24 Aug. 1801

C2

Polit. Economy

Method

III Non Agenda

Encouragement

74

9

13

Divide productive industry into any number of branches, for instance four as

with A. /Adam/ Smith: husbandry including mines and fishing, manufacture for

home consumption - manufacture for foreign consumption, and carrying trade Every

encouragement afforded to any one of the four branches is pro tanto /operates to

the amount in/ discouragement of all the others. If however the encouragement

were /be/ given in the shape of capital granted or lent, it will make an

addition say ,100,000 to the amount of it to the aggregate of real capital, and

thence to the amount of a percentage upon that capital to the annual aggregate

of growing wealth. But the addition thus made to wealth will depend for its

magnitude not on the choice made of the branch of industry, unless as to an

extremely minute part of it, but on the addition made to capital /the productive

capital of the community/ at the expence of its income. A mode that would bid as

fair for disposing of the money to the best advantage would be to let a certain

number of commercial men draw lots for the money with liberty to apply it each

in his own way. But what again would contribute in an equal way /degree/ to the

same end is, if the Nation has a debt, to employ the same sum in the buying in

or paying off a portion of the debt, for in that case the receivers of the money

in lieu of Annuities would employ each of them his money in some branch of

industry in his own way of course under his mere[?] management or that of

somebody to whom he lends the money. The first course requires /is attended

with/ expence,