It may be of some use to the public, by affording an easy proof of the prosperous condition of the country. If the rise in the price of some sorts of provisions be owing altogether to a fall in the value of silver, it is owing to a circumstance, from which nothing can be inferred but the fertility of the American mines. The real wealth of the country, the annual produce of its land and labour, may, notwithstanding this circumstance, be either gradually declining, as in Portugal and Poland; or gradually advancing, as in most other parts of Europe. But if this rise in the price of some sorts of provisions be owing to a rise in the real value of the land which produces them, to its increased fertility, or, in consequence of more extended improvement and good cultivation, to its having been rendered fit for producing corn; it is owing to a circumstance which indicates, in the clearest manner, the prosperous and advancing state of the country. The land constitutes by far the greatest, the most important, and the most durable part of the wealth of every extensive country. It may surely be of some use, or, at least, it may give some satisfaction to the public, to have so decisive a proof of the increasing value of by far the greatest, the most important, and the most durable part of its wealth.
It may, too, be of some use to the public, in regulating the pecuniary reward of some of its inferior servants. If this rise in the price of some sorts of provisions be owing to a fall in the value of silver, their pecuniary reward, provided it was not too large before, ought certainly to be augmented in proportion to the extent of this fall. If it is not augmented, their real recompence will evidently be so much diminished. But if this rise of price is owing to the increased value, in consequence of the improved fertility of the land which produces such provisions, it becomes a much nicer matter to judge, either in what proportion any pecuniary reward ought to be augmented, or whether it ought to be augmented at all. The extension of improvement and cultivation, as it necessarily raises more or less, in proportion to the price of corn, that of every sort of animal food, so it as necessarily lowers that of, I believe, every sort of vegetable food. It raises the price of animal food; because a great part of the land which produces it, being rendered fit for producing corn, must afford to the landlord and farmer the rent and profit of corn land. It lowers the price of vegetable food; because, by increasing the fertility of the land, it increases its abundance. The improvements of agriculture, too, introduce many sorts of vegetable food, which requiring less land, and not more labour than corn, come much cheaper to market. Such are potatoes and maize, or what is called Indian corn, the two most important improvements which the agriculture of Europe, perhaps, which Europe itself, has received from the great extension of its commerce and navigation. Many sorts of vegetable food, besides, which in the rude state of agriculture are confined to the kitchen-garden, and raised only by the spade, come, in its improved state, to be introduced into common fields, and to be raised by the plough; such as turnips, carrots, cabbages, etc. If, in the progress of improvement, therefore, the real price of one species of food necessarily rises, that of another as necessarily falls; and it becomes a matter of more nicety to judge how far the rise in the one may be compensated by the fall in the other. When the real price of butcher’s meat has once got to its height (which, with regard to every sort, except perhaps that of hogs flesh, it seems to have done through a great part of England more than a century ago), any rise which can afterwards happen in that of any other sort of animal food, cannot much affect the circumstances of the inferior ranks of people. The circumstances of the poor, through a great part of England, cannot surely be so much distressed by any rise in the price of poultry, fish, wild-fowl, or venison, as they must be relieved by the fall in that of potatoes.
In the present season of scarcity, the high price of corn no doubt distresses the poor. But in times of moderate plenty, when corn is at its ordinary or average price, the natural rise in the price of any other sort of rude produce cannot much affect them. They suffer more, perhaps, by the artificial rise which has been occasioned by taxes in the price of some manufactured commodities, as of salt, soap, leather, candles, malt, beer, ale, etc.
Effects of the Progress of Improvement upon the real Price of Manufactures.
It is the natural effect of improvement, however, to diminish gradually the real price of almost all manufactures. That of the manufacturing workmanship diminishes, perhaps, in all of them without exception. In consequence of better machinery, of greater dexterity, and of a more proper division and distribution of work, all of which are the natural effects of improvement, a much smaller quantity of labour becomes requisite for executing any particular piece of work; and though, in consequence of the flourishing circumstances of the society, the real price of labour should rise very considerably, yet the great diminution of the quantity will generally much more than compensate the greatest rise which can happen in the price.
There are, indeed, a few manufactures, in which the necessary rise in the real price of the rude materials will more than compensate all the advantages which improvement can introduce into the execution of the work. In carpenters’ and joiners’ work, and in the coarser sort of cabinet work, the necessary rise in the real price of barren timber, in consequence of the improvement of land, will more than compensate all the advantages which can be derived from the best machinery, the greatest dexterity, and the most proper division and distribution of work.
But in all cases in which the real price of the rude material either does not rise at all, or does not rise very much, that of the manufactured commodity sinks very considerably.
This diminution of price has, in the course of the present and preceding century, been most remarkable in those manufactures of which the materials are the coarser metals. A better movement of a watch, than about the middle of the last century could have been bought for twenty pounds, may now perhaps be had for twenty shillings. In the work of cutlers and locksmiths, in all the toys which are made of the coarser metals, and in all those goods which are commonly known by the name of Birmingham and Sheffield ware, there has been, during the same period, a very great reduction of price, though not altogether so great as in watch-work. It has, however, been sufficient to astonish the workmen of every other part of Europe, who in many cases acknowledge that they can produce no work of equal goodness for double or even for triple the price. There are perhaps no manufactures, in which the division of labour can be carried further, or in which the machinery employed admits of a greater variety of improvements, than those of which the materials are the coarser metals.
