THE FISCAL QUESTION 141 



cally, as well as territorially, the different States are sections 

 of a closed circle, and the expansion of the province of 

 the one is an invasion of the province of the others. 

 Hence a man cannot, at least so far as concerns material 

 things, be a citizen of the world without neglecting, or 

 at times violating even, his duties to his own country. 

 We are entitled to suspect the patriotism of the humani- 

 tarian : angel pen fford^ a diawl pen pentan. " We must 

 distinguish between a blood relation and a business com- 

 petitor. We decline to regard the colonies as coming in 

 all matters upon exactly the same basis as foreign com- 

 petitors." These words of Mr. Wyndham are indefinite, 

 but if one is to translate and apply them to the present 

 situation, they seem to mean that we must give to our 

 colonies better bargains than to other countries, we must 

 compete with them more softly mitigating the heat for 

 them, as some of the old theologians desired to do for lost 

 infants. We must be less arinoyed against them if they 

 carry off our trade ; we must give them preferential 

 tariffs ; we must tax our food and raw material for 

 their sakes. 



Whether this is not patriotism degraded into impractical 

 sentimentalism I shall not inquire ; nor whether it be not 

 better for our colonies and dependencies, as for ourselves, 

 to be permitted to hold their own, rather than mix senti- 

 ment with business. Nor shall I discuss the matter from 

 the point of view of pure economics. Otherwise I should 

 try to show that it is not the prosperity but the poverty, 

 not the strength of foreign countries^ but their weakness, 

 that hinders and limits our trade._ I should also try to 

 prove that so long as trade exists between two countries 

 the country which gains most from the free interchange of 



