THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 332 
 B875 
 
 V-32 
 £COS0M!«S
 
 MERCATORS REPLY 
 
 TO 
 
 MR. BOOTH'S PAMPHLET 
 
 ON FREE TRADE, 
 
 AS PUBLISHED IN THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD. 
 TO WHICH ABE ADDED, 
 
 TWO LETTERS ON THE CURRENCY QUESTION, 
 
 AND 
 
 ONE ON TAXATION, 
 By JOHN GLADSTONE, Esa. 
 
 > 
 
 LIVERPOOL : 
 
 PRINTED FOR S. FRANCEYS, STANDARD OFFICE; 
 
 AND SOLD BY 
 
 WHITTAKER, TREACHER AND CO. LONDON ; AND THE PRINCIPAL 
 
 BOOKSELLERS IN LIVERPOOL. 
 
 1833.
 
 MR. BOOTH'S PAMPHLET 
 ON FREE TRADE, 
 
 AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have been reading the above treatise by 
 Mr. Booth : it appears to be ably written, forcible and 
 perspicuous, very ingenious, and, so far, highly credita- 
 ble to the author ; and although he has, throughout, 
 assumed a bold tone of authority and dictation, as if his 
 statements would not admit of either doubt or appeal, 
 I mean to take the liberty of questioning many of the 
 presumed facts on which he founds his assertions. 
 
 Differing, as I do, from Mr. Booth in the views he 
 takes, and the conclusions he draws upon the very impor- 
 tant subjects which he has discussed, I might, as a matter 
 of speculative inquiry alone, have been induced to ques- 
 tion his statements : but this desire is much increased by 
 the apprehension I entertain, that the very plausible and 
 fascinating prospects which he holds up, keeping in the 
 back ground, or wholly omitting to state, the evils with 
 which I consider them to be pregnant, may induce many 
 readers, who take only a superficial view, to agree in his 
 
 E
 
 conclusions, to expect they may be realized, that they ai'e 
 just and sound in principle, founded on facts, and of 
 practicable application, which I must dissent from and 
 deny, though not without the hope that others more 
 able and competent may be found combating his views. 
 
 His axioms I pass by as abstract principles, important, 
 or not, according to the nature of the propositions to 
 which they may be applied. In my view of the subject, 
 I do not find it necessary to notice them further, my in- 
 tention being to address myself to the common sense and 
 practical experience of your readers, and not to attempt 
 to lead them into labyrinths of abstruse or complicated 
 reasoning, drawn from the fine spun theories of political 
 economists. 
 
 If I rightly understood Mr. Booth, he requires us to 
 believe that it would be wise and beneficial to withdraw 
 all protection from agriculture, trade, and manufacture, 
 and to adopt a free and unfettered intercourse with the 
 rest of the world, purchasing only where we could buy 
 best and cheapest, without preference or partiality for the 
 productions or industry of our country and our colonies, — 
 this, he flatters himself, would not only be hailed with 
 delight by those to whom we should thus open our arms, 
 and surrender our resources, but that we should lead 
 them by our example to adopt a similar course of conduct 
 towards us ; for this purpose he deprecates the preference 
 given to the timber of our North American Colonies, and 
 the sugar and coffee of our tropical possessions, the pro- 
 tection afforded to our fisheries, to the agricultural 
 interests of the united kingdom, to the working of our 
 iron mines, and other minerals, and to our various manu- 
 factures, as being, in his mind, not only impolitic and 
 unnecessary, but as peculiarly prejudicial to the interests 
 of " the people; 1 ' and finally assures us, that if his
 
 advice is followed, the evils which now press, more or 
 less, upon the country, would, ere long, be dispersed and 
 disappear, — that they would be succeeded by sources for 
 ample employment, with sufficient remuneration to all 
 classes, producing general prosperity, attended by, and 
 productive of increased intelligence, comfort, and content- 
 ment ; in short, that we possibly might, ere long, find 
 our country converted into something like another Utopia! 
 
 To prove the practical correctness of these doctrines, 
 he begins by attacking the timber duties, and tells 
 us, that he has discovered what those statesmen who 
 made this subject one of long and patient inquiry, 
 failed to ascertain ; and who, after much considera- 
 tion, determined, as they thought, on national grounds, 
 to prefer, and therefore, to a certain extent, to protect 
 the timber trade of our colonies before that of foreign 
 countries: — that" such a course of policy was unwise 
 and illiberal, and that in adopting it, they had sacrificed 
 the interest of " the people ;" — in order to mark this 
 opinion more strongly, and to aid him in exciting a 
 similar prejudice on the minds of others, he stigmatises 
 the duty to which foreign timber is subject, and de- 
 nounces it as a penalty on that extensive branch of 
 foreign trade from winch a large revenue is drawn. Let 
 us examine the facts. 
 
 For the timber obtained in our colonies about one- 
 fourth part of the price it produces here is paid to the 
 shippers, not in money to be withdrawn from us, but 
 in the manufactures and productions of the mother 
 country, and her other possessions. With the exception 
 of duty paid here, landing charges, and ordinary profit of 
 the importer, the remainder, being the chief part, is paid 
 for freight to British vessels that are built, fitted, and 
 provided with stores by British subjects, and navigated
 
 by British seamen; thus the whole fruits of the trade are 
 distributed and paid to our tradesmen and manufacturers, 
 or, in other words, to "the people;" — this commercial 
 navy, at the same time, forming one of the most im- 
 portant nurseries for seamen to man our wooden walls 
 when dangers assail from without ! If these are not 
 British objects of great national interest I know not 
 what are, or where capital can be more usefully, 
 honourably, or beneficially employed for the good of 
 " the people !" I state this on its merits, and separate 
 British interest, without reference to the immediate 
 interests and natural claims of the colonies, as branches 
 of the national family, to whom Mr. Booth loudly 
 complains " the people 1 ' are sacrificed ; although it 
 ought not to escape consideration, that our North Ameri- 
 can colonies have provided for us an immense field for 
 the emigration, establishment, and employment in pro- 
 ductive labour, of our surplus population, with comfort 
 to themselves, the whole fruits of which may be said 
 to be so much gain to the mother country, in place of 
 being thrown into the resources of foreign states. 
 
 But the British timber trade is only one branch of 
 the whole; for there is also, it is well known, a great 
 annual importation of timber and deals from foreign 
 countries, for which higher prices are paid to the 
 shippers than those our colonists receive ; these impor- 
 tations, particularly from Norway and Sweden, are 
 almost wholly made in their ships, to the exclusion of 
 British ; from Prussia, by much the larger proportion 
 is bi ought in the same manner, and it is from Russia 
 alone that a greater number of British than foreign 
 vessels are employed in the trade. The foreign shippers 
 of this timber draw bills on the importers for the cost, 
 and expend the money where and as they please;
 
 tee know that most of their vessels leave our ports 
 in ballast, — their ships are built, fitted, and stored in 
 their own ports, — they are manned by their seamen, to 
 be, perhaps, hereafter converted into hostile crews in 
 the service of our enemies, and their freights, after 
 payment of port charges, are transmitted to their homes. 
 I ask, what advantages do " the people 11 of these 
 realms reap from this trade ? and, why we ought to 
 place it on an equal footing with that of our colonies ? 
 But Mr. Booth has told us, that the timber which our 
 colonics supply is all of a very inferior quality; let 
 us inquire how the facts bear him out in this assertion. 
 Before the present scale of duties was settled, many 
 competent witnesses were examined by a committee of 
 the House of Commons, when it was ascertained, from 
 their evidence, that ships built with the pine of Nova 
 Scotia, and in that colon}-, were equally, if not more 
 durable than the fir ships built at Petersburg and Arch- 
 angel ; that the red pine, used for the frames of houses 
 in Halifax, and constantly exposed to the weather, had 
 then endured for upwards of forty years without decay ; 
 that the yellow pine of our colonies was much freer from 
 knots than that of the Baltic, and more easily worked, 
 therefore preferred by our tradesmen for many purposes, 
 and particularly for the inn-door finishing of houses, 
 without reference to relative price ; and what is still 
 more important, it is found equally durable with foreign, 
 as far as experience has yet afforded authority to judge. 
 With regard to our dock-yards, on which so much 
 weight is laid by Mr. Booth, I believe pine timber is 
 not much in use there ; the deck-plank of Dantzic is 
 preferred on account of its greater lengths and superior 
 preparation, but the masts, spars, and red pine balks 
 of Canada are also approved and consumed.
 
