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Quesnai, and Mercier de la Riviere , in regarding agriculture as tlie grandstaple in every country, and the cultivation of the soil as the most produc-tive source of revenue, he, at the same time, condemns the theory of suchwriters as assert that commerce and manufactures are unproductive to astate ; and adopts the theory of Adam Smith , in assigning their true posi-tion to the mercantile and manufacturing classes as actually productiveclasses to the State.”
“ Essay on the Woollen Manufacture.
“ This Essay commences with expressions of regret that the woollenmanufacture should not have been introduced on a scale of any extent inScotland , seeing that the country is in many respects well calculated for it.The origin of this manufacture in England, is traced to the time of theRoman possession, on the expulsion of which people from the island, thisbranch of industry, however,.became extinct, till the time of Edward theThird. During the interval alluded to, the writer states that the whole oftlie countries of the north of Europe had been supplied with woollen articlesfrom the Netherlands , then the great emporium of commerce, and derivingimmense advantages from the same. At this time, British raw wool wasexported to the Netherlands , which Edward, with a view to encouragenative manufactures, prohibited; whilst the impolitic restrictions imposedupon commerce in the Netherlands , drove many of the manufacturers fromthe country, who seeking refuge in England, were wisely encouraged byEdward. In 1739, Mr. Macintosh computes that £11,735,500 sterling wereannually paid in wages alone in the woollen manufactures of Britain , andone million five hundred persons employed in this branch. In 1783, theamounts were, of wages, £13,440,000 sterling; the value of the total annualproduct being £16,800,000. In this year, 1783, the value of the wholecotton manufactured in Britain was £960,000 ; the exports of woollen fromEngland being £3,391,224, and from Scotland , £68,828! Mr. Macintoshargues against the impolicy of tampering with such a trade, by permittingthe exportation of wool; and concludes by describing the migratory flocksof Spain , and the state of the woollen manufacture in that country, anddoubts the possibility of introducing the manufacture of wool on a largescale in Scotland , on account of the climate and pasturage ; and with sur-prising acuteness, predicts the superior chances which await the success ofthe cotton manufacture, as a national staple in Scotland. ”*
“ An Essay on the Iron Trade of Scotland.
“ In this Essay, Mr. M. enters generally upon the question of the extensiveuse of iron, and speculates upon the darkness and barbarism which must havecontinued to envelope a great portion of the earth, but for the discovery ofthe magnet. In proportion to the extensive usefulness of iron, the all-wiseCreator, he observes, has distributed it in greater quantities over the earth’ssurface than all other metals put together. He next describes the smelting
* The first cotton mill erected in Scotland , was in the neighbourhood of Kirkin-tilloch, by Mr. Kincaid of Kincaid. It was upon a very small scale, and situatednear tlie junction of the small river Luggie with the Kelvin. Its ruins arc stillvisible.— Ed.