B. II.
31b
Exemption from duty , premiums to the beftworkmen, a bounty on exportation, joined witha duty on good of the fame kind imported, andat laft a total prohibition, are the proper encou-ragements to a new manufa&ure.
late'y in the court of king’s bench. Nothing more fre-quently happens, tha- by grafpi g at the fhadow, to lofethe fubftance ; for I have no difficulty to maintain , that aperpetual monopoly of books would prove more d-ftrudbve Solearning, and even to authors, than a fecond irruption ofGoths ar.d Vandals. It is the natjne of a monopoly to raifethe price of commodities ; and by a perpetual monopoly inthe commerce of books, the price of good bo>.ks wouldbe raifed far beyond the reach of moft readers; they wouldbe fold like pictures cf the great matters. The works ofShakffieare, for exemple , or of Milton , would be feenin very few libraries. , In fhort, the only purchafers ofgood books would be a few learned men , fuch as have mo.ney to fpare, and a few rich men, who buy out of vani-ty , as they buy a diamond, or a fine coat. Fafhions atthe fame time a r e variable ; and books, even the moftfp endid , would wear out of falhion with men of opu-lence , and be defpifed as antiquated furniture. And,with refpi.dt to men of tafte, their number Is fo fmall, as notto afford encouragement even for the moft frugal edition.Thus bo kfellers , by grafping too much, would put anend to their t ade altogether. At the fame time, our pie-fent authors and bo kfellers would not be much benefitedby fuch a monopoly. Not many books have fo long arun as fourt en years; and the fuccefs of a book on thefirft publication is fo uncertain , that a bookfeller will givelittle mo e for a perpetuity, than for the temporary privi-lege of the ftatute. This was forefeen by the leglflature;and the privilege was wifely confined to fourteen years,equally beneficial to the public and to authors.