An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations — John Shaqi
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsSmith, Adam
History
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Smith, Adam
Economics
to dispose of one thousand, that is, of one day’s work in the year. As by
means of water-carriage, a more extensive market is opened to every sort
of industry than what land-carriage alone can afford it, so it is upon the
sea-coast, and along the banks of navigable rivers, that industry of every
kind naturally begins to subdivide and improve itself, and it is
frequently not till a long time after that those improvements extend
themselves to the inland parts of the country. A broad-wheeled waggon,
attended by two men, and drawn by eight horses, in about six weeks time,
carries and brings back between London and Edinburgh near four ton weight
of goods. In about the same time a ship navigated by six or eight men, and
sailing between the ports of London and Leith, frequently carries and
brings back two hundred ton weight of goods. Six or eight men, therefore,
by the help of water-carriage, can carry and bring back, in the same time,
the same quantity of goods between London and Edinburgh as fifty
broad-wheeled waggons, attended by a hundred men, and drawn by four
hundred horses. Upon two hundred tons of goods, therefore, carried by the
cheapest land-carriage from London to Edinburgh, there must be charged the
maintenance of a hundred men for three weeks, and both the maintenance and
what is nearly equal to maintenance the wear and tear of four hundred
horses, as well as of fifty great waggons. Whereas, upon the same quantity
of goods carried by water, there is to be charged only the maintenance of
six or eight men, and the wear and tear of a ship of two hundred tons
burthen, together with the value of the superior risk, or the difference
of the insurance between land and water-carriage. Were there no other
communication between those two places, therefore, but by land-carriage,
as no goods could be transported from the one to the other, except such
whose price was very considerable in proportion to their weight, they
could carry on but a small part of that commerce which at present subsists
between them, and consequently could give but a small part of that
encouragement which they at present mutually afford to each other’s
industry. There could be little or no commerce of any kind between the
distant parts of the world. What goods could bear the expense of
land-carriage between London and Calcutta? Or if there were any so
precious as to be able to support this expense, with what safety could
they be transported through the territories of so many barbarous nations?
Those two cities, however, at present carry on a very considerable
commerce with each other, and by mutually affording a market, give a good
deal of encouragement to each other’s industry.
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