' Foreign Commerce. 67 
The author of that article, however, has 
made assertions which require to be carefully 
weighed before we can give them our assent. 
He, no doubt, justly accuses Mr. Spence of 
assuming erroneous data for the foundation 
of his reasonings; but he is not successful in 
refuting his leadig conclusion, that Britain 
is independent of commerce. If we wish to 
estimate the truth of that conclusion, and the 
degree of importance that ought to be attached 
to it, we must beware of mistaking the point 
at issue, by allowing the meaning of the word 
independence to be insensibly shifted. We 
must enquire what was the common impres- 
sion on the subject previous to the discussion, 
and what is the result to which that discussion 
has led. 
The fixed and almost universal impression 
was, that the moment foreign commerce is. 
shut up, the, power of Britain must be an- 
nihilated. 'This apprehension has certainly 
been removed. The loss of foreign commerce 
is indeed acknowledged to be productive of. 
privations and sacrifices; but these by no 
means amount to national ruin. A nation un- 
willing to submit to sacrifices, is always pro- 
nounced unworthy of independence. Every 
war implies sacrifices to which we are not 
12 
