VII. 116. 2d. Speculation-commerce produces effects very dif. CHA P. ferent from commiffion-commerce. It does not tend so di flaves; but who, were that traffic abolifhed, would not fail to find equivalents in the productions of the country.--The Chevalier des Marchais, who visited Guinea in 1725, 1726, and 1727, by order of the French government, fays that "Malays came on horfes 90 days journey to trade at Ardra, bringing cotton cloths and muflins, and receiving flaves, ivory and gold dust.”—Captain Fraser says, there is a trade in slaves, carried on across the continent by merchants, who come for them from the estern parts of Africa to Angola on the west, and other witnesses affirm the fame thing (See Min. of Evid.)——Lieut. Matthews tells us, that many black priests travel across from the Nile, and from Morocco to Abyffinia, that he saw seve ral of them in the Mandingo country, and that by means of them, and the travelling black merchants, the defeat of the Spaniards before Gibraltar was known 40 days after, at Riopongos (Voyage to Sierra Leona, p. 70.) This report must have travelled at the rate of at least 40 miles a day, which proves that the roads are not very bad.—The negro captive I mentioned in the note to § 71, told me that he had travelled much; and, in particular that he had made seven journies from Fouta Jallo, confiderably above Gallam, to Whidah, to buy fire-arms for his king, who having been embroiled with the princes lower down the Senegal, could not as ufual, get them from the coaft, by that river. From his account Fouta Jallo, lies between the Niger and the Whidah, 10 days journey from the former towards the fun-setting," as he expressed it, and 15 from the latter, "towards the fan-rifing, but confiderably below it." But the circumstance of his conversation which most furprised me was, that in many parts of the interior, he paffed the rivers on bridges. -For an account of the "trade in the interior parts of Africa," see that title in the Privy Council's Report, where it appears that that continent is traversed in many directions by caravans trading in European goods, ivory, gold-duft, ebony, flaves, sennah, mannah, cassia, dates, gums, &c.-See also the interesting publications of the African affociation. It may be faid, that, feeing the western coaft of Africa, is reforted to for flaves by the eastern nations of that continent, and even by the Eaft Indians, that the abolition of that traffic does not depend on the Europeans. I anfwer that the flave market on the western coaft does entirely depend on the Europeans; and that this is the greatest market, would appear from the dealers coming fo far to frequent it; for they would not travel across the continent, if they could conveniently buy flaves nearer home. If, therefore, the Europeans abolish the flave-trade, it is plain that the emporium for it would be removed from the western coaft, and would no longer disturb legitimate commerce there. Speculation commerce. rectly VII. CHA P. rectly to fupply the wants of a community, as to gratify the avidity of individual merchants, whom governments fuffer to take advantage of those wants. Nay, as if this were not enough, most governments have been prevailed on to make formal grants, of monopolies and exclusive privileges to bodies of merchants. Such grants are destructive of competition, the very foul of commerce, put the confumers compleatly in the power of foreftallers, and nourish the overbearing wealth and ambition of individuals, at the expenfe of the community.-The merchant who collects the products of distant countries in fuch quantities as have been previously ordered by his correspondents and customers, may be compared to a ftream which gently irrigates and refreshes the fields. The monopolizing speculator in those products not unaptly resembles a reservoir which confines the waters till the fields are parched, and at last distributes them unfeasonably and partially, overflowing fome places, and miferably ftinting others. Speculators with the 117. Speculators in exchanges and money-jobbers may, unconnected perhaps, love to be compared to conductors which convey community. the commercial fluid through the world. I shall not object to the comparison, if they will permit me to mention, that the Jews have also been likened to those conductors, by an eminent orator*. Like the Ifraelites too, those gentlemen are unconnected with any community; and, like Jew pedlars, can, at any time, put their cash and bills in their poc kets, and flit, with the celerity of their own paper, from one end of the world to the other. For, I would ask any man who knows the world, what hold any community can have of perfons who, without property in lands, houses, or commodities, fit in their counting-houses, watching the course * Mr. Burke. of VII. Lord Chat ham's opini on of them, of exchange, or the chance of a job *? I do not mean a mi- CHA P. nifterial job; although fome have fhrewdly suspected that the gains of such men have been formerly fwelled by this kind of business,-a circumstance which perhaps the illustrious Chatham had in his eye when, in the honest fervor of his patriotic foul, he uttered the following language. 