(194.) The great competition introduced by machinery, and the application of the principle of the subdivision of labour, render it continually necessary for each producer to be on the watch, to discover improved methods by which the cost of the article he manufactures may be reduced; and, with this view, it is of great importance to know the precise expense of every process, as well as of the wear and tear of machinery which is due to it. The same information is desirable for others, through whose hands the manufactured goods are distributed; because it enables them to give reasonable answers or explanations to the objections of inquirers, and also affords them a better chance of suggesting to the manufacturer changes in the fashion of his goods, which may be more suitable either to the tastes or to the finances of his customers. To the statesman such knowledge is still more important; as without it he must trust entirely to others, and can form no judgment worthy of confidence, of the effect any tax may produce, or of the injury the manufacturer or the country may suffer by its imposition.

(195.) One of the first advantages which suggests itself as likely to arise from a correct analysis of the expense of the several processes of any manufacture, is the indication which it furnishes of the course in which improvement should be directed.