 To equalise the duties on foreign and British timber 
 as proposed by Mr. Booth, or even materially to alter 
 the present scale, it must be evident to every one conver- 
 sant with the trade, when the difference in distance 
 between the sources of each supply is considered, that 
 one of two results would arise, either to enhance the 
 prices on the British consumer, in consequence of the 
 advantage that would be given to the foreigner, and 
 the opportunity thus afforded him to rise in his de- 
 mands, or the trade with our colonies would be wholly 
 extinguished ; whereby, as I have previously stated, 
 many hundred sail of large British ships would be 
 thrown out of employment, as well as many thousands 
 of British seamen, together with the numerous body 
 of tradesmen and manufacturers of all descriptions, the 
 fruits of whose labours they now consume, subsisting, 
 encouraging, and making us dependant on foreign 
 produce, shipping, seamen, and tradesmen, who give a 
 preference to the productions and manufactures of their 
 own countries, spending the money we pay them at 
 home, where the necessaries of life are cheap and abun- 
 dant, and taxation of small amount ; thus giving them 
 uncalled-for advantages over us, which our heavy taxa- 
 tion, and consequent artificial state, disables us from 
 successfully competing with. Is this, then, a con- 
 summation for " the people" of the united kingdom 
 to court or desire ? 
 
 For the present I conclude, intending to follow up 
 the other subjects of Mr. Booth's pamphlet for your 
 next or following publication, and am yours, &c. 
 
 Mil February.
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 SlH, 
 
 I now resume the consideration of Mr. Booth's 
 pamphlet. In my last letter I discussed the question 
 of timber duties ; the next in order is the presumed 
 protection afforded to our sugar and coffee colonies, and 
 our other possessions in the East and West Indies. That 
 these are entitled to protection it will not be difficult to 
 prove : while, I regret to say, that as far as the great 
 staple, sugar, is concerned, that protection is more nomi- 
 nal than real. When the home market was dependant 
 on the old colonies for supply, that supply did not exceed 
 the consumption, and fair remunerating prices were paid 
 to the planters in consideration of the restrictions they 
 were then placed under, now chiefly withdrawn ; these 
 restrictions obliged them to send all their produce to the 
 mother country, and to receive all their stores and sup- 
 plies from the same quarter. When the conquered 
 colonies were ceded to us, their produce was admitted 
 here on similar terms ; in consequence, the supply ex- 
 ceeded the home consumption, and a considerable annual 
 surplus has since then been left over for exportation, the 
 prices obtained for which in the foreign market neces- 
 sarily govern those of the whole importation in the home, 
 and thereby render nugatory the protection it was the 
 intention of the Legislature to give. The want of this 
 protection is severely felt by the planters, subjected as 
 they now are, with greatly reduced returns, to increased
 
 8 
 
 expense, in order to satisfy public opinion, and also to 
 restricted labour from their people, such as does not 
 exist in the Foreign colonies with which they are obliged 
 to compete in other markets. 
 
 The advantages reaped by the mother country from 
 her intercourse with the sugar colonies have been often 
 and ably stated by others, who are more competent than 
 I am to do so: — when -the extensive tonnage and seamen 
 employed by them are added to those occupied in the 
 British Colonial timber trade, I believe they will be 
 found to amount to nearly one half of the whole com- 
 mercial navy of Great Britain. These colonies afford a 
 very extensive and important market for the sale and 
 consumption of our manufactures, and the revenue de- 
 rived here from the importation of their produce is 
 known to be of great amount ; neither could partial 
 supplies of any extent be procured from other quarters, 
 were they to become necessary, without the public, 
 that is " the people, 1 ' being subjected to the payment of 
 enormous prices to obtain them. I think Mr. Booth is 
 one of those who advocate the early, if not immediate 
 emancipation of the slaves in these colonies, and who 
 desire in the interval to put the planters to increased 
 expense, aud would further restrict the existing moderate 
 period of slave labour. Can he desire to extinguish 
 altogether the almost hopeless exertions of the planters, 
 by substituting the produce of slave labour in Foreign 
 countries and colonies, where the system is pursued with 
 unmitigated severity, and without any prospect being 
 afforded of mitigation or change? Is it for such an 
 object that he proposes to admit their produce to our 
 markets without restriction, and to put to imminent hazai'd 
 the lives of both the planters aud their slaves, with the 
 destruction of the mass of interests interwoven with,
 
 9 
 
 and supported by our colonial system ? If so, where 
 is his humanity, and why is his benevolence asleep? I 
 hope, and I think, that he cannot be aware of the too 
 probable results that would thus be produced, and that 
 his philanthropy may yet step in to awake him. With 
 that hope I proceed to the next national interest that 
 he considers to require improvement and change, — that 
 is, the protection afforded to our fisheries. 
 
 The encouragement given to our fisheries has ever 
 been held to be a measure of sound national policy. 
 Whilst in comparative infancy they were fostered by 
 bounties, which, as they approached stability, have been 
 gradually withdrawn. Our ablest statesmen have viewed 
 them as a source of certain and growing wealth, obtained 
 at small expense, affording employment to a large body 
 of tradesmen — " the people" — and rearing the hardiest 
 race of seamen in existence ; these appear to me to be 
 advantages of no ordinary degree, and that ought not, 
 for the sake of trying new theories, to be rashly put to 
 hazard — fortunately, in these times of novel experiments, 
 in this case no opening could be found for such. Mr. 
 Booth complains of the duty on foreign oil, but is it not 
 a dead letter ? when was it paid ? and is it not well known 
 that, on the contrary, " train oil" is occasionally an article 
 of export to the Dutch and German markets ? 
 
 The protection afforded to the produce of our mines is 
 the next subject of Mr. Booth's censure, and to support 
 his charges he tell us, that we impose a duty of thirty 
 shillings per ton on foreign iron ; (this duty he again 
 designates a mitigated penalty, because a previous rate 
 was higher,) and adds, that it was equal to 25 per cent, 
 on the value. If he will take the trouble of turning to the 
 prices current, he will find Swedish bar iron in bond, in 
 London, quoted from £11 10s to £12 10s per ton, 
 c
 
 10 
 
 average £12 — on which 30s duty is 12^ per cent, in place 
 of 25. This of itself is of little importance, but it shows 
 the careless manner in which Mr. Booth provides his 
 facts, and his readiness to seize on such as appear to suit 
 his purpose. For my argument it is immaterial, as our 
 iron trade happens to be independent of such protection ; 
 the present price of British bar iron here is about one- 
 half of that required for Swedish in bond ; the export 
 is of great magnitude to every market where iron is 
 admitted, and the depression from which the trade 
 has been suffering is not caused by foreign competition 
 in this or other markets, but from an excess of production 
 beyond consumption or demand, and the consequent com- 
 petition between the iron masters for the supply of the 
 market from their accumulated stocks. It is true, the 
 general quality of our iron is more hard and brittle, and 
 for certain purposes less suitable than Swedish and 
 some descriptions of Russian ; but British is also now 
 prepared in the same manner, to a sufficient extent, and 
 of similar tough quality with the best foreign, which Mr. 
 Booth states to be so essential and important. Neither 
 lead, copper, or tin, are noticed by him : I have, there- 
 fore, only to observe that, although likewise protected by 
 nominal duties, they are also exported to a large extent 
 in the face of foreign competition ; therefore, Avhilst no 
 market for foreign iron can be found here, it is like folly 
 to propose the exchange of our manufactures for it. 
 
