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Foreign Commerce. 55 
to immediate gratification, as it affords a 
choice of pleasures. It ought therefore to be 
highly conducive to happiness, and cannot, in 
fact, be the cause of misery among a people, 
except in consequence of some perversion of 
their taste. When any perversion of this sort 
is general, any event that would deprive a 
country of their favourite gratifications, would. 
certainly prove a blessing, however much it 
might diminish the wealth or the sum total 
of exchangeable value. Mr. Spence, however, 
is unfortunate in selecting the importation of 
wine and foreign spirits into Great Britain, as 
an instance of this sort. If the importation 
of these articles were prohibited, the imme- 
diate consequence would be, that those who 
now send their native produce abroad, to pay 
for these luxuries, would convert more of their 
own grain into intoxicating liquors. The 
same scope would thus be afforded for hurtful 
excess. When we enquire into principles of 
conduct, we should presume, that men, when 
well informed, will make a prudent choice. 
In an enquiring age, we should suppose, that 
they will become practically enlightened by 
the influence of moral research. On this 
principle, we should pronounce foreign com- 
merce to be favourable to the happiness of a 
country. At the same time, we must not 
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