第 14 节
作者:水王      更新:2022-05-01 22:41      字数:9321
  have to bear extraordinary imposts and heavy taxation; and lastly
  the injurious effects continue to operate even after the cessation
  of the war; because both capital and individual effort are ever
  attracted towards agricultural work and diverted from manufactures;
  precisely in that proportion in which the war may have injured the
  farmers and their crops; and thereby opened up a more directly
  profitable field for the employment of capital and of labour than
  the manufacturing industries would then afford。 While in Germany
  this condition of things recurred twice in every hundred years; and
  caused German manufactures to retrograde; those of England made
  uninterrupted progress。 English manufacturers; as opposed to their
  Continental competitors; enjoyed a double and treble advantage
  whenever England; by fitting out fleets and armies; by subsidies;
  or by both these means combined; proceeded to take an active part
  in foreign wars。
  We cannot agree with the defenders of unproductive expenditure;
  namely; of that incurred by wars and the maintenance of large
  armies; nor with those who insist upon the positively beneficial
  character of a public debt; but neither do we believe that the
  dominant school are in the right when they contend that all
  consumption which is not directly reproductive  for instance;
  that of war  is absolutely injurious without qualification。 The
  equipment of armies; wars; and the debts contracted for these
  purposes; may; as the example of England teaches; under certain
  circumstances; very greatly conduce to the increase of the
  productive powers of a nation。 Strictly speaking; material wealth
  may have been consumed unproductively; but this consumption may;
  nevertheless; stimulate manufacturers to extraordinary exertions;
  and lead to new discoveries and improvements; especially to an
  increase of productive powers。 This productive power then becomes
  a permanent acquisition; it will increase more and more; while the
  expense of the war is incurred only once for all。(10*) And thus it
  may come to pass; under favouring conditions such as have occurred
  in England; that a nation has gained immeasurably more than it has
  lost from that very kind of expenditure which theorists hold to be
  unproductive。 That such was really the case with England; may be
  shown by figures。 For in the course of the war; that country had
  acquired in the cotton manufacture alone a power of production
  which yields annually a much larger return in value than the amount
  which the nation has to find to defray the interest upon the
  increased national debt; not to mention the vast development of all
  other branches of industry; and the additions to her colonial
  wealth。
  Most conspicuous was the advantage accruing to the English
  manufacturing interest during the Continental wars; when England
  maintained army corps on the Continent or paid subsidies。 The whole
  expenditure on these was sent; in the shape of English
  manufactures; to the seat of war; where these imports then
  materially contributed to crush the already sorely suffering
  foreign manufacturers; and permanently to acquire the market of the
  foreign country for English manufacturing industry。 It operated
  precisely like an export bounty instituted for the benefit of
  British and for the injury of foreign manufacturers。(11*)
  In this way; the industry of the Continental nations has ever
  suffered more from the English as allies; than from the English as
  enemies。 In support of this statement we need refer only to the
  Seven Years' War; and to the wars against the French Republic and
  Empire。
  Great; however; as have been the advantages heretofore
  mentioned; they have been greatly surpassed in their effect by
  those which England derived from immigrations attracted by her
  political; religious; and geographical conditions。
  As far back as the twelfth century political circumstances
  induced Flemish woollen weavers to emigrate to Wales。 Not many
  centuries later exiled Italians came over to London to carry on
  business as money changers and bankers。 That from Flanders and
  Brabant entire bodies of manufacturers thronged to England at
  various periods; we have shown in Chapter II。 From Spain and
  Portugal came persecuted Jews; from the Hanse Towns; and from
  Venice in her decline; merchants who brought with them their ships;
  their knowledge of business; their capital; and their spirit of
  enterprise。 Still more important were the immigrations of capital
  and of manufacturers in consequence of the Reformation and the
  religious persecutions in Spain; Portugal; France; Belgium;
  Germany; and Italy; as also of merchants and manufacturers from
  Holland in consequence of the stagnation of trade and industry in
  that country occasioned by the Act of Navigation and the Methuen
  Treaty。 Every political movement; every war upon the Continent;
  brought England vast accessions of fresh capital and talents; so
  long as she possessed the privileges of freedom; the right of
  asylum; internal tranquillity and peace; the protection of the law;
  and general well…being。 So more recently did the French Revolution
  and the wars of the Empire; and so did the political commotions;
  the revolutionary and reactionary movements and the wars in Spain;
  in Mexico; and in South America。 By means of her Patent Laws;
  England long monopolised the inventive genius of every nation。 It
  is no more than fair that England; now that she has attained the
  culminating point of her industrial growth and progress; should
  restore again to the nations of Continental Europe a portion of
  those productive forces which she originally derived from them。
  NOTES:
  1。 Hume; vol。 ii; p。 143。
  2。 No doubt the decrees prohibiting the export of wool; not to
  mention the restrictions placed on the trade in wool in markets
  near the coast; were vexations and unfair; yet at the same time the
  operated beneficially in the promotion of English industry; and in
  the suppression of that of the Flemings。
  3。 Hume (in 1603)。 Macpherson; Histoire du Commerce (in 1651)。
  4。 See Ustaritz; Th閛rie du Commerce; ch。 xxviii。 Thus we see
  George I did not want to export goods and import nothing but specie
  in return; which is stated as the fundamental principle of the
  so…called 'mercantile system'; and which in any case would be
  absurd。 What he desired was to export manufactures and import raw
  material。
  5。 Hume; vol。 v。 p。 39。
  6。 Anderson for the year 1721。
  7。 Priestley; Lectures on History and General Policy; Pt。 II; p。
  289。
  8。 These and the following figures relating to English statistics
  are taken from a paper written by McQueen; the celebrated English
  statistician; and appearing in the July number of Tait's Edinburgh
  Magazine for the year 1839。 Possibly they may be somewhat
  exaggerated for the moment。 But even if so; it is more than
  probable that the figures as stated will be reached within the
  present decade。
  9。 Before his lamented death; the gifted author of this remark; in
  his Letters on England; read the nobles of his native country a
  lesson in this respect which they would do well to lay to heart。
  10。 England's national debt would not be so great an evil as it now
  appears to us; if England's aristocracy would concede that this
  burden should be borne by the class who were benefited by the cost
  of wars; namely; by the rich。 McQueen estimates the capitalised
  value of property in the three kingdoms at 4;000 million pounds
  sterling; and Martin estimates the capital invested in the colonies
  at about 2;600 millions sterling。 Hence we see that one…ninth part
  of Englishmen's private property would suffice to cover the entire
  national debt。 Nothing could be more just than such an
  appropriation; or at least than the payment of the interest on the
  national debt out of the proceeds of an income tax。 The English
  aristocracy; however; deem it more convenient to provide for this
  charge by the imposition of taxes upon articles of consumption; by
  which the existence of the working classes is embittered beyond the
  point of endurance。
  11。 See Appendix A。
  Chapter 5
  The Spaniards and Portuguese
  Whilst the English were busied for centuries in raising the
  structure of their national prosperity upon the most solid
  foundations; the Spaniards and the Po