Adam Smith’s very long paragraph: part 3 of 3

Thus far this week (see here and here), we have seen Adam Smith’s tedious and painstaking reconstruction of the rising fortunes of the East India Company. In brief, the company had accumulated massive amounts of debts, but it had also generated tons of revenue, and by 1773 — the year its five-year deal with the British government was set to expire (see my previous post) — the company was so flush with cash that it was poised to pay off its massive debts. Instead, the company’s debts began to spiral out of control! Smith writes (sentence #47): “In 1773, however, their debts, instead of being reduced, were augmented by an arrear to the treasury in the payment of the four hundred thousand pounds, by another to the custom-house for duties unpaid, by a large debt to the bank for money borrowed, and by a fourth for bills drawn upon them from India, and wantonly accepted, to the amount of upwards of twelve hundred thousand pounds.” (Smith 1784, p. 70) The East India Company was now forced to…