England will then give up the idea that she is designed tomonopolise the manufacturing power of the whole world.She will nolonger require that France, Germany, and North America shouldsacrifice their own manufactures in consideration of the concessionby England of permitting the import, duty free, of agriculturalproducts and raw materials.She will recognise the legitimacy ofprotective systems in those nations, although she will herself moreand more favour free trade; the theory having taught her that anation which has already attained manufacturing supremacy, can onlyprotect its own manufacturers and merchants against retrogressionand indolence, by the free importation of means of subsistence andraw materials, and by the competition of foreign manufacturedgoods.
England will then follow a practice totally opposed to herpresent commercial policy, instead of lecturing, as hitherto, othernations to adopt free trade, whilst herself maintaining thestrictest prohibitory system; she will herself permit competitionwithout regard to the foreign systems of protection.She will deferher hopes of the general adoption of free trade, until othernations have no longer to fear that the ruin of their manufactorieswould result from free competition.
Meanwhile, and until that period has arrived, England will beable to compensate herself for the losses which she suffers fromforeign systems of protection, in respect of her export trade inmanufactures of every-day use, by a greater export of goods offiner quality, and by opening, establishing, and cultivating newmarkets for her manufactures.
She will endeavour to bring about peace in Spain, in the East,and in the states of Central and South America, and will use herinfluence in all the barbarous and half-civilised countries ofCentral and South America, of Asia and Africa, in order thatpowerful and civilised governments may be formed in them, thatsecurity of persons and of property may be introduced into them,for the construction in them of roads and canals, the promotion ofeducation and civilisation, morality and industry, and for rootingout fanaticism, superstition, and idleness.If concurrently withthese endeavours she abolishes her restrictions on the importationof provisions and raw materials, she will increase her exports ofmanufactures immensely, and much more successfully than bycontinually speculating on the ruin of the Continentalmanufactories.
If, however, these operations of civilisation on the part ofEngland are to be successful as respects barbarous andhalf-civilised nations, she must not act in an exclusive manner,she must not endeavour by special commercial privileges, such as,for instance, she has managed to procure in Brazil, to monopolisethese markets, and to shut out other nations from them.Such apolicy as the latter will always excite the just jealousy of othernations, and give them a motive for opposing the exertions ofEngland.It is evident that this selfish policy is the cause whythe influence of the civilised powers on the civilisation of suchcountries as we have specified has been hitherto so unimportant.
England ought therefore to introduce into the law of nations themaxim: that in all such countries the commerce of all manufacturingnations should have equal rights.England would thereby not merelysecure the aid of all civilised powers in her own work ofcivilisation, but also no disadvantage would result to her owncommerce if similar experiments of civilisation were undertaken byother manufacturing nations.On account of their superiority in allbranches of manufacture and commerce, the English would everywherealways obtain the greatest share of the exports to such markets.
The striving and ceaseless intrigues of the English against themanufactures of other nations might still be justified, if aworld-manufacturing monopoly were indispensable for the prosperityof England, if it could not be proved by evidence that the nationswhich aspire, after the example of England, to attain to a largemanufacturing power can very well attain their object without thehumiliation of England; that England need not become poorer thanshe is because others become richer; and that nature offerssufficient means for the creation in Germany, France, and NorthAmerica (without detriment to the prosperity of England), of amanufacturing power equal to that of the English.
With regard to this, it must further be remarked, that everynation which gains entire possession of its own home market formanufactures, gains in the course of time, by its home productionand consumption of manufactured goods, infinitely more than thenation which has hitherto provided the former with manufacturedgoods loses by being excluded; because a nation which manufacturesfor itself, and which is perfectly developed in its economicalconditions, becomes more than proportionately richer and morepopulous, consequently is enabled to consume infinitely morefabrics, than it could import while depending on a foreignmanufacturing nation for its supply.
As respects the exportation of manufactured goods, however, thecountries of the temperate zone (being specially fitted By naturefor manufacturing) have a special field for their efforts insupplying the consumption of the countries of the torrid zone,which latter provide the former with colonial produce in exchangefor their manufactured goods.The consumption of manufactured goodsby the countries of the torrid zone, however, is partly determinedby their ability to produce a surplus of the articles peculiar totheir climate, and partly according to the proportion in which thecountries of the temperate zone augment their demand for theproducts of the torrid zone.
