The Consumption Motive

Ban On The Export Of Skill

⁴⁴ Such heavy penalties were imposed on the exportation of the dead instruments of trade.

The living instrument, the artificer, was also not allowed to go free. By the 5th George 1st chapter 27, any person convicted of enticing any artificer of British manufactures to go overseas to practise or teach his trade is liable:

• for the first offence:
  • a fine not exceeding £100, and
  • 3 months imprisonment until the fine shall be paid.
• for the second offence:

  • a fine at the court’s discretion, and

  • 12 months imprisonment until the fine shall be paid.

By the 23 George 2nd chapter 13, this penalty is increased. For the first offence:

• £500 pounds for every artificer enticed, and
• 12 months imprisonment until the fine shall be paid.

For the second offence:

• £1,000
• two years imprisonment until the fine shall be paid

⁴⁵ In the first of those two statutes, an enticed artificer, or one proven to go overseas, may give security at the court’s discretion that he shall not go overseas.

He may be imprisoned until he can give such security.

⁴⁶ If any artificer has gone and is teaching his trade overseas, he will be warned by=

• any of his Majesty’s ministers or consuls abroad,
• one of his Majesty’s secretaries of state.

If he does not return within six months after such warning=

He is declared incapable of taking any legacy devised to him within this kingdom. He cannot=

• be executor or administrator to any person,
• take any lands within this kingdom by descent, device, or purchase.

He forfeits to the king all his lands, goods, and chattels. He is declared an alien and put out of the king’s protection.

⁴⁷ Such regulations are contrary to the artificier’s liberty which we seem so very jealous of. His liberty is so plainly sacrificed to the interests of our merchants and manufacturers.

⁴⁸ The laudable motive of all these regulations is to extend our own manufactures by the depression of those of all our neighbours.

It ends the troublesome competition of rivals as much as possible. Our master manufacturers think it reasonable that they should have the monopoly of all their countrymen.

They all try to confine the knowledge of their employments to as few as possible by=

• restraining the number of apprentices which can be employed at one time
• imposing the necessity of a long apprenticeship in all trades

They are unwilling that any part of this few should go abroad to instruct foreigners.

The Consumption Motive Vs. The Producer Motive

⁴⁹ Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production. The interest of the producer ought to be attended to only so far as it may be necessary for promoting that of the consumer.

The maxim is so perfectly self-evident that it would be absurd to attempt to prove it.

But in the mercantile system the interest of the consumer is almost constantly sacrificed to that of the producer

• It considers production, and not consumption, as the ultimate end and object of all industry and commerce.

⁵⁰ The interest of the home consumer is sacrificed to the interest of the producer in the restraints on the importation of foreign commodities which can compete with our own.

It is for the benefit of the producer that the home consumer is obliged to pay that higher price which this monopoly almost always occasions.

Bounties on the exportation of local produce are granted.for the benefit of the producer.

The home-consumer is obliged to pay:

1. The tax for paying the bounty
2. The greater tax arising from the higher price of the commodity at home sup

By the famous treaty of commerce with Portugal, high import duties prevent us from buying French wines from France. Our own climate does not produce wine.

We must buy it at worse quality from distant country than the nearer country [France] so that our producers may export their produce [woollen manufactures] into the distant country on more advantageous terms.

Our consumers also must pay the increased price of those produce [woollen manufactures] at home caused by this forced exportation.

⁵³ In the laws for our American and West Indian colonies, the interest of the home-consumer has been sacrificed to the interest of the producer with more profusion than all our other commercial regulations.

A great empire [America] was established for the sole purpose of raising up a nation of customers [Americans]

They must buy all the goods from the shops of our British producers.

For the sake of that little price increase which this monopoly might afford our producers, the home-consumers have been burdened with the expence of maintaining and defending that empire.

More than £200 million has been spent in the last two wars for this purpose only.

A new debt of more than £170 million has been contracted over all that was spent for the same purpose in former wars.

The interest of this debt alone is greater than:

• the total extraordinary profit which it ever pretended to make by the monopoly of the colony trade.
• the total value of the colony trade.

the total value of the goods annually exported to the colonies.

⁵⁴ The contrivers of this whole mercantile system were not the consumers.

• The interest of the consumers was entirely neglected.

The contrivers were the producers.

• Their interest was so carefully attended to.

Among producers, our merchants and manufacturers were the principal architects.

In the mercantile regulations in this chapter, the interest of our manufacturers was most attended to.

The interest of other sets of producers, not so much of the consumers, was sacrificed to it.