108 NOTES ON ECONOMICAL SCIENCE. 



of this country, which is probably too high for the best results to the 

 revenue, has been approved by many, if not even recommended by its 

 authors as being likely to afford indirect protection to home manufac- 

 tures, which I observe to be a favourite idea with many persons. The 

 nation needs a certain revenue. Customs duties are at present — whether 

 most wisely or not — relied upon to a great extent for supplying it, and 

 every regulation of the tariif is professedly designed for revenue pur- 

 poses. Now it is very plain that if any such regulation excludes the 

 imported article, and produces a home supply in its place, it has 

 stopped one source of revenue. Whether it has done any good in 

 another way, may be questioned, but undoubtedly it has injured the 

 revenue. I deny that it can have effected any good, because the home 

 manufacture which has arisen, lives by protection, and I hold protec- 

 tion to be always ultimately injurious to all parties and to be robbery 

 committed on the consumers ; but if we are to have protection we 

 should have it openly and fairly — not introduced under the plea of 

 revenue, for the sake of which a patriotic people are willing to sacrifice 

 much. An import duty, which stops importation is imposed, not for 

 revenue but for protection, and should only pass when deliberately 

 approved on that ground, which will not be, I apprehend, when legis- 

 lators understand the true interests and rights of their constituents. 



Upon one other subject I desire to offer a few remarks. It must 

 "be supposed that adjoining nations, divided only by an artificial line, 

 may, as a consequence of the different views of their governments, 

 have their natural and useful intercourse not a little embarrassed, and 

 be put to exceeding inconvenience in their mutual relations. In the 

 case of this country and its powerful neighbour the United States, an 

 attempt had been made to get over the difficulty by a special treaty 

 termed the Reciprocity Treaty. The view upon which this was 

 arranged was, that between friendly neighbouring States the conve- 

 nience of both would be served by allowing the unrestricted interchange 

 of various kinds of produce, chiefly articles for immediate consumption, 

 such as might exist without interference with the tariff regulations of 

 either country. Both countries using import duties as a means of 

 revenue, and one also as a protection to home industry, the freedom of 

 intercourse could not be carried to all lengths, but so far as it was 

 arranged it seemed beneficial to both. Particular interests on either 

 side may have thought themselves unfavourably affected ; but the 

 public at large seemed to derive benefit. Partly from the commercial 