In the clothing manufacture there has, during the same period, been no such sensible reduction of price. The price of superfine cloth, I have been assured, on the contrary, has, within these five-and-twenty or thirty years, risen somewhat in proportion to its quality, owing, it was said, to a considerable rise in the price of the material, which consists altogether of Spanish wool. That of the Yorkshire cloth, which is made altogether of English wool, is said, indeed, during the course of the present century, to have fallen a good deal in proportion to its quality. Quality, however, is so very disputable a matter, that I look upon all information of this kind as somewhat uncertain. In the clothing manufacture, the division of labour is nearly the same now as it was a century ago, and the machinery employed is not very different. There may, however, have been some small improvements in both, which may have occasioned some reduction of price.
But the reduction will appear much more sensible and undeniable, if we compare the price of this manufacture in the present times with what it was in a much remoter period, towards the end of the fifteenth century, when the labour was probably much less subdivided, and the machinery employed much more imperfect, than it is at present.
In 1487, being the 4th of Henry VII., it was enacted, that “whosoever shall sell by retail a broad yard of the finest scarlet grained, or of other grained cloth of the finest making, above sixteen shillings, shall forfeit forty shillings for every yard so sold.” Sixteen shillings, therefore, containing about the same quantity of silver as four-and-twenty shillings of our present money, was, at that time, reckoned not an unreasonable price for a yard of the finest cloth; and as this is a sumptuary law, such cloth, it is probable, had usually been sold somewhat dearer. A guinea may be reckoned the highest price in the present times. Even though the quality of the cloths, therefore, should be supposed equal, and that of the present times is most probably much superior, yet, even upon this supposition, the money price of the finest cloth appears to have been considerably reduced since the end of the fifteenth century. But its real price has been much more reduced. Six shillings and eightpence was then, and long afterwards, reckoned the average price of a quarter of wheat. Sixteen shillings, therefore, was the price of two quarters and more than three bushels of wheat. Valuing a quarter of wheat in the present times at eight-and-twenty shillings, the real price of a yard of fine cloth must, in those times, have been equal to at least three pounds six shillings and sixpence of our present money. The man who bought it must have parted with the command of a quantity of labour and subsistence equal to what that sum would purchase in the present times.
The reduction in the real price of the coarse manufacture, though considerable, has not been so great as in that of the fine.
In 1463, being the 3rd of Edward IV. it was enacted, that “no servant in husbandry nor common labourer, nor servant to any artificer inhabiting out of a city or burgh, shall use or wear in their clothing any cloth above two shillings the broad yard.” In the 3rd of Edward IV., two shillings contained very nearly the same quantity of silver as four of our present money. But the Yorkshire cloth which is now sold at four shillings the yard, is probably much superior to any that was then made for the wearing of the very poorest order of common servants. Even the money price of their clothing, therefore, may, in proportion to the quality, be somewhat cheaper in the present than it was in those ancient times. The real price is certainly a good deal cheaper. Tenpence was then reckoned what is called the moderate and reasonable price of a bushel of wheat. Two shillings, therefore, was the price of two bushels and near two pecks of wheat, which in the present times, at three shillings and sixpence the bushel, would be worth eight shillings and ninepence. For a yard of this cloth the poor servant must have parted with the power of purchasing a quantity of subsistence equal to what eight shillings and ninepence would purchase in the present times. This is a sumptuary law, too, restraining the luxury and extravagance of the poor. Their clothing, therefore, had commonly been much more expensive.
The same order of people are, by the same law, prohibited from wearing hose, of which the price should exceed fourteen-pence the pair, equal to about eight-and-twenty pence of our present money. But fourteen-pence was in those times the price of a bushel and near two pecks of wheat; which in the present times, at three and sixpence the bushel, would cost five shillings and threepence. We should in the present times consider this as a very high price for a pair of stockings to a servant of the poorest and lowest order. He must however, in those times, have paid what was really equivalent to this price for them.
In the time of Edward IV. the art of knitting stockings was probably not known in any part of Europe. Their hose were made of common cloth, which may have been one of the causes of their dearness. The first person that wore stockings in England is said to have been Queen Elizabeth. She received them as a present from the Spanish ambassador.
Both in the coarse and in the fine woollen manufacture, the machinery employed was much more imperfect in those ancient, than it is in the present times. It has since received three very capital improvements, besides, probably, many smaller ones, of which it may be difficult to ascertain either the number or the importance. The three capital improvements are, first, the exchange of the rock and spindle for the spinning-wheel, which, with the same quantity of labour, will perform more than double the quantity of work. Secondly, the use of several very ingenious machines, which facilitate and abridge, in a still greater proportion, the winding of the worsted and woollen yarn, or the proper arrangement of the warp and woof before they are put into the loom; an operation which, previous to the invention of those machines, must have been extremely tedious and troublesome. Thirdly, the employment of the fulling-mill for thickening the cloth, instead of treading it in water. Neither wind nor water mills of any kind were known in England so early as the beginning of the sixteenth century, nor, so far as I know, in any other part of Europe north of the Alps. They had been introduced into Italy some time before.
The consideration of these circumstances may, perhaps, in some measure, explain to us why the real price both of the coarse and of the fine manufacture was so much higher in those ancient than it is in the present times. It cost a greater quantity of labour to bring the goods to market. When they were brought thither, therefore, they must have purchased, or exchanged for the price of, a greater quantity.
