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cltarer for Ihc merchandize, to moderatc his dcfirc of

gain.

h is from thefc principIes, that competition among

buym and fcllers mufl take place. Thls is what con·

fines the fluétuation of prices within linuts whieh are

coOll'atihle with Ihc realon,ble prolils of bOlh buym

and fellm; for IVe mull conflantly fuppof. the whole

operalion of buying and felling to be perfolmed by

mm hanls; lhe buyer cannot be fuppofed

give lo

high a Pl iee as that whieh he

~xpeas

to receive,

whcn hc diflributcs to the confumers, nor can the

fellcr be fu rpofed tO accept of a lowcr than that which

he paid lO the manufa(turer. This competiuon is pro·

perly

c~lIed

double, beeaufe of the difliculty tO deter·

minc upon which fiac il fldods; tbe famc merchant may

have il in his fdvour upoo ceruio ameles, and agalOlt

Jlim upon olhers; it is continually in vibralion, ami the

Rrrtl'al of cmy poli may lefs or more pull uown Ihe

heavy fcale. ,

ln every tranfdaion btlweeo merchants, thc pl Ohl rc–

fuh ing from the fdle mul! be exaélly diflingui/bcd [rom

the vdlue of the merchandizc. The firH

lila,

vary, the

lan never

can.

is this profit alooe IVhich can be in·

tluenc.d by compelilion

and il is for that reafon wc

fiod fueh unitormtty evcry where in the prices of goods

of tloe fdme quality.

The compelilion betwcen fcllers does not appear fo

firiking, as tha! betlVecn buyers; bccdufe he IVho olfers

lof.le

, appearsonlypallive in the fidt operation; wherc·

as the buym prcfent themfelves one aflcr anolher; they

make a dcmand when thc merchandize is

r~fllfed

to one

at a ccrtain price, a tecond either olfers morc, or dOC3

not offer all : but fa fooo as anolher feller finds his ac–

count in accepting the price the firfl had refufed, then

the ridl cnlers into competition, providing bis profits will

admit his 10IVering tbe firl! price, and !hus

~ompetition

lakes plaee among the fellers, 1\00il the prolits upon thcir

trade prevent pTiees from falling 10IVer.

ln all markcls this competidon is varying, though in·

fenfibly, on many-oecafions; but in others, the vibra–

tions are very perceptible. SDmetimes it is found flrong–

ell 00 the fide of the huyers; and ,in proportion as thlS

grows, the compelillon betIVeen Ibe fdlers dimiDiflles.

When thc compclllion bwveen the for.,er has raifed

prices

a ccnain flandard, it comes to a flop; thcn

¡hc competition changes fides, and lakes place among the

fe11m, eager to profit of the highefl price. This makcs

pliees f,lI, aod according as tbey fall, tloe competition

among the buyers dimini/bel. They HiUwait for lhe

lowell periodo At lafl it comcs: and then perhaps fome

DeIV circumflaoce, by giving the balance a kick, difap

poin\! thm hopes.

thererore it ever

happe~s,

that

there is but one interell upon one fide of the contraa, as

in th'c cxample in the former feélion, where we fuppofed

the fdlm united, you pertelve, Ihat the rife of the

priee, oecafioned by the comp'!lition of the buyers, and

c'en il! coming tO a f1op, eould not p'ollibly

h.ve

the cf–

fca of produeing any competilh n on the other fide;

and therefore, if prices come ;lfler\Vards to fink, the fall

mul! ha'e procecded from ·the prudeotiat (oofiden-

VOL.

JI.

No. 40'

E R

23)

tions of adapting thc priee to the faculties of thof.

who, from thc heichl of i" had wilhdrawn thcir de–

mand o

From thefe principIes of eompetition, the foreflalling

of markets is made a crime, bequfc it dimini/bes the

compelition which ought to take plaee betwcen dilfcrent

peo~lc,

\Vho have tbe fame merchandize to olfer to

fale. The (orefl.ller buys all up, IVilh an intention to

fcll wi,h mure profit, as he has by that means taken o–

ther

~Gmpetitors

out of the way, and appe"! with

fiogle Intercll on one fide of thc contraa, in the face of

many competitors on the other. This perfon is puniflled

by the 11m, beeaufe he has prevented the price of the

merchandice from becoming juflly proporuoned to the

real value; he has robbed the public, aDd enriched him–

feif

and in thc punilhmeOl he makes rcllitulion. Here

occur tlVO queflions

be refolved, for thc fake of illu–

!lralion.

e . n competition among buyers pollibly take place,

\Vhcn theprovlfion made is morc than lullicíent to fupply'

the quantilY demanded 1 On the other hand, ean com¡

petition takc plaee among the fellers, when the quanuly

demanded exceeds Ihe total pro.ifion made for it 1

We Ihink il may in both cafes; becaufe iD the one and

the olher, there is a eompelilion implicd on one fide 01

thc conmé!, and the ver)' nature of tltís eompetition im–

plies a poniqility of its coming on the other, pro.idecl

fepuate imerefls be found UpODboth fidcs. )3ut to be

more particular:

Experience /be,V!, tha! however juflly the propor–

tion hetween the demand and the fupply m,y be deter–

mincd in faa, it is Ilill next to imponible to difcovcr it

exaaly, ano therefore the buyers can

onlr

regulate the

priecs they olfer, by what they mayrc,fonablr cxped lo

fell for ag,in., Thc (ellm, on the

oth~r

hand, can only

regulare the priees theyexpea, by what the merehandize

has cofl themwhen brought to market. We have al·

ready /be\Vn, holV, under fuehcircumflances, thc fcvcral

intertlls of individuals alfea each other, and make the

balance vibrate.

T~e

proportion between the fupply and the demand

is fddom other than

, rlati.,

among merchanlS, \Vho are

fuppofed

buy and fell, not from nece/lily, hut from a

view to pronto What \Ve mean by

rtlatiot

is, that their

demand is

great

final/,

according to prites

there

may be a grea\ demand for grain at 3S s. ,,, quarter,

and

demand at alJ for it at 40 s.; that is, among

mcrchants.

is errential tO atlend tO the

fm~lIen

circumflancc iD

mattersof this kind. The cireumflanee IVe mean, is the

dilfmnce we find in lhe elfeél of competition, when ir

takes place purely among merchants on bOlh lides of the

conmél, and when ir happens, that eithcr tbe confumen

'mingle themfelves with the merchant buyers, or the Ola–

nufaélurers, that is, the furni/bers, mingle themfetves

wilh the merehant-fellm. This combinatioo we /ball il–

lu¡¡ratc, by the folution of anolber queflion, and thco

conelude with a fcw reAeaioos upon the IVhole.

Can thcre be no cafe formed, where thc competitioo

upun one lidemay fubfin, \Vithout a pollibility of its ta.

3 O

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