interest to demand such high wages as render the cost of production equal or greater than the sale price of the finished goods, and thus compel the master to suspend business. The workmen are interested in their masters' success; and if they would cordially co-operate with them to bear the burthen of adverse circumstances, or to avail themselves of prosperous opportunities, they would find it mutually advantageous.

From the circumstance that a want of employment is not the consequence of a great number of workmen, or of their working too much; and that for one man to be industrious is not, as is commonly imagined, to deprive another of work; the impolicy must be apparent of those regulations amongst workmen which limit the hours they shall work. Hence, too, the consideration forcibly presses upon us, that every man ought fully to occupy himself in some business or service, of use either to himself or others. If he be so rich that he is himself in want of nothing, there are others who are in need of every thing; and that time which is now spent in idleness, or listless dissipation, would surely be far better spent, and perhaps in a manner scarcely less agreeable, in doing something for the benefit either of the public or of individuals, in acquiring or producing some article to relieve the necessities or contribute to the comfort of those around him. When we contemplate man endowed with every faculty, adapted in the most exquisite manner for exertion, and observe in the world around us that universal economy with which nature attains her desired purposes with the fewest materials and at the least expense, we are tempted to ask, was it intended that man should be idle, and the powers bestowed upon him be used to no purpose, at a time when poverty and misery surround him on every hand, and meet him at every turn, as if to upbraid him for his inaction, and arouse him to exertion?

If it be true that employment depends on the skill of the workmen, the proper direction of their industry, and their demand of no higher wages than are consistent with the means and inclinations of purchasers; and if it be true, likewise, that competition amongst workmen has no injurious effects upon them, when we take every class of workmen into view, and each

in his double capacity of consumer as well as producer; since, while on one hand competition operates against a man as producer, it operates favourably to him as consumer on the other, it follows, that the prospects of the workman are more cheering, and thus he is in many respects more independent of his employer, than he commonly believes himself to be. He is proprietor of that which is indispensable to the acquisition of every object of wealth-labour. Capital and land are not more indispensable than labour; and there seems little reason for accounting the proprietors of the two former as independent, while the proprietors of the latter are called dependent; when, in truth, their conjoint operation is necessary to furnish our supply. Independence consists chiefly in the magnitude of income, and not so much as is often imagined in the source from which it is drawn.

From the consideration of the circumstances attending the exercise of labour, and the means by which full scope may be given to that exercise, we pass to that of the employment of capital.

But as the term capital is used on different occasions, sometimes in a wider, and at others in a more restricted sense, according to the different views and objects of the persons using the expression, it is proper to give an idea of what is meant by the term as it is employed in this work. For this purpose it seems requisite to enumerate the different kinds of objects which compose our property, with the view of showing which of these are, and which are not, to be signified by the term capital.

CHAPTER VI.

OF PROPERTY, AND ITS CLASSIFICATION.

PROPERTY may be distinguished as of two kinds ;-1. That which is not in any way the result of human agency; and, 2. That to which human labour has been contributed in a greater or

less degree, or which is in some way or other the acquisition or production of industry.

Of the first kind are, land, mines, and fisheries ;-the natural and original sources of wealth; the gifts of the Creator to man; which are not themselves the result of human agency, but whence industry draws all our supply of the necessaries and conveniences of life.

All the other objects which comprise a man's property, are the produce in some way or other of human labour, which has been exerted on materials furnished by nature, and been aided by its generative and other powers, directed in their operation by the agency of man. These objects are expressed by the general term of stock. Some are the acquisition or production of the industry, and the accumulation of the providence, of the individual owners, and some the results of the industry of their ancestors, or of men who have lived before them. The characteristic of stock, then, is that it is the produce or acquisition of industry.

Again, the stock which a man possesses may, likewise, itself be distinguished as of two kinds. First, those things that are intended for the use of himself or family, and for consumption, either wholly and at once, or in a more or less protracted period of time, and which have no reference to reproduction of any kind. These have been denominated his revenue. Secondly, those things that he employs or intends to employ in industry, for the purpose of further acquisition or production, and which are called his capital.