The coarse manufacture probably was, in those ancient times, carried on in England in the same manner as it always has been in countries where arts and manufactures are in their infancy. It was probably a household manufacture, in which every different part of the work was occasionally performed by all the different members of almost every private family, but so as to be their work only when they had nothing else to do, and not to be the principal business from which any of them derived the greater part of their subsistence. The work which is performed in this manner, it has already been observed, comes always much cheaper to market than that which is the principal or sole fund of the workman’s subsistence. The fine manufacture, on the other hand, was not, in those times, carried on in England, but in the rich and commercial country of Flanders; and it was probably conducted then, in the same manner as now, by people who derived the whole, or the principal part of their subsistence from it. It was, besides, a foreign manufacture, and must have paid some duty, the ancient custom of tonnage and poundage at least, to the king. This duty, indeed, would not probably be very great. It was not then the policy of Europe to restrain, by high duties, the importation of foreign manufactures, but rather to encourage it, in order that merchants might be enabled to supply, at as easy a rate as possible, the great men with the conveniencies and luxuries which they wanted, and which the industry of their own country could not afford them.
The consideration of these circumstances may, perhaps, in some measure explain to us why, in those ancient times, the real price of the coarse manufacture was, in proportion to that of the fine, so much lower than in the present times.
Conclusion of the Chapter.
I shall conclude this very long chapter with observing, that every improvement in the circumstances of the society tends, either directly or indirectly, to raise the real rent of land to increase the real wealth of the landlord, his power of purchasing the labour, or the produce of the labour of other people.
The extension of improvement and cultivation tends to raise it directly. The landlord’s share of the produce necessarily increases with the increase of the produce.
That rise in the real price of those parts of the rude produce of land, which is first the effect of the extended improvement and cultivation, and afterwards the cause of their being still further extended, the rise in the price of cattle, for example, tends, too, to raise the rent of land directly, and in a still greater proportion. The real value of the landlord’s share, his real command of the labour of other people, not only rises with the real value of the produce, but the proportion of his share to the whole produce rises with it.
That produce, after the rise in its real price, requires no more labour to collect it than before. A smaller proportion of it will, therefore, be sufficient to replace, with the ordinary profit, the stock which employs that labour. A greater proportion of it must consequently belong to the landlord.
All those improvements in the productive powers of labour, which tend directly to reduce the rent price of manufactures, tend indirectly to raise the real rent of land. The landlord exchanges that part of his rude produce, which is over and above his own consumption, or, what comes to the same thing, the price of that part of it, for manufactured produce. Whatever reduces the real price of the latter, raises that of the former. An equal quantity of the former becomes thereby equivalent to a greater quantity of the latter; and the landlord is enabled to purchase a greater quantity of the conveniencies, ornaments, or luxuries which he has occasion for.
Every increase in the real wealth of the society, every increase in the quantity of useful labour employed within it, tends indirectly to raise the real rent of land. A certain proportion of this labour naturally goes to the land. A greater number of men and cattle are employed in its cultivation, the produce increases with the increase of the stock which is thus employed in raising it, and the rent increases with the produce.
The contrary circumstances, the neglect of cultivation and improvement, the fall in the real price of any part of the rude produce of land, the rise in the real price of manufactures from the decay of manufacturing art and industry, the declension of the real wealth of the society, all tend, on the other hand, to lower the real rent of land, to reduce the real wealth of the landlord, to diminish his power of purchasing either the labour, or the produce of the labour, of other people.
The whole annual produce of the land and labour of every country, or, what comes to the same thing, the whole price of that annual produce, naturally divides itself, it has already been observed, into three parts; the rent of land, the wages of labour, and the profits of stock; and constitutes a revenue to three different orders of people; to those who live by rent, to those who live by wages, and to those who live by profit. These are the three great, original, and constituent, orders of every civilized society, from whose revenue that of every other order is ultimately derived.
The interest of the first of those three great orders, it appears from what has been just now said, is strictly and inseparably connected with the general interest of the society. Whatever either promotes or obstructs the one, necessarily promotes or obstructs the other. When the public deliberates concerning any regulation of commerce or police, the proprietors of land never can mislead it, with a view to promote the interest of their own particular order; at least, if they have any tolerable knowledge of that interest. They are, indeed, too often defective in this tolerable knowledge. They are the only one of the three orders whose revenue costs them neither labour nor care, but comes to them, as it were, of its own accord, and independent of any plan or project of their own. That indolence which is the natural effect of the ease and security of their situation, renders them too often, not only ignorant, but incapable of that application of mind, which is necessary in order to foresee and understand the consequence of any public regulation.
The interest of the second order, that of those who live by wages, is as strictly connected with the interest of the society as that of the first. The wages of the labourer, it has already been shewn, are never so high as when the demand for labour is continually rising, or when the quantity employed is every year increasing considerably. When this real wealth of the society becomes stationary, his wages are soon reduced to what is barely enough to enable him to bring up a family, or to continue the race of labourers. When the society declines, they fall even below this. The order of proprietors may perhaps gain more by the prosperity of the society than that of labourers; but there is no order that suffers so cruelly from its decline. But though the interest of the labourer is strictly connected with that of the society, he is incapable either of comprehending that interest, or of understanding its connexion with his own. His condition leaves him no time to receive the necessary information, and his education and habits are commonly such as to render him unfit to judge, even though he was fully informed. In the public deliberations, therefore, his voice is little heard, and less regarded; except upon particular occasions, when his clamour is animated, set on, and supported by his employers, not for his, but their own particular purposes.
