. In this employment it would necessarily be more
productive to its owner, or it would not be withdrawn from the other;
for if he could obtain more corn by growing it on land for which he paid
no rent, than by manufacturing a commodity with which he purchased it,
its price could not be under 4_l._

It has, however, been said that capital cannot be withdrawn from the
land; that it takes the form of expenses, which cannot be recovered,
such as manuring, fencing, draining, &c., which are necessarily
inseparable from the land. This is in some degree true; but that capital
which consists of cattle, sheep, hay and corn ricks, carts, &c. may be
withdrawn; and it always becomes a matter of calculation whether these
shall continue to be employed on the land, notwithstanding the low price
of corn, or whether they shall be sold, and their value transferred to
another employment.

Suppose, however, the fact to be as stated, and that no part of the
capital could be withdrawn; the farmer would continue to raise corn, and
precisely the same quantity too, at whatever price it might sell; for it
could not be his interest to produce less, and if he did not so employ
his capital, he would obtain from it no return whatever. Corn could not
be imported, because he would sell it lower than 3_l._ 10_s._ rather
than not sell it at all, and by the supposition the importer could not
sell it under that price. Although then the farmers, who cultivated land
of this quality, would undoubtedly be injured by the fall in the
exchangeable value of the commodity which they produced,--how would the
country be affected? We should have precisely the same quantity of every
commodity produced, but raw produce and corn would sell at a much
cheaper price. The capital of a country consists of its commodities, and
as these would be the same as before, reproduction would go on at the
same rate. This low price of corn would however only afford the usual
profits of stock to the land, No. 5, which would then pay no rent, and
the rent of all better land would fall: wages would also fall, and
profits would rise.

However low the price of corn might fall; if capital could not be
removed from the land, and the demand did not increase, no importation
would take place; for the same quantity as before would be produced at
home. Although there would be a different division of the produce, and
some classes would be benefited, and others injured, the aggregate of
production