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Show 306 OF THE PROFlTS OF CAPITAL. (CH. V. country, so sma1 1 a po rtion s. b.o u ld. ine li viclually f1al l to the1. r share. B u t the div. ision IS at. pl rese. nt· cd e- ternll.n ed an< 11 11 us t a1 \ !vays 111 future be c etcnn1ne , .1 If by the .t n' ev.i ta bl e 1a w s of Slll)ply and clen1anul . . h the Inarket \Vet .e co mparative1y u.n de. rstockec ldw 1t 1. labour, t 11 e 1a ncl lords and captt.a hsts .,vo1u uc obh.o ·ec l to o .I: V C~. a laroo· er share of the proc uce.f 'lt o eac lb1 vvor k"" 111b ail • But ,vith an abundan•t supplby o1 a-, b oar, suel 1 a Slla(. re ' for a pennanenc. e, IS ahn a so ute. . ·b·l·t The rich have neither t e powCI, tmpoSSl 1 1 ;y. h } .t be expected that they should all ave t 1e nor can 1 "' · 1 1 b · ill to keep the nJarket understocked Wit 1 a out. ; et' every effort to ameliorate the lot ~f the poor o-enet.a 11 y, that has not this tendency· , IS phe rfefct tl·y futile and childish. It is quite obvwus t ere OJe: t1 t the knowledo·e and prudence of the p~or thleam selves, are absoo lutely t 11 e onl! ! mea~s. by whicbh eneral improvement in their condition ~an e ad gt 1 They are reallv the arbiters of theu own euec ec. J h · like destiny . and vvhat others can do for t em, JS the dus~ of the balance compared with what t~ey can do for themselves. These truths are so .. nnportant to the happiness of the great mass of sof ciety, that every opportunity should be taken o repeating them. of But independently of any particular eff~rts ' -\ · · ta1n that Prudence pn the part of the poor, It IS cer . the supplies of labour and t h e supp 1.t es of caTplt ta 1 do not always keep pace with each other. Jey are often separated at son1e dl. stance, a nd . for . a- considerable peri.o d ; ancl some t.t mes Po pulatton Ill ;. EC. II.] OF THE PROFITS OF CAPITAL. I 307 creases faster than capital, and at other times capital increases faster than population. It is obvious, for instance, that from the very nature of population, and the time required to bring fu11-gro\vn labourers into the market, a sudden increase of capital cannot effect a proportionate supply of labour in less than sixteen or eighteen years; and, on the other hand, when capital is stationary frotn the want of will to accumulate, it is well known that population in general continues to increase faster than capital, till the 'vages of labour are reduced to that standard which, with the actual habits of the country, ~re no tnore than sufncient to 1naintain a stationary population. These periods, in which capital and population do not keep pace with each other, are evidently of sufficient extent to produce the most important results on the rate of profits, and to affect in the tnost essen-tial 1nanner the progress of national wealth. ,.fhe value of the government long annuities has a natural and inevitable tendency to diminish as they approach nearer and nearer to the end of the term for which they were granted. This is a proposition lv·h ich I conceive no person is inclined to doubt; but under the fullest acknowledgment of its truth, it would be a most erroneous calculation to estimate the value of this kind of stock solely by the number of years which it would have to r_un. It is well known that out of the comparatively short term of ninety years, so large a propor- X2 |
