14 INTRODUCTION. 



the increase of domestic manufactures will 

 the demand for the rude materials at home 

 be increased." 



It has been said by the opponents ot 

 free flax, that because the duty on scutched 

 flax is two per centum more than on 

 hackled flax, a large proportion of flax 

 imports consists of hackled flax, which 

 would, but for this difference of two per 

 cent of duty, be imported as scutched flax 

 to be hackled here. That there are those 

 who can listen to a proposition that two 

 per centum less duty will offset a difference 

 of one hundred per centum in the wages, 

 which is admitted to exist between hack- 

 lers' wages here and in Europe, indicates 

 the height of absurdity to which the dis- 

 cussion of this flax question sometimes 

 aspires. A glance at the statistics will 

 show how needless are the crocodile's 

 tears which a mention of the hackler's 

 hypothetical hard lot seldom fails to bring 

 forth. The imports of scutched flax in 

 1887 were 4,645 tons, value $1,026,207; of 

 hackled flax, 1,236 tons, value $649,737. If 

 we compare the relative value of scutched 

 and hackled flax imported in 1884 and in 



