THE AMERICAN TARIFF. 249 



developed, its growth and development have been 

 checked by Protection. 



But, after all, the great objection to these more 

 subtle, but not less fallacious, arguments for Protection 

 is that by which the arguments formerly used in this 

 ciJuntry have been overthrown the test of experience. 

 Americans and our own Colonists may maintain (though 

 at the outset they did not very openly so argue) that 

 material prosperity is far less important in their eyes 

 than national self-dependence. Even then, indeed, 

 they must admit that human interests are far more 

 important than national interests ; what is called 

 national self-dependence being, in fact, only national 

 self-interest under another name. But, apart from 

 this, the question is one of degree, not merely of kind. 

 The material prosperity of a nation may be, until the 

 world is more ' thoroughly cosmopolitanised,' less impor- 

 tant than the nation's self-dependence ; while yet it 

 may be a question what amount of material loss a 

 nation may be prepared to undergo for some point 

 more or less affecting national self-dependence. A 

 man may regard the culture of his mind as more 

 important than the culture of his body, and yet be 

 unwilling to bring himself into ill-health by cultivating 

 his mind to the undue expense of his body. Now, if 

 an American considers the American tariff and its 

 effects in this aspect, instituting a direct comparison 

 between the good and the evil which it has wrought, 

 and seems likely to produce hereafter, he would obtain 

 some such result as this : * The agricultural and farm- 



