COMMENTARY

(Derived from the Latin verb oomminiscor, / call to mind.) In Literature, a word used in different significations: — 1. In the same sense with memoirs, as a short narrative of particular events and occurrences, composed by an actor or spectator of those events with the profe ed object of calling back the circumstances to his own mind; e. g. the Commentaries of Caesar. 2. Critical observations on the text or contents of a book. These are either in the form of detached notes, containing remarks on particular pa ages; or they are embodied in what is termed a running commentary, or series of remarks written and printed in a connected form. COMMERCE (from commutatio mercium), is the exchange of one sort of produce or service for some other sort of produce or service. Exchanges of this description have their rise in the nature of man and the circumstances under which he is placed, and their origin is coeval with the formation of society. The varying powers and dispositions of different individuals dispose them to engage in preference in particular occupations; and in the end every one finds it for his advantage to confine himself wholly or principally to some one employment, and to barter or exchange such portions of his produce as exceed his own demand, for such portions of the peculiar produce of others as he is desirous to obtain and they are disposed to part with. The division and combination of employments is carried to some extent in the rudest societies, and it is carried to a very great extent in those that are most improved; but to whatever extent it may be carried, commerce must be equally advanced. The division of employments could not exist without commerce, nor commerce without the division of employments: they mutually act and react upon each other. Every new subdivision of employments occasions a greater extension of comnierce; and the latter cannot be extended without ccatributing to the better division and combination of the former. In rude societies, the principal busine of commerce, or the exchange of ®ne sort of commodities for some other sort, is carried on by those who produce them. Individuals having more of any article than is required for their own use endeavour to find out others in want of it, and who at the same time po e something that they would like to have. But the difficulties and inconveniences inseparable from a commercial intercourse carried on in this way are so obvious as hardly to require being pointed out. Were there no merchants or dealers, a farmer, for example, who had a quantity of wheat or wool to dispose of, would be obliged to seek out those who wanted these commodities, and to sell them in such portions as might suit them; and having done this, he would next be forced to send to, perhaps, twenty different and distant places, before he succeeded in supplying himself with the various articles he might wish to buy. His attention would thus be perpetually diverted from the busine of his farm; and while the difficulty of exchanging his own produce for that of others would prevent him from acquiring a II. Foreign Trade. — The trade carried on between individuals of different countries is founded on precisely the same circumstances— the differences of soil, climate, and productions, on which is founded the trade between different districts of the same country. One country, like one district, is peculiarly fitted for the growth of corn; another for the cultivation of the grape; a third abounds in minerals; a fourth has Inexhaustible forests; and so forth: — Hlc segetes, illic veniunt felicius liTae, Arborei fetus alibi, atque inju a vires cunt Gramina. Nonne vides, croceos ut Tmolus odores, India mlttlt ebur, molles sua thura Sabsei? AtChalybesnudi ferrum, virosaque Pontus Castorea, Eliadum palm as Epiros equarum? Continue has leges lEtemaque fcedera cert is Imposuit natutti loc is. — Georg. lib. i. lin. 51. Providence, by thus distributing the various articles suitable for the accommodation and comfort of man in different countries, has evidently provided for their mutual intercourse. In this respect, indeed, foreign trade is of far more importance than the home trade. There is infinitely le difference between the products of the various districts of the most extensive country, than there is between the products of different and distant countries; and the establishment of a territorial division of labour amongst the latter must therefore be proportionally advantageous. "As the same country is rendered richer by the trade of one province with another; as its labour becomes thus infinitely more divided, and more productive than it could otherwise have been; and as tJie mutual interchange of all those commodities which