122 



COMMERCE (FOREIGN) OF THE UNITED STATES. 



tion of the manufactured to the raw articles 

 is hardly a criterion of the prosperity of the 

 United States. This proportion has probably 

 diminished in late times, owing to the great de- 

 velopment of the natural resources of the coun- 

 try; so that a comparison on this score with 

 the time when the leading exports were cotton 



and tobacco, and when the entire export was 

 often no greater than the present export of 

 manufactures, would not be edifying. The 

 advance of America as a great food-exporting 

 country has, however, probably insured the 

 preponderance of the agricultural class for ages 

 to come. The proportion of the division of 



IMPOSTS. 



