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results,-viz. That no increase in the wages of labour can increase the relative exchangeable values of commodities.

If a stocking manufacturer employs one hundred men, during ten days, in manufacturing stockings, which exchange for the gloves manufactured by the same number of men in twenty days, the values of these products are precisely equal. But if some more expeditious method of manufacturing gloves should be discovered, if one man was enabled to do as much work as was previously executed by two, the value of gloves, compared with stockings, (supposing, for the sake of simplifying the question, that the value of the raw materials consumed in both manufactures are equal,) would be reduced one half. If an equal improvement had been made in the stocking manufacture, the relative values of both commodities would remain the same as at first a greater quantity of the one would merely be exchanged for a greater quantity of the other. It is obvious, however, that an increase in the wages of labour could not affect this conclusion. Suppose wages to rise 10 per cent., the stocking manufacturer could not say to the glove manufacturer that he must have a greater quantity of gloves in exchange for his stock ings, on account of the increased wages of his workmen, because the other would answer, that the same rise af fected him in precisely the same de gree. The relation of proportional numbers is not altered by being all multiplied by the same number. If a pair of stockings be exchanged for a pair of gloves when wages are at 1s. per diem, the same exchange would take place after wages had risen to 20s. per diem. In the one case a very small share only of the produce of the labourer's exertions would belong to himself, and a large share to his employer; in the other, the labourer's share would be much augmented, and his employer's proportionally reduced. The value of the commodity would, in both cases, be the same, but it would be very dif ferently divided.

Mr Ricardo, however, has not only shewn that a rise in the wages of labour does not raise the price of the commodities purchased by that labour, but he has also shewn, that when fixed capitals, and machinery, are employed in producing, a rise in the wages of VOL. I.

labour REDUCES the price of commodities.

46

Suppose," says Mr Ricardo," that an engine is made, which will last for 100 years, and that its value is £20,000. Suppose too, that this machine, without any labour whatever, could produce a certain profits were 10 per cent., the whole value quantity of commodities annually, and that of the goods produced would be annually £2000: 2: 11; for the profit of £20,000, at 10 per cent. is £2000 0 0

And an annuity of 2s. 11d. for 100 years, at 10 per cent. will, at the end of that period, replace a capital of £20,000, Consequently the goods must sell for

0 2 11

£2000 2 11

"If the same amount of capital, viz. £20,000, be employed in supporting productive labour, and be annually consumed and reproduced, as it is when employed in paying wages, then to give an equal profit of 10 per cent. the commodities must sell for £22,000. Now suppose labour so to rise, that instead of £20,000 being sufficient to pay the wages of those employed in producing the latter commodities, £20,952 is required; then profits will fall to 5 per cent.; for as these commodities would sell for no more than £22,000, and to produce them £20,952 would be requisite, there would remain no more than £1,048, on a capital of £20,952. If labour so rise, that £21,153 were required, profits would fall to 4 per cent.; and if it rose, so that £21,359 was

employed, profits would fall to 3 per cent.

"But as no wages would be paid bý the owner of the machine when profits fell to 5 per cent., the price of his goods must fall to £1007: 13:8, viz. £1000 to pay his profits, and £7: 13:8 to accumulate for 100 years, at 5 per cent., to replace his capital of £20,000. When profits fall to 5 and when at 3 per cent. for £632: 16:7. per cent. his goods must sell for £816 : 3:2; By a rise in the price of labour, then, under 7 per cent, which has no effect on the prices of commodities wholly produced by labour, a fall of no less than 68 per cent. is effected on those commodities wholly produced by machinery lasting 100 years. If the proprietor of the machine sold his good's for more than £632:16: 7, he would get more than 3 per cent., the general profit of stock; and as others could furnish themselves with machines at the same price of £20,000, they would be so multiplied, that he would be inevitably obliged to sink the price of his goods, till they afforded only the usual and general profits of stock."

In proportion as the machine was more or less durable, prices would be more or less affected by a rise of wages; but, for a further elucidation of this subject, our readers must peruse Mr Ricardo's own statements.