one province has and another wants multiplies the comforts and accommodation of the whole, and the country becomes thus, in a wonderful degree, more opulent and more happy; so the game beautiful train of consequences is observable in the world at large,— that vast empire, of which the different 256 ' kingdoms may be regarded as the provinces. In this magnificent empire, one province is favourable to tlie production of one species of produce, and aivother province to another. By their mutual intercourse, mankind are enabled to distribute their labour as best fits the genius of each particular country and people. The industry of the whole is thus rendered incomparably more productive; and every species of nece ary, useful, and agreeable accommodation is obtained in much greater abundance, and with infinitely le expense." — ( Mills's Commerce Defended, p. 38.) But to enable the advantages of foreign commerce to be rightly appreciated, it will be proper to consider it under the following heads: — viz. 1. Its influence in supplying us with useM and desirable articles, of which we should otherwise be wholly destitute; 2. Its influence in multiplying and cheapening the peculiar productions of our own country; 3. Its influence in making us acquainted with foreign discoveries and inventions, and in exciting invention by means of competition and example; and, 4. Its indirect influence upon industry, by increasing the sources of enjoyment. 1. With respect to the first of these influences, or the effect of commerce in furnishing every people with commodities not otherwise attainable, it is too obvious and striking to require any lengthened illustrations. Great Britain is as abundantly supplied with native products as most countries; and yet any one who reflects for a moment on the nature and variety of the articles we import from abroad, must be satisfied that we are indebted to trade for a very large part of our superior accommodations. Tea^ sugar, coffee, wine, and spices; silk and cotton, the materials of our most extensive manufactures; gold and silver; and an endle variety of other highly important articles, are sent to us by foreigners. And were the importation put an end to, what a prodigious deduction would be made, not from our comforts and enjoyments merely, but also from our means of supporting and employing labourers! If foreign commerce did nothing more than supply us with so many new products, it would be very difficult to overrate its value and importance. 2. But such is the beneficent influence of commerce, that while it supplies an endle variety of new productions, it multiplies and cheapens those that are peculiar to every country. It does this, by enabling each separate people to employ themselves, in preference, in those departments in which they enjoy some natural or acquired advantage, and by opening the markets of the world to their productions. When the demand for a commodity is confined to a particular country, as soon as it is supplied improvement is at a stand. The subdivision and combination of employments is, in fact, always dependent upon and regulated by the extent of the market. Dr. Smith has shown, that by making a proper distribution of labour among ten workmen, in a pin manufactory, 48,000 pins might be produced in a day; and since his time the number has been nearly doubled. But had the demand not been sufficient to take off this quantity of pins, the divisions and improvements in question could not have been made; and the price of pins would in consequence have been comparatively high. This principle holds universally. The most important manufacture carried on in Great Britain — that of cotton — is entirely the result of commerce. Supposing, however, that cotton wool had been a native product, we could never have made such astonishing advances in the manufacture had we been denied acce to foreign markets. Notwithstanding the splendid discoveries in the machinery, and the perfection to which every department of the trade has been brought, the vast extent of the market has prevented its being glutted, and has stimulated our manufacturers and artizans to persevere with unabated ardour in* the career of improvement. Our cotton mills have been constructed, not that they might supply the limited demand of Great Britain, but that they might supply the demand of the whole world. And in consequence of the extraordinary subdivision of labour, and the scope given to the employment and improvement of machinery by the unlimited extent of the market, the price of cottons has been reduced to le , probably, than a fourth part of what it would have been had they met with no outlet in foreign countries. The hardware, woollen, leather, and other manufactures, exhibit similar results. The acce their products have had to other markets has led to important improvements in their production; so that, as was previously stated, commerce not only supplies us with a vast variety of new and desirable articles, but it also cheapens the staple productions of the country, and renders them more easily attainable by the great ma of people. 