登陆注册
4712300000019

第19章

History records that the first Romans each maintained his family on two journaux of land, equal to one Paris acre and 330 square feet or thereabouts. They were almost naked, had no wine or oil, lay in the straw, and had hardly any comforts, but as they cultivated intensely the land, which is fairly good around Rome, they drew from it plenty of corn and of vegetables.

If the proprietors of land had at heart the increase of population, if they encouraged the peasants to marry young and bring up children by promising to provide them with subsistence, devoting their land entirely to that purpose, they would doubtless increase the population up to the point which the land could support, according to the produce they allotted for each person whether an acre and a half or four to five acres a head.

But if instead of that the prince, or the proprietors of land, cause the land to be used for other purposes than the upkeep of the people: if by the prices they offer in the market for produce and merchandise they determine the farmers to employ the land for other purposes than the maintenance of man (for we have seen that the prices they offer in the market and their consumption determine the use made of the land just as if they cultivated it themselves) the people will necessarily diminish in number. Some will be forced to leave the country for lack of employment, others not seeing the necessary means of raising children, will not marry or will only marry late, after having put aside somewhat for the support of the household.

If the proprietors of land who live in the country go to reside in the cities far away from their land, horses must be fed for the transport into the city both of their food and that of all the domestic servants, mechanics and others whom their residence in the city attracts thither.

The carriage of wine from Burgundy to Paris often costs more than the wine itself costs in Burgundy; and consequently the land employed for the upkeep of the cart horses and those who look after them is more considerable than the land which produces the wine and supports those who have taken part in its production.

The more horses there are in a state the less food will remain for the people. The upkeep of carriage horses, hunters, or chargers, often takes three or four acres of land.

But when the nobility and proprietors of land draw from foreign manufactures their cloths, silks, laces, etc. and pay for them by sending to the foreigner their native produce they diminish extraordinary the food of the people and increase that of foreigners who often become enemies of the state.

If a proprietor or nobleman in Poland, to whom his farmers pay yearly a rent equal to about one third of the produce of his land, pleases to use the cloths, linens, etc. of Holland, he will pay for these mechandises one half of the rent he receives and perhaps use the other half for the subsistence of his family on other products and rough manufactures of Poland: but half his rent, on our supposition, corresponds to the sixth part of the produce of his land, and this sixth part will be carried away by the Dutch to whom the farmers of Poland will deliver it in corn, wool, hemp and other produce. Here is then a sixth part of the land of Poland withdrawn from its people, to say nothing of the feeding of the cart horses, carriage horses and chargers in Poland, maintained by the manner of living of the nobility there.

Further if out of the two thirds of the produce of the land allotted to the farmers there last imitating their masters consume foreign manufactures which they will also pay foreigners for in raw produce of Poland, there will be a good third of the produce of the land in Poland abstracted from the food of the people, and, what is worse, mostly sent to the foreigner and often serving to support the enemies of the state. If the proprietors of land and the nobility in Poland would consume only the manufactures of their own state, bad as they might be at the outset, they would soon become better, and would keep a great number of their own people to work there, instead of giving this advantage to foreigners: and if all states had the like care not to be the dupes of other states in matters of commerce, each state would be considerable only in proportion to its produce and the industry of its people.

If the ladies of Paris are pleased to wear Brussels lace, and if France pays for this lace with Champagne wine, the product of a single acre of flax must be paid for with the product of 16,000 acres of land under vines, if my calculations are correct.

This will be more fully explained elsewhere and the figures are shown in the supplement. Suffice to say here that in this transaction a great amount of produce of the land is withdrawn from the subsistence of the French, and that all the produce sent abroad, unless an equally considerable amount of produce be brought back in exchange, tends to diminish the number of people in the state.

When I said that the proprietors of land might multiply the population as far as the land would support them, I assumed that most men desire nothing better than to marry if they are set in a position to keep their families in the same style as they are content to live themselves. That is, if a man is satisfied with the produce of an acre and a half of land he will marry if the is sure of having enough to keep his family in the same way. But if he is only satisfied with the produce of five to ten acres he will be in on hurry to marry unless he thinks he can bring up his family in the same manner.

In Europe the children of the nobility are brought up in affluence; and as the largest share of the property is usually given to the eldest sons, the younger sons are in no hurry to marry. They usually live as bachelors, either in the army or in the cloisters, but will seldom be fond unwilling to marry if they are offered heiresses and fortunes, or the means of supporting a family on the footing which they have in view and without which they would consider themselves to make their children wretched.

