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cording to M. Bauche, between William's Sound and Mount St. Elias. The Russians and Captain Cook have not observed it, because it is very narrow. But it is to be wished, that this important discovery should be verified, which has been overlooked for two centuries, in spite of the attempts which have been made on these coasts. M. Bauche calls this passage the Straits of Ferrer.

POSITIONS TO BE EXAMINED.

1. ALL food, or subsistence from mankind, arises from the earth or waters.

2. Necessaries of life that are not foods, and all other conveniences, have their value estimated by the proportion of food consumed while we are employed in procuring them.

3. A small people with a large territory, may subsist on the productions of nature, with no other labour than that of gathering the vegetables and catching the animals.

4. A large people with a small territory, find these insufficient; and, to subsist, must labour the earth, to make it produce greater quantities of vegetable food, suitable to the nourishment of men, and of the animals they intend to cat.

5. From this labour arises a great increase of vegetable and animal food, and of materials for clothing; as flax, wool, silks, &c. The superfluity of these is wealth. With this wealth we pay for the labour employed in building our houses, cities, &c. which are therefore only subsistence thus metamorphosed.

6. Manufactures are only another shape into which so much provisisons and subsistence are turned, as were in value equal to the manufacture produced. This appears from hence, that the manufac turer does not, in fact, obtain from the employer, for nis labour, more than a mere subsistence, incluu

ing raiment, fuel, and shelter; all which derive their value from the provisions consumed in procuring them.

7. The produce of the earth, thus converted into manufactures, may be more easily carried into distant markets, than before such conversion.

3. Fair commerce is where equal values are exchanged for equal, the expense of transport included. Thus, if it costs A in England, as much labour and charge to raise a bushel of wheat, as it costs B in France to produce four gallons of wine, then are four gallons of wine the fair exchange for a bushel of wheat, A and B meeting at half distance with their commodities to make the exchange. The advantage of this fair commerce is, that each party increases the number of his enjoyments, having, instead of wheat alone, or wine alone, the use of both wheat and wine.

9. Where the labour and expense of producing both commodities are known to both parties, bargains will generally be fair and equal. Where they are known to one party only, bargains will often be unequal, knowledge taking its advantage of ignorance.

10. Thus he that carries a thousand bushels of wheat abroad to sell, may not probably obtain so great a profit thereon, as if he had first turned the wheat into manufactures, by subsisting therewith the workmen while producing those manufactures, since there are many expediting and facilitating methods of working, not generally known, and strangers to the manufactures, though they know pretty well the expense of raising wheat, are unacquainted with those short methods of working; and thence, being apt to suppose more labour employed in the manufacture than there really is, are more easily imposed on in their value, and induced to allow more for them than they are honestly worth.

11. Thus the advantage of having manufactures in a country does not consist, as is commonly supposed, in their highly advancing the value of rough materials, of which they are formed; since, though sixpennyworth of flax may be worth twenty shillings

when worked into lace, yet the very cause of its being worth twenty shillings is that, besides the flax, it has cost nineteen shillings and sixpence in subsistence to the manufacturer. But the advantage of manufactures, is, that, under their shape, provisions may be more easily carried to a foreign market; and by their means our traders may more easily cheat strangers. Few, where it is not made, are judges of the value of lace. The importer may demand forty, and perhaps get thirty shillings for that which cost him but twenty.

12. Finally, there seems to be but three ways for a nation to acquire wealth. The first is by war, as the Romans did, in plundering their conquered neighbours; this is robbery.-The second by commerce, which is generally cheating.-The third by agriculture, the only honest way, wherein a man receives a real increase of the seed thrown into the ground in a kind of continued miracle, wrought by the hand of God in his favour, as a reward for his innocent life and his virtuous industry.

B. FRANKLIN.

PRELIMINARY ADDRESS TO THE PENNSYLVANIA AL
MANAG, ENTITULED, "POOR RICHARD'S AL-
MANAC, FOR THE YEAR 1758."

WRITTEN BY DR. FRANKLIN.

I HAVE heard, that nothing gives an author so great pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors. This pleasure I have seldom enjoyed; for though I have been, if I may say it without vanity, an eminent author (of Almanacs) annually now a full quarter of a century, my brother authors in the same way (for what reason I know not) have ever been very sparing in their applauses; and no other author has taken the least notice of me: so that, did not my writings produce me some solid pudding, the great deficiency of praise would have quite dis couraged me.

I concluded, at length, that the people were the best judges of my merit, for they buy my works; and, besides, in my rambles, where I am not personally known, I have frequently heard one or other of iny adages repeated, with "as poor Richard says," at the end on't. This gave me some satisfaction, as it showed not only that my instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some respect for my au thority; and I own, that to encourage the practice of remembering and repeating those wise sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great gravity.

Judge then how much I have been gratified by an incident which I am going to relate to you. I stopped my horse lately where a great number of people were collected at an auction of merchants' goods. The hour of sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean, old man, with white locks," Pray, father Abraham, what think ye of the times? Won't these heavy taxes quite ruin the

Country? How shall we be ever able to pay them? What would you advise us to?" Father Abraham stood up, and replied,- -"If you'd have my advice, I'll give it to you in short; for a word to the wise is enough; and many words wont fill a bushel,' as poor Richard says." They joined in desiring him to speak his mind; and, gathering round him, he proceeded as follows:

"Friends (says he) and neighbours, the taxes are indeed very heavy; and if those laid on by the go. vernment were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have maby others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and from these taxes the commission、 ers cannot ease or deliver us, by allowing an abate ment. However, let us hearken to good advice, and Something may be done for us; God helps them that help themselves,' as poor Richard says in his Almanac.

"It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service; but idleness taxes many of us much more, if we reckon all that is spent in absolute sloth, or doing of nothing, with that which is spent in idle employments, or amusements that amount to nothing. Slath, by bringing on diseases, absolutely shortens life. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears, while the key often used is always bright,' as poor Richard says. But dost thou love life? then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of,' as poor Richard says. How much more than is necessary do we spend in sleep! forgetting, that the sleeping fox catches no poultry, and that there will be sleeping enough in the grave,' as poor Richard says. 'If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be (as poor Richard says) the greatest prodigality;' since, as he elsewhere tells us, Lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough.' Let us then up and be doing, and doing to e purpose: so by diligence shall we do more with

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