THE WEALTH OF NATIONS.

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spiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raiseprices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings,by any law which either could be executed, or would be con-sistent with liberty and justice. But though the law cannothinder people of the same trade from sometimes assemblingtogether, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies;much less to render them necessary.

A regulation which obliges all those of the same trade in aparticular town to enter their names and places of abode in apublic register, facilitates such assemblies. It connects indi-viduals who might never otherwise be known to one another,and gives every man of the trade a direction where to findevery other man of it.

A regulation which enables those of the same trade to taxthemselves in order to provide for their poor, their sick, theirwidows and orphans, by giving them a common interest tomanage, renders such assemblies necessary.

An incorporation not only renders them necessary, butmakes the actol the majority binding upon the whole. In afree trade an effectual combination cannot be established butby the unanimous consent of every single trader, and it can-not last longer than every single trader continues of the samemind. The majority of a corporation can enact a by-law withproper penalties, which will limit the competition more ef-fectually and more durably than any voluntary combinationwhatever.

The pretence that corporations arp necessary for the bettergovernment of the trade, is without any foundation. Thereal and effectual discipline which is exercised over a work-man, is not that of his corporation, but that of his customers.It is the fear of losing their employment which restrains hisfrauds and corrects his negligence. An exclusive corpora-tion necessarily weakens the force of this discipline. A par-ticular set of workmen must then be employed, let them be-have well or ill. It is upon this account, that in many largeincorporated towns no tolerable workmen are to be found,even in some of the most necessary trades. If you wouldhave your work tolerably executed, it must he done in thesuburbs, where the workmen, having no exclusive pri-vilege, have nothing but their character to depend upon,and you must then smuggle it into the town as well asyou can.

It is in this manner that the policy of Europe , by restrain