304 Civil Society. ' B. II.

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the bounty. But, fuppofing it true , will the evilbe remedied by withdrawing the bounty ? On thecontrary, it will difeourage manufactures, by rai-fing the price of wheat at home. It will befideencourage French hufbandry, fo as in all probabi-lity to reduce the price of their wheat below whatwe afford it to them. In France , labor is chea-per than in England , the people are more frugal,they poffefs a better foil and climate: what havewe to balance thefe fignal advantages but ourbounty ? and weFe that bounty withdrawn, Ifliould not be furprifed to fee French corn pouredin upon us, at a lower price than it can be fur-nilhed at home: the very evil that was felt duringSully’s adminiftration

The exportation of Britifh manufactures to ourAmerican colonies, ought to meet with fuch en-couragement as to prevent them from rivalling us:it would be a grofs blunder to encourage theirmanufadures, by impofing a duty on what weexport to them. We ought rather to give a boun-ty on exportation; which, by underfelling themin their own markets, would quafh every attemptto rivalfhip.

As the duty on foreign linen imported into Bri-tain is drawn back when exported to America ,our legiflature gave a bounty on our coarfe linen

* Public granaries, which reft on a principle contrary tothat of exportation , are hurtful in a f.-rtiie and extenfivecountry tike Britain , being a difcouragement to agriculture;but are bemfical in great towns, which have no corn oftheir own. Swilferland could not exift without granaries.

exported