Page:The Economic Journal Volume 1.djvu/94

 74 wealth were more obvious, and a keen observer like Adam Smith who had frequent intercourse with practical men, was in an excellent position for reflecting on the causes of this progress; but after all, these changes, though decided, had been slow; other observers had noted and described the more important facts, and traced out the causes that were at work. A general condition of this kind, though it accounts for the progress of the study as a whole, does not help to explain the special eminence of Adam Smith. We shall find a better guide if we take the revolutionary period as a starting-point and look at the mere form and divisions of the subject in the treatises which were published then, and compare them with The Wealth of Nations.

1. Davenant and Petty were writers of extraordinary acuteness. Their works are full of careful statistics, and of accurate and ingenious remark. Numberless phrases can be culled from their works which anticipate the reasonings of later writers, but the very titles of their chief books show that their view of the subject is restricted. They deal with the expenses of government as the one important topic; Petty's great work is A Treatise of Taxes and Contributions, which was written with special reference to the fiscal administration of Ireland; Davenant compiled An Essay on Ways and Means of Supplying the War. The central thoughts with both are the expenses of government and the modes of defraying them; though from this starting-point they proceed to treat the subject with much judgment and skill, the form which all the problems take is affected by the point of view from which they look at them.

Since these economists dealt primarily with English revenue, there were three main funds to be considered; the increase of treasure which was necessary in order to defray the expenses of war and thus to render the Government secure against emergencies; the increase of commerce and of the customs; and the increase of the wealth of the landed class who contributed such a large proportion of the revenue of the country. Bullion gave the means of gathering and amassing treasure; and if trade were so managed as to afford an opportunity for accumulating treasure there seemed to be plain evidence that the Government was in good case; and the Balance of Trade apparently offered a simple means of estimating how far this was so. The customs had been an important source of revenue from the time of Edward III.; and the resources of the landowners as a fund for possible taxation had been kept in view since William noted the assessment of every estate in Domesday book.