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sheep was prohibited); and distributed them among various parishes;



with a command that for seven years none were to be slaughtered or



castrated。 (Essai sur le Commerce d'Angleterre; tome i。 p。 379。) As



soon as the object of these measures had been attained; England



rewarded the Spanish Government for the special privileges granted



by the latter; by prohibiting the import of Spanish wool。 The



efficacy of this prohibition (however unjust it may be deemed) can



as little be denied as that of the prohibitions of the import of



wool by Charles II (1672 and 1674)。







2。 France; said Pitt; has advantages above England in respect of



climate and other natural gifts; and therefore excels England in



its raw produce; on the other hand; England has the advantage over



France in its artificial products。 The wines; brandies; oils; and



vinegars of France; especially the first two; articles of such



importance and of such value; that the value of our natural



products cannot be in the least compared with them。 But; on the



other hand; it is equally certain that England is the exclusive



producer of some kinds of manufactured goods; and that in respect



of other kinds she possesses such advantages that she can defy



without doubt all the competition of France。 This is a reciprocal



condition and a basis on which an advantageous commercial treaty



between both nations should be founded。 As each of them has its



peculiar staple commodities; and each possesses that which is



lacking to the other; so both should deal with one another like two



great merchants who are engaged in different branches of trade; and



by a reciprocal exchange of their goods can at once become useful



to one another。 Let us further only call to mind on this point the



wealth of the county with which we stand in the position of



neighbours; its great population; its vicinity to us; and the



consequent quick and regular exchange。 Who could then hesitate a



moment to give his approval to the system of freedom; and who would



not earnestly and impatiently wish for the utmost possible



expedition in establishing it? The possession of such an extensive



and certain market must give quite an extraordinary impulse to our



trade; and the customs revenue which would then be diverted from



the hands of the smuggler into the State revenue would benefit our



finances; and thus two main springs of British wealth and of



British power would be made more productive。







3。 Since List wrote these lines; the duties which foreign silk



manufacturers had to pay on the import of their goods into England



have been totally abolished。 The results of their abolition may be



learned from Mr Wardle's report on the English silk trade; as



follows: London; in 1825; contained 24;000 looms and 60;000



operatives engaged in silk manufacture。 At the present time these



have dwindled to 1;200 looms and less then 4;000 operatives。 In



Coventry; in 1861; the ribbon trade is stated to have given



subsistence to 40;600 persons; while at the present time probably



not more than 10;000 persons are supported by it; and the



power…looms at work in Coventry have decreased from 1;800 to 600。



In Derby the number of operatives employed in silk manufacture has



decreased from 6;650 (in 1850) to 2;400 at present。 In the



Congleton district they have decreased from 5;186 (in 1860) to



1;530 (in 1884); while of the forty silk…throwsters' works which



that district contained (in 1859) only twelve now remain; with



'about three…fourths of their machinery employed。' In Manchester



this trade has practically died out; while at Middleton the



industry is 'simply ruined。' These results (stated by Mr Wardle)



may account for the decrease in England's imports of raw silk; from



8;000;000 pounds (in 1871) to less than 3;000;000 pounds。



    On the other hand; since List wrote; the United States of



America have increased and steadily maintained a considerable



protective duty on the importation of foreign silk manufactures。



The results of that policy were publicly stated by Mr Robert P。



Porter (member of the United States' Tariff Commission); in a



speech in 1883; to have been as follows:



    Five thousand persons were employed in silk manufacture in the



United States before the Morill tariff (1861)。 In 1880 their number



had increased to 30;000。 The value of silk manufactures produced in



the States increased from 1;200;000 l。 in 1860 to more than



8;000;000 l。 in 1880。 'Yet the cost of the manufactured goods to



the consumer; estimated on a gold basis; has steadily declined at



a much greater rate than the cost of the raw material。' After



reference to the earthenware and plate…glass manufactures; Mr



Porter adds: 'The testimony before the Tariff Commission showed



unquestionably that the competition in the United States had



resulted in a reduction in the cost to the American consumer。 In



this way; gentlemen; I contend; and am prepared to prove



statistically。 that protection; so far as the United States are



concerned; has in every case ultimately benefited the consumer; and



on this ground I defend it and believe in it。'  TRANSLATOR。







4。 Chaptal; De l'Industrie Fran鏰ise vol。 ii。; p。 147。







Chapter 34







The Insular Supremacy and the German Commercial Union







    What a great nation is at the present day without a vigorous



commercial policy; and what she may become by the adoption of a



vigorous commercial policy; Germany has learnt for herself during



the last twenty years。 Germany was that which Franklin once said of



the State of New Jersey; 'a cask which was tapped and drained by



its neighbours on every side。' England; not contented with having



ruined for the Germans the greater part of their own manufactories



and supplied them with enormous quantities of cotton and woollen



fabrics; excluded from her ports German grain and timber; nay from



time to time also even German wool。 There was a time when the



export of manufactured goods from England to Germany was ten times



greater than that to her highly extolled East Indian Empire。



Nevertheless the all…monopolising islanders would not even grant to



the poor Germans what they conceded to the conquered Hindoos; viz。



to pay for the manufactured goods which they required by



agricultural produce。 In vain did the Germans humble themselves to



the position of hewers of wood and drawers of water for the



Britons。 The latter treated them worse than a subject people。



Nations; like individuals; if they at first only permit themselves



to be ill…treated by one; soon become scorned by all; and finally



become an object of derision to the very children。 France; not



contented with exporting to Germany enormous quantities of wine;



oil; silk; and millinery; grudged the Germans their exports of



cattle; grain; and flax; yes; even a small maritime province



formerly possessed by Germany and inhabited by Germans; which



having become wealthy and powerful by means of Germany; at all



times was only able to maintain itself with and by means of



Germany; barred for half a generation Germany's greatest river by



means of contemptible verbal quibbles。 To fill up the measure of



this contempt; the doctrine was taught from a hundred professorial



chairs; that nations could only attain to wealth and power by means



of universal free trade。 Thus it was; but how is it now? Germany



has advanced in prosperity and industry; in national self…respect



and in national power; in the course of ten years as much as in a



century。 And how has this result been achieved? It was certainly



good and beneficial that the internal tariffs were abolished which



separated Germans from Germans; but the nation would have derived



small comfort from that if her home industry had thenceforth



remained freely exposed to foreign competition。 It was especially



the protection which the tariff of the Zollverein secured to



manufactured articles of common use; which has wrought this



miracle。 Let us freely confess it; for Dr Bowring(1*) has



incontrovertibly shown it; that the Zollverein tariff has not; as



was before asserted; imposed merely duties for revenue  that it



has not confined itself to duties of ten to fifteen per cent as



Huskisson believed  let us freely admit that it has imposed



protective duties of from twenty to sixty per cent as respects the



manufactured articles of common use。



    But what has been the operation of these protective duties? Are



the consumers paying for their German manufactured goods twenty to



sixty per cent more than they formerly paid for foreign ones (as



must be the case if the popular theory is correct); or are these



goods at all worse than the foreign ones? Nothing of the sort。 Dr



Bowring himself adduces testimony that the manufactured goods



produced under the high customs tariff are both better and cheaper



than the foreign ones。(2*) The internal competition and the



security from destructive competition by the foreigner has wrought



this miracle; of which the popular school knows nothing and is



determined to know nothing。 Thus; that is not true; which the



popular school maintains; that a protective duty increases the



price of the goods of home production by the amount of the



protective duty。 For a short time the duty may increase the price;



but in every nation which is qualified to carry on manufacturing



industry the consequence of the protection will be; tha
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