i6o History of the English Landed Interest. 



sion of the former the common decline of all wealth-earning 

 industries, proposed a strong mercantilist remedy, and would 

 have lowered the legal rate of interest. It was indeed the 

 disastrous consequences that would have followed the carry- 

 ing out of this proposal which did more than anything else to 

 open the eyes of physiocrats to the fallacious reasoning preva- 

 lent with regard to the precious metals. Yet Child had sound 

 views on the subject of free trade, and when calling pubHc 

 attention to the inefficacy of the laws to prevent the clandes- 

 tine running of wool, asserted : " They that can give the best 

 price for a commodity shall never fail to have it by one means 

 or other, notwithstanding the opposition of laws or inter- 

 position of any power by sea or land ; of such force, subtility 

 and violence is the general course of trade." ^ Sir Matthew 

 Decker, a celebrated merchant, held similarly sound views ; 

 declaring that " trade would not be forced " ; ^ but yet, when 

 we come to analyse his motives, we shall find him prejudiced 

 with strong mercantilist leanings. 



There was one other force in operation to influence men's 

 minds on the subject of taxation, which we must not ignore. 

 Many recalled a time when the feudal dues sufficed to cover 

 the expenses of government, and when recourse to taxation 

 was regarded as the temporary policy of a nation in difficulties. 

 Unfortunately the history of this " emergency " taxation had 

 prejudiced men's minds against it, so that grumblers such as 

 Decker might always expect to find ready listeners. 



The pamphlets towards the end of the seventeenth century 

 are full of discontent against our fiscal system, but those of the 

 eighteenth century are still more so. The reasons for this are, 

 that about the middle of the latter period men fancied they 

 recognised all the symptoms of trade and agricultural depres- 

 sion. McCulloch has argued that no such depression existed ; 

 but whether there was or not an interval of temporary stag- 

 nation in our national prosperity at this particular epoch, 



* A New Discourse of Trade, p. 174. 



^ Causes of the Decline of the Foreign Trade, p. 184, ed. 1756. Supposed 

 by McCulloch to have been written by Sir Matthew Decker, but by Tan- 

 quier to have been written by Richardson. 