 Mr. Booth then proceeds to condemn the system of 
 lower duties at which the wines of Portugal were admit- 
 ted here by treaty, in consideration of the preference 
 given to our woollen and other manufactures on their 
 importation into that kingdom ; and he hails, as a symp- 
 tom of the approach of more liberal principles, the 
 equalization of the duties on foreign wines, by which those
 
 11 
 
 of France and Portugal were placed on the same footing ; 
 this change was made by the present government in the 
 first session after their accession to power, and formed 
 a part and parcel of their very novel and far-famed 
 budget of finance, which had for its object to repeal cer- 
 tain taxes, and substitute others in their place ; of the 
 last this was one, but the whole measure terminated, as 
 is well known, in all but a total failure. Mr. Booth is 
 pleased, rather unfortunately for himself, to congratulate 
 us on this change, and professes to treat with something 
 like contempt what he thinks proper to call " the fanciful 
 notion, sanctioned by the wisdom of our ancestors ;" that 
 is, he adds, "that France would supply us with the 
 produce of her vineyards, but decline taking the produce 
 of our skill and industry in return !" He has not, how- 
 ever, thought proper to tell us (although he must be 
 aware that the wines of France have been admitted to 
 our market for the last eighteen months on the most 
 favoured terms) what are the branches " of the produce 
 of our skill and industry' 1 that she has agreed to receive 
 in return ! Are they our cotton goods ? our woollens ? 
 our silks? our hardware? to each he must answer "no"'! 
 — to what then does he refer us for evidence of the 
 benefits we reap from this new system of reciprocity ? 
 the wisdom of which I for one, as well as " our ancestors," 
 am " fanciful" enough to doubt. I hope he will yet 
 inform us. It is true, Mr. Stanley, the Irish Secretary, 
 and a member of the present cabinet, in the speech he 
 lately delivered at Lancaster, (which has been so much 
 lauded by some and condemned by others) also affects to 
 congratulate us on the intimate connection we have now 
 formed with France, under his and his colleagues' 1 auspices, 
 but of the benefits derived from it there is a sad lack of 
 evidence ; all he had to offer was of a prospective nature,
 
 12 
 
 and in the distance, for nothing has yet been done : he 
 states, " that undoubtedly after a considerable lapse of 
 time, but in consequence of our liberal conduct," their 
 manufacturers were now petitioning to be permitted to 
 export their silk, that their ministers intend to comply 
 with their wishes, and also to permit the import of British 
 yarn ; but he has omitted to tell us when these intentions 
 were to be carried into effect, or to what duties the silk 
 and yarn would then be subject ; no doubt, because he 
 did not know. 
 
 But let us suppose this species of reciprocity to be in 
 action, and that we give to Mr. Booth and Mr. Stanley 
 the advantage of it ; we have then next to consider what 
 we may expect to reap from it, as a set-off for having 
 abandoned our close intercourse and beneficial connection 
 with unfortunate Portugal, our old and faithful ally. 
 
 The time was, when the silk of the south of France 
 was wanted, and when permission to import it would 
 have been an acceptable concession to the Spitalfields 
 weavers, the descendants of the French Hugonots, who 
 found shelter with our " fanciful ancestors," when obliged 
 to fly from France to escape the persecution of the 
 ancestors of our uniform and ancient enemies, now con- 
 verted into our " liberal allies," and who then introduced 
 that manufacture here ; but, fortunately, we have now 
 got new sources of supply, and the means for obtaining 
 them in our own hands : these are abundant from China, 
 and our possessions in India, and have been followed 
 by the existing great extension of this branch of manu- 
 facture, affording employment to many thousands of 
 operatives in this and the adjoining county, who, by their 
 skill and ingenuity, rival the goods of their French oppo- 
 nents in the foreign markets : and while the trade is 
 advancing here without the aid of French silk (expected
 
 13 
 
 as a boon by Mr. Stanley,) it is known to be sinking and 
 retrograding there. Next as to our yarns : — the export 
 of them is considered by our weavers as but one step 
 removed from that of the raw material itself; and I ask, 
 have not the operative weavers of cotton in this country, 
 (no inconsiderable body, but forming at least a proportion 
 of " the people" whom Mr. Booth has so courteously 
 volunteered to take under his wing.) repeatedly petitioned 
 the legislature to forbid the exportation of cotton yarn 
 as a business which they considered as being most in- 
 jurious to their industry and interests ? I thus throw 
 back these congratulations on their authors, as affording 
 matter for their renewed consideration. 
 
 I would now proceed to consider the next object of 
 Mr. Booth's attack, but having already exceeded the 
 bounds of an ordinary letter, I shall postpone doing so 
 for a few days, when I intend again to request access to 
 your columns. — Yours, &c. 
 
 February ttth.
 
 14 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I resume the consideration of Mr. Booth's 
 pamphlet. He proceeds to complain that we give an 
 undue preference to our woollen, cotton, and silk manu- 
 factures, and by protecting duties prevent the intro- 
 duction of foreign goods of similar descriptions; he 
 considers these regulations as the fruits of a " narrow 
 policy," founded on " ideal apprehensions," and that 
 were we to repeal them, the nations of the continent 
 would not only supply us with innumerable articles of 
 convenience and luxury, but they would willingly take 
 payment in such as are produced by our labour and 
 ingenuity, which he says, our peculiar advantages enable 
 us to supply. 
 
 I am not able to discover what are the descriptions of 
 cotton and woollen goods to which Mr. Booth means to 
 refer. That such duties continue to find a place in our 
 book of rates is true ; but can they be otherwise considered 
 than as nominal, when it is well known that cotton and 
 woollen goods of British manufacture form nearly three- 
 fourths of the whole value of our exports, and that 
 both on account of quality and price, they meet with 
 a preference in every foreign market where competition 
 is permitted ? Is it not then " ideal" to assert, that if 
 these duties were repealed, such articles of foreign 
 manufacture would find a market here, and is it not 
 a delusion to suppose it ? That these duties remain in
 
 15 
 
 our tariff, unproductive of any benefit to either our 
 trade or our revenue, may fairly be imputed to an 
 oversight. 
 
