An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of

743

Adam Smith

gabelle, or salt tax; others are exempted from it altogether. Some

provinces are exempted from the exclusive sale of tobacco, which

the farmers-general enjoy through the greater part of the king-

dom. The aides, which correspond to the excise in England, are

very different in different provinces. Some provinces are exempted

from them, and pay a composition or equivalent. In those in which

they take place, and are in farm, there are many local duties which

do not extend beyond a particular town or district. The traites,

which correspond to our customs, divide the kingdom into three

great parts; first, the provinces subject to the tariff of 1664, which

are called the provinces of the five great farms, and under which

are comprehended Picardy, Normandy, and the greater part of the

interior provinces of the kingdom; secondly, the provinces subject

to the tariff of 1667, which are called the provinces reckoned for-

eign, and under which are comprehended the greater part of the

frontier provinces; and, thirdly, those provinces which are said to

be treated as foreign, or which, because they are allowed a free

commerce with foreign countries, are, in their commerce with the

other provinces of France, subjected to the same duties as other

foreign countries. These are Alsace, the three bishoprics of Mentz,

Toul, and Verdun, and the three cities of Dunkirk, Bayonne, and

Marseilles. Both in the provinces of the five great farms (called so

on account of an ancient division of the duties of customs into

five great branches, each of which was originally the subject of a

particular farm, though they are now all united into one), and in

those which are said to be reckoned foreign, there are many local

duties which do not extend beyond a particular town or district.

There are some such even in the provinces which are said to be

treated as foreign, particularly in the city of Marseilles. It is un-

necessary to observe how much both the restraints upon the inte-

rior commerce of the country, and the number of the revenue

officers, must be multiplied, in order to guard the frontiers of

those different provinces and districts which are subject to such

different systems of taxation.

Over and above the general restraints arising from this compli-

cated system of revenue laws, the commerce of wine (after corn,

perhaps, the most important production of France) is, in the greater

part of the provinces, subject to particular restraints arising from

the favour which has been shown to the vineyards of particular

provinces and districts above those of others. The provinces most

famous for their wines, it will be found, I believe, are those in

which the trade in that article is subject to the fewest restraints of

this kind. The extensive market which such provinces enjoy, en-

courages good management both in the cultivation of their vine-

yards, and in the subsequent preparation of their wines.

Such various and complicated revenue laws are not peculiar to

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744

The Wealth of Nations

France. The little duchy of Milan is divided into six provinces, in

each of which there is a different system of taxation, with regard to

several different sorts of consumable goods. The still smaller territo-

ries of the duke of Parma are divided into three or four, each of

which has, in the same manner, a system of its own. Under such

absurd management, nothing but the great fertility of the soil, and

happiness of the climate, could preserve such countries from soon

relapsing into the lowest state of poverty and barbarism.

Taxes upon consumable commodities may either he levied by

an administration, of which the officers are appointed by

govermnent, and are immediately accountable to government, of

which the revenue must, in this case, vary from year to year, ac-

cording to the occasional variations in the produce of the tax; or

they may be let in farm for a rent certain, the farmer being al-

lowed to appoint his own officers, who, though obliged to levy

the tax in the manner directed by the law, are under his immediate

inspection, and are immediately accountable to him. The best and

most frugal way of levying a tax can never be by farm. Over and

above what is necessary for paying the stipulated rent, the salaries

of the officers, and the whole expense of administration, the farmer

must always draw from the produce of the tax a certain profit,

proportioned at least to the advance which he makes, to the risk

which he runs, to the trouble which he is at, and to the knowledge

and skill which it requires to manage so very complicated a con-

cern. Government, by establishing an administration under their

own immediate inspection, of the same kind with that which the

farmer establishes, might at least save this profit, which is almost

always exorbitant. To farm any considerable branch of the public

revenue requires either a great capital, or a great credit; circum-

stances which would alone restrain the competition for such an

undertaking to a very small number of people. Of the few who

have this capital or credit, a still smaller number have the neces-

sary knowledge or experience; another circumstance which restrains

the competition still further. The very few who are in condition to

become competitors, find it more for their interest to combine

together; to become copartners, instead of competitors; and, when

the farm is set up to auction, to offer no rent but what is much

below the real value. In countries where the public revenues are in

farm, the farmers are generally the most opulent people. Their

wealth would alone excite the public indignation; and the vanity

which almost always accompanies such upstart fortunes, the fool-

ish ostentation with which they commonly display that wealth,

excite that indignation still more.

The farmers of the public revenue never find the laws too se-

vere, which punish any attempt to evade the payment of a tax.

They have no bowels for the contributors, who are not their sub-

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