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Show 400 ON THE IliMEDIA'J.,E CAUSES [ CH. VII. Her peculiar distress upon the.ter~il~ation of the late war had unquestionably this ongtn, w~atever mio·ht have been the subsequent destruction of 5 capital. And the great checks.to he: ~anuf~ct~res formerly were the unjust and tmpohttc restr~ct1ons imposed by England which prevented, or cucutnscribed the demand for then1. When, however, a brisk detnand for any tnanufacture has existed, fe\\' instances I believe have occurred of its being allo\ved to languish through the want of capital; thouo·h there is reason to think that advances of 5 capital have been sometimes n1ade, which have failed to create an adequate market. _ . The state of Ireland in respect to the ti n1 e and labour necessary to the production of her food is such, that her capabilities for manufacturing ~n d co1n1nercial wealth are prodigious. If an 1111- proved system of agriculture were to raise ~h e food and i·aw materials required for the population with the smallest quantity of labour necessary to do it in the best manner, and the remainder of the people, instead of loitering about upon the land, ,vere engaged in n1anufactures and commerce carried on in great and flouri shing towns, I re land would be beyond con1parison richer than England. This is 'vhat is wanted to give full scope to her great natural resources ; and to attain th-is sta~e of things an irnn1ense capital is undoubtedly requu:e(~; but it can only be employed to advantage as 1t :s gradually called for; and a pren1ature supply of It 'vould be much less beneficial and less pennanent in its effects, than such a change in the tastes a11d SEC. V.] ; OF THE PROGRESS OF 'VE.ALTH. 401 habits of the lower classes of people, and such an alteration in the mode of paying their labour, as would give thetn both the will and the power to purchase domestic tnanufactures and foreign com-modities. · The state of Ireland then may be said to lead to nearly the san1e conclusions as that of New Spain, and to she\v-- That the power of supporting labour may often exist to a much greater extent than the 'vill; That the necessity of etnploying only a small portion of time in producing food does not always occasion the employn1ent of a greater portion of time in procuring conveniences and luxuries ; That the deficiency of wealth in a fertile country 111ay be n1ore owing to want of demand than to want of capital; And, in general, that the fertility of the soil alone is not an adequate stitnulus to the permanent increase of wealth. SECTION V. Of Inventions to save Labour, considered as a Stimulus to the continued Increase oj' Wealth. " Inventions to save labour seldon1 take place to any considerable extent, except when there is a decided demand for thetn. rrhey are the natural product~ DD |
