WEALTH OP NATIONS. 229 



crafty animal, vulgarly called a statesman or politician, 

 whose councils are directed by the momentary fluctu- 

 ation of affairs." (Vol. II. p. 201.) I trust I may be ex- 

 cused for saying that my councils were always directed 

 by more liberal and permanent views than Dr. Smith 

 himself on this one point entertained ; being always 

 pointed to dissuade my " brother animals" from any 

 such retaliating process as he approves, and to recom- 

 mend liberal principles as more likely in the end to 

 remove the prejudices of Foreign States. In one thing 

 we all appeared quite to agree with Dr. Smith, that " to 

 expect the entire restoration of freedom of trade would 

 be as absurd as expecting to see an Oceana or an 

 Utopia established." (Vol. II. p. 206.) 



ii. The unreasonableness of general restraints upon 

 importations from particular countries on account of 

 the balance of trade is next shown, first, on the prin- 

 ciples of the Mercantile System, and secondly, upon 

 general and sounder principles. 



1. Supposing that the freest trade were allowed with 

 any given country with which the balance was sup- 

 posed unfavourable, it by no means follows that this 

 would prevent a gain with all countries in the amount 

 of specie imported, because the importation of more 

 goods from the given country than we exported to it 

 might very possibly enable us to export more to some 

 other countries with which we had no other means of 

 trading, because even if all the goods imported from 

 the given country were consumed, and not re-exported, 

 the balance would be better preserved if they were 

 bought cheaper there than they could be elsewhere. 

 Add to this, the impossibility of ascertaining with any 

 tolerable approach to accuracy the balance of trade 

 with any country from the inaccurate valuations in 

 custom-house books, and from the course of exchange 

 being influenced, not merely by the dealings between 

 any two countries, but by the dealings of each with 

 all other countries, as well as by the state of the 



