312 THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 



doctrine I shall not attempt to settle the question, but will 

 refer the reader to works on economic theory. The modern 

 theory of trade supposes that ordinary mercantile transactions 

 involve a profit to both parties thereto, and the more trade on 

 either side the more profit on both sides, but, like the majority 

 of my countrymen, I confess to a more comfortable fe.eling 

 when I think we are taking in for commodities more money 

 than we are paying out for them. As to this, however, I do not 

 think we can tell very much from treasury statistics, for the 

 reason that, except when valuing for the purpose of assessing 

 ad valorem duties, the valuations are not reliable. In the 

 commission trade, which is enormous, the valuations on 

 invoices are wholly pro forma. Roughly the figures give us 

 some idea of what we are doing, but they are not, in any trade 

 with which I am familiar, reliable for calculating balances. 

 There is also the question of ocean freights to be considered, 

 which form part of the cost of the delivered merchandise; and 

 it has always to be considered whether a country, like Eng- 

 land, produces no precious metals, or whether, like the United 

 States, it produces enormously more than it can use at home. 

 I have thus briefly touched the subject, partly because it is a 

 matter that largely enters into popular discussions of the 

 tariff question, and partly to give my plain readers an idea of 

 the subtlety of some doctrines over which controversial econo- 

 mists dispute. I think most of us will be happier if we reach 

 conclusions without trying to solve such problems as this. 

 Their solution is not essential to the ap])lication of ordinary 

 common sense to ordinary transactions. 



of the imports would enormously exceed the value of the exports, luid yet no 

 one could dispute the profit of the transaction to the thrifty sailor, which 

 McLeod assumes to be the same for the nation. It will be a good mental exer- 

 cise to think out whether or not this assumption is correct. 