 As regards silks, there are still certain articles of 
 French manufacture, which female taste, ever fond of 
 novelty, prefers to those of home production ; yet even 
 in such, it is not (.infrequently imposed upon by the 
 substitution of British of similar appearance ; and is it 
 not also known that some descriptions of our silk goods, 
 light handkerchiefs for instance, are sought for and 
 smuggled into France, the direct importation being 
 prohibited, and not admitted on countervailing duties, 
 such as exist here ? At no inconsiderable sacrifice in 
 our intimate connexion with Portugal, we have set 
 France the example of what is called " a liberal com- 
 mercial policy,'" by the admission of her wines at the 
 lowest duties, without any concession in return being 
 as yet made on her part : if she sincerely desire to 
 cultivate a reciprocal intei'course with us, [but which 
 I must beg leave to doubt] let her invite us to repeal 
 the duties on her manufactures, on the condition that 
 she repeals those on ours ; but, until then, let us not 
 be taunted for protecting the industry of our operatives, 
 and the beneficial application of our capital, in preference 
 to encouraging the foreigner at the expense of both ! 
 Mr. Booth has told us that if we were to do so, certain 
 articles of ingenuity and labour would be taken from 
 us in payment ; but he at the same time keeps us in 
 perfect ignorance of what he means to refer to ; perhaps 
 he may yet think proper to enlighten us by explanation. 
 
 Mr. Booth next advances and advocates a principle 
 in the most unconditional manner, which, were it to be 
 confided in, even by the credulous, might be productive 
 of the most mischievous and injurious consequences—
 
 16 
 
 it is as follows; and his whole system of change and 
 innovation appeal's to rest upon it. He has stated, 
 that if we were to withdraw all protection, and open 
 our markets generally to all foreign productions, our 
 goods or manufactures would be willingly taken in 
 payment by the foreigners to the full amount of such 
 importations. I cannot suppose that he means to propose 
 as a condition, that this should be stipulated for. Such 
 a proposition is in itself incapable of being acted on, 
 and would be in the teeth of all his theories. If he 
 means that it will be a voluntary act on the part of the 
 foreigner, I must deny the correctness of such an 
 assertion — all past experience is against it, and that is 
 our only safe guide ; we know that if the foreigner 
 can buy what he wants on better terms from us than he 
 can elsewhere, we shall be sure of having him for a 
 customer ; but if he can purchase what he requires on 
 better terms in other markets, he will take our money, 
 and not our goods in payment for such as we receive 
 from him ; this is human nature, and every day's ex- 
 perience, in even the common concerns of life, tends to 
 confirm it. I beg to refer Mr. Booth to past times, 
 that must live in his recollection as a corn-merchant, 
 when deficiency in our crops was necessarily followed 
 by heavy importations of foreign corn ; and then to 
 ask, if these were paid for by an increased export of 
 our manufactures ? I do not hesitate to say, certainly 
 not; I challenge a proof of the contrary. After 
 exhausting the existing favourable balance, arising from 
 our general trade, by its application towards the pay- 
 ment for these importations, the further cost has been 
 paid for in the precious metals, and in these alone. 
 Let those who may doubt refer to the statements of 
 the exports of those metals during these periods, as
 
 17 
 
 furnished by the Bank of England, and to the invariable 
 fall in the rates of exchange in Holland, Germany, 
 and the North of Eui'ope, from whence these supplies 
 of foreign grain have been chiefly drawn, and there I 
 think they will find enough to satisfy them that such 
 is the fact. Let us not then delude ourselves by enter- 
 taining such dangerous theories, nor permit them to 
 induce us to make such hazardous experiments, by 
 withdrawing protection from those branches of manu- 
 facture that may still require it. For the present I leave 
 this subject, as I may probably have again occasion 
 to revert to it, when I come to consider Mr. Booth's 
 reasons for advocating, and propositions for a free trade 
 in corn. 
 
 Previous to examining these propositions, I must 
 advert to Mr. Booth's observations on the trade with 
 China, which forms his next subject of complaint. It 
 must be obvious to every intelligent person, that the 
 restrictions to which this trade has hitherto been subject 
 are very dissimilar in their nature and objects to those 
 others on which this gentleman has animadverted. He 
 has discussed such branches of our commerce and 
 manufacture as it has been deemed expedient to protect 
 from foreign invasion, or that have now reached a state 
 in which they are competent to protect themselves ; 
 but the trade with China is not a question to which 
 the foreigner is a party, being one between a privileged 
 body of our fellow-subjects and the public at large. 
 The claims of the East India Company are about to 
 come under the consideration of parliament. In the 
 infancy of British commerce, extensive national enter- 
 prise — such as the trade with India and China — was 
 beyond the means or capital of private individuals; it 
 
 D
 
 18 
 
 was therefore necessary, in order to encourage and 
 induce numerous bodies to form themselves into com- 
 panies, and embark in such distant undertakings, to 
 grant to them the protection of exclusive privileges for 
 limited periods ; and such was the origin of the China 
 trade. These motives have long since ceased to act, 
 and yet, notwithstanding, these exclusive privileges have 
 repeatedly been most liberally renewed for additional 
 periods to the East India Company. The time is now 
 at hand when they will terminate ; and as regards the 
 China trade, as they are not likely to be renewed, 
 the trade must, then be opened to the public at large. 
 Until that period arrives, it must be obvious that no 
 British merchant can engage in it, and it is equally so 
 that the foreigner has the power of doing so, to which, 
 by their original enterprising arrangements, the East 
 India Company paved the way for him. 
 
 Before I close this letter, I must venture to notice 
 another dogma, or proposition, put forward by Mr. 
 Booth, as unquestionable and conclusive, but which I 
 confess I am either too obtuse to understand, or too 
 ignorant to concur in. He says that " it ought never to 
 be forgotten that a certain amount of capital and labour 
 is more beneficially employed in manufacturing an article 
 for exportation, in lieu of one imported, than in manu- 
 facturing a ' projected' article for home consumption." — 
 Or, I venture to suppose, that in other, but plainer 
 words, he means to say, that we should at once abandon 
 the manufacture of all such articles as are now protected, 
 whatever may be their nature, or the probable conse- 
 quences of doing so, and receive such from the foreigner 
 alone, but with the impracticable proviso, that he is to 
 take other manufactures of ours in lieu of them. Now 
 as no such condition can be made, I might stop here, and
 
 19 
 
 say, there is the answer ; but were it even practicable 
 to act upon it I should still doubt its policy or expediency. 
 Most manufactures require protection to nurse and 
 encourage them in infancy; the supplies they afford it 
 may be very important to secure fcr home consumption, 
 and their gradual growth may afford a reasonable pros- 
 pect of a change of character, and ultimate competition 
 with the productions of the foreigner ; and under such 
 circumstances are Ave to adopt Mr. Booth's sweeping 
 principle, and at once extinguish them. Does not 
 common sense say no ? But let us go a little further, — 
 as the basis of commerce, whether external or internal, 
 is the exchange of productive labour through the conve- 
 nient medium of money ; when we sell the fruits of ours 
 to the foreigner, we are to that extent benefited, but in 
 receiving his in return, a reciprocal benefit is conferred 
 on him. So far the principle is sound ; but in the first 
 instance we can exchange the fruits of mutual labour 
 with our fellow-subject, and promote his prosperity as 
 well as our own by doing so; is not this a double in place 
 of a single advantage, whereby both will be better 
 enabled to discharge their national duties, and bear their 
 shares of our heavy public burthens, to which the 
 foreigner does not contribute. This surely is also 
 sound doctrine ; but it does not stop here. I contend 
 that beneficial foreign trade can only be founded on, 
 and supported by, internal prosperity ; it is that pros- 
 perity, created by the interchange of the products of 
 our mutual industry, that affords a surplus to be applied 
 to the purchase of those articles of foreign production, 
 which are and must be received in payment for nearly 
 the whole of our exported manufactures ; and without 
 such a home-market for their sale and consumption, the 
 export trade could not exist. Is not then the home-
 
 20 
 
 trade the basis of the foreign, and is not the home- 
 market therefore the more safe, certain, and preferable 
 of the two? — if so, it follows that it is our duty to 
 protect it. 
 
