THE WEALTH OF NATIONS.

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interest of this third order, therefore, has not the same con-nexion with the general interest of the society as that of theother two. Merchants and master manufacturers are, in thisorder, the two classes of people who commonly employ thelargest capitals, and who by their wealth draw to themselvesthe greatest share of the public consideration. As duringtheir whole lives they are engaged in plans and projects, theyhave frequently more acuteness of understanding than thegreater part of country gentlemen. As their thoughts, how-ever, are commonly exercised rather about the interest oftheir own particular branch of business, than about that ofthe society, their judgment, even when given with the great-est candour (which it has not been upon every occasion), ismuch more to be depended uppn with regard to the formerof those two objects, than with regard to the latter. Theirsuperiority over the country gentleman is, not so much intheir knowledge of the public interest, as in their having abetter knowledge of their own interest than he has of his. Itis by this superior knowledge of their own interest that theyhave frequently imposed upon his generosity, and persuadedhim to give up both his own interest and that of the public,from a very simple but honest conviction, that their interest,and not his, was the interest of the public. The interest ofthe dealers, however, in any particular branch of trade ormanufactures, is always in some respects different from, andeven opposite to, that of the public. To widen the marketand to narrow the competition, is always the interest of thedealers. To widen the market may frequently be agreeableenough to the interest of the public ; but to narrow the com-petition must always be against it, and can serve only to ena-ble the dealers, by raising their profits above what they na-turally would be, to levy, for their own benefit, an absurdtax upon the rest of their fellow-citizens. The proposal ofany new law or regulation of commerce which comes fromthis order, ought always to be listened to with great precau-tion, and ought never to be adopted till after having beenlong and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupu-lous, but with the most suspicious attention. It comes froman order of men, whose interest is never exactly the samewith that of the public, who have generally an interest to de-ceive and even to oppress the public, and who accordinglyhave, upon many occasions, both deceived and oppressed it.