HF 1001 G65 Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1839, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. STEREOTYPED BY GEO. A. AND J. CURTIS, NEW ENGLAND TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, BOSTON. 06-16-50LDB geht of Elizabeth Bishop 6-18-20 PREFACE. By Commerce I mean the exchange of commodities for other articles, or for some representative of value, for which other commodities can be procured. At first, commerce consisted merely in exchanging the surplus of some particu lar article of produce, which an individual possessed beyond what he found necessary for his own use, for the similar surplus of some other article possessed by another individual, which kind of traffic is now generally called barter. By the introduction of metallic and paper money, the operations of commerce were much facilitated, while the increase of population rendered them of greater magnitude. Improvements in the art of navigation extended their boundaries, the advancement of science and increase of luxury multiplied the objects of trade, and the various duties and regulations established by different governments rendered the subject more complicated to individuals, but at the same time of increased importance to the state. The advantages of commerce began to engage the attention of mankind at a very early period. About thirteen hundred years after the flood, the commerce of the Phenicians had attained to a considerable extent; they possessed manufactures, entered into commercial partnerships, made long voyages, had resident agents in foreign countries, and lent and borrowed money. The Greeks and Romans, particularly the latter, carried on an extensive trade, considering the imperfect state of navigation. The cultivation of vines in France, |