Revisiting another Adam Smith problem

Moving on (see here), we now turn to the shortest selection in Adam Smith’s 79-page pamphlet: Additions and Corrections to the First and Second Editions of Dr. Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1784). In brief (pun intended!), the shortest passage in this work is his third insert (Addition #3), which consists of just one sentence and reads as follows: “The variety of goods of which the importation into Great Britain is prohibited, either absolutely, or under certain circumstances, greatly exceeds what can easily be suspected by those who are not well acquainted with the laws of the customs.” Although this insert/addition is incredibly short (just 39 words!), it is significant because of its biographical nature, for Smith had been a Commissioner of Scottish Customs and Salt Duties for six years by the time he published this passage in 1784. (Smith became a customs official in February 1778; see here.) Presumably, the Scottish scholar-cum-customs…