188 Of Corn-Laws. Bk. iii. 



have accounts have been wonderfully successful ; 

 but the reverses to which they have been subject 

 have been almost as conspicuous as the degree of 

 their prosperity compared with the scantiness of 

 their natural resources. 



Secondly, restrictions upon the importation of fo- 

 reign corn are evidently not applicable to a country 

 which, from its soil and climate, is subject to very 

 great and sudden variations in its home supplies, 

 from the variations of the seasons. A country so cir- 

 cumstanced will unquestionably increase its chance 

 of a steady supply of grain by opening as many 

 markets for importation and exportation as pos- 

 sible, and this will probably be true, even though 

 other countries occasionally prohibit or tax the 

 exports of their grain. The peculiar evil to which 

 such a country is subject can only be mitigated 

 by encouraging the freest possible foreign trade 

 in corn. 



Thirdly, restrictions upon importation are not 

 applicable to a country which has a very barren 

 territory, although it may be of some extent. An 

 attempt fully to cultivate and improve such a ter- 

 ritory by forcibly directing capital to it would 

 probably, under any circumstances, fail; and the 

 actual produce obtained in this way might be pur- 

 chased by sacrifices which the capital and indus- 

 try of the nation could not possibly continue to 

 support. Whatever advantages those countries 

 may enjoy, which possess the means of supporting 

 a considerable population from their own soil, 

 such advantages are not within the reach of a state 



