If we survey this little world, vast in our idea, but small compared to
immensity, we shall find it crusted over with property, fixed and
movable. Upon this crusty world subsist animals of various kinds; one of
which, something short of six feet, moves erect, seems the only one
without a tail, and takes the lead in the command of this property. Fond
of power, and conscious that possessions give it, he is ever attempting,
by force, fraud, or laudable means, to arrive at both.
_Fixed_ property bears a value according to its situation; 10,000 acres
in a place like London, and its environs, would be an immense fortune,
such as no man ever possessed; while 10,000, in some parts of the globe,
though well covered with timber, would not be worth a shilling--no king
to govern, no subject to submit, no market to exhibit property, no
property to exhibit; instead of striving to get possession, he would, if
cast on the spot, strive to get away. Thus assemblages of people mark a
place with value.
_Movable_ property is of two sorts; that which arises from the earth,
with the assistance of man; and the productions of art, which wholly
arise from his labour. A small degree of industry supplies the wants of
nature, a little more furnishes the comforts of life, and a farther
proportion affords the luxuries. A man, by labour first removes his own
wants, and then, with the overplus of that labour, purchases the labour
of another. Thus, by furnishing a hat for the barber, the hatter
procures a wig for himself: the tailor, by making a coat for another, is
enabled to buy cloth for his own. It follows, that the larger the number
of people, the more likely to cultivate a spirit of industry; the
greater that industry, the greater its produce; consequently, the more
they supply the calls of others, the more lucrative will be the returns
to themselves.
It may be asked, what is the meaning of the word _rich_? Some have
termed it, a little more than a man has; others, as much as will content
him; others again, the possession of a certain sum, not very _small_.
Perhaps all are wrong. A man may be rich, possessed only of one hundred
pounds; he may be poor, possessed of one hundred thousand. He alone is
rich, whose _income_ is more than he uses.
Industry, though excellent, will perform but half the work; she must be
assisted by economy; without this, a ministerial fortune will be
defective. These two qualities, separated from each other, like a knife
from the handle, are of little use; but, like these, they become
valuable when united. Economy without industry will barely appear in a
whole coat; industry without economy will appear in rags. The first is
detrimental to the community, by preventing the circulation of property;
the last is detrimental to itself. It is a singular remark, that even
industry is sometimes the way to poverty. Industry, like a new cast
guinea, retains its sterling value; but, like that, it will not pass
currently till it receives a sovereign stamp: economy is the stamp which
gives it currency. I well knew a man who began business with 1500_l._
Industry seemed the end for which he was made, and in which he wore
himself out. While he laboured from four in the morning till eight at
night, in the making of gimlets, his family consumed twice his produce.
Had he spent less time at the anvil, and more in teaching the lessons of
frugality, he might have lived in credit. Thus the father was ruined by
industry, and his children have, for many years, appeared on the parish
books. Some people are more apt to _get_ than to _keep_.
Though a man, by his labour, may treat himself with many things, yet he
seldom grows rich. Riches are generally acquired by purchasing the
labour of others. He who buys the labour of one hundred people, may
acquire ten times as much as by his own.
What then has that capricious damsel, _Fortune_, to do in this chain of
argument? Nothing. He who has capacity, attention, and economy, has a
fortune within himself. She does not command _him_, he commands _her_.
Having explained the word _riches_, and pointed out the road to them,
let us examine their use. They enable a man with great facility to shake
off an old friend, once an equal; and forbid access to an inferior,
except a toad-eater. Sometimes they add to his name, the pretty
appendage of Right Honourable, Bart. or Esq. additions much coveted,
which, should he happen to become an author, are an easy passport
through the gates of fame. His very features seem to take a turn from
his fortune, and a curious eye may easily read in his face, the word
_consequence_. They change the tone of his voice from the submissive to
the commanding, in which he well knows how to throw in a few graces. His
style is convincing. Money is of singular efficacy; it clears his head,
refines his sense, points his joke. The weight of his fortune adds
weight to his argument. If, my dear reader, you have been a silent
spectator at meetings for public business, or public dinners, you may
have observed many a smart thing said unheeded, by the man without
money; and many a paltry one echoed with applause, from the man with it.
The room in silent attention hears one, while the other can scarcely
hear himself. They direct a man to various ways of being carried who is
too idle to carry himself; nay, they invert the order of things, for we
often behold two men, who seem hungry, carry one who is full fed. They
add refinement to his palate, prominence to his front, scarlet to his
nose. They frequently ward off old age. The ancient rules of moderation
being broken, luxury enters in all her pomp, followed by a group of
diseases, with a physician in _their_ train, and the rector in _his_.
Phials, prayers, tears, and galley-pots, close the sad scene, and the
individual has the honour to _rot_ in state, _before_ old age can
advance. His place may be readily supplied with a _joyful mourner_.[84]
[84] History of Birmingham.
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