LABORDE LABOUR. 



337 



grenades, cartridges, shells filled, and fuzes fixed, 

 wads, &c., &c. 



LABORDE, JEAN JOSEPH DE, a merchant distin- 

 guished for activity, enterprise, wealth, and benevo- 

 lence, was born of an ancient family in Beam, in 1724, 

 and amassed a large fortune at Bayonne, by commerce 

 with the West Indies and Spain. When, in 1758, 

 the French court wished to obtain a loan of 50,000,000 

 of livres from the Spanish court, the latter would not 

 close the transaction without Laborde's guarantee. 

 Upon this, Laborde was made court banker, and the 

 first minister, Choiseul, gave him his entire confidence. 

 After the fall of this statesman, Laborde retired from 

 the greatest part of his business. At the breaking 

 out of the American revolution, he alone was able to 

 furnish the government 12,000,000 livres in gold, at 

 Brest, which enabled the expedition under Rocham- 

 beau to set sail. At a later period, Laborde employed 

 his fortune in useful and splendid buildings. The 

 palaces of St Ouen (since the property of Mons. 

 Ternaux), of St Leu (afterwards belonging to the 

 duke of Orleans), of La Ferte Vidame (belonging to 

 the duke of Penthidvre), and that at Mereville, near 

 Paris, were built by him, as well as the finest houses 

 in the Chanssee d'Antin, a street of Paris, which, in 

 his time, was a large garden, belonging to his hotel. 

 He devoted 24,000 francs, yearly, to the support of 

 the poor. Towards the erection of four large hospi- 

 tals, at Paris (1788), he contributed 400,000 francs. 

 With this truly royal beneficence he combined the 

 most delicate manners. He never spoke of the good 

 he had done, nor suffered those whom he had served to 

 feel oppressed by the obligation. Satisfied in the posses- 

 sion of the love and esteem of his fellow citizens, he de- 

 clined external marks of distinction. Louis XVI. raised 

 his estate of Laborde (his family name was Dort; 

 his ancestors, who, in 1620, had purchased the small 

 domain Laborde, called themselves T)ort Laborde) to 

 a inarquisate ; but he made no use of this title. 

 During the period of terror, Laborde lived in retire- 

 ment on his estate at Mereville, but, like Malesher- 

 bes and Lavoisier, who resembled him in nobleness 

 of character, he fell a sacrifice to the fury of the 

 popular leaders. Gendarmes dragged the venerable 

 old man to the tribunal of blood. His whole com- 

 mune, consisting of 1200, offered to defend their 

 father and benefactor; but he declined it, and 

 exhorted them to keep the peace. These worthy 

 people sent a deputation to the convention, but in 

 vain ; the benefactor of thousands fell, at the age of 

 seventy (April 18, 1794), under the guillotine. His 

 crime was being rich. Laborde had four sons. 

 Three of these served in the navy; two accompanied 

 the unfortunate La Peyrouse. They met their death, 

 before the loss of La Peyrouse's vessel, in an act of 

 heroism, which the navigator relates in the account 

 of his voyage, and for which he had a monument 

 erected to their memory, at Port Frangois, on the 

 coast of California. The oldest of these three, after 

 having retired from the navy, was appointed trea- 

 surer, and, in 1789, member of the constituent 

 assembly. His reports on the state of the finances 

 were printed by order of the chamber. He died, 

 1801, a voluntary exile at London. 



LABOUR. See Birth. 



LABOUR, AND LABOURERS. The two great 

 sources of income, in all communities, are labour and 

 capital. The means of production are the land, 

 utensils, stock, and all which constitutes capital, 

 and the labourers who use this capital. In this gen- 

 eral division of the means of production, the term 

 labour is used in its broadest sense ; for the labour 

 of the mind, or that of the artist, which depends 

 more upon skill than muscular exertion, is to be 

 included in the general estimate of the productive 



power, if a price or market value is put upon its 

 products in the general estimate. Nor should we, 

 in estimating the general productive capacity, con- 

 fine ourselves to the species of labour which results 

 in the production of articles of necessity or conve- 

 nience merely; since, in the products consumed by 

 any community, it is not practicable to draw a dis- 

 tinction between articles of mere utility and those of 

 taste ; utility and luxury being combined in a great 

 part of the things used or consumed by a people, 

 whatever may be its stage of civilization and refine- 

 ment. The land and the greater part of the utensils 

 of production, are estimated, it is true, in a great 

 degree, and, in many instances, wholly, by their mere 

 utility for production. But it is otherwise with 

 respect to the products intended, not merely as the 

 means of producing others, but as ultimate objects 

 of use or consumption. Dwellings, furniture, cloth- 

 ing, food, all combine, in different degrees and pro- 

 portions, both luxury and utility. The quantity of 

 wool and cotton worn and used by two persons in 

 different ranks of life and of different means of con- 

 sumption, may be the same, and answer equally 

 well as a protection of the person against the climate; 

 and yet that used by one, owing to the better quality 

 of the material, and the greater labour bestowed in 

 fabricating it, may cost three or ten times as much 

 as that used by the other ; and yet something is paid 

 to taste and luxury even by this latter. The abstract 

 utility of any article is of difficult estimation, and, 

 though it is a proper subject of inquiry and specula- 

 tion, still, in estimating the productive power of 

 labour, in comparison with capital, the more practi- 

 cal rule seems to be, to take the estimate put upon 

 it by the community itself. If, for instance, the 

 laboup-of a sculptor is, in the estimation of a com- 

 munity, worth that of twenty day-labourers, the dis- 

 tribution of the annual products of the labour and 

 capital of that community will be governed by this 

 rule of comparison, and the sculptor will be able to 

 consume as much in value as the twenty common 

 labourers. Hence the proportion of the income of 

 labour and capital will vary in different communities, 

 according to the different arts or kinds of production 

 encouraged. To take the same examples, though 

 the labour of a sculptor may be equal in value, as 

 estimated by a community to that of twenty labour- 

 ers, and the same may be equally true of the paint- 

 er, yet the capital or stock required for each of 

 these twenty labourers may be, and, if they are 

 employed in agriculture, Avill be, greater than is 

 required for either of those artists. The proportion, 

 then, of the value of the whole capital of a commun- 

 ity, to that of the whole estimated annual value of 

 the labour of all sorts, performed by its members, 

 will depend upon the kind of arts pursued, so that 

 the proportions will not be uniform in different com- 

 munities. The estimated annual market value of 

 the labour, will, however, in any community, lie 

 greater, in proportion to its capital, than it would at 

 first view appear to be. It has been estimated to be 

 nearly one fifth, exceeding or falling short of that 

 ratio, according to the circumstances and pursuits of 

 a community; that is, supposing the capital to be 

 stationary, the value of the whole capital, including 

 lands, buildings, animals, furniture, utensils, and 

 every vendible thing whatsoever, is consumed and 

 reproduced every five years. It is evident, then, 

 wliat a rapid change may be made in the wealth of a 

 community, either for the better or the worse, by an 

 impulse or check to its industry, or a general ten- 

 dency to economy or prodigality in consumption. 

 The arts, and employments, and habits of a people, 

 then, are every thing, in respect to their prosperity ; 

 and the actual amount of their present capital is of 



