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APPENDIX E. 
POLITICS, STATISTICS, &c. 
[By Wm. Smith.] 
That the wealth of a nation depends upon the good employment 
of its inhabitants, cannot be doubted ; and if that wealth and employ- 
ment be equally diffused, its benefits must be general ; but if, from 
any internal natural advantages of the country, wealth, and employ- 
ment becomes locally and prodigiously increased, and that at the 
expense of the most valuable article in the country, and if the persons 
so employed derive their food and the articles they are employed upon 
from a foreign soil, and if foreign ships be allowed to benefit by the 
commerce between such privileged locations of trade and the foreign 
market, then the truth of that maxim and its general benefits may be 
doubted, — And further too, if it can be shown that those acquiring 
wealth from local advantages in this country applied to a foreign trade, 
have also superseded the ancient employment of others at home, who 
have no such natural advantages. That all men have a right to 
benefit by the natural advantages they possess, must be allowed ; it 
being the principle that all men have acted upon from the earliest 
locations of population and trade. Most of our ancient cities and 
boroughs sprung up into consequence from their respective natural 
advantages in supporting a numerous population, chiefly employed 
in manufacture and trade, and many of them (whose occupation is 
gone) were incorporated and enfranchised to encourage and improve 
those manufactures. It is also well-known that many of the earliest 
improvements in arts and manufacture, were made by foreigners invited 
here and incorporated for that purpose, and in one of the Charters of 
the town of Kidwelly, it is said, that no Welchman shall be of the 
corporation. This was ever a poor place but many others, originally 
wealthy and populous, are annually becoming poor, from causes wh. 
are now powerfully operating against them. It has been said of 
Salisbury, that no new house has been built therein within a century 
but upon the site of an old one. This, as well as Exeter, Chichester, 
Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and many others, were, in the former 
state of things, good situations for manufacture and trade, but it being 
my present object to notice only those locations of Trade wh. depend 
upon our Minerals, I shall merely add that Chichester was enriched 
