522 Transactions. 



United States, with its much greater relative population and 

 stringent tarifEs, though exceptional resources in the way of 

 coal and iron has given it a great advantage in the production 

 and manufacture of iron and steel, remains to this day pre- 

 dominantly a producer of food and raw materials. If the popu- 

 lation of a country, on the other hand, is large compared with 

 the area of good land, the nation is at a great disadvantage 

 in the producing of food and many raw materials in sufficient 

 quantity for the needs of its large population. Unless it is 

 equally handicapped in other directions, it will take up other 

 pursuits, and import food and raw materials in return for manu- 

 factured goods, or for services rendered such as England renders 

 by and in connection with her great carrying trade. The great 

 and numerous advantages for manufacture and commerce pos- 

 sessed by Britain brought it about that as population increased 

 it was much easier for her than for her rivals to turn for the 

 support of her growing population from the pursuit of more 

 and more intensive culture of the land to manufactures and 

 commercial pursuits. Consequently she started earlier on her 

 great manufacturing and commercial career than other nations ; 

 but some of these are now at last, by reason of the continued 

 growth of their populations, being forced in the same direction. 

 If, however, there be in any country little source of power, 

 or such can be obtained only at great cost, the nation may be 

 forced by increasing population rather to a more intensive 

 cultivation of the soil than to manufactures ; and a very intensive 

 system of cultivation may have to be reached, calling stronglv 

 into action the law of diminishing returns, and leading to a 

 greatly diminished prosperity of the people, before the point 

 is reached at which its labour and capital can be more econo- 

 mically utilised in the development of manufactures. 



Smallness of population or of territory is the second of the 

 two general causes we are considering which promotes great 

 specialisation of national industry by a great differentiation 

 in the national productive powers. The smaller the resources 

 the more restricted generally will be the variety of occupations 

 in which the population can engage with advantage, partly 

 through diminished variety in the resources themselves, and 

 partly by the smaller field for the division of labour. The 

 variety of resources of the United States we cannot expect 

 and do not get in the much smaller area of, say, Holland. But 

 a nation may not be exceptionally small in respect to its terri- 

 tory or resources, and yet may be unable, by reason of the small- 

 ness of its population, to engage with advantage largely in a 

 variety of industries. A small community is not suited to a 

 high development of the division of labour. Our own Do- 



