Boswell's Life of Johnson, vol. iv. p. 17

[3] Edinburgh Review, vol. i. p. 432.

[4] It may not be uninteresting to mention what has been said of the manner in which the writings of Mr. Smith were composed.--'Mr. Smith observed to me, not long before his death,' says Mr. Stewart, 'that after all his practice in writing, he composed as slowly, and with as great difficulty as at first.' He added, at the same time, that Mr. Hume had acquired so great a facility in this respect, that the last volume of his History was printed from the original copy, with a few marginal corrections. Mr. Smith, when be was employed in composition, generally walked up and down his apartment, dictating to a secretary. All Mr. Hume's works, it has been said, were written with his own hand.

[5] This observation, as may easily be perceived, cannot apply in certain indirect imposts, such as those for the support of the roads; which, as they cannot be confounded with the price of any consumable commodity, combine all the inconveniencies of indirect, with those of direct imposts.

[6] Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. 33, cap. 3.

[7] Pliny, lib. xxxiii. cap. 3.

[8] This was written in 1773, before the commencement of the late disturbances.

[9] See his scheme for the maintenance of the poor, in Burn's History of the Poor Laws.

[10] See Denisart, Article Taux des Interests, tom. iii, p. 18.

[11] See Idyllium xxi.

[12] See Madox Firma Burgi p. 26 &c.

[13] See the Statute of Labourers, 25, Ed. III.

[14] Voyages d'un Philosophe.

[15] Douglas's Summary, vol. ii, p. 372, 373.

[16] See his Preface to Anderson's Diplomata Scotiae.

[17] Lowndes's Essay on the Silver Coin, 68.

[18] See Tracts on the Corn Trade, Tract 3.

[19] Solorzano, vol. ii.

[20] Postscript to the Universal Merchant, p. 15 and 16. This postscript was not printed till 1756, three years after the publication of the book, which has never had a second edition. The postscript is, therefore, to be found in few copies; it corrects several error in the book.

[21] See Ruddiman's Preface to Anderson's Diplomata, &c. Scotiae.

[22] Lib. x, c. 29.

[23] Lib. ix, c. 17.

[24] Kalm's Travels, vol. i, p. 343, 344.

[25] See Smith's Memoirs of Wool, vol. i. c. 5, 6, 7. also vol. ii.

[26] Wanting in the account. The year 1646 supplied by Bishop Fleetwood.

[27] See Ruddiman's Preface to Anderson's Diplomata, &c. Scotiae.

[28] The method described in the text was by no means either the must common or the most expensive one in which those adventurers sometimes raised money by circulation. It frequently happened, that A in Edinburgh would enable B in London to pay the first bill of exchange, by drawing, a few days before it became due, a second bill at three months date upon the same B in London. This bill, being payable to his own order, A sold in Edinburgh at par; and with its contents purchased bills upon London, payable at sight to the order of B, to whom he sent them by the post. Towards the end of the late war, the exchange between Edinburgh and London was frequently three per cent. against Edinburgh, and those bills at sight must frequently have cost A that premium. This transaction, therefore, being repeated at least four times in the year, and being loaded with a commission of at least one half per cent, upon each repetition, must at that period have cost A, at least, fourteen per cent. in the year. At other times A would enable B to discharge the first bill of exchange, by drawing, a few days before it became due, a second bill at two months date, not upon B, but upon some third person, C, for example, in London. This other bill was made payable to the order of B, who, upon its being accepted by C, discounted it with some banker in London; and A enabled C to discharge it, by drawing, a few days before it became due, a third bill likewise at two months date, sometimes upon his first correspondent B and sometimes upon some fourth or fifth person, D or E, for example. This third bill was made payable to the order of C, who, as soon as it was accepted, discounted it in the same manner with some banker in London. Such operations being repeated at least six times in the year, and being loaded with a commission of at least one half per cent. upon each repetition, together with legal interest of five per cent. this method of raising money, in the same manner as described in the text, must have cost A something more than eight per cent. By saving, however, the exchange between Edinburgh and London, it was less expensive than that mentioned in the foregoing part of this note; but then it required an established credit with more houses than one in London, an advantage which many of these adventurers could not always find it easy to procure.

[29] James Postlethwaite's History of the Public Revenue, p. 301

[30] Some French authors of great learning and ingenuity have used those words in a different sense. In the last chapter of the fourth book, I shall endeavour to shew that their sense is an improper one.

