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Show 314 OF THE PROFITS OF CA.:PITAL. [cH. v. from this cause 'vould be extremely slo\v, it is probable that for a considerable extent of time agricultural in1provements, including of course the itnproved in1plen1ents and machinery used in cultivation, as well as an improved systen1 of cropping and n1anaging the land, 1night more than balance it. A second circumstance which would contribute to the san1e effect is, an j ncrease of personal exertion among the labouring classes. 1.,his exertion is extrcn1ely different in different countries, and at different tin1es in the san1e country. A day's labour of a I-Iindoo, or a South-American Indian, will not adn1it of a con1parison \Vith that of an Ei1glishn1an; and it has even been said, that though the tnoney price of day-labour in Ireland is little n1ore than the half of what it is in England, yet that Irish labour is not really cheaper than English, although it is well known that Irish labourers when in this country, 'vith good exarnples and adequate v1ages to stimulate then1, \Vill \\rork as hard as their English companions. This latter circun1stance alone clearly shews how different 1nay be the personal exertions of the labouring classes in the san1e country at different titnes; and how different therefore n1ay be the products of a given nun1ber of days labour, as the society proceeds fron1 the indolence of the savage to the activity of the civilized state. 1..,his activity indeed, within certain lin1its, appears aln1ost alw·ays to cotne forward when it is tnost called for, that is, when there is n1uch work to be done without SEC. III.] OF THE PROFITS OF CAPITAL. 315 a full supply of persons to do it. The personal exertions of the South American Indian, the Hindoo, the Polish boor, and the Irish agricultural labourer, rnay be very different indeed 500 years hence. The t\vo preceding circu1nstances tend to dinlinish the expenses of production, or to reduce the relative amount of the advances necessary to o~tain a certain value of produce. But it \Vas stated at the beginning of this chapter, that profits depend upon the prices of products compared \Vith the expenses of production, and must vary · therefore vvith any causes "vhich affect prices without proportionally affecting costs, as well as 'vith any causes "\lvhich affect costs vvithout propor-tionally affecting prices. · A considerable effect on profits tnay therefore be occasioned by a third circumstance which not unfrequently occurs, namely, the unequal rise of some parts of capital, \Vhen the price of corn is raised by an increased demand. I was obli()'ed to 0 allude to this cause, and indeed to the two pre-ceding ones, in the chapter on rents. I will only therefore add here, that when the prices of corn and labour rise and terminate in an altered value of tnoney, the prices of many hon1e commodities \Vill be very considerably modified for some tin1e, by the unequ.a~ pressure of taxation, and by the ·different ~uant1t1es of fixed capital en1ploycd in their production ; and the prices of foreign con1modities and of the con1modities worked up at hon1e fro1n foreign |
