THE

MONTHLY REVIEW,

For AUGUST, 1776.

ART. I. Dr. Smith's Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, concluded.

WE

E now proceed to lay before our Readers an abstract of the fifth and last book of this truly original and va luable work, in which the Author treats

Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth. The expences of government are of four kinds, thofe of defence of justice-of public works and inflitutions—and for supporting the dignity of the fovereign.

The expences of defence are very different in different states of fociety. Among nations of hunters and of fhepherds every man is a warrior. An army of hunters can feldom exceed two or three hundred men: an army of fhepherds may sometimes amount to two or three hundred thoufand: a nation of the latter therefore is more formidable than one of the former. In a nation of hufbandmen, where there is few manufactures and little commerce, every man eafily becomes a warrior, and the expence of collecting an army is fmall. In this ftate of fociety, the men who were of age to bear arms have often ferved without pay. But in a more advanced ftate, this became impoffible. Artificers and manufacturers, having no revenue but in their daily labour, must be maintained by the Public while they bear arms in its defence. This is become ftill more neceffary, fince the art of war has been refined into an intricate science, and the event has remained undecided for feveral campaigns. The expences of war have been greatly increafed from the time that the military character became diftinct and feparate, and the preparation and maintenance of armies devolved upon government. As fociety refines, and manufactures increase, vo luntary military exercifes are neglected, and it becomes the bufinefs of the government to provide for the fecurity of the VOL. LV.

people.

people. This may be done, either by enforcing the practice of military exercifes on the whole or part of the people capable of bearing arms, or by maintaining and employing a certain number of citizens in the conftant practice of military exercises : the former creates a militia, the latter a ftanding army. A militia must always be much inferior, both in dexterity and in ready obedience, to an army compofed of men who are foldiers by profeffion. Ancient hiftory confirms this remark. It is only by a ftanding army that the civilization of any country can be perpetuated. A ftanding army can only be dangerous to liberty when the intereft of the general and officers is not neceffarily connected with the fupport of the conftitution of the ftate. Where the military force and civil authority are united, the fovereign enjoys fuch fecurity, as renders it fafe for him to tolerate that degree of liberty which approaches to licentioufnels. The expences of war have been much increased by the introduction of fire-arms.

The establishment of an exact adminiftration of juftice, neceffary to defend every member of the fociety from injuftice or oppreffion, is attended with different degrees of expence in different periods of fociety. Where property is great and unequally diftributed, frequent occafions of injury occur, and magiftracy becomes neceflary. Subordination naturally increases with the growth of valuable property. Fortune and birth are the two circumftances which principally fet one man above another thefe create dependence ar- refpect, and thus naturally introduce judicial authority. The exercife of this authority for a long time, far from being a caufe of expence, was a fource of revenue. This was found to be productive of grofs abufes, and when taxes came to be paid for the fupport of government, it feems to have been ftipulated that no prefent fhould be accepted for the adminiftration of juftice. It is not to be expected, however, that juftice fhould be adminiftered gratis. To prevent the corruption of juftice, the higher officers may be paid by government; but lawyers and attorneys must be paid by the parties, or they would perform their duty still worfe than at prefent. The whole expence of juftice might easily be defrayed by the fees of court; and indeed thefe fees feem originally to have been the principal fupport of the courts of juftice in England.

Another object of national expence is the erecting and maintaining public ufeful inftitutions and works, the profit of which could not repay the expence to private individuals. These are chiefly fuch as are defigned for facilitating commerce, for the education of youth, and for the inftruction of the people.

Public works for facilitating commerce, fuch as highways, bridges, harbours, canals, &c. will generally afford a particu

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lar revenue for defraying their own expence, in the hands of private perfons or truitees. To remedy the evils complained of, arifing from the mifmanagement of public tolls or turnpikes, it has been propofed that the affair fhould be taken into the hands of government, and the foldiers be employed in mending the highways. But in this cafe, thefe tolls, being confidered as one of the refources of the flate, would probably be greatly augmented; a very unequal burden would fall upon the lower claffes of the people; and the remedy, on the fuppofition of neglect, would be more difficult.

Inftitutions for the education of youth may likewise furnish a revenue fufficient for defraying their own expence, arifing from the fees of the fcholars. The endowments of schools or colleges, by diminishing the neceffity of application and exertion in the teachers, have in fome measure fruftrated the end of their inftitution. In the univerfity of Oxford the greater part of the public profeffors have, for thefe many years, given up altogether even the pretence of teaching. Whatever forces a certain number of ftudents to any college or univerfity, independent of the merit of the teachers, tends to diminish the neceffity of that merit. Of this kind are exclufive privileges of graduates, and charitable foundations. If the difcipline of the college be contrived for the intereft or ease of the mafters rather than the benefit of the ftudents, as is frequently the cafe in endowed inftitutions, the effect must be unfavourable to the interefts of learning. The prefent universities of Europe were originally, for the moft part, ecclefiaftical corporations inftituted for the education of churchmen. What was taught in them was, accordingly, theology, or fome things preparatory to theology. A corrupt Latin, which was the common language of the western parts of Europe when Christianity was established by law, long continued to be used in the church; and therefore the study of it was made an effential part of university education. Greek was introduced in confequence of the difputes which arose between the Catholic and reformed churches. The ancient Greek philofophy, which had been judiciously divided into phyfics, or natural philofophy, ethics or moral philosophy, and logic, in order to accommodate it to theological ftudents, was changed for a fyftem confifting of these five parts, Logic, Ontology, Metaphyfics, Moral Philofophy, Phyfics. In this courfe, fo large a quantity of fubtlety and fophiftry, of cafuiftry and afcetic morality were introduced, as rendered it very improper for the education of gentlemen or men of the world. This courfe, or a few unconnected fhreds and parcels of this courfe, ftill continue to be taught in moft of the univerfities of Europe. And the richest and beft endowed univerfities have generally been the floweft in adopting improvements, and the most averfe