[31] See Brady's Historical Treatise of Cities and Boroughs, p. 3. &c.

[32] See Madox, Firma Burgi, p. 18; also History of the Exchequer, chap. 10, sect. v, p. 223, first edition.

[33] See Madox, Firma Burgi. See also Pfeffel in the Remarkable events under Frederick II. and his Successors of the House of Suabia.

[34] See Madox

[35] See Pfeffel

[36] See Sandi Istoria civile de Vinezia, part 2, vol. i, page 247 and 256.

[37] The following are the prices at which the bank of Amsterdam at present (September 1775) receives bullion and coin of different kinds:

SILVER.

Mexico dollars } Guilders.
French crowns } B--22 per mark.
English silver coin }
Mexico dollars, new coin 21 10
Ducatoons 3 0
Rix-dollars 2 8

Bar silver, containing 11-12ths fine silver, 21 per mark, and in this proportion down to 1-4th fine, on which 5 guilders are given.

Fine bars, 28 per mark.

GOLD.

Portugal coin }
Guineas } B--310 per mark.
Louis d'ors, new }
Ditto old 300
New ducats 4 19 8 per ducat.

Bar or ingot gold is received in proportion to its fineness, compared with the above foreign gold coin. Upon fine bars the bank gives 340 per mark. In general, however, something more is given upon coin of a known fineness, than upon gold and silver bars, of which the fineness cannot be ascertained but by a process of melting and assaying.

[38] This paragraph was written in the year 1775.

[39] See the accounts at the end of this Book.

[40] Before the 13th of the present king, the following were the duties payable upon the importation of the different sorts of grain:

_Grain._ _Duties._ _Duties._ _Duties._
Beans to 28s. per qr. 19s. 10d. after till 40s. 16s. 8d. then 12d.
Barley to 28s. 19s. 10d. 32s. 16s. 12d.
Malt is prohibited by the annual malt-tax bill.
Oats to 16s. 5s. 10d. after 9-1/2d.
Pease to 40s. 16s. 0d. after 9-3/4d.
Rye to 36s. 19s. 10d. till 40s. 16s. 8d. then 12d.
Wheat to 44s. 21s. 9d. till 53s. 4d. 17s. then 8s.
till L 4, and after that about 1s. 4d.
Buck-wheat to 32s. per qr. to pay 16s.

These different duties were imposed, partly by the 22d of Charles II. in place of the old subsidy, partly by the new subsidy, by the one-third and two-thirds subsidy, and by the subsidy 1747.

[41] See Dictionnaire des Monnoies, tom. ii. article Seigneurage, p. 489, par M. Abbot de Baringhen, Conseiller-Commissaire en la Cour des Monnoies a Paris.

[42] The interest of every proprietor of India stock, however, is by no means the same with that of the country in the government of which his vote gives him some influence.--See book v, chap. i, part ii.

[43] See book I chap. I

[44] See the Journal of Mr. De Lange, in Bell's Travels, vol. ii. p. 258, 276, 293.

[45] Plin. 1. ix. c. 30.

[46] Plin. 1. viii. c. 48.

[47] They are to be found in Tyrol's History of England.

[48] Since publishing the first two editions of this book, I have got good reasons to believe that all the turnpike tolls levied in Great Britain do not produce a neat revenue that amounts to half a million; a sum which, under the management of government, would not be sufficient to keep in repair five of the principal roads in the kingdom.

[49] I have now good reason to believe that all those conjectural sums are by much too large.

[50] See Memoires concernant les Droits et Impositions en Europe, tome i. page 73. This work was compiled by the order of the court, for the use of a commission employed for some years past in considering the proper means for reforming the finances of France. The account of the French taxes, which takes up three volumes in quarto, may be regarded as perfectly authentic. That of those of other European nations was compiled from such information as the French ministers at the different courts could procure. It is much shorter, and probably not quite so exact as that of the French taxes.

[51] See Memoires concernant les Droits et Impositions en Europe tome i. p. 73.

[52] See Sketches of the History of Man page 474, and Seq.

[53] Memoires concernant les Droits, p. 240, 241.

[54] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. i. p. 114, 115, 116, &c.

[55] Id. tom. i. p. 83, 84.

[56] Id. p. 280, &c.; also p. 287, &c. to 316.