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We have here supposed, for the sake of perspicuity, that the value of money was invariable, but whether it is rising or falling has no effect on these conclusions. Like every other commodity, the exchangeable value of money varies as the labour of producing it is increased or diminished. It does not follow, from the very important principles which Mr Ricardo has with so much talent and ingenuity endeavoured to establish, that wages may be increased in one country, though they should remain stationary in others, without any mischievous consequences being experienced. If the wages of labour in Great Britain, from the effects of taxation,from the operation of the corn laws, or from any other cause,-are higher than in any other country of Europe, the profits of stock must be proportionally lower. Hence, there is an inducement to remit capital abroad to where it will yield a larger return; and although capitalists, as well as other men, have a natural repugnance to remove to foreign countries from the land of their fathers and their friends, yet, as Mr Ricardo has justly observed, "There are assuredly limits to the price, which, in the form of perpetual taxation, individuals will submit to pay for the privilege merely of living in their native country."

The vast number of English families which have emigrated to the continent since the peace, is a too convincing proof of the accuracy of this statement; and until the weight of our taxation is diminished, and the profits of stock rendered as high, and the expense of house-keeping as cheap, in this country as on the other side of the water, the tide of emigration will continue to roll on.

Besides adventitious causes, such as taxation, &c. which may raise the wages of labour and lower the rate of profit, Mr Ricardo lays it down as a general principle, that in every country the profits of stock must be diminished according as it becomes more difficult to raise food. If corn, or manufactured goods, always sold at the same price, profits would be high or low, in proportion as wages were low or high. But although corn rises in price because more labour is necessary to produce it, that cause will not raise the price of manufactured goods, in

the production of which no additional quantity of labour is required. "If then," says Mr Ricardo, wages continued the same, profits would remain the same; but if, as is absolutely certain, wages should rise with the rise of corn, then profits would necessarily fall."

Mr Ricardo had already developed this principle, though more concisely, in his " Essay on the Profits of Stock," and had successfully applied it to shew the folly of restricting the corn trade; for, by forcing us to have recourse to land of a very inferior quality for our supplies of food, the restrictive system necessarily lowers the profits of every kind of stock throughout the country, and increases the desire to transfer capital abroad.

Mr Ricardo has also given a satisfactory, and in many respects an original, view of the nature of rent, and of the effects of taxation. As our li mits, however, will not permit us to enter on these topics, we earnestly recommend our readers to have recourse to the work itself, which contains much valuable and profound discussion, as well on these as on subjects to which it has not been possible for us even to allude.

Mr Ricardo's style is simple and unaffected; but there are some parts of his work in which, perhaps, he is a little obscure, and others in which there appears too much of controversy. Of all the writers on Political Economy, M. Say stands unrivalled for perspicuity,-for natural and luminous arrangement,-and for instructive and elegant illustration.

Bingley's Useful Knowledge; or an Account of the various Productions of Nature, Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal, which are chiefly employed for the use of Man. 3 vols 12mo. London, Baldwin & Co. 1817.

THIS work well entitles its author to rank among the friends of youth. It is really what it pretends to be, a repository of useful knowledge, containing a clear and interesting account of many of those productions which are useful to man in the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms.

That part of it which treats of animals has been executed on a plan

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similar to that of Mavor, Bigland, and others; and the subjects of the two first parts are to be found in systems of mineralogy and botany; but there is no work with which we are acquainted, in which so much valuable information in all these departments is comprised within the same extent. There is, we are persuaded, no class of readers to whom this book will not be both amusing and instructive. To those who have already studied the subjects in larger works, it will serve to recall the particulars which are most interesting, and may be advantageously employed as a book of reference. Those, on the other hand, who have not entered upon such inquiries, will find a great deal to gratify their curiosity, conveyed in an agreeable manner. To young persons, especially young ladies, who have seldom an opportunity of studying large systems of natural history, we would particularly recommend this work. If it were read in small portions daily, and an account of the pupil's progress rendered, either in writing or in conversation, the young would soon be found to have acquired more information on the topics of which it treats, than many who have perused larger systems in a vague and cursory manner. Besides affording much information, -as it is arranged on the plan of the best systems, it will insensibly accustom the mind to the classifications of natural history, and thereby prepare the reader for the study of more extensive works.

