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Now, when two persons have agreed to create a debt-whence does it come? And what is it composed of? Is it extracted from the materials of the globe? Does it come even from the mind? No! it is a valuable product, created out of Absolute NOTHING, by the mere fiat of the Human Will. And when it is extinguished, it is a valuable product DECREATED into NOTHING by the mere fiat of the Human Will.

But besides Debts, there is an enormous mass of valuable property of a similar nature created by the mere Will of the Legislature, such as Copyrights, Patents, &c. It is true that the Legislature cannot make a Copyright a valuable thing; its value must proceed from a different source. But it can create the Right, and prevent it from being destroyed. Now the Copyrights held by a publisher are part of his fixed Capital. They are part of his Wealth, just as much as so much land. Whence do they come? From the materials of the globe? Or even from the human mind? It is clear that Copyrights are the pure creation of the Will of the Legislature. Suppose that the Legislature were to abolish Copyrights: would not that be an actual annihilation of Wealth, and not merely the dissolution of material atoms?

Precisely the same considerations apply to vast amounts of Property of a similar nature: such as policies of insurance, leases, and annuities of all sorts, such as public debts and others. They are all Property created by the mere fiat of the Human Will. And who can form the most distant conception of the value of all the Incorporeal Property in Great Britain ?

Hence we observe that there is a third source of Wealth besides the Earth, and the Human mind, namely, the HUMAN WILL. By far the largest portion of Economic Quantities are merely the creations of the Human Will.

We may observe that Credit in Economics is very much analogous to Gravity in Mechanics. Gravity is Force pure and simple, dissociated from any material agency, and for some time some eminent men felt a difficulty in believing in it for that reason. Now Credit is Exchangeability pure and simple, dissociated from Labour and Materiality, and, therefore, some persons even yet find a difficulty in believing it to be Wealth. But argument and authority equally declare it to be so.

And now we see the advantage of removing all notions of Labour and Materiality from the definition of Wealth and defining it to be exclusively an EXCHANGEABLE RIGHT. We have shewn conclusively from facts, and the doctrines of the most eminent authorities, ancient and modern, and not from vain dogmas, that man can CREATE Wealth. We do not of course mean that he can create matter, but that he can create RIGHTS, which may be bought and sold; and notwithstanding all the dogmas of philosophers founded in this instance on imperfect induction, the Lawyer, the Economist, the Merchant, and the Statesman must understand that the enormously greater proportion of Wealth, in a highly civilized and commercial country like Great Britain is the pure creation of man.

On the Application of the Positive and Negative Signs to Property.

17. We have seen that Economic Quantities, or Economic Rights, are of three species:-1st, Property in some material substance which has already been acquired: 2nd, Property in ourselves, our talents and services: and 3rd, Property in something which is only to be acquired or enjoyed at some future time.

Now we can absolutely part with, and divest ourselves of the Property in material substances, or the first species of Economic Quantities; in exchange for some reward, we can transfer to some one else the right to make use of our intellectual qualities or services, for a limited period or a special occasion. But though we may receive a reward for exercising our faculties in some person's service, we do not part with them: we may sell our knowledge, but it is not gone away from us. Like a candle which communicates light to others, it does not diminish our own light a man may sell his instruction, but it does not diminish his own store. The third species of Economic Quantities are intangible and invisible like the second species, but they are transferable like the first, and when we exchange or sell them, we divest ourselves absolutely of our property in them, as we do of the first species.

Now we observe that the two species of Property of which we can absolutely divest ourselves, are inverse to each other. Property, like Janus, has two faces, placed back to back. It regards the past and the future, and is therefore of opposite

qualities. Now, in all Physical and Mathematical Science, it is invariably the custom to denote similar quantities, but of opposite qualities, by opposite signs. Hence, as a matter of simple convenience, and following the usual custom in Physical Science, if we denote one of these Properties as Positive, we may, as a distinguishing mark, denote the other as Negative.

We shall not here examine the important consequences which flow from this notation. We simply say at present, that if we : 1 denote Property in a product that has been acquired as Positive, it is perfectly consonant with the universal practice in Physical Philosophy, to denote Property in a product that is to be acquired as NEGATIVE.

Now Property in a thing that has been acquired is Corporeal Property; and Property in a thing that is to be acquired is Incorporeal Property. Hence, if we denote Corporeal Property by the Positive Sign, it is strictly in accordance with all Physical Philosophy, to denote Incorporeal Property by the Negative Sign.

