第13章

But those who prohibit the Exportation of the rough Principles of their Manufactures, are willing to have them exported when wrought up, and fully manufactured. Now beside that they must expect Reprisals to be made by other Nations, who will shift as much as they can without such Goods, for the sake, as they all seem to imagine, of employing their own People, not considering how much such shrinking and contracting their Trade within themselves, cuts off the more valuable maritime Trade and Employment, which all should strive to promote and enlarge, not only for the Reason I gave before, but because such Nations will always be the richest and most powerful (in respect to the Bigness of their Territory) who have the most maritime Trade, whether the Quantity of Cash amongst the People be as great as any other Nation or not; beside all this, I say, it may not be amiss to consider, what a vast Value must be risqued at Sea, when things are fully manufactured, to what would be risqued in their rough Principles; and what a Tendency the vast Value of Goods, fully manufactured, hath to make the Balance of Trade fluctuate, so as to hazard very great Quantities of Gold and Silver, much oftener at Sea, to make the Balance, than there otherwise would be Occasion for: And after all, how difficult is it, sufficiently to prevent the Exportation or Importation of any thing, which those who want it will be at the Charge to get; and what a Damage do a great many honest People sustain, by the unavoidable Inconveniences attending Prohibitions and high Duties, besides the Iniquity they too often occasion! But let us a little consider, whether a free and unrestrained Trade hath any Inconveniencies, we ought to guard against.(10*) I will not contend for it, with respect to France, though I can't see it could do us any Harm, even in that Case, if we were prudent enough to prevent the Inconvenience, by imploying more Land as our Cash decreases, thereby to employ the People, and lower the Price of things still so much, that whatever Cash remains amongst us, it may however be so plentiful as to circulate Trade to the utmost, and so make the People in general happy, notwithstanding its Decrease. For I am sensible that as France can work vastly cheaper, because they can live for a great deal less than we can do, so they can make most of the Manufactures we make, as well as we can; and therefore if we were to open Trade with them, they would bring us all sorts of Goods so cheap, that our Manufactures would be at an End, till the Money they would by this Means get of us rais'd the Prices of their things so much, and our Want of Money should fall ours to such a Degree, that we could go on with our Manufactures as cheap as they; and when Trade would stand between that Nation and us, as it doth between us and other Nations who mutually take Goods of each other; and I think this would enlarge the maritime Trade of both Nations, together with all the Trades relating thereto (i.e. would furnish still further Means of employing abundance of People of both Nations this Way);and at last, this will terminate in the particular Advantages each Nation naturally hath in the Produce of their respective Countries: And if any Nation is blest in this respect more than another, the Difference this will make, will be only that of having more Money amongst them, than such other Nations have in proportion to the Number of their People, and the Prices of Things in each Nation will be dearer and cheaper respectively;yet if they should go to make any other Advantage of this, to restrain, and so increase the Money amongst them, this would soon prove to their Hurt, because as their Goods will certainly rise as their Cash increases, so this will make the Opportunity greater for other nations, who will from hence be able to outdo them in Cheapness, to drive them out of their Trade at other foreign Markets, and probably, notwithstanding all they can do to prevent it, such cheap Commodities will find the Way to them likewise.

But we must consider our Trade, with respect to all other Nations, as well as France. Suppose, therefore, that such an unrestrained Trade with France, or any other nation, should diminish our Cash so very considerably, that we could not give above half the Price for Things in general as we at present do:

if we take care to keep our Trade alive, by employing the People in cultivating more Lands, that our Produce and Manufactures may be cheap enough to carry on Trade with such Nations, it must needs enlarge our Trade mightily with those nations, whose Cash keeps their Prices of things near to, or above the Rates ours are now at; insomuch that I think we must needs have the Balance on all such Nations, so much as to prevent any considerable Mischief arising to us, whilst our Trade is taking such a turn as an open Trade with those Nations, who can work so much cheaper, might occasion.