106 
On ike Source of Wealth. 
[April, 
there was, before the employment of capital, only myself, and four individuals of 
my family, who could wring a maintenance from the extent of soil which it fell 
to my lot to cultivate : this maintenance was assumed to be 50 measures of food. 
With the assistance of capital, however, the means of maintaining five was at first 
realized as profits, together with the means of feeding 25 men besides, for a fifth 
part of the year ; and afterwards, when capital had found the most profitable ex- 
tent of employment on the soil, the means of subsistence for 7 5 men for a fifth 
part of the year, (or for 15 men for the whole year,) was realized, besides 
the subsistence to which my profits of 60 measures w^as equal. There cannot, there- 
fore, be ground of complaint, that capital, and the existence of capitalists, keeps 
the numbers of labourers ltfw; these only permitting so many, and no more, to 
labour as suits their particular views : for if, at any time, such an impression 
should get abroad and be acted upon, the means of subsistence, obtained from this 
single tract of land, and from all land cultivated under similar circumstances, 
would be reduced from what supported 21 individuals, to what fed only 5. 
The case just given, exhibits the effects of the first introduction of accumulations 
of capital into agriculture, operating on enrichment, by merely permitting a better 
disposition of labour, with reference to the time of its application. Should this 
land, subsequently to the full employment of capital invested in this manner, be 
submitted to the influence of labourers working with improved tools, in the prepa- 
ration of which an expenditure of capital was necessaiy, this new mode of applying 
capital will give another impulse to production, as follows : — If the capitalist had 
originally set his labourers to work with pointed sticks, and now armed them with 
spades, he would, if he tried to raise only the same gross produce as before, find 
himself enriched, by the difference between the expense of feeding the greater num- 
ber of ill-found labourers, and the smaller number of well-equipped workmen, now 
requisite to effecting the same extent of work. Whatever his income was, that he 
still enjoys ; and in addition, he obtains all that has been saved in labour, and 
which formerly constituting a part of his productive outlay for the coming season, 
is now become the profits of that part of his capital which is vested in tools ; in this 
case we may presume, that the rate of profits accruing to the capital is very high ; 
also, that there has not as yet been invested in this way, so much capital as may ulti- 
mately find profitable employment there ; and that the relation of outlay and net 
return, are not as yet such as are likely to be permanent. In the illustrative case 
above given, we have supposed, that when the capitalist ceased to add to his outlay, 
there was sunk a capital equal to the support of 15 men for a year, or 150 mea- 
sures of grain : let us now suppose, that the cost of tools is 4 measures, and that 
the employment of tools does away with the necessity of employing more than 10 
workmen. Here, productive outlay is reduced from 160, including seed, to 114 
measures ; and the gross produce being the same as before, profits are increased in 
amount to 100 measures, and their rate raised to nearly 88 per cent. Let us 
suppose the capitalist to proceed, increasing his outlay as before, so long as his 
profits in the aggiegate experience increase ; and, after a time, it will be found, 
that, in accordance with the principles already explained, his rate of profits will 
again settle to a certain point, below or above which it is not permanently found 
to stand ; and at this time, he will be found to be in better circumstances than he 
ever was before j and to have the means at his disposal, of expending a greater 
income than it was ever before in his power to enjoy. 
The employment of accumulations of capital tending so eminently to the saving 
of labour, and consequently, to the saving of the means of supporting labour, we 
may calculate on the benefit of such employment becoming every day more gene* 
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