His employers constitute the third order, that of those who live by profit. It is the stock that is employed for the sake of profit, which puts into motion the greater part of the useful labour of every society. The plans and projects of the employers of stock regulate and direct all the most important operation of labour, and profit is the end proposed by all those plans and projects. But the rate of profit does not, like rent and wages, rise with the prosperity, and fall with the declension of the society. On the contrary, it is naturally low in rich, and high in poor countries, and it is always highest in the countries which are going fastest to ruin. The interest of this third order, therefore, has not the same connexion with the general interest of the society, as that of the other two. Merchants and master manufacturers are, in this order, the two classes of people who commonly employ the largest capitals, and who by their wealth draw to themselves the greatest share of the public consideration. As during their whole lives they are engaged in plans and projects, they have frequently more acuteness of understanding than the greater part of country gentlemen. As their thoughts, however, are commonly exercised rather about the interest of their own particular branch of business. than about that of the society, their judgment, even when given with the greatest candour (which it has not been upon every occasion), is much more to be depended upon with regard to the former of those two objects, than with regard to the latter. Their superiority over the country gentleman is, not so much in their knowledge of the public interest, as in their having a better knowledge of their own interest than he has of his. It is by this superior knowledge of their own interest that they have frequently imposed upon his generosity, and persuaded him to give up both his own interest and that of the public, from a very simple but honest conviction, that their interest, and not his, was the interest of the public. The interest of the dealers, however, in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public. To widen the market, and to narrow the competition, is always the interest of the dealers. To widen the market may frequently be agreeable enough to the interest of the public; but to narrow the competition must always be against it, and can only serve to enable the dealers, by raising their profits above what they naturally would be, to levy, for their own benefit, an absurd tax upon the rest of their fellow-citizens. The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order, ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never to be adopted till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention. It comes from an order of men, whose interest is never exactly the same with that of the public, who have generally an interest to deceive and even to oppress the public, and who accordingly have, upon many occasions, both deceived and oppressed it.
Wheat Prices and Averages (1202–1601)
| Year | Prices/Quarter in each year (£ s d) | Average of different prices in one year (£ s d) | Average prices of each year in money of 1776 (£ s d) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1202 | 0 12 0 | 1 16 0 | |
| 1205 | 0 12 0 0 13 4 0 15 0 |
0 13 5 | 2 0 3 |
| 1223 | 0 12 0 | 1 16 0 | |
| 1237 | 0 3 4 | 0 10 0 | |
| 1243 | 0 2 0 | 0 6 0 | |
| 1244 | 0 2 0 | 0 6 0 | |
| 1246 | 0 16 0 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1247 | 0 13 5 | 2 0 0 | |
| 1257 | 1 4 0 | 3 12 0 | |
| 1258 | 1 0 0 0 15 0 0 16 0 |
0 17 0 | 2 11 0 |
| 1270 | 4 16 0 6 8 0 |
5 12 0 | 16 16 0 |
| 1286 | 0 2 8 0 16 0 |
0 9 4 | 1 8 0 |
| Total | 35 9 3 | ||
| Average | 2 19 1¼ | ||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1287 | 0 3 4 | 0 10 0 | |
| 1288 | 0 0 8 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 1 6 0 1 8 0 2 0 0 3 4 0 9 4 |
0 3 0¼ | 0 9 1¾ |
| 1289 | 0 12 0 0 6 0 0 2 0 0 10 8 1 0 0 |
0 10 1½ | 1 10 4½ |
