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THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF

occasioned. The absurdity of this second kind of monopoly,therefore, is much more manifest than that of the first.

Both these kinds of monopolies derange more or less thenatural distribution of the stock of the society ; but they donot always derange it in the same way.

Monopolies of the first kind always attract to the particulartrade on which they are established, a greater proportion ofthe stock of the society than what would go to that trade ofits own accord.

Monopolies of the second kind may sometimes attractstock towards the particular trade in which they are esta-blished, and sometimes repel it from that trade, according todifferent circumstances. In poor countries they naturally at-tract towards that trade more stock than would otherwise goto it. In rich countries they naturally repel from it a gooddeal of stock which would otherwise go to it.

Such poor countries as Sweden and Denmark , for exam-ple, would probably have never sent a single ship to the EastIndies, had not the trade been subjected to an exclusive com-pany. The establishment of such a company necessarily en-courages adventurers. Their monopoly secures them againstall competitors in the home market, and they have the samechance for foreign markets with the traders of other nations.Their monopoly shews them the certainty of a great profitupon a considerable quantity of goods, and the chance of aconsiderable profit upon a great quantity. Without suchextraordinary encouragement, the poor traders of such poorcountries would probably never have thought of hazardingtheir small capitals in so very distant and uncertain an ad-venture as the trade to the East Indies must naturally haveappeared to them.

Such a rich country as Holland, on the contrary, wouldprobably, in the case of a free trade, send many more ships tothe East Indies than it actually does. The limited stock ofthe Dutch East India company probably repels from thattrade many great mercantile capitals which would otherwisego to it. The mercantile capital ol Holland is so great thatit is, as it were, continually overflowing, sometimes into thepublic funds of foreign countries, sometimes into loans toprivate traders and adventurers ot foreign countries, some-times into the most round-about foreign trades of consump-tion, and sometimes into the carrying trade. All near em-ployments being completely filled up, all the capital which