Page:Manual of Political Economy.djvu/80

 Of Capital. 31

time when her capital city and no inconsiderable portion of her territory were occupied by the invader, she seemed to have recovered more than her former prosperity. Her revenue was never in a more flourishing condition than in 1875, although within this period of four years she had had to pay to Germany a war indemnity of £200,000,000. This revival of prosperity admits of a very simple explanation. It has been shown in this chapter that the capital which at any time exists in a country is always sufficient to administer to the production of a much greater amount of wealth than that which is produced; or, in other words, the production of wealth which actually takes place might be effected with the aid of much less capital than the amount which is applied. There, therefore, always exists a considerable excess of capital which might be wholly destroyed without necessarily impeding the production of wealth. The industrial efficiency of the labourer can for a time be maintained although his wages be reduced to a point which allows no margin for luxury or enjoyment. If, therefore, in a country ravaged by war, there should be just enough food left for the labourers to live upon until the next harvest is gathered in, and if also they had the necessary agricultural implements and seed, there is no reason why the country should not soon be restored to its former fertile and well-cultivated appearance. But if the implements of agriculture were destroyed, cultivation could not proceed until they were replaced; and the after consequences of the war would be more permanently disastrous. As a nation advances in commercial prosperity, a constantly increasing quantity of national wealth assumes a permanent and fixed form. The docks, the railways, our unsurpassed mercantile navy, the great manufactories of Lancashire and Yorkshire, with their machinery as costly as it is ingenious; these works, and not the food and clothing stored in our warehouses, are the striking evidences of England's vast accumulated wealth. If all the food were destroyed except just enough to prevent the people starving, England in one year might present an unchanged aspect of commercial prosperity; for the food which is stored at any particular time is destined to

BOOK I. CH. IV.

Commercial progress increases the evils of war.