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can be placed in them with any tolerable profit being alreadyplaced in them, the capital of Holland necessarily flows to-wards the most distant employments. The trade to the EastIndies, if it were altogether free, would probably absorb thegreater part of this redundant capital. The East Indies offeramarket both for the manufactures of Europe and for the goldand silver as well as for several other productions of America ,greater and more extensive than both Europe and America put together.
Every derangement of the natural distribution of stock isnecessarily hurtful to the society in which it takes place;whether it be by repelling from a particular trade the stockwhich would otherwise go to it, or by attracting towards aparticular trade that which would not otherwise come to it.If, without any exclusive company, the trade of Holland to the East Indies would be greater than it actually is, thatcountry must suffer a considerable loss by part of its capitalbeing excluded from the employment most convenient forthat part. And in the same manner, if, without an exclu-sive company,,the trade of Sweden and Denmark to the EastIndies would be less than it actually is, or, what perhaps ismore probable, would not exist at all, those two countriesmust likewise suffer a considerable loss by part of their capi-tal being drawn into an employment, which must be more orless unsuitable to their present circumstances. Better forthem, perhaps, in their present circumstances, to buy East India goods of other nations, even though they should paysomewhat dearer, than to turn so great part of their small ca-pital to so verydistantatrade, in which the returns are so veryslow, in which that capital can maintain so small a quantity ofproductive labour at home, where productive labour is so muchwanted, where so little is done, and where so much is to do.
Though without an exclusive company, therefore, a par-ticular country .should not be able to carry on any directtrade to the East Indies, it will not from thence follow thatsuch a company ought to be established there, but only thatsuch a country ought not in these circumstances to trade di-rectly to the East Indies. That such companies are not ingeneral necessary for carrying on the East India trade, issufficiently demonstrated by the experience of the Portu guese , who enjoyed almost the whole of it for more than acentury together without any exclusive company.
No private merchant, it has been said, could well have capi-