[57] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. ii. p. 139, &c.

[58] Since the first publication of this book, a tax nearly upon the above-mentioned principles has been imposed.

[59] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. p. 223.

[60] Memoires concernant les Droits, tom. i, p. 74.

[61] Memoires concernant les Droits, tom. i, p. 163, 167, 171.

[62] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. ii. p. 17.

[63] Lib. 55. See also Burman, de Vectigalibus Pop. Rom. cap. xi. and Bouchaud de l'impot du vingtieme sur les successions.

[64] See Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. i. p. 225.

[65] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. i. p. 154.

[66] Id. p. 157.

[67] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. i. p. 223, 224, 225.

[68] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. ii. p. 108.

[69] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. iii. p. 87.

[70] See book i. chap. 8.

[71] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c., p. 210, 211.

[72] Le Reformateur

[73] Though the duties directly imposed upon proof spirits amount only to 2s. 6d. per gallon, these, added to the duties upon the low wines, from which they are distilled, amount to 3s. 10-2/3d. Both low wines and proof spirits are, to prevent frauds, now rated according to what they gauge in the wash.

[74] The neat production of that year, after deducting all expenses and allowances, amounted to L.4,975,652 : 19 : 6.

[75] Memoires concernant les Droits, &c. tom. 1, p. 45

[76] See Examen des Reflections Politiques sut les Finances.

[77] See James Postlethwaite's History of the Public Revenue.

[78] It has proved more expensive than any one of our former wars, and has involved us in an additional debt of more than one hundred millions. During a profound peace of eleven years, little more than ten millions of debt was paid; during a war of seven years, more than one hundred millions was contracted.

[79] See Du Cange Glossary, voce Moneta; the Benedictine Edition.

[80] See Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts Bay vol. ii, page 436, et seq.

INDEX.

A

_Absentee_ tax, the propriety of, considered with reference to
Ireland, 379.

_Accounts_ of money, in modern Europe, all kept, and the value of
goods computed, in silver, 16.

_Actors_, public, paid for the contempt attending their profession,
44.

_Africa_, cause assigned for the barbarous state of the interior
parts of that continent, 9.

_African company_, establishment and constitution of, 309. Receive
an annual allowance from parliament for forts and garrisons, 310.
The company not under sufficient controul, ib. History of the Royal
African company, 311. Decline of, ib. Rise of the present company,
ib.

_Age_, the foundation of rank and precedency in rude as well as
civilized societies, 297.

_Aggregate fund_, in the British finances, explained, 388.

_Agio_ of the bank of Amsterdam explained, 194. Of the bank of
Hamburgh, 195. The agio at Amsterdam, how kept at a medium rate,
197.

_Agriculture_, the labour of, does not admit of such subdivisions
as manufactures, 3. This impossibility of separation prevents
agriculture from improving equally with manufactures, ib. Natural
state of, in a new colony, 38. Requires more knowledge and
experience than most mechanical professions, and yet is carried on
without any restrictions, 53. The terms of rent, how adjusted
between landlord and tenant, 60. Is extended by good roads and
navigable canals, 62. Under what circumstances pasture land is more
valuable than arable, 63. Gardening not a very gainful employment,
64. Vines the most profitable article of culture, 65. Estimates of
profit from projects very fallacious, ib. Cattle and tillage
mutually improve each other, 93. Remarks on that of Scotland, ib.
On that of North America, 94. Poultry, a profitable article in
husbandry, ib. Hogs, 95. Dairy, 96. Evidences of land being
completely improved, ib. The extension of cultivation, as it raises
the price of animal food, reduces that of vegetables, 103. By whom
and how practised under feudal government, 137. Its operations not
so much intended to increase, as to direct the fertility of nature,
149. Has been the cause of the prosperity of the British colonies
in America, 150. The profits of, exaggerated by projectors, 154. On
equal terms, is naturally preferred to trade, 156. Artificers
necessary to the carrying it on, ib. Was not attended to by the
northern destroyers of the Roman empire, 157. The ancient policy of
Europe unfavourable to, 162. Was promoted by the commerce and
manufactures of towns, 170. The wealth arising from, more solid and
durable than that which proceeds from commerce, 172. Is not
encouraged by the bounty on the exportation of corn, 207. Why the
proper business of new companies, 251. The present agricultural
system of political economy adopted in France, described, 275. Is
discouraged by restrictions and prohibitions in trade, 279. Is
favoured beyond manufactures in China, 282. And in Indostan, 283.
Does not require so extensive a market as manufactures, 284. To
check manufactures in order to promote agriculture, false policy,
285. Landlords ought to be encouraged to cultivate part of their
own land, 350.

