The Express.
London, England, 1849-10-10 00:00:00

ADAM SMITH ON PUBLIC DEBTS.

Tbie public fund" of the different indebted =fiats
of Earops, portisalarly those of Ragland, hare by one
anther b -so represented as ths aammulation of a great
espied euperadded to the other capital of the country, by
Imetes of which its trade is extended, its manufeetures
:mei-
tear! its leads cultivated sad improved much beyond
could have been Ily means of that other capital
=1 dees oessasier that Me capital whit* tke first
itf pub* missiseed to f1410111~4a, was, /rem
the asessent is whisk My mhaneeni st, a certain portions/
the menus' praises Awned Pray from serving in Me fuse-
tas fziereipitai. to save is that of a rilVfnele from
laiseaws to maintain tosproaw-
ties mees,amilortilkes;:eat mod meted goneroffy in the
cosies qf Ma yaw, cookout was the:ribesTgisagsy figure
oduffism. is Mara ter the they &d-
-reproomed, than allemined, indeed, an =nutty in the public
foods In mete mess of more than equal value. This en.
=Lii no doubt, replaced to them their capital, end
thaws to earry on their trade and business to the
NM or perhaps to • greater extent than before ; that is,
they were enabled eau to borrow of other people a new
capital upon the credit of this annuity, or by selling it to
get from other a new capital of ltsir own, equal or
superior to that they had advanced to government.
This new capital, however, which they in this manner either
bought or borrowed of other people, mutt have existed in
the eoutry before, and must have been employed as all
capitals are, in maintaining productive labour. When it
came Into the hands of those who had advanced their money
to government, though it was in some respects a new capital
to them, it was not so to the country ; but was only • capi.
ml withdrawn from certain employments in order to be
turned towards others. Tough it replaced to them what
they had advanced to government, it did not replace it to
the country. Had they not advanced this capital to go-
perms...4 there Would have been in the country hoe crys-
tals, two portions of the annual produce instead of °neon-
Anted in maintaining productive labour.
*ben for defraying the expense of government a re-
venue is raised within the year from the produce of free or
unmortgagod taxes, a certain partite of the revenue of
private people is only turned away from maintaining one
species of unproductive labour, towards maintaining another.
Some toast of what the pay in those taxes might no doubt
have been accumulated into capital, and consequently em-
ployed in maintaining productive labour; but the
part would probably have been spent, and consoquens;er
em-
ployed
in maintaining unproductive labour. The public
expanse, however, when defrayed In this manner, no doubt
hinders more or less the further accumulation of new capi-
tal ; but it does not necessarily occasion the destruction of
any actually existing capital.
When the public expense is defrayed by funding, it is de-
frayed by the urinal destruction of some capital which had
Wore existed in the country; by the pweerasasof ems
portion of the annual produce whic had Were been
destined for the maintenance of production Maur, Amara
that of %productive labor. As in this sue, however, the
taxes are lighter then they would have been, hid a rums*
safileieest tor defraying the same expense been raised
within the year; the private revenue of iodividuah is se-
cesearily less burdened, and consequently their ability. to
save and accumulate some part of that revenue into capital
is • good deal lees impaired. If the method of toadies
destroy more old capital. it at the same time hinders less the
accumulation or acquisition of new capital, than thatof Se.
fraying the public expense ba revenue raised wields the
year. Under the system of funding, the frugality and Is-
dowry of private people can more easily repair the brushes
which the waste and extavagence of government may oem'
dually make in the general capital of the society.
It is only during the continuance of war, however, that
the system of funding has this adtutap over the other
system. Were the, expense of war to be defrayed always
by • revenue raised* within the year, the taxes from which
that extraordinary revenue was drawn would last no longer
than the war. The ability of private people to accumulate,
though less during the war, would have b, en greater during
the pesos then under the system of funding. War would
not necessarily have occasioned the destruction of any old
capitals, and peace would have occasioned the accumulation
of many morosely. Wars would in general be more speedily
concluded, and less wantonly undertaken. The people
feeling, daring the continuance of war, the complete burden
of it, would soon grow weary of It, and governmenr, in
order to humour them, would not be under the necswity of
carrying it on longer than it was necessary to de so. The
foresight of the heavy and unavoidable burdens of war
would hinder the people from wantonly calling for it when
there was no seal or sad interest to fight for. The seasons
curing which the ability of private people to accumulate was
somewhat impaired, would occur more rarely, and be of
shorter continuance. Those,on the contrary, during which that
ability was in the highest vigour, would be of mach longer
duration than they can well be under the system of funding.
When funding, besides, has made a certain I regress, the
multiplication of nixes which it brings along with it some-
times impairs as much the ability of private people to accu-
mulate even in time of peace, as the otter system would in
time of war. The peace revenue of Great Britain amounts
at present to more than ten millions a year. If free and
uninertgaged, it might be sufficient, with proper management
and without contracting a chilling of new debt, to carry on
the wet vigorous war. The private revenue of the inhabit-
ant, of Gera/ Britain is at present as much encumbered in
time of ;melee, their ability to accumulate it as much im-
paired as it would have been in the time of the most expeuswe