| 1290 | 0 16 0 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1294 | 0 16 0 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1302 | 0 4 0 | 0 12 0 | |
| 1309 | 0 7 2 | 1 1 6 | |
| 1315 | 1 0 0 | 3 0 0 | |
| 1316 | 1 0 0 1 10 0 1 12 0 2 0 0 |
1 10 6 | 4 11 6 |
| 1317 | 2 4 0 0 14 0 2 13 0 4 0 0 0 6 8 |
1 19 6 | 5 18 6 |
| 1336 | 0 2 0 | 0 6 0 | |
| 1338 | 0 3 4 | 0 10 0 | |
| Total | 23 4 11¼ | ||
| Average | 1 18 8 | ||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1339 | 0 9 0 | 1 7 0 | |
| 1349 | 0 2 0 | 0 5 2 | |
| 1359 | 1 6 8 | 3 2 2 | |
| 1361 | 0 2 0 | 0 4 8 | |
| 1363 | 0 15 0 | 1 15 0 | |
| 1369 | 1 0 0 1 4 0 |
1 2 0 | 2 9 4 |
| 1379 | 0 4 0 | 0 9 4 | |
| 1387 | 0 2 0 | 0 4 8 | |
| 1390 | 0 13 4 0 14 0 0 16 0 |
0 14 5 | 1 13 7 |
| 1401 | 0 16 0 | 1 17 6 | |
| 1407 | 0 4 4¾ 0 3 4 |
0 3 10 | 0 8 10 |
| 1416 | 0 16 0 | 1 12 0 | |
| Total | 15 9 4 | ||
| Average | 1 5 9½ | ||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1423 | 0 8 0 | 0 16 0 | |
| 1425 | 0 4 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1434 | 1 6 8 | 2 13 4 | |
| 1435 | 0 5 4 | 0 10 8 | |
| 1439 | 1 0 0 1 6 8 |
1 3 4 | 2 6 8 |
| 1440 | 1 4 0 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1444 | 0 4 4 0 4 0 |
0 4 2 | 0 4 8 |
| 1445 | 0 4 6 | 0 9 0 | |
| 1447 | 0 8 0 | 0 16 0 | |
| 1448 | 0 6 8 | 0 13 4 | |
| 1449 | 0 5 0 | 0 10 0 | |
| 1451 | 0 8 0 | 0 16 0 | |
| Total | 12 15 4 | ||
| Average | 1 1 3¹/³ | ||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1453 | 0 5 4 | 0 10 8 | |
| 1455 | 0 1 2 | 0 2 4 | |
| 1457 | 0 7 8 | 1 15 4 | |
| 1459 | 0 5 0 | 0 10 0 | |
| 1460 | 0 8 0 | 0 16 0 | |
| 1463 | 0 2 0 0 1 8 |
0 1 10 | 0 3 8 |
| 1464 | 0 6 8 | 0 10 0 | |
| 1486 | 1 4 0 | 1 17 0 | |
| 1491 | 0 14 8 | 1 2 0 | |
| 1494 | 0 4 0 | 0 6 0 | |
| 1495 | 0 3 4 | 0 5 0 | |
| 1497 | 1 0 0 | 1 11 0 | |
| Total | 8 9 0 | ||
| Average | 0 14 1 | ||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1499 | 0 4 0 | 0 6 0 | |
| 1504 | 0 5 8 | 0 8 6 | |
| 1521 | 1 0 0 | 1 10 0 | |
| 1551 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1553 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1554 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1555 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1556 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1557 | 0 8 0 0 4 0 0 5 0 2 13 4 |
0 17 8½ | 0 17 8½ |
| 1558 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1559 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1560 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| Total | 6 0 2½ | ||
| Average | 0 10 0½ | ||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1561 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1562 | 0 8 0 | 0 8 0 | |
| 1574 | 2 16 0 1 4 0 |
2 0 0 | 2 0 0 |
| 1587 | 3 4 0 | 3 4 0 | |
| 1594 | 2 16 0 | 2 16 0 | |
| 1595 | 2 13 0 | 2 13 0 | |
| 1596 | 4 0 0 | 4 0 0 | |
| 1597 | 5 4 0 4 0 0 |
4 12 0 | 4 12 0 |
| 1598 | 2 16 8 | 2 16 8 | |
| 1599 | 1 19 2 | 1 19 8 | |
| 1600 | 1 17 8 | 1 17 8 | |
| 1601 | 1 14 10 | 1 14 10 | |
| Total | 28 9 4 | ||
| Average | 2 7 5½ |
PRICES OF THE QUARTER OF NINE BUSHELS OF THE BEST OR HIGHEST PRICED WHEAT AT WINDSOR MARKET, ON LADY DAY AND MICHAELMAS, FROM 1595 TO 1764 BOTH INCLUSIVE; THE PRICE OF EACH YEAR BEING THE MEDIUM BETWEEN THE HIGHEST PRICES OF THESE TWO MARKET DAYS.
Wheat Prices and Averages (1595–1764)
| Year | Price (£ s d) | Notes / Subtotals |
|---|---|---|
| 1595 | 2 0 0 | |
| 1596 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1597 | 3 9 6 | |
| 1598 | 2 16 8 | |
| 1599 | 1 19 2 | |
| 1600 | 1 17 8 | |
| 1601 | 1 14 10 | |
| 1602 | 1 9 4 | |
| 1603 | 1 15 4 | |
| 1604 | 1 10 8 | |
| 1605 | 1 15 10 | |
| 1606 | 1 13 0 | |
| 1607 | 1 16 8 | |
| 1608 | 2 16 8 | |
| 1609 | 2 10 0 | |
| 1610 | 1 15 10 | |
| 1611 | 1 18 8 | |
| 1612 | 2 2 4 | |
| 1613 | 2 8 8 | |
| 1614 | 2 1 8½ | |
| 1615 | 1 18 8 | |
| 1616 | 2 0 4 | |
| 1617 | 2 8 8 | |
| 1618 | 2 6 8 | |
| 1619 | 1 15 4 | |
| 1620 | 1 10 4 | |
| Total (26 years): 54 0 6½ | ||
| Average: 2 1 6¾ | ||
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1621 | 1 10 4 | |
| 1622 | 2 18 8 | |