3. The influence of commeroe in making the people of each country acquainted with foreign inventions and discoveries, and in stimulating ingenuity by bringing them into competition with strangers, is obvious and powerful. It distributes the gifts of science and art, as well as those of nature. It is the great engine by which the ble ings of civilization are difHised throughout the world, the intercourse to which it gives rise making every one IV. Colony Trade. — Yor some remarks on this head, the reader is referred to the article Colonies. Principle and Influence qf Restrictions on Commerce. —The commercial intercourse carried oh between the inhabitants of different districts of the same country, and those of different countries, is founded on the principle which prompts each member of the same family, or each inhabitant of the same vilLige, to apply himself to some one busine . It would therefore seem that that freedom of commerce which is universally admitted to be productive of the most beneficial consequences when established between the occupants of different districts of the same country must he equally beneficial when established between those of different countries. It appears to be generally believed, that to occasion a commercial intercourse, nothing more is nece ary than to remove such legal or physical obstacles as may interpose to prevent it. But this is not by any means enough. A of Yorkshire does not sell to or buy from B of Kent, merely because there is nothing to hinder him from doing so; he must further believe that his interest will be promoted by the transaction: unle he do this, the utmost facility of exchanging will be offered to him in vain; nor will the finest roads or the speediest conveyances occasion the least intercourse. We neither buy nor sell for the mere pleasure of the thing. We do so only when we believe it will be a means of promoting some end, of procuring some peculiar advantage for ourselves that we could not so easily procure in anjr other way. If any one supposed he could better attain his object in entering upon a commercial transaction with some particular individual bv entering upon a similar transaction with some one else, or by any other means, he would most certainly decline engaging in it. We mav, and often do, make a false estimate of what is for our advantage; but its promotion is the mainspring of our actions; and it is it, and it only, that we have in view when we buy of a particular individual, or resort to a particular market, in preference to others. Unle therefore it could be satisfactorily established that princes and rulers have a better understanding of what has a tendency to promote the wealth and industry of their subjects than themselves, it is difficult to see on what ground any restriction on the freedom of commerce is to be vindicated. The person who buys French wine or Polish corn, does so only that he may benefit himself: and the fair presumption is that he does what is right. Human reason is, no doubt, limited and fallible; we are often swayed by prejudice, and are apt to be deceived by appearances. Still, however, it is certain that the desire to promote our own purposes contributes far more than any thing else to render us clear-sighted and sagacious. " Nul sentiment dans Vhomme" says M. Say, " ne tient son intelligence eveillee autant que Vinteret personnel. II donne de V esprit aux plus simples." The principle that individuals are, speaking generally, the best judges of what is most beneficial for themselves, is universally admitted to be the only one that can be safely acted upon. No writer of authority has latterly ventured to maintain the exploded and untenable doctrine, that governments may advantageously interfere to regulate the pursuits of their subjects. It is their duty to preserve order, to prevent one from injuring another; to maintain, in short, the equal rights and privileges of all. But it is not po ible for them to go one step further, without receding from the principle of non-interference, and laying themselves open to the charge of acting partially by some, and unjustly by others. " The statesman," says Dr. Smith, " who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would not only load himself with a most unnece ary attention, but a ume an authority which could safely be trusted not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it." ( Wealth of Nations, p. 200.) In every discu ion as to any point of public economy, II. Account of the Real or Declared Value of the various Articles of the Manufacture and Produce of the United Kingdom exported to Foreign Countries in 1828, and during each of the Eight Years ending with 1837; specifying their Value, the Countries to which exported, and the Value of those annually shipped for each. Countries to which ex ported. Export B. 1828. 