Inasmuch as the products of tropical climates are chiefly paidfor by the manufactured products of temperate climates, and hencethe consumption of the former depends on the sale of the latter,therefore every manufacturing nation should endeavour to establishdirect intercourse with tropical countries.And thus, if allmanufacturing nations of the second rank understand their owninterests and act accordingly, no nation will be permitted tomaintain a predominant amount of colonial possessions in tropicalcountries.If, for instance, England could succeed in the objectfor which she is at present striving, viz.to produce in India thecolonial produce which she requires -- in that case England couldonly carry on trade with the West Indies to the extent to which shewas able to sell to other countries the colonial produce which shenow obtains from the West Indies in exchange for her manufacturedgoods.If, however, she could not dispose of these to othercountries, then her West Indian possessions would become useless toher.She would then have no other option than either to let them gofree, or to surrender the trade with them to other manufacturingcountries.Hence it follows that all manufacturing nations lesspowerful at sea have a common interest in following this policy andin reciprocally supporting one another in it, and it followsfurther that no one of these nations would lose by the accession ofHolland to the German Commercial Union, and through the closerconnection of Germany with the Dutch colonies.
Since the emancipation of the Spanish and Portuguese coloniesin South America and the West Indies, it is no longer indispensablynecessary that a manufacturing nation should possess colonies ofits own in tropical climates in order to put itself in a positionto carry on directly the exchange of manufactured goods againstcolonial produce.As the markets of these emancipated tropicalcountries are free, every manufacturing nation which is able tocompete in these free markets can carry on direct trade with them.
But these free tropical countries can only produce great quantitiesof colonial products, and only consume great quantities ofmanufactured goods, if prosperity and morality, peace and repose,lawful order and religious tolerance, prevail within them.Allnations not powerful at sea, especially those who possess nocolonies, or only unimportant ones, have hence a common interest inbringing about such a state of things by their united power.ToEngland, with her commercial supremacy, the circumstances of thesecountries cannot matter so much because she is sufficientlysupplied, or at least hopes to become sufficiently supplied, withcolonial produce from her own exclusive and subject markets in theEast and West Indies.From this point of view also we must partlyjudge respecting the extremely important question of slavery.Weare very far from ignoring that much philanthropy and good motivelies at the root of the zeal with which the object of theemancipation of the negroes is pursued by England, and that thiszeal does great honour to the character of the English nation.Butat the same time, if we consider the immediate effects of themeasures adopted by England in reference to this matter, we cannotget rid of the idea that also much political motive and commercialinterest are mingled with it.These effects are: (1) That by thesudden emancipation of the blacks, through their rapid transitionfrom a condition of disorder and carelessness little removed fromthat of wild animals to a high degree of individual independence,the yield of tropical produce of South America and the West Indieswill be extremely diminished and ultimately reduced to nothing, asthe example of St.Domingo incontestably shows, inasmuch as theresince the expulsion of the French and Spaniards the production hasgreatly decreased from year to year, and continues to do so.(2)That the free negroes continually seek to obtain an increase intheir wages, whilst they limit their labour to the supply of theirmost indispensable wants; that hence their ******* merely leads toidleness.(3) That, on the other hand, England possesses in theEast Indies ample means for supplying the whole world with colonialproducts.It is well known that the Hindoos, owing to greatindustry and great moderation in their food and other wants,especially in consequence of the precepts of their religion, whichforbid the use of animal food, are excessively frugal.To thesemust be added the want of capital among the natives, the greatfruitfulness of the soil in vegetable products, and the restrictionof caste and the great competition of those in want of work.