The general stock of any country or society is the same with that of all its inhabitants or members, and is naturally separable into the same two divisions; each of which has a function or office distinct from the other.

In the first portion, or revenue, of a society, is comprised the stock of food, clothes, household furniture, and the like, in the hands of their proper consumers, but which are not yet entirely consumed, and are not intended for use or consumption while these persons are engaged in industry. Dwelling-houses, when they have been disposed of by their builders, and not occupied for the purposes of business, make a part of this description of

stock, as well as places of public worship, hospitals, prisons, with such objects likewise as, though not always, strictly speaking, of use, yet serve as ornament or decoration, and afford interest or amusement by gratifying taste or caprice. Of this kind are, pictures, statues, and other works of elegant art, books, and musical instruments. Of the stock reserved for consumption, that which consists in houses is most slowly consumed. Clothes may last several years; furniture perhaps half a century; but houses well built and properly taken care of, may last for a much longer time. Though, however, the period of their total consumption is more distant, they are still as much a stock reserved for consumption as food, clothes, or furniture. The fact of revenue being derived, or derivable, from different kinds of stock, is not of moment as regards the present classification; and, accordingly, it is not the circumstance of affording a pecuniary revenue to its owner or not, that constitutes the claim of an article to be classed as capital, or, simply, as stock devoted to consumption. Both these two portions of stock may afford a pecuniary revenue to their owners, by being let out to other persons for a rent or hire; or they may contribute either to the personal use or comfort of the owner or his family, by being retained in their hands, or render assistance to their industry in the acquisition of further objects of property. When the stock which a man possesses is no more than sufficient for his own present use, or to maintain him for a short period, he can seldom derive any pecuniary revenue from it. He uses or consumes it sparingly, and endeavours, in the mean time, to acquire other things which may supply its place before it be consumed altogether. His revenue, in such case, unless it be derived from land, is acquired by his labour only. This is the state of the greater part of the working classes in all countries. But when a man possesses more stock than is sufficient for his own immediate use, or enough to maintain him for months or years, he endeavours to derive a revenue from the greater part of it, by letting it out to others, or employing it in the shape of capital, reserving only so much for family use or consumption as may be sufficient to last till some of his further revenue comes in.

The rent or hire derived from articles of the first portion of stock, on their being let out by their owners to other persons, although it adds to the revenue of the individual owners, adds nothing to the revenue of a nation. Such articles produce nothing like what is paid for their hire. A dwelling-house is, doubtless, exceedingly useful, and adds much to the comfort of the occupant. Herein consists its production, or the good it confers; but it produces nothing beyond this. As much as its rent may add to the revenue of the landlord, so much does the tenant incur expense, and must draw upon some other revenue in order to pay it: the deduction on one hand equals the addition on the other. The more numerous and the more commodious the houses in any neighbourhood may be, the greater, probably, will be the comforts of the inhabitants from being well lodged; but let the number of houses be ever so great, the revenue of the whole body of the people cannot be increased thereby. Clothes sometimes yield a revenue to their owner. Court and masquerade dresses are let out for the occasion. Upholsterers very commonly let furniture to hire. Persons let houses and lodgings furnished, and procure a rent, not only for the houses and lodgings, but for the use of the furniture. Carriages and horses are let, as well as many other things, which it would be needless to particularize further. But such articles, as they have no reference to industry, form part of the expense of the people, and not of their revenue; and as the revenue derived from them must always be ultimately drawn from some other source of revenue, to consider such things as adding to the national revenue, would lead to estimating revenue twice over.

It is different with regard to articles which belong to the second portion of stock, or capital, of a community; of which we shall now speak. These are an original source of revenue, not only to their owners, but also to the borrowers, and afford the means of payment of the hire that is sometimes paid for their use.

This second portion of stock is not, in its last end, for use or consumption to serve the purposes of present enjoyment, but for use or expenditure for the purpose of reproduction. It comprises all those parts of our property that are in any way the