_Alcavala_, the tax in Spain so called, explained and considered,
381. The ruin of the Spanish manufactures attributed to this tax,
ib.

_Alehouses_, the number of, not the efficient cause of drunkenness,
148, 200.

_Allodial rights_, mistaken for feudal rights, 168. The
introduction of the feudal law tended to moderate the authority of
the allodial lords, ib.

_Ambassadors_, the first motive of their appointment, 307.

_America_, why labour is dearer in North America than in England,
29. Great increase of population there, ib. Common rate of interest
there, 38. Is a new market for the produce of its own silver mines,
85. The first accounts of the two empires of Peru and Mexico
greatly exaggerated, ib. Improving state of the Spanish colonies
there, 86. Account of the paper currency of the British colonies,
134. Cause of the rapid prosperity of the British colonies there,
150. Why manufactures for distant sale have never been established
there, 156. Its speedy improvement owing to assistance from foreign
capitals, 157. The purchase and improvement of uncultivated land
the most profitable employment of capitals, 171. Commercial
alterations produced by the discovery of, 181. But two civilized
nations found on the whole continent, ib. The wealth of the North
American colonies increased, though the balance of trade continued
against them, 203. Madeira wine, how introduced there, 204.
Historical review of the European settlements in, 229. Of Spain,
232, 233. Of Holland, 234. Of France, ib. Of Britain, ib.
Ecclesiastical government in the several European colonies, 235.
Fish a principal article of trade from North America to Spain,
Portugal, and the Mediterranean, 237. Naval stores to Britain, 238.
Little credit due to the policy of Europe from the success of the
colonies, 242. The discovery and colonization of, how far
advantageous to Europe, 243. And to America, ib. The colonies in,
governed by a spirit of monopoly, 261. The interest of the consumer
in Britain sacrificed to that of the producer, by the system of
colonization, 274. Plan for extending the British system of
taxation, over all the provinces of, 397, 398. The question, how
the Americans could pay taxes without specie, considered, 402.
Ought in justice to contribute to discharge the public debt in
Britain, 402. Expediency of their union with Britain, 403. The
British empire there a mere project, 404.

_Amsterdam_, agio of the bank of, explained, 194. Occasion of its
establishment, 195. Advantages attending payments there, ib. Rate
demanded for keeping money there, ib. Prices at which bullion and
coin are received, 196, _note_. This bank the great warehouse of
Europe for bullion, 197. Demands upon, how made and answered, ib.
The agio, how kept at a medium rate, ib. The treasure of, whether
all preserved in its repositories, 198. The amount of its treasure
only to be conjectured, ib. Fees paid to the bank for transacting
business, ib.

_Annuities_, for terms of years, and for lives, in the British
finances, historical account of, 389.

_Apothecaries_, the profit on their drugs, unjustly stigmatized as
exorbitant, 46.

_Apprenticeship_, the nature and intention of this bond of
servitude, explained, 42. The limitations imposed on various trades
as to the number of apprentices, 50. The statute of apprenticeship
in England, ib. Apprenticeships in France and Scotland, 51. General
remarks on the tendency and operation of long apprenticeships, ib.
The statute of, ought to be repealed, 191.

_Arabs_, their manner of supporting war, 289.

_Army_, three different ways by which a nation may maintain one
in a distant country, 178. Standing, distinction between and a
militia, 292. Historical review of, 294. The Macedonian army, ib.
Carthaginian army, ib. Roman army, ib. Is alone able to perpetuate
the civilization of a country, 296. Is the speediest engine for
civilizing a barbarous country, ib. Under what circumstances
dangerous to, and under what favourable to liberty, ib.

_Artificers_ prohibited by law from going to foreign countries,
273. Residing abroad, and not returning on notice, exposed to
outlawry, ib. See _Manufactures_.

_Asdrubal_, his army greatly improved by discipline, 294. How
defeated, ib.

_Assembly_, houses of, in the British colonies, the constitutional
freedom of, shewn, 240.

_Assiento Contract_, 312.

_Assize_ of bread and ale, remarks on that statute, 75, 77.

