Mr Knight, therefore, is so far from
being responsible for a single opinion in the present volume,
that he saw it only, for a short time, a few days previous to its
publication.
It has been objected to me, that I have exposed too freely
the secrets of trade. The only real secrets of trade are
industry, integrity, and knowledge: to the possessors of these no
exposure can be injurious; and they never fail to produce respect
and wealth.
The alterations in the present edition are so frequent, that
I found it impossible to comprise them in a supplement. But the
three new chapters, 'On money as a medium of exchange'; 'On a new
system of manufacturing'; and 'On the effect of machinery in
reducing the demand for labour'; will shortly be printed
separately, for the use of the purchasers of the first edition.
I am inclined to attach some importance to the new system of
manufacturing; and venture to throw it out with the hope of its
receiving a full discussion among those who are most interested
in the subject. I believe that some such system of conducting
manufactories would greatly increase the productive powers of any
country adopting it; and that our own possesses much greater
facilities for its application than other countries, in the
greater intelligence and superior education of the working
classes.
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