Report of Society's Meetings. 225 
and caused much anxious thought. With regard to the 
balance of trade tjie reply was two-fold ; first, that it 
should be regarded from an Imperial point of view and 
not from the standpoint of trade with a single colony. 
The United States undoubtedly took more produce from 
British Guiana than they sent to it ; but the balance of 
trade between the United States and the British Empire 
was enormously in favour of the former. And secondly 
the above figures referred to a period before the new 
tariff, with regard to sugar imported into the United 
States, could have had any effe<5l in increasing the trade 
from the United States to the colony, and so making 
things more equal. The economical arguments on this 
question of the balance of trade were threshed out. 
It could not be denied that the United States had a 
fair ground of complaint as to the heavier duties on their 
produces than on imports from other countries. Every 
assurance was given, and apparently accepted, that there 
was no intention of discrimination against the United 
States. It was strongly urged that they had the mono- 
poly of the trade in certain important articles, and no 
mere reduction of duty would cause a larger consump- 
tion of those articles in the colonies. 
Another important question was that of the duty on 
tobacco. General Foster was very strong upon the im- 
portance to the United States of a reduction of the duty 
on tobacco, especially leaf tobacco. This was an item I 
had to strenuously contend for, and General Foster 
finally gave it up. 
The question of the Free List was then entered upon 
and occupied several days. This list originally comprised 
90 items ; some of these were struck off at my request 
EE 
