Page:The Economic Journal Volume 1.djvu/96

76 who took a pessimistic view of the condition of the country. Their writings, however, are of far more interest from the light they throw on passing events, and from the statistics they contain, than from any very remarkable advance in economic doctrine. They all start from the old standpoint. In all cases their writing was of practical interest and their practical interest was that of rendering the nation prosperous and powerful as compared with other nations.

Malachy Postlethwayt was the most celebrated of these writers. Quite in the old manner he compares the commercial and colonial policy of England with that of Holland and of France, and tries to show how the British system might be improved, so as to outdo their rivals. Others were alarmed, not at the prosperity of our ancient rival, but at the pressure of indirect taxation. There were pamphlets without end as to the absolute necessity of living on the national income; and the failure of the Sinking Fund filled economists with the wildest forebodings as to the future of the country and the continued pressure of debt. There were others who were more concerned at the indirect effects of this indebtedness. Large debts meant heavy interest, and heavy interest meant that commerce was hampered by large custom duties. This was the cry of Sir Matthew Decker, Richardson, and Fauquier; and in their enthusiasm for an unfettered commerce they were apparently inclined to sweep away all the expedients for directing trade. Indeed one main objection which was urged to their schemes was that they practically involved having free ports, and that this might lead to the cessation of any governmental efforts to guide the direction of capital. But though Richardson and Decker are apparently in favour of free trade, the manner in which they talk about the Balance of Trade, goes to show that they were still on the platform of those who were considering the national prosperity as their main object, and chiefly interested in national wealth because it was the primary source of national power.

In order to judge of the condition of any of the funds from which the revenue was drawn, and thus of the expediency of the rules then current for its conduct, it was convenient either to measure these resources as completely as possible, or to take some group of phenomena as typical of the rest. Torrents of schemes were issued from the press, containing wild guesses as to possible amounts, and wilder interpretations of these uncertain data. The Mercator and the British Merchant are full of figures, and Massie's numerous tracts are crammed with calculations; but the