community. The policy of states leads them to seek independence of each other in their economical, almost as much as in their political, relations; or we might better say, that political independence—that is, the enjoyment of distinct institutions and laws, chosen and established by ourselves - makes it still more desirable and necessary than it was before, that we should not be entirely dependent upon foreigners for the supply of great articles of consumption of prime necessity,—that we should have within our own borders, and under our own control, the means of satisfying all our natural and imperative wants. It is not even desirable that Massachusetts and Ohio should be rendered so far independent of each other, that each could obtain from its own soil, or by the labor of its own inhabitants, all that it can need; for these two States are one in most of their political relations. Members of the same great confederacy, living under the same laws, and each exercising its due share of influence in the national legislature, neither has cause to apprehend the hostile or injurious action of the other. The political ties between them are strengthened by their dependence on each other for a supply of many of the necessaries of civilized existence. But it is desirable that both should be independent, as far as may be, of the great powers of Europe, with whom they cannot be sure of continued friendly intercourse for any time beyond the present, and from whom they are always separated by a great breadth of ocean, and by dissimilarity of customs, institutions, and laws.

True independence, in an economical point of view, does not require us to forego all commercial intercourse with other nations; this would be rather a curse than a blessing. But it does require that each nation should be able to exercise, within its own limits, all the great branches of industry designed to satisfy the wants of man. It must be able to practise all the arts which would be necessary for its own well-being, if it were the only nation on the earth. If it be restricted to agriculture alone, or to manufactures alone, a portion of the energies of its people are lost, and some of its natural advantages run to waste. To be so limited in its sphere of occupation, to be barred out from some of the natural and necessary employments of the human race, through the overwhelming competition of foreigners, is a serious evil, which it is the object of a

protective policy to obviate or redress. On whatever other grounds this policy may be objected to, it is surely not open to the charge of being an infringement of the laissez-faire principle, or a restriction of every man's right to make such use as he pleases of his own industry and capital. Its object is not to narrow, but to widen, the field for the profitable employment of industry, and to second the working of the beneficent designs of Providence in the constitution of society, by removing all artificial and unnecessary checks to their operation.

I repeat it, then, that these designs, as shown in the economical laws of human nature, (i. e. in the principles of Political Economy,) through their general effects upon the well-being of society, manifest the contrivance, wisdom, and beneficence of the Deity, just as clearly as do the marvellous arrangements of the material universe, or the natural means provided for the enforcement of the moral law and the punishment of crime. The lowest passions of mankind, ostentation and ambition, petty rivalry, the love of saving and the love of gain, while they bring their own penalty upon the individual who unduly indulges them, are still overruled for good in their operation upon the interests of society;-nay, they are made the most efficient means of guarding it from harm, and advancing its welfare. In the vast round of employments in civilized society, there is hardly one in which a person can profitably exert himself, without at the same time profiting the community in which he lives, and lending aid to thousands of human beings whom he never saw. We are all servants of one another without wishing it, and even without knowing it; we are all coöperating with each other as busily and effectively as the bees in a hive, and most of us with as little perception as the bees have, that each individual effort is essential to the common defence and general prosperity. "This dependence and combination," says McCulloch, "is not found only or principally in the mechanical employments; it extends to the labors of the head as well as those of the hands, and pervades and binds together all classes and degrees of society."

CHAPTER III.

HOW WEALTH IS CREATED, AND WHAT CONSTITUTES EXCHANGEABLE VALUE.

A DISTINCTION has already been briefly pointed out between wealth and property. Wealth consists of the aggregate of articles, chiefly material or tangible, though some immaterial products are ranked among them, which supply the wants and satisfy the desires of man; and the stock of national wealth "is kept in existence from age to age, not by preservation, but by perpetual reproduction. Every part of it is used or destroyed, generally very soon after it is produced; but those who consume it are employed meanwhile in producing more," - not only enough to replace what is consumed, but to furnish a surplus, or profit. Property is the ownership of these articles, and often remains unchanged, or fixed, for many generations, just as the river continues, though the water is perpetually running out of it into the sea.

