OF THE BALANCE OF TRADE.

should all exclaim against as destructive—viz., the gathering large sums into a public treasure, locking them up, and absolutely preventing their circulation. The fluid not communicating with the neighbouring element may, by such an artifice, be raised to what height we please. To prove this we need only return to our first supposition of the annihilating the half or any part of our cash, where we found that the immediate consequence of such an event would be the attraction of an equal sum from all the neighbouring kingdoms. Nor does there seem to be any necessary bounds set by the nature of things to this practice of hoarding. A small city like Geneva, continuing this policy for ages, might engross nine-tenths of the money of Europe. There seems, indeed, in the nature of man an invincible obstacle to that immense growth of riches. A weak state with an enormous treasure will soon become a prey to some of its poorer but more powerful neighbours; a great state would dissipate its wealth in dangerous and ill-concerted projects, and probably destroy with it what is much more valuable—the industry, morals, and number of its people. The fluid in this case, raised to too great a height, bursts and destroys the vessel that contains it, and mixing itself with the surrounding element, soon falls to its proper level.