Page:An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798).djvu/360

 the great fortunes that are made in trade, and the liberality with which so many merchants live, and yet agree in the statement of the Œconomists, that manufacturers can only grow rich by depriving themselves of the funds destined for their support. In many branches of trade the profits are so great, as would allow of a clear rent to a third person; but as there is no third person in the case, and as all the profits centre in the master manufacturer, or merchant, he seems to have a fair chance of growing rich, without much privation; and we consequently see large fortunes acquired in trade by persons who have not been remarked for their parsimony.

Daily experience proves, that the labour employed in trade and manufactures, is sufficiently productive to individuals; but it certainly is not productive in the same