As the articles change while the ownership continues, there must be evidences of that ownership, or "tickets of transfer,” as I have once called them, mere representatives of wealth, which command a price in the market, and are often sold, but which, in themselves, form no addition to the national wealth. Notes and mortgages, bank-bills, bank-stock, stock in any corporation or in the national debt, are such representatives. They are mere evidences that the person holding them is the owner of a larger or smaller portion of those articles which really constitute wealth; and their value to him consists only in the fact that they enable him, whenever he sees fit, to reclaim his property, or to take possession of those articles which actually belong to him, though for a time he has trusted them to others. The national wealth, therefore, does not consist of the land, the houses, the manufactured goods, &c., plus the public funds, bank-stock, and the like. These funds and stocks are not wealth in themselves, but are certificates of ownership of those articles which really constitute riches. Nay, if any

portion of these stocks is held by foreigners, the aggregate wealth of the community does not consist even of the whole amount of those articles within its territory which are properly considered as wealth, but only of that amount minus the evidences of indebtedness to foreigners. If I buy $1,000 worth of government securities, I really lend $1,000 to the government, which, in return, mortgages to me a portion of its revenues, or of the sum which it annually raises by taxation. This sum is that portion of the valuable articles annually created by the labor of the community which the government appropriates to itself, as a compensation for the care and protection which it affords. What I really own, then, is this share of the useful articles annually produced by the labor of the whole people, which is transferred, first by the people to the government, and then by the government to me. The scrap of paper, called "public stock," which I hold, is of no value whatever, except as it enables me to claim without dispute my share of this annual product.

These truths are elementary and sufficiently obvious; but it was necessary to state them in order to clear the ground for the solution of the problem with which we are now concerned:

What are the essential qualities of wealth, and how is it created? How is it, that the national stock of wealth, which we are perpetually consuming, is yet perpetually reproduced, and that, too, with a profit, or constant enlargement, so that the stock at the end of the year is considerably larger than it was at the year's commencement?

As soon as we clearly perceive that wealth consists exclusively of those useful articles, chiefly material or tangible, which have been indicated, and that we have nothing to do with the intricate complications of property which arise from the dealings of men in the banks and the stock market, the answer to this question becomes very easy. Wealth is created by devoting human labor to the production and fashioning of these useful articles;-by tilling the ground and raising harvests of food and of the raw materials for manufacture; by spinning, weaving, and sewing; by erecting houses, working mines, and building ships; by any and every application of industry which is essential to the full enjoyment of these articles, or which has directly or indirectly concurred in their formation.

Human labor, whether skilful or unskilful, whether applied alone or artfully assisted by natural agents, is the means; wealth is the product. Whatever is necessary in order that the workman may apply himself more directly and successfully, and with less interruption, to his task, must be considered as a portion of the industry which concurs in the formation of the article produced by that workman.

secure

Thus, he must feel secure in his employment, against violence, robbery, or any improper or wrongful interruption of his labor. Government affords him this security, and is, to this extent, a fellow-producer with him, so that it rightfully claims a share — a very small share of the finished product. "On the governor, and those with whom he is associated, or whom he appoints," says Mr. Senior, "is devolved the care of defending the community from violence and fraud; and so far as internal violence is concerned, and that is the evil most dreaded in civilized society, it is wonderful how small a number of persons can provide for the security of multitudes. About 15,000 soldiers, and not 15,000 policemen, watchmen, and officers of justice, protect the persons and property of the 18 millions of inhabitants of Great Britain. There is scarcely a trade that does not engross the labor of a greater number of persons than are employed to perform this most important of all services."

The coöperation which the laborer requires, in a highly civilized community, for the completion of his task, in order to present the article in a state fit for use, is far more extensive than we are apt, at first sight, to imagine. Thus, bread is a finished product, the total value of which must compensate a long line of laborers who have concurred in its formation. The tradesman who brings it to your door; the baker; the miller; the farm laborers who plough, sow, and reap; the farmer or land-owner; and all the artisans who have fabricated all the tools and instruments used by these persons, - must all have their share of the price finally paid for the bread which is fully prepared to be eaten. The extensive coöperation of employments, produced by the minute subdivision of labor, is the most striking feature of modern civilization. The object of this immense subdivision is to secure the greatest possible efficiency of labor,—that everything may be produced on the spot best