 I conclude for the present : my next is intended to 
 examine the facts and principles on which our present 
 corn laws are founded, and the grounds on which Mr. 
 Booth rests his proposition for their repeal, and the sub- 
 stitution of a free trade in this necessary of life. 
 
 I am yours, &c. 
 
 12th February. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I resume the consideration of Mr. Booth's 
 propositions. The principal and remaining branch of his 
 system not yet noticed, is, " Free Trade in Food,"" 
 which I now propose to discuss. He exerts all his 
 energy and power to persuade us to approve of the free 
 importation of all the necessaries of life ; he assures us 
 that the industry of our working classes would thereby 
 be stimulated and encouraged, and that those foreigners 
 who supplied us with food would willingly receive pay- 
 ment in our manufactures ; and he then tells us that it 
 is bad policy to protect our home agriculture, because it 
 is more expensive than to encourage that of the foreign 
 grower. Having assumed these assertions as facts that
 
 21 
 
 ought to be admitted, he proceeds in the way most con- 
 venient for his purpose to enumerate what he considers 
 to be the objections made to his system, and having dis- 
 posed of them in a manner with which he seems perfectly 
 satisfied, he hails with delight the consummation of his 
 labours, and the presumed approval of his doctrines by 
 a Reformed Parliament. 
 
 It however happens, in the course of his career, that 
 he discovers stumbling-blocks in his way, which it is 
 rather difficult for him to deal with ; he finds himself 
 forced to admit, that one of the results of his measures 
 is likely to be the breaking down and ruin of our agricul- 
 tural community ; but to obviate the effects of this evil, 
 he proposes that a tax should be laid on the importation 
 of foreign food, and applied to the support of the mass 
 of that body when thrown out of employment and reduced 
 to a state of pauperism, until means are provided to 
 enable them to emigrate elsewhere ; this may astonish 
 the credulous, but it is nevertheless true! He next 
 admits, that notwithstanding the prospect of a happy 
 change of circumstances, which he holds up to the work- 
 ing classes, they must nevertheless be prepared to look 
 forward to lower rates ef wages than they at present 
 receive ; but then he consoles them with the promise 
 of the certain supply of cheaper food, and that they shall 
 also have the advantages of enlarged education, with 
 increased intelligence, to improve their moral and intel- 
 lectual state, which he laments is, at present, generally 
 depraved and worthless ; he also warns them that whilst 
 the number of labourers exceeds the means for employ- 
 ment, wages must unavoidably continue low, and this he 
 proposes to meet, or avert, by recommending caution in 
 entering into the married state ! I think I might fairly 
 urge, that by these admissions he destroys the fabric his
 
 22 
 
 fertile imagination had created, and, therefore, safely 
 leave him to extricate himself from them as he best can — 
 but to proceed : — 
 
 The basis on which Mr. Booth builds his system of 
 free trade is, to increase the value of money, and in that 
 proportion reduce the value of the fruits of all produc- 
 tive labour. Under such a system the extent of our 
 circulating currency would necessarily be curtailed, the 
 income of all classes, (with the exception of the annuitant, 
 mortgagee, and fundholder,) be diminished in amount, 
 and, in that degree the pressure of our public burthens 
 must be increased. On the other hand, I contend, that 
 whilst the value of money can be kept down, that of 
 productive labour will be proportionably high, and the 
 pressure of taxation in that proportion diminished. The 
 great amount of revenue required to pay the interest of 
 our public debt, as well as to support our establishments, 
 has placed this country in an artificial state, for which 
 no precedent is to be found in the situation of any other : 
 to deal with it so as to fulfil our engagements with good 
 faith, and uphold general prosperity, is certainly a work 
 of increasing difficulty, but I contend that that difficulty 
 would be increased, rather than diminished, by the adop- 
 tion of Mr. Booth's free trade system. At the present 
 period, the abundance of production beyond consump- 
 tion forces up the value of money, and tends to increase 
 that difficulty, but we must take things as they are, and 
 deal with them accordingly ; we cannot obtain release or 
 relief by either deprecating or lamenting the causes 
 which have placed us in this situation, although Mr. 
 Booth has freely indulged himself in the abuse of them. 
 
 To return to " The Free Trade in Food," as advo- 
 cated by Mr. Booth. I consider it to be admitted, that 
 the first and imperative duty of the government of any
 
 23 
 
 country, however that government may be constituted, 
 is bv every means within its power to protect the per- 
 manent supply of food for " the people."" In applying 
 this principle, where it is practicable to procure that 
 supply of home growth, it has ever been considered the 
 most certain, safe, and beneficial course to do so, only 
 resorting to foreign importation when bad seasons, and 
 deficient crops, made it necessary. Holland, as stated by 
 Mr. Booth as an example in favour of his system, is an 
 exception to this rule, and it may be fairly asked why it 
 should be so ? The reasons are obvious ; in that limited 
 kingdom the population is unusually crowded in pro- 
 portion to the surface it occupies ; their growth of corn 
 is therefore uniformly unequal to their consumption, 
 and makes foreign supply necessary ; the lands of Hol- 
 land, lying chiefly low, are more suited for pasture than 
 corn ; the dairy system is therefore vei'y generally 
 adopted : in consequence they make and export large 
 quantities of butter and cheese, with flax and clover seeds, 
 with which they pay for the foreign corn they consume. 
 As these supplies are received from necessity and not 
 from choice, they are admitted free ; the cultivators of 
 the soil do not require protection by duty, and to impose 
 it for revenue would be to burthen the consumer in a 
 country where taxation appears to be moderate, when 
 compared with ours, and the population not above one- 
 eighth part of that of Great Britain. Holland has long- 
 been used as a granary and the intermediate depot of 
 the corn of the Baltic, which there waits for the demand 
 from countries in which the failure of crops may render 
 it necessary to have foreign supply, at a season when 
 it could not be obtained direct from the Baltic ports. 
 This branch of trade our warehousing system is cal- 
 culated to encourage, but in no other respect is there
 
 24 
 
 any analogy between our case and that of Holland. 
 With a population of sixteen millions, with Ireland 
 almost wholly dependant on her agriculture, and com- 
 pelled as we are to raise a large revenue within ourselves 
 to meet our public burthens, it seems to me, that were 
 we not to protect our home supply of food, we should 
 not only put to hazard a great public resource, but risk 
 having to encounter famine and national bankruptcy. 
 
 The protection now given to our agriculture, Mr. Booth 
 contends, as relates to corn, taxes the country to the 
 extent of ten millions annually ; and in the same gra- 
 tuitous manner he assumes that animal food, potatoes, 
 and other contingencies, cost as much more — his esti- 
 mates are immaterial ; the principle, and the object of 
 this protection is all. The country is unavoidably 
 heavily taxed, and it is therefore necessary that each 
 branch of the community should contribute to promote 
 the industry and benefit of the whole, as their interests 
 cannot be separated without inflicting general injury. 
 Mr. Booth informs us that our annual consumption of 
 corn amounts to, or exceeds, fifty millions of quarters ; 
 this is at present provided by our home growths when 
 the seasons are favourable, and this source of occupa- 
 tion affords employment and support for a full third 
 part of the whole community of the united kingdom, 
 who are the principal consumers of our manufactures, 
 who take off a large proportion of the foreign produce 
 which is received in payment for manufactures exported, 
 and who pay for the whole with the fruits of their 
 labour ; all thus reciprocating mutual advantages. 
 
