10 



lying, in which he eloquently set forth the enormity of this sin. 

 It furnished a topic of discussion in the parish till the following 

 Sunday, when to the surprise of his flock he repeated the discourse 

 with amplification. This was counted an eccentricity on the part 

 of the old rector, but when he gave them this powerful sermon a 

 third time, it appeared so personal that a committee was appoint- 

 ed to wait upon the rector and remonstrate with him against what 

 seemed a personal affront. He received them in his study and 

 upon hearing the delegation of malcontents, he asked them whether 

 there were any liars still in the parish They were compelled to 

 admit that a small number could be found. Well, then, said the 

 bluff old rector, you just go and tell them that when they will stop 

 lying, I will stop preaching against its sinfulness. I fear those 

 sermons are still continued, but seriously, is it not so with our 

 agricultural practice as with our morals, we know the right and 

 yet the wrong pursue. We wrangle over hair splitting points of 

 theology and yet there are those who violate every precept of the 

 decalogue. 



But I wish to say a word as to what see/ns to me the wisest 

 policy to pursue for^the immediate future. We have seen that if 

 there is any overproduction it must obviously be of those products 

 which are exported and they are very few in number ; corn, wheat, 

 meats and cotton constituting as I have said 92 per cent, of our 

 exports. On the other hand we import annually over $300,000,000 

 worth of agricultural products, many of which may be, I am sure, 

 profitably produced in this country, for example, sugar and mo- 

 lasses, wool, hides, barley, fibers and horses, these alone aggregat- 

 ing $170,000,000 in value or 56 per cent, of our imported agricul- 

 tural products. 



To me it would seem wise to diminish by a little the production 

 of those products which are in excess of our wants and seek to 

 produce those products for which the demand exceeds the home 

 supply. 



Let me mention only the matter of sugar and molasses, for 

 which we annually expend about one hundred million dollars- 

 I have a sample of sugar in my possession representing the 

 result of an extended experiment with several hundred tons o* 

 cane, which I have no doubt can be produced at an expense not 

 exceeding one cent a pound ; and, within twenty-five miles of 



