Page:On the economy of machinery and manufactures - Babbage - 1846.djvu/399

Rh (438.) The advocates of these prohibitions in England seem to rely greatly upon the possibility of preventing the knowledge of new contrivances from being conveyed to other countries; and they take much too limited a view of the possible, and even probable, improvements in mechanics.

(439.) For the purpose of examining this question, let us consider the case of two manufacturers of the same article, one situated in a country in which labour is very cheap, the machinery bad, and the modes of transport slow and expensive; the other engaged in manufacturing in a country in which the price of labour is very high, the machinery excellent, and the means of transport expeditious and economical. Let them both send their produce to the same market, and let each receive such a price as shall give to him the profit ordinarily produced by capital in his own country. It is almost certain that in such circumstances the first improvement in machinery will occur in the country which is most advanced in civilization; because, even admitting that the ingenuity to contrive were the same in the two countries, the means of execution are very different. The effect of improved machinery in the rich country will be perceived in the common market, by a small fall in the price of the manufactured article. This will be the first intimation to the manufacturer of the poor country, who will endeavour to meet the diminution in the selling price of his article by increased industry and economy in his factory; but he will soon find that this remedy is temporary, and that the market-price continues to fall. He will thus be induced to examine the rival fabric, in order to detect, from its