and commerce from the Euphrates and the Nile to the Thames and the Texel? Does not the fun rife, and do not the seasons return to the plains of Egypt and the deferts of Syria, the fame as they did three thousand years ago? Is not inanimate nature the fame now that it was then? Are the principles of vegetation altered? or have the fubordinate animals refused to obey the will of man, to affift him in his labour, or to ferve him for his food? No; Nature is not lefs bountiful, and man has more knowledge and more power than at any former period: but it is not the man of Syria or of Egypt, that has more knowledge or more power. There he has fuffered his race to decay, and along with himfelf his race has degenerated. If an inquiry into the caufes of the 'revolutions of nations is more imperfect and lefs fatisfactory than when directed to those of individuals and of fingle families, if ever it should be rendered complete, its application will at least be more certain. Nations are exempt from those viciffitudes which derange the wileft of human plans on a fmaller fcale. Number and magnitude reduce chances to certainty. The fingle and unforeseen accident that overwhelms a man in the midft of profperity, never ruins a nation. Unless it be ripe for ruin, a nation never falls; and when it does fall, accident has only the appearance of doing what was, in reality, already nearly accomplished. This is no phyfical caufe for the decline of nations. Nature remains the fame. And if the phyfical man has degenerated, it was before the authentic records of history."

Thefe extracts from our author's preface will enable our readers to form a fufficiently accurate idea of the nature of his defign. Of its execution, we do not hesitate to fay, that it is ingenious, able, and, as far as a defign of fuch magnitude and novelty can poffibly be expected to be, fatisfactory: fatisfactory, at least, in this refpect, that the investigation in which he leads the way, may, by the joint labours of men of genius and industry, conduct mankind to the establishment of knowledge, more certain and practical, on a very important fubject.

As Mr. Playfair's defign is unfelded in his preface, so we have a recapitulation of his generai reafonings and inferences, in the eighth chapter of his third and laft book, entitled CONCLUSION.

"The great end of all human effort is, to improve upon the means which nature has furnished men with, for obtaining the objects of their wants and wishes, and to obviate, to counteract, or do away thofe inconveniencies and disadvantages which nature has thrown in the way of their enjoyments.

"With the mind the fame courfe fhould be used as with material bodies. It is impoffible, in either cafe, to create; but we may turn the good to as profitable an advantage as we are able, and counteract the bad.

"To attempt to hinder men from following their propenfities when in power, is always arduous, generally ineffectual, and frequently impracticable; befides, when it can be done coercively, it infringes too much on the liberty and enjoyment of mankind. A controuling power thould be employed as feldom as poffible.

"To attempt to fmother the paffions is vain; to controul them, difficult. Befides it is from energy, arifing from paffions or propenfities, that all good, as well as evil, arifes. The bulinefs, then, will neither be to curb nor to crush, but to give a proper direction. This is to be done by good habits,

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when

when young, and a proper education, which cannot be obtained by individual exertion, without the affiftance of Government; an affistance, therefore, which it is bound to give.

"The general tendency of wealth and power is, to enervate people, to make them proud and indolent, and, after a certain time, they leave a country. Individuals have no means to counteract this tendency, unless the governing power of the country gives a general impulfe to them, in cafes where they can act, and acts ittelf, with care and attention, where individuals can do nothing.

"In the cale of education and manners; in the case of providing for children, individuals may do much; but government must not only give the means, but the impulfe. In the cafe of the foil becoming infufficient for the inhabitants, and of taxes and national debt increafing, government may ftop the progrefs; and in the cafes of individual bodies trenching on the public weal, as well as in the tendency of inventions, capital, &c to emigrate to other countries, the government may counteract, and, perhaps, totally prevent them all.

"In all cates, individuals will and muft follow their lawful propenfities, both in the means of employing capital, and expending revenue; that is, they must be left free, in a general way, and only interrupted and regulated in particular cafes; but, fometimes, the means must be furnished them of going right, and in other cafes the inducements to do fo augmented. We fhall take the fubjects in the fame order that they followed in the second book.

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"Though the manners of people arrived at maturity, can only be regulated by their education, when young, if that is properly attended to, it will be fufficient; for though it will not prevent the generation that has attained wealth, from enjoying it according to the prevailing tafte, it will prevent contamination being communicated with increased force, as it now is, to the children. The evils will then go on in a fimple proportion; they now, go with a compound one, and the evils arifing from the luxury of each geberation are doubled on that which follows after. If that is prevented, it will be all that probably is neceffary; at all events, it is probably all that is poffible.

