1823.| 
currency intrinsically valuable. Let 
us see, then, in the next place, if the 
imports have really become more 
valuable, and the exports less valua- 
ble. Flax, hemp, tallow, hides, tim- 
ber, wines, tobacco, cotton-wool, 
sheep’s-wool, and silk, form the most 
prominent and intrinsically valuable 
commodities, (except sugar, rum, cof- 
fee, indigo, tea, which are colonial,) 
which constitute the bulk of the sum 
of imports. Are then these commo- 
dities intrinsically more valuable in 
1822 than they were in the six years 
1798-1803? On the other hand, manu- 
factured cotton, woollens, linens, silk, 
iron, hardware, brass, copper, tin, 
cutlery, leather, glass, &e. constitute 
the more prominent items and intrin- 
sieally valuable commodities which 
make up the sum of the exports. Are 
these, then, less valuable in 1822 than 
in the six years 1798-1803? By the 
comparative declaration of real value 
of the two periods, it would seem that 
- they are. But the next question is, 
Why are they less valuable? Their 
value is composed principally of la- 
bour: if, therefore, the commodities 
are really less valuable, it can only be, 
—labour constituting so great a pro- 
portion of their value,—that labour is 
Jess appreciated, and less remune- 
rated; or it may be said, as perhaps it 
will, that the depreciation in value is 
the result of the application of machi- 
nery. Grant that position, and to what 
does it lead? it leads to this, that it 
enables us to give two for one; to give 
more, and receive less, without our 
deriving any benefit. We have in- 
vented machinery, racked the brain, 
and strained every nerve, to give it 
every possible application; and_ for 
what? To impoverish the great mass 
of onr own people, to make a wide- 
spread distribution of their products, 
without our obtaining any additional 
equivalent, either directly or indi- 
rectly. 
Having thus far stated in the aggre- 
gate the excess of quantity exported, 
over and above the quantity imported; 
and the proportions of quantity im- 
ported and exported at different pe- 
riods,—I will now proceed to ascer- 
tain the real values, and to show how 
the excess has been equalized. 
The total quantity or official value 
imported in the twenty-three years, 
1793-1815, as stated in col. 2, will be 
‘found to amount to 659,361,4211. out 
of which 253,008,1611, appear to have 
during the War 1793-1815. 
319 
been egain exported, as per col. 3, 
leaving 406,353,260/. as the proportion 
for home-consumption; against which 
the British produce and manufactures 
exported io all parts, during the same 
period, will be found to amount to 
586,544,565/. as per col. No. 4, in the 
proportion of 82,961,208/. in the first 
five years, 1793-1797, and 503,583,3571. 
in the last eighteen years, 1798-1815; 
and by the same documents, from 
which these official amounts have been 
extracted, the declared real value 
of the 503,583,357/. is. stated at 
762,872,6431.; and, allowing the real 
value of the 82,961,208/. in the first 
five years, to have been only 
142,961,208/. which would prove be- 
low the real amounts, could the values 
have been accurately ascertained, it 
will give a total real value of British 
produce and manufactures exported in 
the twenty-three years, of 905,833,8511. 
Then, if we allow the same proportion 
of increase in the real value of the im- 
ports as the British produce and manu- 
factures have been declared at, it will 
give an amount of 627,554,256/. viz. if 
586,544,5651. give 905,833,851. the pro- 
portion of 406,353,2601. is 627 ,554,256/. 
making an actual excess of value ex- 
ported to all parts of the world, over 
and above the actual value imported, 
of no Jess than 278,279,595L ; to which 
must be added the excess of import 
over export from the West and East 
Indies, and China and the Fisheries, 
which, on an average of the twenty- 
three years, 1793-1815, will be under- 
rated at 6,000,000/. per annum; when 
it will give a total excess of value ex- 
ported to all other parts of the world, 
over and above the value received, to 
be equalized and accounted for, of 
no less a sum _ than . upwards of 
416,000,000/.! ‘The more than 30,000 
commissions of bankruptcy, and five 
times that number of other cases of in- 
solvency, that took place during the 
period in question, together with the 
repeated confiscations under the Ber- 
lin and Milan decrees, and the more 
general confiscation in 1810, may 
serve in some measure as a sct-off 
against 100,000,000/. or so of the 
amount; but,:on the other hand, it 
cannot, I believe, be denied but that 
great profits accrued to some from the 
commercial operations of the period in 
question. It is therefore obvious, that 
some extraneous equivalent must have 
been brought to bear on the account, 
to sustain the disparity between the 
value 