We must not, however, forbear to mention some slight defects, which we would wish much to see supplied, whenever it comes to another edition. In addition to the general index, there should be a separate index to each volume. In the first volume, only some of the families of minerals are enumerated, and for no other reason than that the Table might all be contained in one page. Another defect in the same part of the work is, that little is said of what are called compound rocks, or even of the different soils; and nothing at all of what every one has often occasion to hear mentioned, we mean the manner in which the earth is supposed to have been formed. Now we think that it would be interesting, and at the same time easy, to give a short account of these

rocks, and above all, of the different kinds of soils, and also to give some idea of what is meant by the theories of the earth. Another subject which we should have expected to see noticed, is fossil remains. In this there is much to interest and amuse; and it certainly falls within the author's plan. All these things would add little to the size, while they would greatly increase the value of the publication. It is proper also to remark, that the author might have taken more frequent occasion than he has done to impress on the minds of his readers the appearances of wisdom and goodness which are so often to be met with in the works of nature. In books intended for the use of the young, this is a duty that ought never to be omitted; and the performance of it constitutes one great excellence in the writings of Bigland and Mavor. Of the style and manner we cannot give a better idea, than by making an extract almost at random, which may be considered a fair specimen of what the book contains.

"The common pear is a well known garden fruit, derived from an English stock, the wild pear tree (Pyrus communis), which grows in hedges and thickets in Somerset

shire and Sussex. It would be an endless task to describe the different known varieties

of the cultivated pear. Some of these are very large, and others extremely small: some have a rich and luscious flavour, and others, as the iron pear, are so hard and disagreeable to the taste, as to be absolutely unfit to eat. Pears are chiefly used in desserts; and one or two of the kinds are stewed with sugar, baked, or preserved in

syrup.

The

"The fermented juice of pears is called perry, and is prepared nearly in the same manner as that of apples is for cider. The greatest quantities of perry are made in Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Squash, the Oldfield, and the Barland perry are esteemed the best. Many of the dealers in Champaigne wine are said to use of it: and indeed, real good perry is little perry to a great extent in the adulteration inferior in flavour or quality to champaigne.

"Of the wood of the pear tree, which is light, smooth, compact, and of a yellowish colour, carpenters' and joiners' tools are usually made, as well as the common kinds of flat rulers, and measuring scales. It is also used for picture frames that are to be stained black. The leaves impart a yellow dye, and are sometimes employed to communicate a green colour to blue cloth.'

180 Analytical Notices.—Encyclopædia Britannica-Supplement. [May

ANALYTICAL NOTICES.

1. ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICASUPPLEMENT. Vol. II. Part I. AMONG the many distinctions by which our northern metropolis is known in the literary world, it is not the least honourable, that the first Encyclopædia, in point of celebrity, if not of time, published in Britain, was projected and executed in Edinburgh. On the plan of the Encyclopædia Britannica, important improve ments have no doubt been made in other similar works; but it was even from the first a most valuable repository of knowledge, and many of the leading articles in science and literature were executed with an ability which has never been surpassed. Science, however, is unceasing in her progress; and is found, in the course of a few years, to have left far behind, the fields in which her votaries had formerly accompanied her with all the delight of discovery. The records of her advancement given in Encyclopædias soon become defective; and the deficiency must be supplied either by new editions, or by supplemental articles. The proprietors of the Britannica, though they have repeatedly been called upon, by an extended sale, to renew the editions of their work, have generally chosen to give, in the form of supplements, the additional information which the progress of science required. The Supplement which is now going on, has attracted much of the public attention by the pomp of its announcement, and has deserved it, so far as published, by the splendour of its execution.

Three Parts of it have already appeared: the first preceded by a dissertation exhibiting a general view of the progress of metaphysical, ethical, and political philosophy, by Professor Dugald Stewart; and the third, which begins the second volume, by a similar dissertation on the history of the mathematical and physical sciences, by Professor Playfair. These dissertations are extremely valuable; and did the Supplement contain nothing more, we should have considered it as a very precious donation to the literary world. In the short sketch which we

propose to give of works of this nature, our plan and limits admit of no retrospect beyond the last published Number. Of Mr Stewart's dissertation, therefore, we shall only say, that we agree with some distinguished critics in considering it as the most splendid of his works, and as combining a number of qualities which place the author at the head of the elegant writers of philosophy in our language.

