The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 01 (of 12)Burke, Edmund
Philosophy
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 01 (of 12)
Burke, Edmund
Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1760-1820; Political science -- Early works to 1800
In the last three years the whole of our exports was between 44 and 45
millions. In the three years preceding the war, it was no more than from
35 to 36 millions. The average balance of the former period was
3,706,000_l._; of the latter, something above four millions. It is true,
that whilst the impressions of the author's destructive war continued,
our trade was greater than it is at present. One of the necessary
consequences of the peace was, that France must gradually recover a part
of those markets of which she had been originally in possession.
However, after all these deductions, still the gross trade in the worst
year of the present is better than in the best year of any former period
of peace. A very great part of our taxes, if not the greatest, has been
imposed since the beginning of the century. On the author's principles,
this continual increase of taxes must have ruined our trade, or at least
entirely checked its growth. But I have a manuscript of Davenant, which
contains an abstract of our trade for the years 1703 and 1704; by which
it appears that the whole export from England did not then exceed
6,552,019_l._ It is now considerably more than double that amount. Yet
England was then a rich and flourishing nation.
The author endeavors to derogate from the balance in our favor as it
stands on the entries, and reduces it from four millions, as it there
appears, to no more than 2,500,000_l._ His observation on the looseness
and inaccuracy of the export entries is just; and that the error is
always an error of excess, I readily admit. But because, as usual, he
has wholly omitted some very material facts, his conclusion is as
erroneous as the entries he complains of.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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