1830. 1831. 1832. 1 18.13. 1 1834. 1835. 1836. 1 1837. L L. L. L. L. L. L. IT L. Ru ia - 1,318,936 1,489,63? 1» 19 1,565 1,5S7,25( ) 1,531,00 I 1,382,30 ' 57,127 64,93 59,54 ) 63,09 I 10-.,15 107,97t 91,3(« i 103,448 Pru ia. 179.145 177,92,' 192,816 258,55( 144,17c J 136,42. 5 188,27: 160,72 i 131.536 Germany 4,394,104 4,463,60a 3,642,952 6,068,994,.355,54J $ 4,547,1 6( ) 4,602,%f 4,46.3,72' > ^^?^2iS Holland. BelKium } 2,142,736 2,022,458 2,062,536 2,789,39!' f 2,181,89. I 886,421 5 2,470,26 750,05C 2,648, lO'. 818,487 2,509,62 839,27( >. 3,040,029, «04,917 France 498,938 475,884 602,688 674,791 848,33. 5 1,116,88; 1,453,636 '1,591,38 1,613,204 Portugal, Proper 945,016 1,106,69.'975,991 540.792 967,09 1,600,1 M 1,554,326 1,085,9.34 1,079,815 56,405 Azores 27,940 23,629 41,638 77,92C 54,43t 63,27; 49,71-7 63,574 Madeira 39,802 38,444 38,960 28,038 33,411 38,455 40,082 62,166 46,044 Spain and the Balearic Islands 301,153 607,068 597.848 442,926 442,837 325,907 405,065 4.37,07f 286,636 Canary Islands 3S,152 42,620 33,282 21,0.53 30,507 30,686 24,308 40,37C 4I,9CH Gibraltar Italy and the Italian Islands 1,038,925 292,760 367,285 461,470 385,460 460,719 602,580 756,411 906,1551 1 2,176,149 3,251,379 2,490,376 2,361,772 2,316,260 3,282,777 2,426,171 2,921,466 2,406.066! Malta 239,458 189,1.35 134,519 96.994 135,4^8 242,696 136,925 14.3,015 103,«,80 Ionian Islands 41,078 66,963 60,883 55,725 38,915 94,498 107,804 109,123 124,465 Turkey and Continental Greece (exclusive of the More a) 185,842 1,139.616 888,654 915,319 1,019,604 1,207,941 1,331,669 1,775,034 1,163,426 Morea & Greek Islds. 335 9.694 10,446 10,149 25,914 37,179 28,834 12,003 15,431 Egypt (Ports on the Mediterranean) Tripoli, Barbary, and Morocco 35.302 110,227 122,832 113,109 145,647 158,877 269,225 216,930 220,080 13.745 1,138 426 751 2,350 14,823 29,040 29,.322 54,007 Western Coast of Africa 191,452 252,123 234,768 290,061.'529,210 326,483 292,540 467,186 312,9.18 Cape of Good Hope C;.pe Verd IslanclT 218,049 330,036 257,245 292,405 316,197 " 304,382 326,921 482,315 488,814 5,856 1,710 215 146.-■.30 575 413 751 St. Helena 31,362 38,915 39,431 21,236 30,041 31,015 31,187 11,041 9,645 Isle of Bourbon 35,188 10,042 • 7,091 3,795 Mauritius 185,972 161,029 ' 148,476 " 163,191 83,424 149,319 196,559 260,855 349,488 Arabia 250 6,049 16,358 7871 East India Company's Territories & Ceylon China - 4,256,582 3,895,530 3,377.412 3,614,779 3,495,301 2,578,569 842,852 3,192,692 1,074,70« 4,285,829 1,326,.388 3,612,975' 67st375' Sumatra and Java 189,200 162,102 " 285,296 150,606 " 471,7"l2 410,273 353,S9'Z 234, 85i 31.3,791 PhiUippine Islands New South VVales,Van 300 71,220 39,613 102,284 185,298 76,018 129,743 61,778 33,808 Diemen's Land, and Swan River 443,839 314,677.398,471 466,238 558,372 716,014 696,345 835,637 921,568 New Zealand, and South Sea Islands 2,487 1,396 4,752 1,576 936 ■ 2,687 Ports of Siam J3ritish North American Colonies 10,467 19,742 1,691,044 1,857,133 2,089,327 2,075,725 2,092,550 1,671,069 2,158,158 2,732,291 2,141,035 British West Indies.1,289,704 2,838,448 a.-OS 1,949 2,439,808 2,597,589 2,680,024 3,187,540 3,786,453 3,456,745 Hayti - 248,3 -iS 321,793 376,103 543,104 381,528 357,297 365,798 251,663 171,050 Cuba & other Foreign West Indies 569,728 618,029 663,531 633,700 577,228 913,005 787,043 987,122 891,713 United States of America 5,810,315 6,132,346 9,053,583 5,468,272 7,579,699 6,844,989 10,568,455 12,4-25,60.\ 254,822 4,695,2251 Mexico 307,029 978,441 728,858 199,821 421,487 459.610 402,820 620,200 Guatemala 6,191 3,700 30,366 ■ 15,244 764 78 Colombia 261,113 ' 216,751 248,250 " 283,568 121,826 199,906 1.32,242 185,172 170,451 1,824,082 Brazil 3,518,297 2,452,103 1,238,371 2,144,903 2,575,680 2,460,679 2,630,767 3,030,532 States of the Rio de la Plata 312,389 6.32,172 3.39,870 660,152 615,362 831,564 658,525 697,334 696,104 Chili 709,371 640,626 651,617 708,193 816,817 896,221 606,176 861.903 625,545 Peru Isles of Guernsey, Jer374,615 368,469 409,003 275,610 387,524 299/235 441,.324 606,302 476,374 sey, Aldemey, and Totals 329,428 344,036 324,634 317,496 335,934 360,665 351,612 318,609 3.30,017 36,812,756 38,271,.597. 37,164,3721 36,450,594 ■39^667,3471 41,649,191 1 47,372,270 53,368,572 42.070,744 2.59 [s. 267]