a Bounty , to encourage the Exportation of Corn. 435 
one. The number of inhabitants is faid to be 
fomewhere from fix to feven millions, and that 
one third of thefe are faid to be employed and 
maintained by this manufacture. The proportion 
feems large; perhaps they are over-rated. Sup- 
pofe only a fixth of the people to be employed in 
this branch, the object is important, fo much 
fo, that the wifdom of the legislature has always 
thought it'necefiary to encourage this manu¬ 
facture by every means in its power. The 
queftion, it feems, is—“Have they judged and 
acted rightly ?” The grazier, perhaps, will tell 
you, no; for if he were permitted to export his 
wool, he could fell it at double the price. This 
is very true, and would certainly be a great 
prefent advantage to him : but how long would 
it continue to be fo ? That, perhaps, he never 
thought of, nor of other confequences, which 
would certainly overbalance even his partial 
advantages. 
If it be true, as it is generally believed, that 
one pack of Englijh wool enables the French to 
work up two packs of theirs; and if labour in 
France is cheaper, by, at lead, one half, than in 
England , they could afford to give a Shilling 
for a pound of wool, that is now fold for fix- 
pence, and fell their cloth at little more than 
half the price—fay two thirds at mod—that 
an Englifo manufacturer could do. Where, then, 
muff we fend our cloth to market ? 
F f 2 
Bur 