118." There is," faid he, "a fet of men in London who are known to live in riot and luxury, upon the plunder of the ignorant, the innocent and the helpless; upon that part of the community which ftands in most need of, and best deserves, the protection of the legislaturet. To me, my lords, whether they be miferable jobbers of Changealley, or the lofty Afiatic plunderers of Leadenhall-street, they are all equally deteftable. I care but little whether a man walks on foot, or is drawn by four or fix horses; if his luxury be supported by the plunder of his country, I despise and abhor him. My lords, while I had the honour of serving his majesty, I never ventured to look at the treasury but from a distance. It is a business I am unfit for, and to which I never could have fubmitted. The little I know of it has not served to raise my opinion of what is vulgarly called the monied-intereft; I mean that blood-sucker, that muck-worm, which pretends to ferve this or that admini "The capitals," fays Dr. Smith, "employed in the agriculture and in the retail trade of any fociety must always refide within that fociety. The capital of a wholesale merchant, on the contrary" (and a fortiori that of a money-jobber) "feems to have no fixed refidence any where, but may wander about from place to place" (juft like it's owner) "according as it can either buy cheap or fell dear." Wealth of Nations, Vol. II. p. 54. + Dr. Arbuthnot obferves, that "money-fcriveners are like your wire-drawing mills; if they get hold of a man's finger, they will pull in his whole body at laft.” CHA P. ftration, but which may be purchased, on the fame terms, VII. and Dr. Johnfon's. Their opera tions tend to enflave mankind, by any adminiftration." who, 119. "These are the men," fays Dr. Johnson, without virtue, labour or hazard, are growing rich as their country is impoverished. They rejoice when obftinacy or ambition adds another year to flaughter and devastation; and laugh from their desks at bravery and science, while they are adding figure to figure, and cipher to cipher, hoping for a new contract for a new armament, and computing the profits of a fiege or a tempest.” 120. It is to be hoped, however, that the nation, to which this noble orator and this fublime moralift were such shining ornaments, will never experience the evil consequences with which the influence of the monied interest, if it continue to predominate over every other, may one day threaten their liberties. 121. To speak the truth, it appears to me, that a species of flavery, or dependence, very much like it, has gradually crept, with fpeculation-commerce and manufactures, into all countries where they prevail. Of this flavery or dependence, or whatever else it may be called, there are various degrees, from what we are pleased to style a gentle ftate of service in our families, down to the most abusive and boldly avowed flavery in our sugar colonies. I cannot give a fhorter instance, than the state of celibacy in which our numerous menial fervants are obliged to live, on pain of losing their places; as few will employ a married fervant. Thus the one fex is feduced into prostitution, and the other has no other resource than in the annihilation of a natural and neceffary paffion, or in whoredom and debauchery for life. This is but one, out of a thousand inftances, which might be given of the inversion of social or der der which now, more or less, prevails in all commercial nations, and which ought to be particularly guarded against, in establishing a new colony. 122. I have thought much on these evils; and, on the whole, find myself inclined to attribute them to a caufe which feems never to have been much, if at all, attended to by others. I have great reason, however, to fufpect, that the degradation of a great portion of every mercantile community, arises from the prevailing luft of accumulating money independent of commodities, of the value of which it is become the mere arbitrary fign, inftead of being, as formerly, circulated and transferred as a commodity itself. In this unnatural innovation, I think I see the source of many of the grievous evils which now afflict commercial nations. Hac fonte derivata clades! Money, in early times, was wifely adopted as the medium of commerce, which gave it it's chief value as a commodity. But it has been evidently diverted from it's natural use, which was admirably calculated to promote the free interchange of other commodities, the increase of knowledge and virtue, and the wealth and profperity of nations. This lamentable perverfion appears to have been owing to the Italian invention of bills of exchange, the operations of grasping monopolifts, the arbitrary interference of governments, in attempting to establish between gold, filver, and copper, and between these metals and other commodities, an unnatural relative value; and, above all, to the modern system of public credit and finance. To these we must add, the enormous augmentation and wide circulation of paper, mostly of ideal value, re * By money I mean any thing coined, upon which an arbitrary value has been fixed, entirely unconnected with any commodity, in like manner as it's fabricators, the fpeculating merchants, are unconnected with any community. L 2 fulting CHAP. VII. and whyMoney independent of commodities. |