V. puts into motion the greatest quantity of pro- CHAP. ductive labour, and adds the greatest value to the annual produce. That which is employed in the trade of exportation, has the least effect of any of the three. The country, indeed, which has not capital fufficient for all thofe three purposes, has not arrived at that degree of opulence for which it feems naturally deftined. To attempt, however, prematurely and with an infufficient capital, to do all the three, is certainly not the shortest way for a fociety, no more than it would be for an individual, to acquire a fufficient one. The capital of all the individuals of a nation, has its limits in the fame manner as that of a fingle individual, and is capable of executing only certain purposes. The capital of all the individuals of a nation is increafed in the fame manner as that of a fingle individual, by their continually accumulating and adding to it whatever they fave out of their revenue. It is likely to increase the fafteft, therefore, when it is employed in the way that affords the greatest revenue to all the inhabitants of the country, as they will thus be enabled to make the greateft favings. But the revenue of all the inhabitants of the country is neceffarily in proportion to the value of the annual produce of their land and labour. It has been the principal cause of the rapid progrefs of our American colonies towards wealth and greatness, that almost their whole capitals have hitherto been employed in agriculture. They have no manufactures, thofe houfhold and coarfer II. BOOK coarfer manufactures excepted which neceffarily accompany the progrefs of agriculture, and. which are the work of the women and children in every private family. The greater part both of the exportation and coafting trade of America, is carried on by the capitals of merchants who refide in Great Britain. Even the ftores. and warehouses from which goods are retailed in fome provinces, particularly in Virginia and Maryland, belong many of them to merchants who refide in the mother country, and afford one of the few inftances of the retail trade of a society being carried on by the capitals of those who are not refident members of it. Were the Americans, either by combination or by any other fort of violence, to ftop the importation of European manufactures, and, by thus giving a monopoly to fuch of their own countrymen as could manufacture the like goods, divert any confiderable part of their capital into this employment, they would retard instead of accelerating the further increafe in the value of their annual produce, and would obftruct instead of promoting the progrefs of their country towards real wealth and greatnefs. This would be still more the cafe, were they to attempt, in the fame manner, to monopolize to themselves their whole exportation trade. The course of human prosperity, indeed, seems fcarce ever to have been of fo long continuance as to enable any great country to acquire capital fufficient for all thofe three purposes; unlefs, perhaps, we give credit to the wonderful ac counts V. counts of the wealth and cultivation of China, c H A P. of thofe of ancient Egypt, and of the ancient ftate of Indoftan. Even thofe three countries, the wealthieft, according to all accounts, that ever were in the world, are chiefly renowned for their fuperiority in agriculture and manufactures. They do not appear to have been eminent for foreign trade. The ancient Egyptians had a fuperftitious antipathy to the fea; a fuperftition nearly of the fame kind prevails among the Indians; and the Chinese have never excelled in foreign commerce. The greater part of the furplus produce of all thofe three countries feems to have been always exported by foreigners, who gave in exchange for it something else for which they found a demand there, frequently gold and filver. It is thus that the fame capital will in any country put into motion a greater or fmaller quantity of productive labour, and add a greater or finaller value to the annual produce of its land and labour, according to the different pro. portions in which it is employed in agriculture, manufactures, and wholefale trade. The difference too is very great, according to the different forts of wholefale trade in which any part of it is employed. All wholefale trade, all buying in order to fell again by wholesale, may be reduced to three different forts. The home trade, the foreign trade of confumption, and the carrying trade. The home trade is employed in purchafing in one part of the fame country, and felling in another, II. BOOK the produce of the induftry of that country. It comprehends both the inland and the coafting trade. The foreign trade of confumption is employed in purchafing foreign goods for home confumption. The carrying trade is employed in tranfacting the commerce of foreign countries, or in carrying the furplus produce of one to another. The capital which is employed in purchafing in one part of the country in order to fell in another the produce of the industry of that country, generally replaces by every fuch operation two distinct capitals that had both been employed in the agriculture or manufactures of that country, and thereby enables them to continue that employment. When it fends out from the refidence of the merchant a certain value of commodities, it generally brings back in return at least an equal value of other commodities. When both are the produce of domestic industry, it neceffarily replaces by every fuch operation two diftinct capitals, which had both been employed in fupporting productive labour, and thereby enables them to continue that fupport. The capital which fends Scotch manufactures to London, and brings back English corn and manufactures to Edinburgh, neceffarily replaces, by every fuch operation, two British capitals which had both been employed in the agriculture or manufactures of Great Britain. The capital employed in purchafing foreign goods for home-confumption, when this purchase is made with the produce of domeftic induftry, replaces V. replaces too, by every fuch operation, two dif- CHAP. tinct capitals; but one of them only is employed in supporting domeftic industry. The capital which fends British goods to Portugal, and brings back Portuguese goods to Great Britain, replaces by every fuch operation only one British capital. The other is a Portuguese one. Though the returns, therefore, of the foreign trade of confumption fhould be as quick as thofe of the home-trade, the capital employed in it will give but one-half the encouragement to the industry or productive labour of the country. A But the returns of the foreign trade of confumption are very feldom fo quick as thofe of the home-trade. The returns of the home-trade generally come in before the end of the year, and fometimes three or four times in the year. The returns of the foreign trade of confumption feldom come in before the end of the year, and fometimes not till after two or three years. capital, therefore, employed in the home-trade will fometimes make twelve operations, or be fent out and returned twelve times, before a capital employed in the foreign trade of confumption has made one. If the capitals are equal, therefore, the one will give four and twenty times more encouragement and fupport to the industry of the country than the other. The foreign goods for home-confumption may fometimes be purchased, not with the produce of domestic industry, but with fome other foreign goods. Thefe laft, however, muft have been purchased either immediately with the produce of |