| 1623 | 2 12 0 | |
| 1624 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1625 | 2 12 0 | |
| 1626 | 2 9 4 | |
| 1627 | 1 16 0 | |
| 1628 | 1 8 0 | |
| 1629 | 2 2 0 | |
| 1630 | 2 15 8 | |
| 1631 | 3 8 0 | |
| 1632 | 2 13 4 | |
| 1633 | 2 18 0 | |
| 1634 | 2 16 0 | |
| 1635 | 2 16 0 | |
| 1636 | 2 16 8 | |
| Total (16 years): 40 0 0 | ||
| Average: 2 10 0 | ||
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1637 | 2 13 0 | |
| 1638 | 2 17 4 | |
| 1639 | 2 4 10 | |
| 1640 | 2 4 8 | |
| 1641 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1646 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1647 | 3 13 0 | |
| 1648 | 4 5 0 | |
| 1649 | 4 0 0 | |
| 1650 | 3 16 8 | |
| 1651 | 3 13 4 | |
| 1652 | 2 9 6 | |
| 1653 | 1 15 6 | |
| 1654 | 1 6 0 | |
| 1655 | 1 13 4 | |
| 1656 | 2 3 0 | |
| 1657 | 2 6 8 | |
| 1658 | 3 5 0 | |
| 1659 | 3 6 0 | |
| 1660 | 2 16 6 | |
| 1661 | 3 10 0 | |
| 1662 | 3 14 0 | |
| 1663 | 2 17 0 | |
| 1664 | 2 0 6 | |
| 1665 | 2 9 4 | |
| 1666 | 1 16 0 | |
| 1667 | 1 16 0 | |
| 1668 | 2 0 0 | |
| 1669 | 2 4 4 | |
| 1670 | 2 1 8 | |
| 1671 | 2 2 0 | |
| 1672 | 2 1 0 | |
| 1673 | 2 6 8 | |
| 1674 | 3 8 8 | |
| 1675 | 3 4 8 | |
| 1676 | 1 18 0 | |
| 1677 | 2 2 0 | |
| 1678 | 2 19 0 | |
| 1679 | 3 0 0 | |
| 1680 | 2 5 0 | |
| 1681 | 2 6 8 | |
| 1682 | 2 4 0 | |
| 1683 | 2 0 0 | |
| 1684 | 2 4 0 | |
| 1685 | 2 6 8 | |
| 1686 | 1 14 0 | |
| 1687 | 1 5 2 | |
| 1688 | 2 6 0 | |
| 1689 | 1 10 0 | |
| 1690 | 1 14 8 | |
| 1691 | 1 14 0 | |
| 1692 | 2 6 8 | |
| 1693 | 3 7 8 | |
| 1694 | 3 4 0 | |
| 1695 | 2 13 0 | |
| 1696 | 3 11 0 | |
| 1697 | 3 0 0 | |
| 1698 | 3 8 4 | |
| 1699 | 3 4 0 | |
| 1700 | 2 0 0 | |
| Total (60 years): 153 1 8 | ||
| Average: 2 11 0¹/³ | ||
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1701 | 1 17 8 | |
| 1702 | 1 9 6 | |
| 1703 | 1 16 0 | |
| 1704 | 2 6 6 | |
| 1705 | 1 10 0 | |
| 1706 | 1 6 0 | |
| 1707 | 1 8 6 | |
| 1708 | 2 1 6 | |
| 1709 | 3 18 6 | |
| 1710 | 3 18 0 | |
| 1711 | 2 14 0 | |
| 1712 | 2 6 4 | |
| 1713 | 2 11 0 | |
| 1714 | 2 10 4 | |
| 1715 | 2 3 0 | |
| 1716 | 2 8 0 | |
| 1717 | 2 5 8 | |
| 1718 | 1 18 10 | |
| 1719 | 1 15 0 | |
| 1720 | 1 17 0 | |
| 1721 | 1 17 6 | |
| 1722 | 1 16 0 | |
| 1723 | 1 14 8 | |
| 1724 | 1 17 0 | |
| 1725 | 2 8 6 | |
| 1726 | 2 6 0 | |
| 1727 | 2 2 0 | |
| 1728 | 2 14 6 | |
| 1729 | 2 6 10 | |
| 1730 | 1 16 6 | |
| 1731 | 1 12 10 | |
| 1732 | 1 6 8 | |
| 1733 | 1 8 4 | |
| 1734 | 1 18 10 | |
| 1735 | 2 3 0 | |
| 1736 | 2 0 4 | |
| 1737 | 1 18 0 | |
| 1738 | 1 15 6 | |
| 1739 | 1 18 6 | |
| 1740 | 2 10 8 | |
| Total (10 years): 18 12 8 | ||
| Average: 1 17 3½ | ||
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1741 | 2 6 8 | |
| 1742 | 1 14 0 | |
| 1743 | 1 4 10 | |
| 1744 | 1 4 10 | |
| 1745 | 1 7 6 | |
| 1746 | 1 19 0 | |
| 1747 | 1 14 10 | |
| 1748 | 1 17 0 | |
| 1749 | 1 17 0 | |
| 1750 | 1 12 6 | |
| Total (10 years): 16 18 2 | ||
| Average: 1 13 9¾ | ||
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1751 | 1 18 6 | |
| 1752 | 2 1 10 | |
| 1753 | 2 4 8 | |
| 1754 | 1 13 8 | |
| 1755 | 1 14 10 | |
| 1756 | 2 5 3 | |
| 1757 | 3 0 0 | |
| 1758 | 2 10 0 | |
| 1759 | 1 19 10 | |
| 1760 | 1 16 6 | |
| 1761 | 1 10 3 | |
| 1762 | 1 19 0 | |
| 1763 | 2 0 9 | |
| 1764 | 2 6 9 | |
| Total (64 years): 129 13 6 | ||
| Average: 2 0 6¾ |
BOOK II.
OF THE NATURE, ACCUMULATION, AND EMPLOYMENT OF STOCK.
INTRODUCTION.
In that rude state of society, in which there is no division of labour, in which exchanges are seldom made, and in which every man provides every thing for himself, it is not necessary that any stock should be accumulated, or stored up before-hand, in order to carry on the business of the society. Every man endeavours to supply, by his own industry, his own occasional wants, as they occur. When he is hungry, he goes to the forest to hunt; when his coat is worn out, he clothes himself with the skin of the first large animal he kills: and when his hut begins to go to ruin, he repairs it, as well as he can, with the trees and the turf that are nearest it.