And as in all Mathematical and Physical Sciences, the whole Science comprehends both Positive and Negative Quantities, so the whole Science of Economics comprehends both Positive Economic Quantities and Negative Economic Quantities, or Corporeal Property and Incorporeal Property.

On the Classification of Property.

18. We shall now show the practical convenience which arises from this distinction of Economic Quantities, as Positive and Negative, for many species of Property are of a mixed nature; that is, the entire Property in them consists partly of Corporeal Quantities, and partly of Incorporeal Quantities.

Property in Land is the highest property of all: and to understand the nature of Property in Land is the grammar of Property in general.

Things differ in their use according to their nature: some perish in the use: some perish from causes independent of their use: some are in a state of complete existence, and do not perish, and they give the means of complete enjoyment, as statues, gems, &c.

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But Land is indestructible in its nature; its use is unlimited in duration, and constant and uniform in its quality.

Now suppose that we purchase an estate in land for the sum of £100,000: where is the value for our money? Does it consist in things which have a present existence? The veriest tyro would answer-Certainly not. Where, then, is the equivalent for the purchase money?

When we purchase an estate in land, we purchase the Right to the actually existing products of the land and labour, such as the houses, the timber, the crops on the ground, together with the Right to receive its annual profits, or produce, for ever. That is to say, we purchase the Property to receive actually existing material products, together with a series of products which will only come into existence at definite intervals of time for ever. Thus Property in Land consists of two perfectly distinct parts, Property in the products of the past, and the Property in the produce of the future-say £3,000 a-year for ever.

This Property in Land may be conveniently denoted thus:Existing produce of the land, together with—£3,000—£3,000— £3,000, &c., for ever: where the Negative Sign means that the profits will come into existence at future intervals of time.

But though the yearly produce of the land will only come into existence at future intervals of time, the Property, or Right, to receive it as it does come into existence is present, and may be bought and sold like a table, or a book, or corn. That is to say, each of these annual profits for ever has a PRESENT VALUE, and the purchase money of the land is simply the sum of the present values of this series of future payments for ever.

Now the Right to receive any, or any number of these future profits is an estate in land, and as the entirety of the estates may belong to different persons, we have the whole legal doctrines of estates in remainder, in fee, in tail, in reversion, &c., with all their complications.

Again, although this series of future payments is infinite, a simple Algebraical formula shews that it has a finite limit, and what that limit is, depends partly upon the current rate of interest, as well as circumstances affecting each locality. Property in some parts of the country may be depressed below such a value by various local circumstances, and Property in other

parts of the country may be increased in value above the usual rate from other local circumstances.

When the usual rate of interest is 3 per cent. it is found that the total property in land is worth about 33 times its annual profits, and consequently 32 parts out of 33 of the total property in land is Incorporeal, the remaining part only being Corporeal.

Now when a purchaser has paid for the land, it may be said without any very great metaphor, that it owes him a series of annual payments for ever, as he bought it merely on the belief that he would receive them, hence we may call this Right to receive the future produce of the land the CREDIT of the land. And it is by the notation we have adopted, a Negative Economic Quantity.

When a trader of any sort has established a business of reputation it may be calculated after a certain time what the profits may be expected to be; and the Right to receive these future profits is a recognized article of commerce, and is called the GOODWILL of the business. It is the emptio spei, or the emptio rei sperata of Roman Law. This property is the result of the trader's Labour and Talents, and is manifestly incorporeal, and lies wholly in the future, and is therefore negative.

That the goodwill of a business is a valuable property is sa well known to every trader, lawyer, and man of business, that it may seem almost superfluous to mention it. Yet J. B. Say is the only Economist, that we are aware of, who recognizes the existence of such property; and even he seems to forget it in many of his doctrines.

We may cite an instance which may interest our readers. Boswell says that Thrale, the great brewer, appointed Johnson one of his executors. In that capacity it became his duty to sell the business. When the sale was going on-" Johnson appeared bustling about, with an inkhorn and pen in his button hole, like an exciseman; and on being asked what he really considered to be the value of the property which was to be disposed of, answered, "We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the POTENTIALITY of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice." This latter phrase was merely a Johnsonian expression for the goodwill of the business. The price realized on this occasion was, we are told

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