war, had the pernicious system of funding never been
odoPlod•
In the payment of the intoned of the public debt, it has
been said, it is the righthand which pays the left. The money
does cot go out of the country. It is only a part of the
revenue of one set of the inhabitants which is transferred to
another ; and the natien is not a farthing the poorer. This
apology is foucded altogether in the sophistry of the mercan-
tile system ; and after the long examination which I have
already bestowed upon that system, it may perhaps be un-
necessary to soy anything further about it. It supposes,
besides, that the whole public debt is owing to the inhabit-
ants of the country, which happens not to be true ; the Dutch,
as well as several other foreign nations, having a very con-
siderable share in our public funds. But though the whole
debt were owing to the inhabitants of the country, it would
not upon that account be less pernicious.
Land and capital stock are the two original sources of
all revenue both private and public. Capital stook pays the
wages of productive labonr,whether employed in agriculture,
manufactures, or commerce. The management of those two
original sources of belongs to two different 'eta of
people ; the proprietors of land, and the owners or employers
of capital sleek.
The proprietor of land is interested for the sake of his own
revenue to keep his estate in as good condition as he can, by
building rad repairing his tenants' houses, by making and
maintaining the seensary drains and inclusive, and all those
other expensive improvement* which it properly belongs to
the landlord to make and maintain. But by different his&
taxes the revenue of the landlord maybe so much diminished;
and by different duties upon the necessaries and conveni-
ences of life, that diminished revenue may be rendered of so
little real value, that he may find himself altogether unable
to make or maintain those expensive improvements. When
the landlord, however, ceases to do his part, it is altogether
impossible *oaths tenant should continue to do his. As the
dittoes of the landlord Increesee, the agriculture of the
country must neoessarily decline.
When, by different taxes upon the necessaries and conve-
nience" of life, the owners and employers of capital stock
find, that whatever revenue they derive from it, will not, in a
particular country, purchase the same quantity of those
necesearies and conveniences which an equal revenue would
in almost any other, they will be disposed to remove to some
other. And when. is order to raise those tun, all or the
greater part of merchants and maaufacturers, that is, all cc
the greater part of the employers of capitals, come to
be continually exposed to the and vexatious visite
of the tax gatheras, this disposition to:remove will soon be
changed into an actual »mush The Industry of the country
will nusesuily fall with the removal of the capital which
supported it, and the rain of trade and sasoUutares will
follow the declension of agriculture.
To transfer kola the moan of those two great sources of
revenue, land and espies' stock, from the persons immedi-
ately interested is the good condition of every particular
ratio of land, and in the good management of every parti-
cular portion of mOtsl stock, to another set of porous (the
creditors of the public, who have no inch parlicoW interest),
the are ator part of the revenue arising from either, must is
the long rue Mean& both the neglect of land, and the waste
or removal of capital stock. A coeditor of the public has no
doubt a general interest in the prosperity of the egrienhars,
manufactures, and Nu m* of the washy ; ssl emir
gangly in the good erudition of its lands, end is the geed
management edits espial stock. Should there be any general
failure or dmAssika is any of those things, the produce of
the different tales might no longer be 'ancient to pay hiss
the annuity or inmost wrish is dos to him. But a creditor
of the public, considered merely as sack, has no interest in
the good condition of any particular parties of land, or in the
good management of any particular poetics of capital stock.
As a creditor of the public he has so kaowledge of any such
particular portion. He has no iampostioa of it. He can have
no are about it. Its ruin may In mew cuss be unknown
to him, and cannot directly offset him.
The practice of funding kasprradually enfeebled every seats
which has adopted it. The Italian republics seem to have
begun it Genoa end Venice, the only two remaining which
an pretend to an independent Meese, have both been
enfeebled by it. Spots sums to have learned the practise
from the Italian republics, and (its taus being probably hires
judicious than theirs) it has, in p to its natural
strength, been still more enfeeffied. Trerrebts of Spain are
of very old standing. It was deeply in debt before the end of
the sixteenth conni, about a hundred yetis before England
owed a shilling. France, notwithstanding all its natural
resources, languishes under an oppressive load of the same
kind. The republic of the United Provinces is as much en-
feebled by its debts u either Genoa or Venice. Is it likely
that in Great Britain alone a practice, which has brought
either weakness or desolation into every other country, should
prove altogether innocent ?

SUNDAY POST-OITICE DUTY IN THE PROVINCES.
—An order km boon issued from the General Prat .to
discontinue making op Landon bags la the provinces for the
day mans on Sundays. This will prevent provincial towns
basing any undue iminntags over the metropolis. Com-
plaints hays boos ark that by the now regulations for ex-
pediting loth= through LOIMIOU about W ant into opera-
tion es Sung son a lottro minas is lAndon on Sunday
sewn" wean set mach Liverpool ham Monday after-
••=mewhilo • letter written in ProliMoldi 011 Sunda
would. by being mut to moo by the day
and forwarded from thanes la ths k& yob verlmol
al Maeda 'mai* By tin dissatissest:e; the Landon
Senn yZvege P amain, and st other
pt-, i• cannot posdbly ham
say it nags ova these is