to work for them—to produce the goods which they sold at a profit to other countries. Of course, in such a connexion, while the Dutch had the goods the English had the money—just as while the master has his goods the workman has his wages; and thus, and thus alone, was brought about, in the exchange between the two countries, that excess in our receipt of money or bullion constituting the so called favourable balance of the mercantile and manufacturing theories. But that the excess of profit or real advantage should be with the labourer rather than with the capitalist may fairly be presumed to be as unusual, and as little likely in the nature of things, in the case of nations as of individuals.
Davenant incidentally mentions in the Report from which we have abstracted these notices, that, on an average of the seven years from 1699 to 1705 inclusive, our exports to Germany had amounted to the estimated value of 838,591l., and our imports thence to that of 677,721l.[1] This, he observes, "is no considerable excess from so large and populous a country, especially when it is considered what quantities of German linens have been imported hither since the first war with France, which German linens must have been answered by an adequate quantity of our woollen manufactures, if the Dutch did not intercept us in the traffic by our own commodities." Such as it was, however, this excess of exports over imports made our trade with Germany be considered a profitable one, as well as that with Holland. In our dealings with the countries in the north of Europe, on the contrary, as in those with France, we were losers according to this way of calculating, if we may trust an account from which it appears that in the trade with Denmark and Norway, on the average of the four years from 1698 to 1701 inclusive, our annual imports amounted to 76,215l., and our exports only to 39,543l.; in that with the East country our imports to 181,296l., and our exports only to 149,893l.; in that with Russia, our imports to 112,252l., and our exports
- ↑ Second Report, p. 420.