to alterations. Among the Greeks and Romans the ftate feems to have been at no pains in the bufinefs of education, except fo far as related to military exercises; yet mafters were found for inftructing the better fort of people in every art or science, which it was neceffary or convenient for them to study. Were there no public inftitutions for education, teachers would never find their account in teaching either an exploded and antiquated fyftem of a fcience acknowledged to be useful, or a fcience univerfally believed to be a mere ufelefs and pedantic heap of fophiftry and nonfenfe; and a gentleman, after going through a long and expenfive courfe of education, could not come into the world completely ignorant of every thing which is the common fubject of converfation among gentlemen and men of the world. Perhaps, in civilized and commercial fociety, the state may, with advantage, pay fome attention to the education of the common people, who are always rendered more orderly and ufeful, by well chofen inftruction. By eftablishing parish schools for reading, writing, and accounts, and perhaps the elementary parts of geometry and mechanics, giving premiums to thofe who excel, and obliging every man to undergo an examination in the effential parts of education before he be allowed to set up any trade, or obtain the freedom of corporations, the Public might, at a fmall expence, facilitate, encourage, and even impofe upon the common people, a neceffity of acquiring fome education.

Inftitutions for the general inftruction of the people in religion derive no advantage from independent endowments, refpecting the zeal and industry of teachers. If they are more learned and accomplished than those who do not enjoy endowments, they have generally lefs influence over the inferior ranks of the people; and have therefore always found it neceffary to call for the fupport of the civil magiftrate against their opponents. In civil difputes, that religious fect which has been leagued with the victorious party, has generally been powerful enough to oblige the civil magiftrate to respect their opinions and inclinations; and their clergy have required that he should filence and fubdue their adverfaries, and beftow an independent provifion on themselves. Had politics never called in the aid of religion, it would have dealt equally and impartially with the different feats. This would have increased their number, but, by dividing their strength, it would have been productive of moderation and good temper. Religious fects, being generally begun among the common people, ufually adopt an auftere fyftem of morals, fometimes indeed carried to an extravagant height, but on the whole favourable to good order. Where there is an established or governing religion, the fovereign cannot be secure unless he has the means of influencing the clergy:

which is moft fuccefsfully done by keeping their honours and preferments in his hands. Church preferment was very early at the disposal of the church. At length, the Pope gradually drew to himself the collation of bifhoprics, abbacies, and inferior benefices; and thus the clergy thro' Europe were formed into a kind of spiritual army under one general; not only independent of the fovereigns of their refpective countries, but dependent upon one foreign fovereign. Thus did the church of Rome, thro the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries, maintain the most formidable combination that ever was formed against the authority and fecurity of civil government, as well as against the liberty, reafon, and happiness of mankind. The gradual improvements of arts, manufactures, and commerce, destroyed at the fame time the power of the great barons and of the clergy. By furnishing them with more opportunities of spending their riches upon themselves, and increafing their defire of gain, they led them to render their tenants independent upon them by granting them long leafes, and put an end to that hofpitality and charity which had given them fuch influence with the people. In this fituation of things, the fovereigns endeavoured to recover their influence in the church, by procuring to the deans and chapters of each diocese the restoration of their an-cient right of electing the bishop, and to the monks that of electing the abbot. This was the object of feveral ftatutes in England in the 14th century, and of the pragmatic fanction established in France in the 15th century. Other fimilar regulations took place in other parts of Europe; and the authority of the Pope gradually declined. The reformation greatly aided the efforts of the fovereigns of Europe against the power of Rome. Henry VIII. of England renounced the Pope's fupremacy. The reformation gave birth to two principal parties, the Lutheran and Calviniftic; the former of whom preferved epifcopal government and clerical fubordination, and gave the fovereign the difpofal of bifhopricks and fuperior benefices: the latter gave the people the right of electing their minifters, and eftablifhed a perfect equality among the clergy. To prevent the frequent difturbances which occurred, the magistrate refumed the right of presentation. Moderate benefices are most favourable to the usefulness and refpectablenefs of the clergy.

The expences neceffary to fupport the dignity of the fovereign, muft increase in an improving ftate of fociety.

The fources of the general or public revenue, from which the feveral expences of government may be defrayed, are the funds which belong to the fovereign or commonwealth, or taxes upon the people.

The fovereign may derive a revenue from the profit of stock employed in merchandice, as, by taking the public bank, poft

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office,