 Mr. Booth has asked "for whose benefit is this ap- 
 palling tax imposed on the people of England?" I 
 answer, without hesitation, that it is not taxation, but 
 the price of protection, afforded to a regular and safe
 
 25 
 
 supply of food, from sources in which they are all deeply 
 interested, each with the other, such as they could not 
 obtain to the same extent, and on the same terms, from 
 any other quarter whatever. He then attempts to pei'- 
 suade us, that if a free trade in corn was permitted, 
 the Foreign grower would take payment for his supplies 
 in our manufactures. I have already stated that ex- 
 perience has proved the contrary to be the fact. As an 
 illustration, I would refer to the conduct of the Ameri- 
 cans of the United States ; their vessels carry cargoes 
 of lumber, fish, and provisions for sale to our West 
 India Colonies, but they refuse to barter such for sugar, 
 rum, or molasses ; their general practice is to sell for 
 cash alone, and they go from colony to colony, British 
 and Foreign, until they obtain it. The time was when 
 they willingly received payment in produce, but it is no 
 longer their interest to do so, because they have abun- 
 dant supplies of home distilled spirits all over the Union, 
 and of sugars from New Orleans, which their govern- 
 ment protect by heavy duties on those of foreign pro- 
 duction ; yet we hear this government lauded as wise 
 and liberal by those who think with Mr. Booth, whilst 
 they call loudly for the extinction of all such protection 
 here ! Is this then not evidence of what we may justly 
 anticipate from Mr. Booth's reciprocal system, and might 
 we not expect to be similarly treated by the nations in 
 the North of Europe, were we to place ourselves in a 
 state of dependence upon them for food ? — To carry this 
 species of illustration into a different channel, — lumber, 
 fish, and provisions, are also taken in a similar manner 
 from our North American Colonies to those in the West 
 Indies, but they take their payments in produce, because 
 they have neither distilleries to supply them with spirits 
 in quantity, nor home-made sugar ; this is therefore a 
 
 E
 
 26 
 
 simple reciprocal barter, beneficial to both, and such as 
 at present takes place between our home agriculturists 
 and our manufacturers. 
 
 Let us next consider what is the present state of those 
 countries lying on the Baltic, the North Sea, and Black 
 Sea, who are occupied in raising corn for exportation. 
 When Spain possessed her South American provinces, 
 and Portugal the Brazils, the wealth drawn from these 
 sources caused the home agriculture to be neglected; 
 in consequence, they annually imported large supplies 
 of foreign corn, chiefly from the North of Europe ; 
 but now, since these channels of beneficial commerce 
 have passed into other hands, the want of them has 
 excited their industry, and in consequence Spain has 
 become an exporting in place of an importing corn 
 country, and Portugal provides enough for her own 
 consumption in ordinary seasons ; the North of Europe 
 is therefore deprived of these markets, whilst such as 
 remain to them, like Sweden, Norway, and Holland, are 
 very much circumscribed. 
 
 When the British ports have been shut against foreign 
 corn for any length of time, as they were for several years 
 previous to 1826, the prices of all grain in the North 
 of Europe fell extremely low from the want of an ex- 
 port vent ; at Dantzig and the other Prussian and 
 Pomeranean ports, fine and good wheats were sold 
 from 15s to 20s per quarter Winchester, shipped free 
 on board ; freights to Liverpool from 3s to 4s more ; 
 Barley 10s to 12s, and Oats 7 s to 8s. Notwithstanding 
 this depression, cultivation proceeded as before, without 
 regard to the injury suffered; having no other employ- 
 ment for their lands, they had no choice, but persevere 
 and hope for a favourable change. In Saxony and 
 Poland, from the heavy charges of transport to the
 
 27 
 
 coast, their wheats produced next to nothing to the 
 growers; the cultivation was therefore generally aban- 
 doned and rye raised in its place, with which I 
 understand they feed their sheep in winter to improve 
 the quality of the wool. 
 
 Were a free trade in corn to be established here, 
 nearly the whole crops of these northen countries, 
 together with those of the Russian dominions on the 
 Black Sea, would be poured into the British markets ; 
 any depression in prices would not interrupt it, for how- 
 ever ruinous such depression might be to the British 
 farmers, it would still be satisfactory and remunerating 
 to the foreign grower, who, availing himself of our 
 metallic currency and bullion, would consult his con- 
 venience in the mode of payment, and as I have already 
 shown from past experience, drain us of our precious 
 metals. 
 
 Let us next contemplate deficiency in our home pro- 
 duce caused either by diminished cultivation or un- 
 favourable seasons, so as to render that foreign supply 
 necassary, which Mr. Booth is prepared to hail as a boon 
 and a blessing ! In such a state, should we not be put 
 in the power of the foreign grower, who, knowing our 
 wants, would stipulate for his own price, before he 
 parted with his supplies ? well aware, that in such a 
 case, we must buy on his terms, or be prepared to grapple 
 with famine. We have repeatedly been placed in this 
 situation by unfavourable seasons, and has not this been 
 the practice at such periods? Yet even after paying 
 exhorbitant prices, and exhausting their stocks, I ask 
 Mr. Booth if we have ever, in any one season, been able to 
 procure supplies to the extent of ten millions of quarters 
 of all kinds of grain, or one fifth part of his estimate of
 
 28 
 
 our consumption; and when deficiency has greatly 
 exceeded that proportion, has not famine been avoided 
 by strict economy in consumption, caused by the pru- 
 dence of the higher, and the inability of the middle 
 and lower classes to pay the high prices ; Yet Mr. 
 Booth proposes to make us dependant for food on such 
 resources ; and these too, that are at times beyond our 
 control, and subject to great diminution from unfavoura- 
 ble seasons. To such hazards he would expose us, by 
 oppressing and putting down our home agriculture, 
 destroying the many mighty interests that are inter- 
 woven with it, in order to encourage the growth of 
 foreign corn for our supply, in the vain hope that our 
 manufactures would be taken in payment for it. 
 
 From the earliest times up to the present hour it has 
 ever been the object of our most patriotic and ablest 
 statemen to protect the home growth of corn, as the 
 safest and only sure source for the supply of food to 
 " the people." At a period when our burthens were 
 light, and population comparatively small, it was the 
 wise policy of the legislature to encourge production, 
 by granting bounties on the exportation of the surpluses, 
 when such existed ; at more recent periods, when in- 
 creased population no longer left an excess for export, the 
 same principle of protection in the home market has been 
 persevered in for the encouragement of our agriculture. 
 The importation of foreign corn was prohibited until 
 the prices reached a point that gave evidence of 
 deficiency, and the necessity for foreign supply, when 
 such was admitted at fixed but moderate duties ; this 
 system was found productive of great change and 
 fluctuation, such as was felt oppressive to the consumer, 
 from the great enhancement in price, without a corres-
 
 29 
 
 ponding benefit being reaped by the grower. The 
 present system was therefore substituted, founded on 
 a graduated scale of prices, with relative rates of duty, 
 the rate diminishing as prices advanced, for the admis- 
 sion of foreign corn, to protect the consumer, and 
 increasing as the price fell, to protect the home grower ; 
 by this system of balance a steadiness of price has 
 been secured : an object of great importance to both 
 grower and consumer. In evidence of it, I may state 
 that since the last harvest the six weeks' averages for 
 wheat have, I think, not varied above 2s per quarter, 
 keeping generally between 53s and 54s, a price that 
 requires all the economy and industry of the farmer to 
 submit to and be enabled to meet the exigencies of the 
 times ; yet it is as much as the working classes can at 
 present afford ; to fall much lower would bring inevitable 
 ruin on the farmer, without conferring any corresponding 
 benefit on the consumer ; this has been deemed a wise and 
 salutary system, and has hitherto worked well, though 
 condemned by our new race of political economists, who 
 assume to themselves all the wisdom and foresight of the 
 present day. 
 
