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Show 404· ON THE IMJ\1EDIATE CAUSES [ e ll . VI I. employtnent of the va~ant ~apitals in other directions. At the same ttme It n1ust be recollected that this detnand is not a new one, and, even when fully supplied, could only replace the diminution of capital and profits in one departn1ent, occasioned by the en1ploytnent of so many ten thousands instead of twenty thousands. But itt withdrawi, ng capital from one employment and pla_cing it in another there is ahnost alvvays a consJderable loss. E~en if the whole of the remainder ,vere directly en1ployed, it 'vould be less in amount. Though it n1ight yield a greater. produce it ,vould not comtnand the san1e quant1ty of labo:u· as befOre; and, unless more menial servants. were used, n1any persons would be thrown ~ut of work; and thus the po\ver of the whole cap1tal t.o comtnand the satne quantity of labour vvould evidently depend upon the contingency of the vacat:t capitals being ,;vithdra\Vll undiminis~ed fronl t~1en· old occupations, and fl.nding immedtately equtva-lent en1ployn1ent in others. . If, in order to try the principle, we 'v~re to pus~ It farther, and t·o suppose that, wt· th out any ex tenswn of the foreio-n market for our goods, we could by b d.. t means of machinery obtain all the commo 1t1es a present in use, with one third of the labour now applied, is it in any degree probable that the mass of vacant capitals could be advantageously em~ Ploy· ed or that the mass of labourers thro\IVTI out of wor'k could find the means of con1man d.t ng an adequate share of the nati.o nal pro d uce ~· If there were other foreign trades which, by means of t1 ·te SEC. V.] OF THE PROGRESS OF WEALTH. 405 capital and labour thrown out of emp~oyment, might be greatly extended, the case would be at once quite altered, and the returns of such trades might furnish stitnulants sufficient to keep up the value of the national inco1ne. But, if only an increase of domestic comn1odities could be obtained, there is every reason to fear that the exertions of industry \Voulcl slacken. The peasant, who might be induced to labour an additional number of hours for tea or tobacco, might prefer indolence to a ne\v coat. The tenant or sn1all owner ofland, who could obtain the com1non conveniences and luxuries of life at one third of their forn1er price, Injght not labour so hard to. procure the san1e amount of surplus produce fron1 the land. And the trader or n1crchant, \vho vvould continue in his business in order to be able to drink and give his o·ucsts claret and chan1pagne, might think an addition of hon1ely con1n1odities by no means v\rorth the trou blc of so 111 uch constant attention. It has been said that, vvhen there is .an incon1e ready for the den1and, it is in1possiblc that there should be any diff1culty in the ernployrnent of labour and capital to supply it, as the owner of such an incon1e, r~ther than not spend it, would purchase a table or chair that had cost the labour of a hundred n1en for a year. This n1ay he true, in cases of fixed n1onied revenues, obtained by inheritance, or \Vith little or no trouble. We \Veil kno\v that some of the Rornan nobles, Who obtained their itnn1ense wealth chiefly by the DD3 |
