THK W K ALT 11 OF NATIONS.

865

necessarily abounds with a set of people through whosehands not only their own capitals, but the capitals of allthose who either lend them money, or trust them with goods,pass as frequently, or more frequently, than the revenue ofa private man, who, without trade or business, lives uponhis income, passes through his hands. The revenue of sucha man can regularly pass through his hands only once in ayear. But the whole amount of the capital and credit of amerchant, who deals in a trade of which the returns are veryquick, may sometimes pass through his hands, two, three,or four times in a year. A country abounding with mer-chants and manufacturers, therefore, necessarily aboundswith a set of people who have it at all times in their powerto advance, if they choose to do so, a very large sum of moneyto government. Hence the ability in the subjects of a com-mercial state to lend.

Commerce and manufactures can seldom flourish long inany state which does not enjoy a regular administration ofjustice, in which the people do not feel themselves securein the possession of their property, in which the faith ofcontracts is not supported by law, and in which the authorityof the state is not supposed to be regularly employed in en-forcing the payment of debts from all those who are able topay. Commerce and manufactures, in short, can seldomflourish in any state in which there is not a certain degreeof confidence in the justice of government. The same con-fidence which disposes great merchants and manufacturers,upon ordinary occasions, to trust their property to the pro-tection of a particular government, disposes them, upon ex-traordinary occasions, to trust that government with the useof their property. By lending money to government, theydo not even for a moment diminish their ability to carry ontheir trade ‘and manufactures. On the contrary they com-monly augment it. The necessities of the state render go-vernment upon most occasions willing to borrow upon termsextremely advantageous to the lender. The security whichit grants to the original creditor, is made transferable to anyother creditor, and, from the universal confidence in thejustice of the state, generally sells in the market for morethan was originally paid for it. The merchant or moniedman makes money by lending money to government, and,instead of diminishing, increases his trading capital. Hegenerally considers it as a iavour, therefore, when theadmi-