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greatly benefited both England and France. The Dutch indeed act prudently in withholding that benefit as much as poffible from their powerful neighbours to prevent purchasing from them, they confume the manufactures of India.

The manufactures of Spain, once extenfive, have been extirpated by their gold and filver mines. Authors afcribe to the fame cause the decline of their agriculture; but erroneously on the contrary, superfluity of gold and filver is favourable to agriculture, by raising the price of its productions. It raises alfo, it is true, the price of labour; but that additional expence is far from balancing the profit made by high prices of whatever the ground produces. Too much wealth indeed is apt to make the tenant press into a higher rank: but that is easily prevented by a proper heightening of the rent, fo as always to confine the tenant within his own sphere.

As gold and filver are effential to commerce, foreign and domeftic, feveral commercial nations have endeavoured most abfurdly to bar the exportation by penal laws; forgetting that gold and filver will

never be exported while the balance of trade is on their side, and that they must neceffarily be exported when the balance is against them. Neither do they confider, that if a people continue industrious, they cannot be long afflicted with an unfavourable balance; for the value of money, rifing in proportion to its scarcity, will lower the price of their manufactures, and promote exportation: the balance will turn in their favour; and money will flow in, till by plenty its value be reduced to a par with that of neighbouring nations.

It is an important queftion, Whether a bank upon the whole be friendly to commerce. It is undoubtedly a fpur to industry, like a new influx of money : but then, like fuch influx, it raises the price of labour and of manufactures. Weighing these two facts in a just balance, the refult feems to be, that in a country where mois scarce, a bank properly constituted is a great blessing, as it in effect increases the quantity of money, and promotes industry and manufactures; but that in a country that poffeffes money fufficient for extenfive commerce, the only bank that will not injure foreign commerce, is what

ney

is erected for fupplying the merchant with ready money by discounting bills. At the fame time, much caution and circumfpection is neceffary with refpect to banks of both kinds. A bank erected for discounting bills, ought to be confined to bills really granted in the courfe of commerce; rejecting fictitious bills drawn merely for procuring a loan of money. And with refpect to a bank purposely erected for lending money, there is great danger of extending credit too far; not only with refpect to the bank itself, but with respect to the nation in general, by raising the price of labour and of manufactures, which is the never-failing refult of too great plenty of money, whether coin or paper.

The different effects of plenty and scarcity of money, have not escaped that penetrating genius, the fovereign of Pruffia. Money is not fo plentiful in his dominions as to make it neceffary to withdraw a quantity by heaping up treasure. He indeed always retains in his treafury fix or feven millions Sterling for anfwering unforeseen demands: but being fenfible that the withdrawing from circulation any larger fum would be prejudicial

I

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judicial to commerce, every farthing saved from the neceffary expence of government, is laid out upon buildings, upon operas, upon any thing rather than cramp circulation. In that kingdom, a bank eftablished for lending money would promote industry and manufactures.

VOL. I.

X

SKETCH

SKETCH IV.

Origin and Progress of Arts.

SECTION I.

Ufeful Arts.

The

Ome ufeful arts must be nearly coeval with the human race; for food, cloathing, and habitation, even in their original fimplicity, require fome art. Many other arts are of fuch antiquity as to place the inventors beyond the reach of tradition. Several have gradually crept into existence, without an inventor. bufy mind however, accustomed to a beginning in things, cannot reft till it find or imagine a beginning to every art. Bacchus is faid to have invented wine; and Staphylus, the mixing water with wine. The bow and arrow are ascribed by tradition to Scythos, fon of Jupiter, tho' a weapon all the world over. Spinning is fo ufeful, that it must be honoured with

fome