THE HOME DUTY ON TOBACCO. 431 



among themselves, excluding all others from their mar 

 kets, her own commerce and prosperity would have 

 been at least as great as it is now. But such a system 

 would have been contrary to nature. The rise of the 

 cotton-trade has fortunately not only prevented its adop 

 tion, but has finally broken into fragments nearly every 

 part of the system, as it had been previously introduced 

 among ourselves. If the world requires an example of 

 a nation returning to the natural principle of national 

 inter-communion, it was right that in this, as in all other 

 progressive movements, we should take the lead, and 

 should suffer the first reverses which the change brings 

 with it. Our sufferings will be in a measure over, when 

 those of other countries, who delay to follow our later 

 example, are beginning to commence. 



The cotton, and the grain, and the sugar of the United 

 States are now admitted into British ports without any 

 protecting duty. My LowelMriend, who professed to repu 

 diate the protection he enjoyed, yet justified the American 

 tariff, on the plea that we still imposed a duty of a thou 

 sand per cent on American tobacco ! This is a favourite 

 reason among the Protectionist party in the States, and 

 is especially directed by the northern men against the 

 understandings of the tobacco-growers of the south. It 

 ought to be a sufficient answer to any reasonable man, 

 that the same duty is levied on tobacco grown in our 

 own country 5 that, but for this duty, tobacco could and 

 would be grown largely both in England and Ireland ; 

 and that thus the duty, apart from the social reasons for 

 which it is imposed, is in reality an impost in favour of 

 American tobacco. If, however, an adjustment of the 

 revenue of the country could be easily made, by which 

 the 3,500,000, yielded by the duty on tobacco could 

 be otherwise raised, the argument in its favour drawn 

 from its being levied on an article which, besides being 

 a useless luxury, is also a poisonous and filthy weed 