The order which Mr Playfair follows in his discourse, is very properly determined by a regard to the subserviency of one science to the progress of another, and the consequent priority of the former in the course of regular study. He first traces, therefore, the progress of the pure mathematics, one of the two principal instruments which have been applied to the advancement of natural science. As the other instrument is experience, the principles of the inductive method, or that branch of logic which teaches the application of experiment and observation to the interpretation of nature, form, of course, the second object of his inquiry. He next proceeds to treat of natural philosophy, under the divisions of mechanics, astronomy, and optics. Under the general denomination of mechanics he includes the theory of motion, as applied not only to solids, but to fluids, both incompressible and elastic. Optics he places after astronomy, because the discoveries in mechanics, he observes, have much less affected the progress of the former of these sciences than of the latter. A sixth division succeeds, containing the laws of the three unknown substances, if, indeed, they may be called substances, heat, electricity, and magnetism. As we intend hereafter to give, in another part of our work, a pretty full analysis of this dissertation, written by a correspondent, we shall content ourselves at present with this general outline of Mr Playfair's plan. In the object which he modestly proposes to himself,-to treat his subjects with clearness and precision,—Mr Playfair has completely succeeded. No author, indeed, with whom we are acquainted, excels him in luminous arrangement, or in perspicuous expres

1617. Analytical Notices.Encyclopædia Britannica.--Supplement.

sion. At all times perfectly master of his subject, he conveys his ideas to his readers with a clearness, an ease, and elegant simplicity, which render his works, in our opinion, models of philosophical composition.

Of the other articles in this part of the Supplement, the first is AUSTRALASIA. A vague idea had long prevailed among European geographers, that an immense continent existed beyond the limits of discovery in the south, and extended even to the pole. To this imaginary continent they gave the name of Terra Australis Incognita. Though later researches have proved that there is no such continent, or at least that it can only be of a moderate size, and enclosed by impenetrable barriers of ice, yet in the three great oceans in the south of the globe, there have been discovered almost innumerable islands, which demanded, of course, some systematic arrangement. With this view, the President de Brosses proposed that the lands and islands in the Austral world should be divided into three portions, those in the Indian ocean, and in the south of Asia, to be named Australasia, those in the two Pacifics, Polynesia, from the number of islands; and those in the Atlantic, to the south of Cape Horn, and the Cape of Good Hope, Magellanica. Under the name of Australasia, the writer of this article comprehends-1. Notasia, or new Holland-2. Van Diemen's Land-3. Papua, or New Guinea-4. New Britain, New Ireland, and neighbouring islands-5. Solomon's Islands-6.New Hebrides-7. New Caledonia-8. New Zealand, and isles to the southward 9. Kerguelen's Islands, or Islands of Desolation-10. St Paul and Amsterdam-11. Numerous reefs and islets of coral scattered over the Australasian sea.--After this enumeration, the three last particulars of which have seldom been classed by geographers under the name of Australasia, though they are so classed with evident propriety, the author proceeds to give a pretty full account of each of them, in the order in which they are named. One considerable advantage this article possesses, in consequence of its being so lately published. When the corresponding article in the Edinburgh Encyclopædia was written, it was known that Captain Flinders had ascertained Van Diemen's Land to be a large island separated from New Holland by a strait

181

between one and two degrees in breadth

that, in a subsequent voyage, he had circumnavigated New Holland-and that, in a still later voyage, he had made many important discoveries. It was known that, after losing his ship, he had set sail for England with his papers, plans, and charts of discovery, when he was most shamefully detained at the Isle of France; and that, in spite of an order for his liberation, procured in consequence of an application by the Royal Society of London to the National Institute of Paris, the governor refused to permit him to depart. When the article in the Supplement was written, it could be stated, that after a captivity of seven years, he had at length arrived in England in 1810, and published, in 1814, his discoveries in two volumes, accompanied with an atlas of charts, which may be held forth as models in maritime surveying. Captain Flinders has completed the survey in detail of the coasts of New Holland, with the exception of the west and northwest coasts, which he was prevented from exploring by the loss of his ship. It is to be hoped, that the local government of New South Wales will take an early opportunity of completing the survey in which Flinders was so unfortunately interrupted. In this article, too, are recorded the still more recent, and no less interesting, discoveries, made in the interior of this vast island by Mr Evans and Governor Macquarrie. The country, according to their accounts, was in all respects delightful, still improving as they penetrated westward, and holding out the most inviting prospects to future colonists. Little more is added, in this article, to the information which we already possessed respecting the islands of Australasia, excepting the discovery of a few islets to the south and southwest of Lord Auckland's group.

The next article in the Supplement is AUSTRIA, a new account of which was rendered indispensably necessary, by the recent events in which that empire bore so conspicuous a share. It begins with a very rapid sketch of the recent history of Austria, and to the account of the same events given in the corresponding article in the Edinburgh Encyclopædia, it has to add this unexpected and wonderful circumstance, that in consequence of the downfall of Napoleon, Austria is now

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