r ten years, and he employed
ten men, whose annual labour cost 100_l._ and who in one day obtained by
their labour twenty salmon: If the weapons employed by the hunter were
also of 100_l._ value and calculated to last ten years, and if he also
employed ten men, whose annual labour cost 100_l._ and who in one day
procured him ten deer; then the natural price of a deer would be two
salmon, whether the proportion of the whole produce bestowed on the men
who obtained it, were large or small. The proportion which might be paid
for wages, is of the utmost importance in the question of profits; for
it must at once be seen, that profits would be high or low, exactly in
proportion as wages were low or high; but it could not in the least
affect the relative value of fish and game, as wages would be high or
low at the same time in both occupations. If the hunter urged the plea
of his paying a large proportion, or the value of a large proportion of
his game for wages, as an inducement to the fisherman to give him more
fish in exchange for his game, the latter would state that he was
equally affected by the same cause; and therefore under all variations
of wages and profits, under all the effects of accumulation of capital,
as long as they continued by a day's labour to obtain respectively the
same quantity of fish, and the same quantity of game, the natural rate
of exchange would be, one deer for two salmon.

If with the same quantity of labour a less quantity of fish, or a
greater quantity of game were obtained, the value of fish would rise in
comparison with that of game. If, on the contrary, with the same
quantity of labour a less quantity of game, or a greater quantity of
fish was obtained, game would rise in comparison with fish.

If there were any other commodity which was invariable in its value,
requiring at all times, and under all circumstances, precisely the same
quantity of labour to obtain it, we should be able to ascertain, by
comparing the value of fish and game with this commodity, how much of
the variation was to be attributed to a cause which affected the value
of fish, and how much to a cause which affected the value of game.

Suppose money to be that commodity. If a salmon were worth 1_l._ and a
deer 2_l._ one deer would be worth two salmon. But a deer might become
of the value of three salmon, for more labour might be required to
obtain the deer, or less to get the salmon, or both these causes might
operate a