290 THE POPULAR SCIEXCE MONTHLY. 



imports to less than 15 per cent. In fact, had not civil war inter- 

 vened in 1861, the United States, in a very few years more, would 

 have undoubtedly rivaled Great Britain in freeing its foreign trade 

 and commerce from all restrictions, save for revenue and sanitary 

 purposes.* In 1860, England, under the lead of Mr. Cobden, ne- 

 gotiated the celebrated commercial treaty with France, which, while 

 providing for large reciprocal reductions or entire removal of many 

 duties on exports as well as imports, also entirely abolished all abso- 

 lute " prohibitions " on any branch of international commerce between 

 the two nations ; as, for example, in respect to coal, the exjiortation 

 of which to France, England, under a fancied military necessity, had 

 at one period prohibited. 



Following the Anglo-French treaty, and as the result, doubtless, of 

 its influence, twenty-seven other similar treaties were negotiated ; ia 

 some one or more of which all the states of Europe, with the excep- 

 tion of Greece, i^articipated ; Russia even breaking through her cus- 

 tomary reserve, and entering into more liberal commercial agreements 

 with more than one of her neighbors. And, as many of these differ- 

 ent treaties successively embodied new and special relaxations in re- 

 spect to duties on imports — which, in virtue of the so-called " favored- 

 nation clause"! existing in most previous treaties with other countries, 

 became also and at once generally applicable — the area of commercial 

 freedom and its accruing benefits extended very rapidly, and, as it 

 were, without effort, over the greater part of Europe. So that, by the 

 year 1870, " all the great trading nations of Europe — England, France, 

 the states of the German Zollverein, Austria, Italy, Holland, and Bel- 

 gium — had become one great international body, by all the members 

 of which the principle of stipulating for exclusive advantages for 

 their own commerce seemed to have been abandoned, and not one of 

 whom could take off a duty without every other member at once en- 

 joying increased commercial facilities ; while within this body, the 

 operation of the favored-nation clause was such as to make the arrival 

 at almost unlimited freedom of exchange merely a question of time. "J 



Furthermore, not only were these same governments busy during 



* In 1800 a reduction of the national revenues, induced primarily by the commercial 

 panic of 1S57 and an increase of national expenditures, with threatened political troubles, 

 led to the introduction of a bill, avowedly with the intent of restoring the tariff rates in force 

 prior to 1857 ; and this bill, with amendments, increasing the rates considerably beyond 

 that point became a law in March, 1861. But, at that date, seven of the Southern States 

 had seceded, and had withdrawn in great part their Senators and Representatives from the 

 Federal Congress ; so that the action of Congress, at the time of the passage of this bill, 

 affords no indication of what the legislation of the United States on the subject of the 

 tariff would have then been had domestic tramiuillity not been interrupted. 



f By the " favored-nation clause " is understood that provision which has been incor- 

 porated in most treaties in modern times, by which the contracting parties agree to give 

 to each other as good treatment as each one, then or thereafter acting severally, may 

 give to other and the most favored nations. 



X Address of the President (Grant Duff, M. P.) of the Department of Economy and 