 To induce us to consent to this free trade in corn, we 
 are promised, in the first instance, that our home growths 
 shall be protected by a fixed rate of duty, a system that 
 appears alike objectionable, whether of a temporary or a 
 permanent character. Its effect would be to oppress the 
 consumer when foreign supply was required, and prices 
 high, which, even free from duty, it would be incon- 
 venient for him to pay for ; whilst, with abundant home 
 crops, sufficient for our consumption, this duty would not 
 prevent the introduction of foreign supply, however low 
 the prices might fall in consequence of glutted markets ;
 
 30 
 
 thus bringing unavoidable distress and ultimate ruin on 
 the home grower, causing great fluctuations and un- 
 steadiness in price, without accomplishing the objects 
 aimed at by its advocates ; and were they to extinguish 
 the duty when prices run high from deficient crops, the 
 farmers would then be unjustly deprived of their right 
 to high prices, as the only consideration they could 
 receive, to make up for the falling off in quantity from 
 such deficiencies. 
 
 Mr. Booth has entered his protest against the tithe of 
 the church, and the present rates of rent paid to the 
 landlord as oppressive to the poor. Is he aware that for 
 the best lands in England the rents do not exceed one- 
 fourth part of the gross value of the corn they produce, 
 and that for inferior it is often only one-fifth part or less ? 
 Let us for the sake of experiment deduct the amount of 
 rent ; and in that case, taking the present price of wheat 
 at 54s, one-fourth off for rent is 13s 6d, and when 
 deducted, leaves 40s 6d to the farmer — at present good 
 wheats may be put free on board at Hamburg for 24s — 
 the freight from that port to London is not higher than 
 the rates from the coast of Norfolk, 2s per quarter, and 
 10s duty, the highest named by the free traders in corn 
 of the present day, and quoted as theirs by Mr. Booth 
 (but without an expression of his approval,) you have 
 these wheats delivered in London at 34s as the charges 
 on them, being similar to those the Norfolk farmer must 
 pay to have his conveyed there, cannot in justice, be 
 added to the price, as one of competition. What then 
 must be the fate of our land-owners and farmers when 
 brought in contact with such competition, and with all 
 their existing burthens on their shouldeis? 
 
 Mr. Booth speaks of tithe as a burthen on the poor,
 
 31 
 
 and an injury sustained, by the withdrawal of one-tenth 
 of the gross produce of the corn-field from the market of 
 supply ; at least such to me appears to be his meaning. 
 Surely he is aware, that the tithe is as much the lawful 
 recognised property of the church, as the estate is that of 
 the landlord, or the crop that of the farmer, after 
 payment for it : and that no person purchases an estate, 
 no tenant leases a farm, no improver of waste lands 
 calculates results, without first deducting the amount of 
 the tithe in their calculations. On what grounds then 
 of justice can Mr. Booth call the tithe a tax, or its nature 
 a burden ? and when collected, is it not, to its extent, a 
 source of supply to the general market ? There is one 
 point more, and that is one in which, I think, Mr. Booth 
 and I are agreed. He admits that a supply of labour, 
 beyond the demand for it, must necessarily cause reduction 
 in the price of that labour ; it is like all the fruits of 
 productive labour, and even money itself: bring more 
 to market than can be disposed of, and the consequence 
 is a fall in price. As regards labour, with some excep- 
 tions, this is at psesent unfortunately the case, and tile 
 price, chiefly from competition for employment, has 
 fallen to the low point which will only admit of the 
 purchase of the common necessaries of life, such as are 
 required to sustain the individual in a state of labour ; 
 and beneath it the price cannot fall without destroying 
 the source of labour. We are told that taxation on 
 articles of consumption oppresses the poor ; but what 
 is the fact ? Let us admit that certain articles which 
 he consumes are taxed, and that if these taxes were 
 removed, he would be able to purchase at low r er prices ; 
 but would not the consequence be, that the price of his 
 labour would be reduced in the same proportion, and
 
 32 
 
 still remain at the lowest point ? It is -property that 
 enables its owner to employ the working classes, and 
 property therefore is, in point of fact, the subject of 
 taxation and source of revenue. The more taxation is 
 spread over consumption, the less its direct effects are 
 felt, and the more easily they are borne. 
 
 I now take my leave of Mr. Booth and his pamphlet. 
 I thank you for the promptitude with which you have 
 admitted my observations into your columns, and am, 
 yours, &c. 
 
 25th February.
 
 33 
 
 LETTER V. 
 ON THE CURRENCY. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 At the present eventful period, when the desire 
 for innovation, under the more fascinating name of 
 Reform, engages the attention of all classes, the spirit 
 of agitation no longer consents to " let well alone," but, 
 amongst other topics, calls loudly for changes in the 
 state of our currency. 
 
 It is, therefore, my intention to consider how far any 
 changes are practicable, and if practicable, whether such 
 would be beneficial, or likely to answer the objects of 
 those who advocate them. 
 
 To arrive at correct conclusions, it is necessary, first, 
 to consider the present state and nature of our cur- 
 rency, with the causes which have produced and support 
 that state ; and, then, the changes required, as far as 
 they can be ascertained, and Avhat are the probable 
 results to be expected, were it practicable to make and 
 carry such changes into effect. 
 
 It is a well-known fact, that, although a large propor- 
 tion of our present circulating medium consists of 
 bank and bankers'' promissory notes, restricted in 
 amount to five pounds and upwards, yet, as they are 
 all payable in gold on demand, our legal currency 
 
 F
 
 34 
 
 is gold, as silver can only be tendered to a limited 
 extent. The circulation of paper money is, therefore, 
 a measure of optional expendiency and convenience 
 for facilitating payments, and supplying the want of a 
 sufficient quantity of gold to meet general payments. 
 Inland bills of exchange, as well as foreign, form an 
 extensive and important branch of accommodation in 
 the larger scale of payments, but they are not, strictly 
 speaking, included in our currency. 
 
 During the progress of the last war, although the 
 trade, commerce, and navigation of the country, became 
 in its progress more extended and beneficial than at any 
 former period, leaving annually a considerable balance 
 of payments in our favour, this balance was not only 
 consumed in the payment of large subsidies and loans 
 made at different periods to foreign powers, together 
 with the heavy expenses incurred for the support of our 
 fleets and armies abroad, particularly of the last in 
 Spain and Portugal ; but, further, large additional sums 
 were required to meet these disbursements, which were 
 provided for, first by the exportation of our stock of 
 bullion, and then of the chief part of the gold and 
 silver that formed our circulating medium ; in conse- 
 quence, the suspension of cash payments by the Bank 
 of England was enacted for a limited period, afterwards 
 repeatedly extended, and their notes made a legal tender 
 in all payments, which was productive of an extended 
 creation and circulation of paper money, thus en- 
 couraged and protected by the suspension of cash pay- 
 ments. 
 
 It is also well known that in the commercial inter- 
 course between two countries, the rates of exchange will 
 be against the one that imports more in value than she
 
 35 
 
 exports, and she has therefore a balance of payments 
 against her that must be made in the precious metals, 
 unless her trade with other countries leaves a balance 
 in her favour, which, in that case, is set off to meet the 
 deficiency ; and, if sufficient to do so, she is thereby 
 enabled to retain her gold and silver; but if in her 
 aggregate intercourse the balance is against her, it is 
 only by means of the precious metals she can provide for 
 that balance ; and when these are exhausted, her imports 
 must be limited by the value of her exports. It is true, 
 that at a certain sacrifice, specie or bullion may be trans- 
 ferred from a country where it is scarce to another 
 where it is more abundant and of less value, for tempo- 
 rary speculative purposes, by influencing the exchanges ; 
 but this can only be persevered in for a limited period, 
 until the object of the parties has succeeded or failed ; 
 and that being to support an artificial state of exchange 
 in the country, which has a balance of payments to make 
 good, it follows it cannot be of long duration. 
 
