第35章

Itdiminishedevenmorethanhalf：letusseeinwhatmanner。

Toextractthegoldfromthemines，togiveittherequisitepreparations，andtoimportitintoEurope，mustbeattendedwithsomecertainexpense。Iwillsupposethistobeas1to64。Whenthespeciewasoncedoubled，andconsequentlybecamebyone—halflessprecious，theexpensewasas2to64。ThusthegaloonswhichbroughttoSpainthesamequantityofgold，broughtathingwhichreallywasoflessvaluebyone—half，thoughtheexpensesattendingithadbeentwiceashigh。

Ifweproceeddoublinganddoubling，weshallfindinthisprogressionthecauseoftheimpotencyofthewealthofSpain。

ItisabouttwohundredyearssincetheyhaveworkedtheirIndianmines。

IsupposethequantityofspecieatpresentinthetradingworldistothatbeforethediscoveryoftheIndiesas32isto1；thatis，ithasbeendoubledfivetimes：intwohundredyearsmorethesamequantitywillbetothatbeforethediscoveryas64isto1；thatis，itwillbedoubledoncemore。Now，atpresent，fiftyquintalsoforeyieldfour，five，andsixouncesofgold；[148]andwhenityieldsonlytwo，theminerreceivesnomorefromitthanhisexpenses。Intwohundredyears，whentheminerwillextractonlyfour，thistoowillonlydefrayhischarges。Therewillthenbebutlittleprofittobedrawnfromthegoldmines。Thesamereasoningwillholdgoodofsilver，exceptthattheworkingofthesilverminesisalittlemoreadvantageousthanthoseofgold。

But，ifminesshouldbediscoveredsofruitfulastogiveamuchgreaterprofit，themorefruitfultheymaybe，thesoonertheprofitwillcease。

ThePortugueseinBrazilhavefoundminesofgoldsorich[149]thattheymustnecessarilyverysoonmakeaconsiderablediminutionintheprofitsofthoseofSpain，aswellasintheirIhavefrequentlyheardpeopledeploretheblindnessofthecourtofFrance，whorepulsedChristopherColumbus，whenhemadetheproposalofdiscoveringtheIndies。Indeedtheydid，thoughperhapswithoutdesign，anactofthegreatestwisdom。Spainhasbehavedlikethefoolishkingwhodesiredthateverythinghetouchedmightbeconvertedintogold，andwhowasobligedtobegofthegodstoputanendtohismisery。

Thecompaniesandbanksestablishedinmanynationshaveputafinishingstroketotheloweringofgoldandsilverasasignofrepresentationofriches；forbynewfictionstheyhavemultipliedinsuchamannerthesignsofwealth，thatgoldandsilverhavingthisofficeonlyinparthavebecomelessprecious。

Thuspubliccreditservesinsteadofmines，anddiminishestheprofitwhichtheSpaniardsdrewfromtheirs。

TrueitisthattheDutchtradetotheEastIndieshasincreased，insomemeasure，thevalueoftheSpanishmerchandise：forastheycarrybullion，andgiveitinexchangeforthemerchandiseoftheEast，theyeasetheSpaniardsofpartofacommoditywhichinEuropeaboundstoomuch。

Andthistrade，inwhichSpainseemstobeonlyindirectlyconcerned，isasadvantageoustothatnationastothosewhoaredirectlyemployedincarryingiton。

FromwhathasbeensaidwemayformajudgmentofthelastorderofthecouncilofSpain，whichprohibitsthemakinguseofgoldandsilveringildings，andothersuperfluities；adecreeasridiculousasitwouldbeforthestatesofHollandtoprohibittheconsumptionofspices。

Myreasoningdoesnotholdgoodagainstallmines；thoseofGermanyandHungary，whichproducelittlemorethantheexpenseofworkingthem，areextremelyuseful。Theyarefoundintheprincipalstate；theyemploymanythousandmen，whothereconsumetheirsuperfluouscommodities，andtheyareproperlyamanufactureofthecountry。

TheminesofGermanyandHungarypromotethecultureofland；theworkingofthoseofMexicoandPerudestroysit。

TheIndiesandSpainaretwopowersunderthesamemaster；buttheIndiesaretheprincipal，whileSpainisonlyanaccessory，itisinvainforpoliticstoattempttobringbacktheprincipaltotheaccessory；theIndieswillalwaysdrawSpaintothemselves。

Ofthemerchandise，tothevalueofaboutfiftymillionsoflivres，annuallysenttotheIndies，Spainfurnishesonlytwomillionsandahalf：theIndiestradeforfiftymillions，theSpaniardsfortwoandahalf。

Thatmustbeabadkindofricheswhichdependsonaccident，andnotontheindustryofanation，onthenumberofitsinhabitants，andonthecultivationofitslands。ThekingofSpain，whoreceivesgreatsumsfromhiscustom—houseatCadiz，isinthisrespectonlyarichindividualinastateextremelypoor。Everythingpassesbetweenstrangersandhimself，whilehissubjectshavescarcelyanyshareinit；

thiscommerceisindependentbothofthegoodandbadfortuneofhiskingdom。

WeresomeprovincesofCastileabletogivehimasumequaltothatofthecustom—houseofCadiz，hispowerwouldbemuchgreater；hisricheswouldbetheeffectofthewealthofthecountry；theseprovinceswouldanimatealltheothers，andtheywouldbealtogethermorecapableofsupportingtheirrespectivecharges；insteadofagreattreasuryhewouldhaveagreatpeople。

23。AProblem，itisnotformetodecidethequestionwhether，ifSpainbenotherselfabletocarryonthetradeoftheIndies，itwouldnotbebettertoleaveitopentostrangers。Iwillonlysaythatitisfortheiradvantagetoloadthiscommercewithasfewobstaclesaspoliticswillpermit。WhenthemerchandisewhichseveralnationssendtotheIndiesisverydear，theinhabitantsofthatcountrygiveagreatdealoftheircommodities，whicharegoldandsilver，forverylittleofthoseofforeigners；thecontrarytothishappenswhentheyareatalowprice，itwouldperhapsbeofusethatthesenationsshouldunderselleachother，totheendthatthemerchandisecarriedtotheIndiesmightbealwayscheap。Theseareprincipleswhichdeservetobeexamined，withoutseparatingthem，however，fromotherconsiderations：thesafetyoftheIndies，theadvantagesofonlyonecustom—house，thedangerofmakinggreatalterations，andtheforeseeninconveniences，whichareoftenlessdangerousthanthosewhichcannotbeforeseen。

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1。Pliny，vi。23。

2。SeePliny，vi。19，andStrabo，xv。

3。Bookvi。4，5。

4。Bookxi。

5。Diodorus，ii。

6。Ibid。，7，8，9。

7。Pliny，vi。16，andStrabo，xi。

8。Strabo，xi。

9。Ibid。

10。TheauthorityofPatroclusisofgreatweight，asappearsfromapassageinStrabo，ii。

11。Pliny，vi。17。SeealsoStrabo，xi，uponthepassagebywhichth