THE WEALTH OE NATIONS.

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of the same country, imported into the town; in which casetoo the original price ot those goods is augmented by thewages of the carriers or sailors, and by the profits of themerchants who employ them. In what is gained upon thefirst of those two branches of commerce, consists the advan-tage which the town makes by its manufactures; in what isgained upon the second, the advantage of its inland andforeign trade. The wages of the workmen, and the profitsof their different employers, make up the whole of what isgaiiied upon both. Whatever regulations, therefore, tend toincrease those wages and profits beyond what they otherwisewould be, tend to enable the town to purchase, with a smallerquantity of its labour, the produce of a greater quantity ofthe labour of the country. They give the traders and artifi-cers in the town an advantage over the landlords, farmers,and labourers in the country, and break down that naturalequality which would otherwise take place in the commercewhich is carried on between them. The whole annual pro-duce of the labour of the society is annually divided betweenthose two different sets of people. By means of those regu-lations a greater share of it is given to the inhabitants of thetown than would otherwise fall to them; and a less to thoseof the country.

The price which the town really pays for the provisionsand materials annually imported into it, is the quantity ofmanufactures and other goods, annually exported from it.The dearer the latter are sold, the cheaper the former arebought. The industry of the town becomes more, and thatof the country less advantageous.

That the industry which is carried on in town is, every-where in Europe , more advantageous than that which is car-ried on in the country, without entering into any very nicecomputations, we may satisfy ourselves by one very simpleand obvious observation. In every country of Europe wefind at least, a hundred people who have acquired great for-tunes from small beginnings by trade and manufactures, theindustry which properly belongs to towns, for one who hasdone so by that which properly belongs to the country, theraising of rude produce by the improvement and cultivationof land. Industry, therefore, must be better rewarded, thewages of labour and the profits of stock must evidently begreater in the one situation than in the other. But stock andlabour naturally seek the most advantageous employment.