Saturday 3 April 2010

Book 3, chapter 2, paragraph 17

[De la richesse commerciale, Sismondi, 1803, Original, 175]

   Le même Département contient cinq fonderies de laiton, qui travaillent sur du cuivre rosette de Drontheim, et de la calamine de Limbourg, Département de l’Ourthe; plus d’un cinquième de ce cuivre manufacturé est exporté à l’étranger. J’ai peine à comprendre comment ce commerce, dont les profits ont fort diminué, et qui est réduit d’un cinquième, environ(4), n’est pas absolument anéanti par la douane, qui perçoit des droits tant sur l’entrée que sur la sortie des cuivres.

[Translation]

   The same department has five refineries of brass, which work upon copper rosette from Trondheim and calamine from Limburg, in the department of Ourthe; over a fifth of this manufactured capper is exported abroad. It is difficult for me to understand how this trade, whose profits have declined substantially, and which is reduced by about a fifth(4), is not completely annihilated due to the customs which collects taxes on entry as well as on exit of capper.