同类推荐
  • 十地经论

    十地经论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 太上洞玄灵宝大纲钞

    太上洞玄灵宝大纲钞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 寺沙门玄奘上表记

    寺沙门玄奘上表记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 法镜经

    法镜经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 献帝春秋

    献帝春秋

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 海怪湾迷案

    海怪湾迷案

    银灰色的凌志车行驶在深秋的夜色里,滨海大道两旁路灯映照的椰树舒展着枝叶,在风中摇曳。驾车的是位苗条的女士,她的乘客聂柯四十来岁,身材修长匀称。他脸部轮廓硬朗、双眸略陷,深邃的目光很具穿透力。“很庆幸能亲历您办的案子。”许菲说,“您打算就回武汉吗?”聂柯说:“这阵子有点疲倦,附近有什么新景点吗?”
  • 绝色小妞:医王太霸道

    绝色小妞:医王太霸道

    草根命?好吧。拖油瓶?认了。弱美男?算了。变态男?滚粗。腹黑男?死开。……她一切努力只为早日过上混吃等死的安逸生活可是贼老天,还能不能让她过点正常生活了?
  • 工者足迹

    工者足迹

    打工者的遭遇,面临职场的腐败,他们要做出何种抉择?是随波逐流,还是奋起反抗?面对一场又一场波澜壮阔的罢工潮,那些高管们用什么手段拯救企业?最终,是什么压垮大企业的最终原因?是工者?还是腐败?
  • 异世重生:废材逆天小姐

    异世重生:废材逆天小姐

    她,本是21世纪的王牌杀手,却穿越成练武世家第一废材。极品家人嫌弃她不能习武?分分钟就逆袭成武林强者。重生大能,王者归来,岂料惹上傲娇腹黑帝国太子,一怒天下变的王者。她扮猪吃老虎;他无限宠溺。一场棋逢对手的爱恨情仇将何去何从?
  • 百年清华给青少年讲述的人生智慧

    百年清华给青少年讲述的人生智慧

    书中讲述了清华大师们近百年流传下来的逸事,虽然一件一件看来,或许微不足道,但是整本书读过,你会感到自己仿佛置身于清华的校园之内,无形之中身心已经得到了不可思议的陶冶。这也正像一句名言所说:“如春园之草,不见其长,日有所增。” 大师们早已驾鹤西去,而他们的智慧却永留人间。现在,让我们追随智者的足迹,聆听智慧流淌的声音:让我们搭乘智慧的飞船,去邀游梦想的蓝天,创造人生的辉煌!
  • 佛说疗痔病经

    佛说疗痔病经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 家有辣妻,腹黑相公欠收拾

    家有辣妻,腹黑相公欠收拾

    苏曼儿,苏家大小姐,从一生下来,身体里就住着一抹来自异世的灵魂。从懂事起,苏曼儿就握紧拳头暗暗发誓要成为古代的“比尔.盖茨”,打造一片属于她的盛世王国。一不小心,跟自己的好姐妹未婚夫有了夫妻之实,同时也招来了一头腹黑狼回来。纪磊盯着某女,嘴角一勾,这个恶女都已经是他的人了,他不入地狱,谁入地狱,那他就好心点,把她给收了吧,免得她去祸害别人了!当好胜女遇到腹黑男!某女手一扬,一叠银票甩在桌上,“这座山本大小姐买了!”某男手执纸扇,缓缓从拍卖场里面走出来,嘴角微勾,云淡风清的说道,“老板,既然苏大小姐要买这座山,就给人家吧,顺便把本少爷也打包过去。”“什么意思?”某女一怔,望着大伙问。某男合起纸扇,指着拍卖场某个角落的牌子。某女睁大眼睛一瞧,这才看到牌子上面只写着,买下XX山赠送纪大少爷一个,买主仅限苏大小姐。
  • 太上灵宝升玄内教经中和品述议疏

    太上灵宝升玄内教经中和品述议疏

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 天庭兵王

    天庭兵王

    新书已经上传,书名:一剑捅穿这民国,请大家继续支持。 荣嘉刚来到这个世界的时候,猴子才刚刚从石头里蹦出来,天蓬还没被封为元帅,小白龙还在四海逍遥地纨绔着,九头虫才长出两颗头,那具白骨依然被深埋在万年阴墓下,黑熊是个只知掏蜂窝的吃货,蝎子精对自己的身世懵懂不知,一切都还没开始,但高高在上的圣人们已经开始布局,只是随着荣嘉的到来,从此之后,世间再无西游
  • 活埋

    活埋

    小孟在妻子怀孕七个月的时候,有了一次去K城出差的机会。他犹犹豫豫地拨通了阿七的手机,说:“都七年了,我想来见见你。”阿七在电话那头安静了好一阵,回答说,好。阿七语气熟悉而又陌生,像他们第一次见面时,还是那么冷静。两人在电话里又沉默了好一会儿,都不知该如何继续,最后,阿七在电话那头笑了笑,挂了电话。小孟坐了四个小时的绿皮火车,到达K城火车站。已是下午,天空乌云翻涌,狂风大作,看样子有一场暴雨。