THE WEALTH OF NATIONS.

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be in proportion to the value of its annual produce, the funfrom which all taxes must ultimately be paid. But the greatobject of the political economy of every country, is to in-crease the riches and power of that country. It ought there-fore to give no preference nor superior encouragement to theforeign trade of consumption above the home-trade, nor tothe carrying trade above either of the other two. It oughtneither to force nor to allure into either of those two chan-nels, a greater share of the capital of the country than whatwould naturally flow into them of its own accord.

Each of those different branches of trade, however, is notonly advantageous, but necessary and unavoidable, when thecourse of things, without any constraint or violence, naturallyintroduces it.

When the produce of any particular branch of industry ex-ceeds what the demand of the country requires, the surplusmust be sent abroad and exchanged for something for whichthere is a demand at home. Without such exportation, apart of the productive labour of the country must cease, andthe value of its annual produce diminish. The land andlabour of Great Britain produce generally more corn, wool-lens, and hard-ware, than the demand of the home-marketrequires. The surplus part of them, therefore, must be sentabroad, and exchanged for something for which there is ademand at home. It is only by means of such exportation,that this surplus can acquire a value sufficient to compensatethe labour and expense of producing it. The neighbourhoodof the sea coast, and the banks of all navigable rivers, areadvantageous situations lor industry, only because they faci-litate the exportation and exchange of such surplus producefor something else which is more in demand there.

When the foreign goods which are thus purchased withthe surplus produce of domestic industry exceed the demandof the home-market, the surplus part of them must be sentabroad again, and exchanged for something more in demandat home. About ninety-six thousand hogsheads of tobaccoare annually purchased in Virginia and Maryland , with apart ot the surplus produce of British industry. But the de-mand ol Great Britain does not require, perhaps, more thanfourteen thousand. If the remaining eighty-two thousand,therefore, could not be sent abroad and exchanged for some-thing more in demand at home, the importation of themmust cease immediately, and with it the productive labour of