A Manual of Political Economy Author:Willard Phillips Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ing the century subsequent to 1550, when the new accession of the precious metals is supposed to have begun to take effect on prices. If this rise since 1750 can... more » be accounted for, without resorting to the abundant productiveness of the mines, the previous rise may perhaps be explained in the same way. The rise of prices previously to 1550 shows the operation of some other causes than the increased abundance of the precious metals, and if these causes are supposed to have had the same influence during he century subsequent to 1550, as before and since that period, the effect of the augmented supplies of the metals have, at the most, been very inconsiderable in depreciating their value, and raising money prices. CHAPTER IV. Capital—Profits—Interest— Usury. A Savage having his present wants supplied, sleeps, drinks, and amuses himself. Captain Franklin often complains that his Indian hunters were unwilling to go in pursuit of game while any part of their stock of provisions remained unconsumed. Civilized men anticipate future and remote wants. An Indian chief mentioned by Mr. Harmon, in his journal of a residence among the North Western tribes, was sensible of this characteristic of an improved state of society, and to prove his own equality with the white people, boasted that his tribe was always well provided, and no more subject than they, to famine or want. But in all states of society some forethought is requisite to save men from starvation ; and a populous community, or one of which the numbers are increasing, and the wealth, industry, and resources expanding, needs a costly provision of food, clothing, and accommodations ; materials, and cultivated lands to work upon, and implements to work with inreplenishing the stock which they are continually consuming upon their...« less