ADAM SMITH. 169 



Min's second work, * The Increase of Foreign Trade,' 

 Sir Wm. Petty still further illustrated the error of those 

 who are afraid of an unfavourable balance of trade, 

 and exposed the evil policy of regulating the rate of 

 interest by law. A few years before Sir Wm. Petty's 

 most celebrated work, his ' Anatomy of Ireland,' ap- 

 peared Sir Josiah Child's * Discourse of Trade,' 1668, 

 in which, with some errors on the subject of interest, 

 he laid down many sound views of trade, the principle 

 of population, and the absurdity of laws against fore- 

 stalling and regrating. In 1681 he published his 

 ' Philopatris,' which shows the injurious effects of mo- 

 nopolies of every kind, and explains clearly the nature 

 of money. But Sir Dudley North's ' Discourse,' pub- 

 lished in 1691, took as clear and even as full a view of 

 the true doctrines of commerce and exchange as any 

 modern treatise ; building its deductions upon the fun- 

 damental principle which lies at the root of all these 

 doctrines, that, as to trade, the whole world is one 

 country, of which the natives of each state severally 

 are citizens or subjects ; that no laws can regulate prices; 

 and that whatever injures any one member of the great 

 community injures the whole. 



It must be observed that beside the treatises thus 

 early published on oeconomical science, we find occa- 

 sionally very sound doctrines unfolded, and very just 

 maxims of policy laid down, by well known writers, 

 who incidentally touch upon (economical subjects in 

 works written with other views. Thus Fenelon, in his 

 celebrated romance of 4 Telemachus,' has scattered 

 various reflexions of the truest and purest philosophy, 

 upon the theory of commercial legislation, as well as 

 upon many other departments of administration. It 

 is due to the memory of a Romish prelate, and a royal 

 preceptor in an absolute monarchy, to add that all his 

 writings breathe a spirit of genuine religious tolerance, 

 and of just regard to the civil rights and liberties of 

 mankind. 



