PART I. 1763-1792. FROM THE END OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. CHAPTER I. (1763–1776). THE FOUNDATIONS OF BRITISH PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY. II. (1763-1776). DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL RESOURCES. III. (1763-1776). STATE OF TRADE AFTER THE SEVEN IV. (1764–1782). THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND WAR. V. (1783-1792). MR. PITT'S PEACE ADMINISTRATION. SUMMARY. 1763-1792. From the end of the Seven Years' War to the French Revolution we have thirty years, which may be designated the seed-time of British commercial prosperity. During this period the commerce of the country remained within a very limited compass, and productive industry was only establishing the basis for its future development; yet it is to the manner in which the ground was prepared, and to the richness and fruitfulness of the seed itself, that we must ascribe many of the subsequent triumphs of British enterprise, and, above all, the power to resist and overcome the discouraging influences of revolution and war. One grave error was committed. It was the persistence in-or rather the extension of the mercantile system, with all its restrictions and prohibitions, which fettered trade and took it out of its natural course. But Adam Smith arose, and with him came a more certain and safer guidance to the real sources of the Wealth of Nations. The War and its Results.-State of England.-The Cotton Machinery.— 6 its results. ABOUT one hundred years ago, England concluded another of those wars which she waged so frequently, in days now happily gone by, and which, too often, left behind only The war and mingled feelings of gratification and disappointment. Glory, the fair child of peril,' is but a phantom which vanishes at the touch; 'like glowworms, afar off shine bright, but, looked too near, have neither heat nor light.' Miserable is that nation which is deceived by its attractions. British influence and power seemed, indeed, safely established over the whole of North America; France was dislodged from Canada, Spain was shorn of her best colonies. The British colonists were masters of their position. But, however great its achievements, however dazzling its exploits, whatever lustre it may throw on national arms, war always imposes burdens and sacrifices which curb the industries of a nation, and destroy the very vitals of a state. And we need not be surprised if, with increasing taxes and an accumulating debt,' one is apt speedily to forget the joys 1 The cost of the Seven Years' War, 1756-1763, to the United Kingdom is estimated at 82,623,738. The public debt of Great Britain and Ireland, which in |