But when the division of labour has once been thoroughly introduced, the produce of a man’s own labour can supply but a very small part of his occasional wants. The far greater part of them are supplied by the produce of other men’s labour, which he purchases with the produce, or, what is the same thing, with the price of the produce, of his own. But this purchase cannot be made till such time as the produce of his own labour has not only been completed, but sold. A stock of goods of different kinds, therefore, must be stored up somewhere, sufficient to maintain him, and to supply him with the materials and tools of his work, till such time at least as both these events can be brought about. A weaver cannot apply himself entirely to his peculiar business, unless there is before-hand stored up somewhere, either in his own possession, or in that of some other person, a stock sufficient to maintain him, and to supply him with the materials and tools of his work, till he has not only completed, but sold his web. This accumulation must evidently be previous to his applying his industry for so long a time to such a peculiar business.
As the accumulation of stock must, in the nature of things, be previous to the division of labour, so labour can be more and more subdivided in proportion only as stock is previously more and more accumulated. The quantity of materials which the same number of people can work up, increases in a great proportion as labour comes to be more and more subdivided; and as the operations of each workman are gradually reduced to a greater degree of simplicity, a variety of new machines come to be invented for facilitating and abridging those operations. As the division of labour advances, therefore, in order to give constant employment to an equal number of workmen, an equal stock of provisions, and a greater stock of materials and tools than what would have been necessary in a ruder state of things, must be accumulated before-hand. But the number of workmen in every branch of business generally increases with the division of labour in that branch; or rather it is the increase of their number which enables them to class and subdivide themselves in this manner.
As the accumulation of stock is previously necessary for carrying on this great improvement in the productive powers of labour, so that accumulation naturally leads to this improvement. The person who employs his stock in maintaining labour, necessarily wishes to employ it in such a manner as to produce as great a quantity of work as possible. He endeavours, therefore, both to make among his workmen the most proper distribution of employment, and to furnish them with the best machines which he can either invent or afford to purchase. His abilities, in both these respects, are generally in proportion to the extent of his stock, or to the number of people whom it can employ. The quantity of industry, therefore, not only increases in every country with the increase of the stock which employs it, but, in consequence of that increase, the same quantity of industry produces a much greater quantity of work.
Such are in general the effects of the increase of stock upon industry and its productive powers.
In the following book, I have endeavoured to explain the nature of stock, the effects of its accumulation into capital of different kinds, and the effects of the different employments of those capitals. This book is divided into five chapters. In the first chapter, I have endeavoured to shew what are the different parts or branches into which the stock, either of an individual, or of a great society, naturally divides itself. In the second, I have endeavoured to explain the nature and operation of money, considered as a particular branch of the general stock of the society. The stock which is accumulated into a capital, may either be employed by the person to whom it belongs, or it may be lent to some other person. In the third and fourth chapters, I have endeavoured to examine the manner in which it operates in both these situations. The fifth and last chapter treats of the different effects which the different employments of capital immediately produce upon the quantity, both of national industry, and of the annual produce of land and labour.
CHAPTER I.
OF THE DIVISION OF STOCK.
When the stock which a man possesses is no more than sufficient to maintain him for a few days or a few weeks, he seldom thinks of deriving any revenue from it. He consumes it as sparingly as he can, and endeavours, by his labour, to acquire something which may supply its place before it be consumed altogether. His revenue is, in this case, derived from his labour only. This is the state of the greater part of the labouring poor in all countries.
But when he possesses stock sufficient to maintain him for months or years, he naturally endeavours to derive a revenue from the greater part of it, reserving only so much for his immediate consumption as may maintain him till this revenue begins to come in. His whole stock, therefore, is distinguished into two parts. That part which he expects is to afford him this revenue is called his capital. The other is that which supplies his immediate consumption, and which consists either, first, in that portion of his whole stock which was originally reserved for this purpose; or, secondly, in his revenue, from whatever source derived, as it gradually comes in; or, thirdly, in such things as had been purchased by either of these in former years, and which are not yet entirely consumed, such as a stock of clothes, household furniture, and the like. In one or other, or all of these three articles, consists the stock which men commonly reserve for their own immediate consumption.
There are two different ways in which a capital may be employed so as to yield a revenue or profit to its employer.
First, it may be employed in raising, manufacturing, or purchasing goods, and selling them again with a profit. The capital employed in this manner yields no revenue or profit to its employer, while it either remains in his possession, or continues in the same shape. The goods of the merchant yield him no revenue or profit till he sells them for money, and the money yields him as little till it is again exchanged for goods. His capital is continually going from him in one shape, and returning to him in another; and it is only by means of such circulation, or successive changes, that it can yield him any profit. Such capitals, therefore, may very properly be called circulating capitals.
Secondly, it may be employed in the improvement of land, in the purchase of useful machines and instruments of trade, or in such like things as yield a revenue or profit without changing masters, or circulating any further. Such capitals, therefore, may very properly be called fixed capitals.
Different occupations require very different proportions between the fixed and circulating capitals employed in them.
The capital of a merchant, for example, is altogether a circulating capital. He has occasion for no machines or instruments of trade, unless his shop or warehouse be considered as such.
Some part of the capital of every master artificer or manufacturer must be fixed in the instruments of his trade. This part, however, is very small in some, and very great in others, A master tailor requires no other instruments of trade but a parcel of needles. Those of the master shoemaker are a little, though but a very little, more expensive. Those of the weaver rise a good deal above those of the shoemaker. The far greater part of the capital of all such master artificers, however, is circulated either in the wages of their workmen, or in the price of their materials, and repaid, with a profit, by the price of the work.