_Augustus_, emperor, emancipates the slaves of Vedius Pollio for
his cruelty, 241.

B

_Balance_ of annual produce and consumption explained, 203. May be
in favour of a nation, when the balance of trade is against it, ib.

_Balance_ of trade, no certain criterion to determine on which side
it turns between two countries, 192. The current doctrine of, on
which most regulations of trade are founded, absurd, 199. If even,
by the exchange of their native commodities, both sides may be
gainers, ib. How the balance would stand if native commodities on
one side were paid with foreign commodities on the other, ib. How
the balance stands when commodities are purchased with gold and
silver, ib., 200. The ruin of countries often predicted from the
doctrine of an unfavourable balance of trade, 202.

_Banks_, great increase of trade in Scotland since the
establishment of them in the principal towns, 120. Their usual
course of business, 121. Consequences of their issuing too much
paper, 122. Necessary caution for some time observed by them with
regard to giving credit to their customers, 124. Limits of the
advances they may imprudently make to traders, 125. How injured by
the practice of drawing and redrawing bills, 126, 127. History of
the Ayr bank, 128. History of the bank of England, 130. The nature
and public advantage of banks considered, 131. Bankers might carry
on their business with less paper, 132. Effects of the optional
clauses in the Scotch notes, 133. Origin of their establishment,
194. Bank money explained, 195. Bank of England, the conduct of, in
regard to the coinage, 226. Joint stock companies, why well adapted
to the trade of banking, 317, 318. A doubtful question, whether
the government of Great Britain is equal to the management of the
bank to profit, 344.

_Bankers_, the credit of their notes how established, 118. The nature
of the banking business explained, ib., 121. The multiplication and
competition of bankers, under proper regulations of service to
public credit, 135.

_Baretti_, Mr. his account of the quantity of Portugal gold sent
weekly to England, 225.

_Barons_, feudal, their power contracted by the grant of municipal
privileges, 163. Their extensive authority, 168. How they lost
their authority over their vassals, 169. And the power to disturb
their country, 170.

_Barter_, the exchange of one commodity for another, the propensity
to, of extensive operation, and peculiar to man, 6. Is not
sufficient to carry on the mutual intercourse of mankind, 10. See
_Commerce_.

_Batavia_, causes of the prosperity of the Dutch settlement there,
263.

_Beaver skins_, review of the policy used in the trade for, 273.

_Beef_, cheaper now in London than in the reign of James I., 63.
Compared with the prices of wheat at the corresponding times, 64.

_Benefices_, ecclesiastical, the tenure of, why rendered secure,
335. The power of collating to, how taken from the pope, in England
and France, 338. General equality of, among the presbyterians, 340.
Good effects of this equality, ib.

_Bengal_, to what circumstances its early improvement in
agriculture and manufactures was owing, 9. Present miserable state
of the country, 30. Remarks on the high rates of interest there,
39. Oppressive conduct of the English there, to suit their trade in
opium, 263. Why more remarkable for the exportation of manufactures
than of grain, 284.

_Berne_, brief history of the republic of, 164. Establishment of
the reformation there, 338. Application of the revenue of the
catholic clergy, 341. Derives a revenue from the interest of its
treasure, 344.

_Bills of Exchange_, punctuality in the payment of, how secured,
126. The pernicious practice of drawing and redrawing explained,
ib. The arts made use of to disguise this mutual traffic in bills,
127.

_Birth_, superiority of, how it confers respect and authority, 298.

_Bishops_, the ancient mode of electing them, and how altered, 335,
337.

_Body_, natural and political, analogy between, 280.

_Bohemia_, account of the tax there on the industry of artificers,
366.

_Bounty_, on the exportation of corn, the tendency of this measure
examined, 81.

_Bounties_, why given in commerce, 183. On exportation, the policy
of granting them considered, 205. On the exportation of corn, 206.
This bounty imposes two taxes on the people, 207. Evil tendency of
this bounty, 209. The bounty only beneficial to the exporter and
importer, ib. Motives of the country gentlemen in granting the
bounty, 210. A trade which requires a bounty, necessarily a losing
trade, ib. Tonnage bounties to the fisheries considered, 211.
Account of the white-herring fishery, 212. Remarks on other
bounties, 213. A review of the principles on which they are
generally granted, 267. Those granted on American produce founded
on mistaken policy, 268. How they affect the consumer, 274.

