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Show 234 OF 'fHE RENT OF LAND. (CH. III. The fertility of the land, either natural or acquired, may be said to be the only source of permanently high returns for capital. If a country were exclusively tnanufacturing and cotnmercial, and were to purchase all its corn at the market prices of Europe, it is absolutely impossible that the returns for its capital should for any great length of time be high. In the earlier periods of history, indeed, when large masses of capital were extremely rare, and were confined to a very few towns, the sort of monopoly which they gave to particular kinds of con1merce and manufactures tended to keep up profits for a much longer time; and great and brilliant effects were undoubtedly produced by some states ,vhich 'vere aln1ost exclusively commercial. But in modern Europe, the general abundance of capital, the easy intercourse between different nations, and the la vvs of domestic and foreign con1- petition prevent the possibility oflarge pern1anent returns being received for any other capitals than those employed on the land. No great comn1ercial and manufacturing state in modern times, \Vhatever n1ay have been its skill, has yet been known permanently to n1ake higher profits than the average of the rest of Europe. But the capitals successfully employed on moderately good land, may pern1anently and without fear of interruption or check, son1etimes yield twenty per cent., sometimes thirty or forty' and sometimes even fifty or sixty per cent. A striking illustration of the effects of capitals enlployed on land con1pared with others, appeared in \ SEC. X.] OF THE RENT OF LAND. 235 the returns of the property-tax in this country. The taxable income derived from the capitals employed on land, was such as to yield to the property-tax nearly 6-t million~, w~ile the income derived from the capitals employed in commerce and manufactures \Vas only such as to yield t\VO millions.* It is probably true, that a larger proportion of the inconies derived fron1 the capitals etnployed in trade and ma~ufactures, escaped the tax, partly from their su bdi.vision, and partly from other causes; but the deficiency so 'occasioned could in no respect n1ake up for the extraordinary productiveness of the capitals employed in agricult1,1re. t And indeed it is quite obvious that, in comparing t\VO countries together with the sa1ne capitals and the same rate of profits, one of which has land on which to grow its corn, and the other is obliged to purchase it, that which has the land, particularly if it be fertile, must be much richer, more populous, and have a larger disposable incon1e for taxation. Another most desirable benefit belonging to a fertile soil is, that states so endovved are not obliged to pay rnuch attention to that most distressing and disheartening of all cries to every man of hu:fillanitythe cry of the 1naster manufacturers and 1nerchants for low wages, to enable them to find a n1arket for * The Schedule D. included every species of professions. The whole amounted to three millions,' of which the professions were considered to be above a million. t It must always be recollected, that the national profits on land must be considered as including rents as well as the common agricultural profits. |