Till*'. WEALTH OK NATIONS.

4 * 21 !

countries. Irish cattle could never he imported for their use,hut must be drove through those very extensive countries, atno small expense and inconveniency, before they could arriveat their proper market. Fat cattle could not lie drove so far.Fean cattle, therefore, only could be imported, and such im-portation could interfere, not with the interest of the feedingor fattening countries, to which, by reducing the price of leancattle, it would rather be advantageous, but with that of thebreeding countries only. The small number of Irish cattleimported since their importation was permitted, together withthe good price at which lean cattle still continue to sell, seemto demonstrate that even the breeding countries of Great Bri­ tain arc never likely to be much aifected by the free, impor-tation of Irish cattle. The common people of Ireland , indeed,arc said to have sometimes opposed with violence the expor-tation of their cattle. But if the exporters had found anygreat advantage in continuing the trade, they could easily,when the law was on their side, have conquered this mobbishopposition.

Feeding and lattening countries, besides, must always behighly improved, whereas breeding countries are generallyuncultivated. The high price of lean cattle, by augmentingthe value of uncultivated land, is like a bounty against im-provement. To any country which was highly improvedthroughout, it would be more advantageous to import its leancattle than to breed them. The province of Holland, ac-cordingly, is said to follow this maxim at present. The moun-tains of Scotland , Wales , and Northumberland, indeed, arecountries not capable of much improvement, and seem des-tined by nature to be the breeding countries of Great. Britain .The freest importation of foreign cattle could have no othereffect than to hinder those, breeding countries from taking ad-vantage of the increasing population and improvement of therest of the kingdom, trom raising their price, to an exorbitantheight, and from laying a real tax upon all the more improvedand cultivated parts of the country.

The freest importation „ visions, in the same man-

ner, could have as little ell’ect upon the. interest of the gra-ziers of Great Britain as that of live cattle. Salt provisionsare not only a very bulky commodity, but when comparedwith fresh meat, they are a commodity both of worse quality,and, as they cost more labour and expense, of higher price.They could never, therefore, come into competition with the