_Bourdeaux_, why a town of great trade, 138.

_Brazil_ grew to be a powerful colony under neglect, 233. The Dutch
invaders expelled by the Portuguese colonists, ib. Computed number
of inhabitants there, ib. The trade of the principal provinces
oppressed by the Portuguese, 236.

_Bread_, its relative value with butcher's meat compared, 62, 63.

_Brewery_, reasons for transferring the taxes on to the malt, 376.

_Bridges_, how to be erected and maintained, 303.

_Britain_, Great, evidences that labour is sufficiently paid for
there, 30. The price of provisions nearly the same in most places,
31. Great variations in the price of labour, ib. Vegetables
imported from Flanders in the last century, 32. Historical account
of the alterations interest of money has undergone, 37. Double
interest deemed a reasonable mercantile profit, 40. In what
respects the carrying trade is advantageous to, 152, 153. Appears
to enjoy more of the carrying trade of Europe than it really has,
153. It is the only country of Europe in which the obligation of
purveyance is abolished, 161. Its funds for the support of foreign
wars inquired into, 178, 179. Why never likely to be much affected
by the free importation of Irish cattle, 186. Nor salt provisions,
ib. Could be little affected by the importation of foreign corn,
187. The policy of the commercial restraints on the trade with
France examined, 192. The trade with France might be more
advantageous to each country than that with any other, 202. Why one
of the richest countries in Europe, while Spain and Portugal are
among the poorest, 221. Review of her American colonies, 234. The
trade of her colonies, how regulated, 236. Distinction between
enumerated and non-enumerated commodities explained, 237. Restrains
manufactures in America, 238, 239. Indulgences granted to the
colonists, 239. Constitutional freedom of her colony government,
240. The sugar colonies of, worse governed than those of France,
241. Disadvantages resulting from retaining the exclusive trade of
tobacco with Maryland and Virginia, 244, 245. The navigation act
has increased the colony trade, at the expense of many other
branches of foreign trade, 245. The advantage of the colony trade
estimated, 247. A gradual relaxation of the exclusive trade
recommended, 250. Events which have concurred to prevent the ill
effects of the loss of the colony trade, ib. The natural good
effects of the colony trade more than counterbalance the bad
effects of the monopoly, 251. To maintain a monopoly, the principal
end of the dominion assumed over the colonies, 254. Has derived
nothing but loss from this dominion, ib. Is perhaps the only state
which has only increased its expenses by extending its empire, 256.
The constitution of, would have been completed by admitting of
American representation, 258. Review of the administration of the
East India Company, 264, 265. The interest of the consumer
sacrificed to that of the producer in raising an empire in America,
274. The annual revenue of, compared with its annual rents and
interest of capital stock, 345, 346. The land-tax of, considered,
348. Tithes, 352. Window-tax, 357. Stamp-duties, 363, 365.
Poll-taxes in the reign of William III., 367. The uniformity of
taxation in, favourable to internal trade, 382. The system of
taxation in, compared with that in France, 384. Account of the
unfunded debt of, 387. Funded debt, 388. Aggregate and general
funds, ib. Sinking fund, 389. Annuities for terms of years and for
lives, ib. Perpetual annuities the best transferable stock, 391.
The reduction of the public debts during peace bears no proportion
to their accumulation during war, 392. The trade with the tobacco
colonies, how carried on, without the intervention of specie, 401.
The trade with the sugar colonies explained, ib. Ireland and
America ought in justice to contribute towards the discharge of her
public debts, 402. How the territorial acquisitions of the East
India Company might be rendered a source of revenue, 403. If no
such assistance can be obtained, her only resource pointed out, ib.

_Bullion_, the money of the great mercantile republic, 179. See
_Gold_ and _Silver_.

_Burghs_, free, the origin of, 163. To what circumstances they owed
their corporate jurisdictions, ib. Why admitted to send
representatives to parliament, 164. Are allowed to protect refugees
from the country, 165.

_Burn_, Dr. his observation on the laws relating to the settlements
of the poor, 58, 59.

_Butcher's meat_, nowhere a necessary of life, 370.

C

_Calvinists_, origin of that sect, 339. Their principles of church
government, ib.

_Cameron_, Mr. of Lochiel, exercised, within thirty years since, a
criminal jurisdiction over his own tenants, 168.