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"In taxation, the government should fludy to do away what is obnoxious in its mode of collection, for that does more injury to the fubject, in many cafes, than an equal fum would do, levied in another manner; and when payments are to be made, the mode fhould be rendered as eafy as poffible. Every unnecellary trouble fhould be avoided in collecting a tax. In the tax on receipts and bills, why fhould the fums to which they extend not be printed on them, fo as to prevent error, which is fometimes attended with great lots, and always with inconvenience? If this had been done, how many lawiuits, how many nefarious tricks, would have been prevented But, not to speak of thofe inconveniencies only, how much ufelefs trouble, uneafiness, and uncertainty, would have been faved in the common way of transacting bufinels? In most cases, the subject is treated as if neither his time, nor his conveniency, nor his feelings, were worth attending to. This is equally impolitic and unjuft: there is, perhaps, no country where people are more careful to keep within the pale of the law, than in England; but when they are within it, and have power, no people use it with à more infulting rigour; and for this there is no redrefs.

"In many cafes, this would be entirely prevented, by proper attention

in

in first laying on the tax. There fhould be a board of taxation, to receive and digeft, and examine, the fuggeftions of others. In thort, pains should be taken to bring to perfection the fyftem. At prefent, it is left to chance; that is to fay, it is left for thofe to do who have not time to do it, and, of consequence, the blunders committed are feen by all the world.

"The encroachments of separate bodies on the public, it is entirely in the power of the ftate to prevent. It is owing to weakuefs or careleliness, or ignorance, that government admit of fuch encroachments, and they are eafily to be prevented, partly, as has been shewn, by pofitive regulation, and partly by counteracting them, whenever they appear to be proceeding in a direction any way doubtful. When they do fo, the conclufion may be, that they are working for themselves; and in that cafe, they ought to be very minutely examined into; and, in all public bodies, and men belonging to a clafs that has a particular intereft, generally derive their means of trenching on the public from government, it may very easily controul their action, or counteract the effect.

"As lawyers have the administration of justice amongst themselves; as the executive part is in their hand, the law-makers fhould be particularly careful to make them amenable by law for bad conduct; it ought not to be left in the bofom of a court, to frike off, or keep on, an improper man. It is not right, on the one hand, that attornies, or any fet of men, thould be subject to an arbitrary exertion of power; and it is equally unfair for them to be protected by having thofe who are to judge betw tween them and the public, always belonging to their own body. In defence of this, it is faid, that attornies are fervants of the court, and that the bufinefs of the court being to do juftice, their correction cannot be in better hands. This is a tolerably ingenious affertion, if it were ftrictly true; but the court confifts both of judge and jury; whereas, in this cafe, the judge affumes all the power; that is to fay, when a cafe is to be determined relative to the conduct of a lawyer, a lawyer is to be the fole judge; and the jury, who reprefent the public, are to have their power fet, afide; thus, when their opinion is molt wanted, it is not allowed to be given. Under fuch regulation, what redress can be expected? As for the taxing cofts by a mafter, it is rarely that a client, from prudential motives, dares appeal; and, when he does, the remedy is frequently worfe than the difeafe; and, even in this cafe, a lawyer judges a lawyer. Without faying any thing against the judgments, it will be allowed, that in neither cafe is the principle of Magna Charta adhered to, of a man being judged by his peers; bendes, in every other fraud, there is punishment proportioned to the crime. In this cafe there is no punishment, unless the extortion is exorbitant, and then the punishment is too great. It ought to be proportioned to the offence, as in cases of ufury, and then it would be effectual; but to let fmali mifdemeanors go free, and to punish great ones beyond meafure, is the way to elude punimment in all cafes. A man ought to pay his bill; let the attorney take the money at his peril, and let there be a court to judge fairly, at little expence, and with promptitude, and punish the extortion by a treble fine. This would anfwer; but all regulations, relative to law, are left to lawyers themfelves; and the fable of the man, the lion, and the picture, was never fo well exemplified. Never, in any cafe, was redress more wanted; perhaps never was it lefs likely to be had.

"The unequal divifion of property, as has been fhewn, arifes partly from bad laws, and partly from neglect of regulation. It is, indeed, one of

he most delicate points to interfere in: nevertheless, as it has been proved, hat laws do already interfere between a man and the ufe of his property (and that it is, in fome cafes, necellary that they should do fo), the question is reduced to one of circumftances and expediency; it is not one to be determined, in the abstract, on principle. It is alfo of too nice a nature to be touched roughly by general regulation; but, if large eftates in land, and large farms, were taxed higher in proportion than mall ones, it would counteract, to a certain degree, the tendency of landed property to accumulate in any one perfon's hand; and, except in land, property feldom remains long enough in one family to accumulate to a dangerous degree.