In other works a much greater fixed capital is required. In a great iron-work, for example, the furnace for melting the ore, the forge, the slit-mill, are instruments of trade which cannot be erected without a very great expense. In coal works, and mines of every kind, the machinery necessary, both for drawing out the water, and for other purposes, is frequently still more expensive.
That part of the capital of the farmer which is employed in the instruments of agriculture is a fixed, that which is employed in the wages and maintenance of his labouring servants is a circulating capital. He makes a profit of the one by keeping it in his own possession, and of the other by parting with it. The price or value of his labouring cattle is a fixed capital, in the same manner as that of the instruments of husbandry; their maintenance is a circulating capital, in the same manner as that of the labouring servants. The farmer makes his profit by keeping the labouring cattle, and by parting with their maintenance. Both the price and the maintenance of the cattle which are bought in and fattened, not for labour, but for sale, are a circulating capital. The farmer makes his profit by parting with them. A flock of sheep or a herd of cattle, that, in a breeding country, is brought in neither for labour nor for sale, but in order to make a profit by their wool, by their milk, and by their increase, is a fixed capital. The profit is made by keeping them. Their maintenance is a circulating capital. The profit is made by parting with it; and it comes back with both its own profit and the profit upon the whole price of the cattle, in the price of the wool, the milk, and the increase. The whole value of the seed, too, is properly a fixed capital. Though it goes backwards and forwards between the ground and the granary, it never changes masters, and therefore does not properly circulate. The farmer makes his profit, not by its sale, but by its increase.
The general stock of any country or society is the same with that of all its inhabitants or members; and, therefore, naturally divides itself into the same three portions, each of which has a distinct function or office.
The first is that portion which is reserved for immediate consumption, and of which the characteristic is, that it affords no revenue or profit. It consists in the stock of food, clothes, household furniture, etc. which have been purchased by their proper consumers, but which are not yet entirely consumed. The whole stock of mere dwelling-houses, too, subsisting at any one time in the country, make a part of this first portion. The stock that is laid out in a house, if it is to be the dwelling-house of the proprietor, ceases from that moment to serve in the function of a capital, or to afford any revenue to its owner. A dwelling-house, as such, contributes nothing to the revenue of its inhabitant; and though it is, no doubt, extremely useful to him, it is as his clothes and household furniture are useful to him, which, however, make a part of his expense, and not of his revenue. If it is to be let to a tenant for rent, as the house itself can produce nothing, the tenant must always pay the rent out of some other revenue, which he derives, either from labour, or stock, or land. Though a house, therefore, may yield a revenue to its proprietor, and thereby serve in the function of a capital to him, it cannot yield any to the public, nor serve in the function of a capital to it, and the revenue of the whole body of the people can never be in the smallest degree increased by it. Clothes and household furniture, in the same manner, sometimes yield a revenue, and thereby serve in the function of a capital to particular persons. In countries where masquerades are common, it is a trade to let out masquerade dresses for a night. Upholsterers frequently let furniture by the month or by the year. Undertakers let the furniture of funerals by the day and by the week. Many people let furnished houses, and get a rent, not only for the use of the house, but for that of the furniture. The revenue, however, which is derived from such things, must always be ultimately drawn from some other source of revenue. Of all parts of the stock, either of an individual or of a society, reserved for immediate consumption, what is laid out in houses is most slowly consumed. A stock of clothes may last several years; a stock of furniture half a century or a century; but a stock of houses, well built and properly taken care of, may last many centuries. Though the period of their total consumption, however, is more distant, they are still as really a stock reserved for immediate consumption as either clothes or household furniture.
The second of the three portions into which the general stock of the society divides itself, is the fixed capital; of which the characteristic is, that it affords a revenue or profit without circulating or changing masters. It consists chiefly of the four following articles.
First, of all useful machines and instruments of trade, which facilitate and abridge labour.
Secondly, of all those profitable buildings which are the means of procuring a revenue, not only to the proprietor who lets them for a rent, but to the person who possesses them, and pays that rent for them; such as shops, warehouses, work-houses, farm-houses, with all their necessary buildings, stables, granaries, etc. These are very different from mere dwelling-houses. They are a sort of instruments of trade, and may be considered in the same light.
Thirdly, of the improvements of land, of what has been profitably laid out in clearing, draining, inclosing, manuring, and reducing it into the condition most proper for tillage and culture. An improved farm may very justly be regarded in the same light as those useful machines which facilitate and abridge labour, and by means of which an equal circulating capital can afford a much greater revenue to its employer. An improved farm is equally advantageous and more durable than any of those machines, frequently requiring no other repairs than the most profitable application of the farmer’s capital employed in cultivating it.
Fourthly, of the acquired and useful abilities of all the inhabitants and members of the society. The acquisition of such talents, by the maintenance of the acquirer during his education, study, or apprenticeship, always costs a real expense, which is a capital fixed and realized, as it were, in his person. Those talents, as they make a part of his fortune, so do they likewise that of the society to which he belongs. The improved dexterity of a workman may be considered in the same light as a machine or instrument of trade which facilitates and abridges labour, and which, though it costs a certain expense, repays that expense with a profit.
The third and last of the three portions into which the general stock of the society naturally divides itself, is the circulating capital, of which the characteristic is, that it affords a revenue only by circulating or changing masters. It is composed likewise of four parts.
First, of the money, by means of which all the other three are circulated and distributed to their proper consumers.