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Show 156 OF THE RENT OF LAND. [cH. III. essentially rent. It is an excess both of the quai~tity and of the exchangeable value of vvhat 1s produced above the actual costs of_ cultivation. But in n1ost of these tnonarchtes there vvas a oTeat extent of fertile territory ; the natural sur~ lus of the soil vvas very considerable; and ~bile the clain1s upon it vvere moderate, the J·etnatnder was sufficient to afford such ample profits and wages as could not be obtain.ed in any other employment, and "rould allow of a rapid increase of population. It is obvious, however, that it is in the povver of a sovereio·n "rho is ovvner of the soil in a very rich b f. territory to obtain, at an early stage o 11nprove-n1ent, an excessive rent. He might, aln1ost from the first, dernand all that vvas not necessary to allow of a moderate increase of the cultivators, vvhich, if their skill was not deficient, vvould afford hitn a · laro·er proportion of the whole produce in the shape of 0 a tax or rent, than could probably be obtained at any n1ore advanced period of society; but then of course only the most fertile lands of the cbuntry could be cultivated ; and profits, \vages and population would come to a premature stop. It is not to be expected that sbvereigns should push their rights over the soil to such an extreme extent, as it would be equally contrary to their O\VTI interest, and to that of their subjects; but there is reason to believe that in parts of India, and many other eastern countries, and probably even in China, the progress of taxation on the land, founded upon the sovereig-n's right to the soil, together with other custotnary payments out of the raw produce, have SEC. 11.] OF THE REN'f .OF LAND 157 forcibly . and pren1aturely lowered the profits of stock, and the \¥ages of labour on the land, and have thro\vn great obstacles in the way of proo ·ressive cultivation and population in latter tin1es, ~vhile n1uch good land has ren1ained ~raste. This \Vill always be the case, V\rhen, O\ving to an unnecessary monopoly, a greater portion of the surplus produce is taken in the shape of rent or taxes, than \¥ould be separated by the natural fall of profits and wages. But 'vhatever may be the nature of the n1onopoly of land, whether necessary or artificial, it will be observed that the povver of paying a rent or taxes on the land, is cornpletely lin1ited by its fertility; and those 'vho are disposed to underrate the itnportance of the tvvo first causes of rent 'vhich I have stated, should look at the various distributions of the produce in kind \vhich take place in 1nany parts of India, where, \Vhen once the 1nonopoly has enabled the sovereign to claim the principal part of the rent of the soil, every thing else obviously depends upon the surplus of necessaries which the land yields, and the power of these necessaries to command labour. It may be thought, perhaps, that rent could not be forcibly and pren1aturely separated from profits and wages so as unnaturally to reduce the latter, because capital and labour would quit the land if n1ore could be made of them elsewhere; but it should be recollected, that the actual cultivators of the soil in ·these countries are generally in a very low and degraded condition; that very little capital is employed by then1, and scarcely any which they |