"The increased confumption of a nation, which we have found one of the caufes of decline that increates with its wealth, may be more effectually prevented than any other; not by interfering with the mode in which individuals expend their wealth, but by managing it fo, that vegetable food shall always be in abundance; and if fo, the high prices of animal food, and the low price of vegetables, will answer the purpose of counteracting the tafte for the former, which is the caufe of the dearth, and brings on depopalation; and therefore its hurtful effect will be prevented.

"To this gentlemen of landed property may object, and no doubt will object, but let them confider how rapidly ruin is coming on. At the rate matters now go, it would not be furprising, but a natural effect, if most of the fields in Britain were converted into pafture, and our chief fupply of corn obtained from abroad. The rent of land would, indeed, be doubled, the wages of labour would rife more than in an equal proportion, and a very few years would complete the ruin of this country. The landed proprietors furely would not, for any momentary gain, risk the ruin of themselves and of their country, for both may be the confequence of perfifting in this fyftem. Or, if they perfift in it, will the government, which has other interefts to consult and to protect, allow that fingle one to swallow up the reft?

"It is true, the freedom of trade will be invoked; but the freedom of trade is a principle, not to be adopted without limitation, but with due regard to times and circumftances; let it then never be invoked, upon a general question, without examination. Though this is the true way of arguing the question, let freedom of trade be taken in another way: let it be confidered as a general principle; it will then be immutable, and not be changed, The prefent corn-laws muft, on that principle, be done away, and no bounty allowed for exportation or for importation, which, indeed, would be the best way; but at all events, let us have but one weight and one measure for both parties, and not invoke freedom of trade to protect the corn-dealers when prices are high, and enact laws to counteract the effects of plenty, which produces low prices.

On this ubject, government must fet itself above every confideration, but that of the welfare of the country: it is too important to be trifled with, or to be bartered for any inferior confideration.

"The prices of our manufactures will foon become too high for other nations. Our inventions, to abbreviate labour, cannot be perpetual, and, in fome cafes, they can go no farther than they have already gone; befides, the fame inventions, copied by nations where labour is cheaper, give them fti fuperiority over us.

"If increated confumption was the leading caufe of the deftruction of Rome, to which money was fent from tributary nations, and employed to

purchase

purchafe corn (fo that its fupply was independent of its induftry), how much more forcible and rapid must be its effects in this country, living by manufacturers, and having no other means to procure a fupply from strangers, when this is necessary.

"The burthens of our national taxes continuing the fame, thofe for the poor increating, our means diminishing; what could poffibly produce a more rapid decline?

"The danger is too great and too evident to require any thing farther to be faid; particularly as the last ten years have taught fo much by experience..

"It is unneceffary to repeat what was faid about the mode of reducing the intereft of the national debt, without fetting too much capital afloat; without breaking faith with the creditors of the State, or burthening the induftry of the country.

"On the increafe of the poor, and the means of diminishing their numbers, enough has been faid. That muft originate with government in every cafe, and in fome cafes exclufively belongs to it. They must act of themfelves with refpect to the very poor, and to their children; with those who are not quite reduced to poverty, they should grant aid, to enable them to Struggle against adverfity, and prevent their offspring from becoming burtheniome to the public.

"The other affairs well attended to, capital and industry will lose their tendency to leave the country; and if they fhould continue to leave it, the cafe will be desperate; for, after the lands are improved, and the best encouragement given to the employment of capital, and to the greatest extent, nothing more can be done: it will find employment elsewhere.

"The efficacy of a remedy, like every thing elfe in this world, has a boundary; but the extent and compafs of that depends, in a great degree, on exertion and fkill, and particularly fo in the prefent inftance. It remains with the government to make that exertion, either directly itself, or by putting individnals in the way to make it.

The government of a country muft then interfere, in an active manner, in the prevention of the interior caufes of decline. As to the exterior ones, they do not depend on a country itself; but, fo far as they do, it is exclufively on the government, and in no degree on the individual inhabitants. "The envy and enmity which fuperior wealth creates, can only be diminished by the moderation and juftice with which a nation conducts itfelf towards others; and if they are fufficiently envious and unfair to perfit, a nation like Britain has nothing to fear. But we must separate from envy and enmity, occafioned by the poffeffion of wealth, that envy and enmity that are excited by the unjust manner in which wealth is acquired." To this extract from that part of our author's conclufion which he confiders as applicable to this country, we fhall add the following, which is an application of the present enquiry to nations in general.

"If there is a leffon taught by political economy that is of greater importance than any other, it is that induftry, well directed, is the way to obtain wealth; and that the modes by which nations fought after it, in the early and middle ages, by war and conqueft, are, in comparison, very ineffectual.

Nothwithstanding that princes themselves are now convinced of the

truth