 By our heavy national continental payments, England 
 was, as I have stated, thus drained of her bullion and 
 metallic currency, and compelled to substitute a protected 
 paper one in its stead ; but this currency could only 
 be used for internal purposes ; and as the difficulty of 
 meeting foreign payments increased, the exchanges 
 became more against us ; as buyers could not be found 
 on the continent for bills drawn to make them, the relative 
 value of gold to our paper money was therefore en- 
 hanced, and as the demand for exportation and conse- 
 quent scarcity of gold increased, it disappeared from 
 circulation, and in that manner and proportion our 
 paper currency was depreciated ; the price of gold in 
 paper greatly exceeded the mint price owing to the 
 heavy balance of payments which was to be made good.
 
 36 
 
 In this state our currency remained until some time 
 after the peace took place, when these foreign national 
 payments having ceased, and the value of our exports 
 continuing to exceed that of our imports, the balance of 
 payments was again turned in our favour. From that 
 period to the present time the balance of trade has 
 generally been so ; in the interval considerable foreign 
 loans and speculative engagements entered into by 
 individuals in other countries, together with extensive 
 importations of foreign corn, made at periods of defici- 
 ency in our home growths, have interrupted the accumu- 
 lation of these annual balances ; yet their amount has 
 gradually increased, and as bills on England in sufficient 
 amount for remittance could no longer be found, the 
 deficiencies were necessarily made up by the transmission 
 of gold and silver which filled our coffers, and 
 restored our metallic currency. 
 
 During the suspension of cash payments, and up to a 
 late period, the circulation of paper money, particularly 
 of one and two pound notes, was permitted, and carried 
 to a great extent. The readiness with which these notes 
 were received into circulation, and the willing confidence 
 placed in those who issued them during the scarcity of 
 gold, became unbounded on the part of the public ; the 
 parties who issued them, thus encouraged by the pro- 
 tection given them from cash payments, and tempted by 
 the profits they considered they were receiving, became 
 less scrupulous in their investigation of the nature of 
 the securities they received in exchange, and went on 
 increasing this circulation to an extent far exceeding the 
 amount of their available or convertible funds; thus 
 speculation of every kind was fostered and encouraged ; 
 — paper money, as it became more and more abundant,
 
 37 
 
 fell in price, as compared with goods or real property, 
 which were proportionately enhanced up to 1825, when 
 speculation and confidence in every form and shape 
 reached its climax ; then reflection interposed, confidence 
 was shaken and withdrawn, and the bubble burst which 
 paper money had thus created. Near one hundred 
 country banks, as they were called, suspended their 
 payments : the securities they had received in exchange 
 for their notes Avere unavailing, and no funds were forth- 
 coming to pay them — in consequence great, general, 
 and individual distress ensued ; the value of goods 
 and property became greatly depreciated, that of 
 money enhanced, and credit received the severest shock 
 ever experienced in the country from any previous com- 
 mercial convulsion. 
 
 As the country recovered from this distressing and 
 untoward state, the change in the state of our foreign 
 payments continued to produce a regular and large 
 importation of gold and silver, which being sold to the 
 bank, and transferred to the mint, was brought into the 
 circulation of the country. This supply has continued 
 to go on, and has now been received in such quantity as 
 amply to supply the circulation of England for all pay- 
 ments under five pounds, or for larger when required and 
 preferred to bank notes. It is evident that in the present 
 state of our foreign commercial relations, gold and 
 silver cannot be exported to any extent, because it is not 
 required for foreign payments, neither can it be allowed 
 to remain unproductive of benefit in large quantities in 
 the coffers of the bank, or of private individuals, and 
 only a comparatively small proportion is required by the 
 working gold and silversmiths ; the only vent and bene- 
 ficial employment is therefore converting it into current
 
 38 
 
 coin at the mint price for circulation, which is the course 
 adopted. 
 
 I find I have exceeded the extent of an ordinary letter; 
 I shall therefore conclude for the present, intending to 
 resume my subject for your next or following publication. 
 
 Yours, 8cc. 
 
 January 21, 1833.
 
 39 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I now return to the consideration of the 
 important subject of our currency, with a reference 
 to what I have already stated. 
 
 Notwithstanding the expense consequent upon the 
 necessity which country bankers are now under, of keep- 
 ing a considerable supply of gold beside them, for the 
 purpose of meeting their broken payments under five 
 pounds, and exchanging their notes for larger sums 
 when so required, their business has proved beneficial 
 to themselves, and safer to the public ; their issues have 
 been kept on a more limited scale, while the capitals 
 of monied men have been increasing ; the trade of the 
 country is protected by abundant supply and moderate 
 prices ; and the sound state of our currency renders 
 more difficult the creation of artificial capital, and of that 
 speculative hazardous enterprise, to which it was wont 
 to be applied by those who had every thing to gain and 
 but little to lose. In this state of things, with our trade 
 and commerce flowing in a safe and steady channel, 
 generally productive of some, though moderate profit, 
 wild undertakings, such as most of us have witnessed in 
 other times of delusive prosperity, are now kept in check ; 
 both merchant and manufacturer require less pecuniary 
 aid in the shape of loan or discounts ; money has there- 
 fore become plentiful, and in supply beyond demand ;
 
 40 
 
 in consequence, the discount rares of interest have been 
 gradually falling; at present not exceeding three per cent, 
 and in some transactions even lower. 
 
 I now come to the changes that are called for in our 
 currency. Such as I have seen proposed are certainlv 
 stated in terms more or less obscure and undefined. As 
 far as I have been able to understand them, the leading 
 features seem to be — a desire to restore the power to 
 issue small notes of one and two pounds ; next, to 
 increase the number of chartered or joint stock banking 
 companies, and to remove the restrictions they are now 
 subject to. There seem to be a few who would go the 
 length of depreciating our currency, by increasing the 
 value of our gold and silver coin, under a mistaken idea 
 (I hope not a dishonest one) that they would in that 
 proportion enhance the value of productive labour. 
 They seem to think that the sovereign should retain its 
 present value, but contain a less quantity of gold ; thus, 
 if reduced one fourth, the debtor who owed 20s would 
 be enabled to pay it with 15s of the currency in which 
 his debt was contracted ! There the effect would cease, 
 as the price of everything would thereafter rise in exact 
 proportion to the depreciation. This principle has been 
 contended for by a very few, as applicable to the public 
 debt, under the name of an equitable adjustment, fixed 
 upon a scale to correspond with the original contract 
 prices ; but those who do so seem to forget that at the 
 time when the greater part of the debt was contracted the 
 low prices at which the loans were taken were the conse- 
 quence of the extremely depressed state of public credit ; 
 and therefore that the risk to the lender of being paid his 
 annuity was considered to be in proportion to the price. 
 That the war in which we were engaged, after so many 
 alarming vicissitudes, terminated favourably, was fortu-
 
 41 
 
 nate for the lenders ; but we all know it might have been 
 otherwise. The public can have no right to avail them- 
 selves of that result, or change the solemn engagements 
 then entered into with their creditors, even had the same 
 parties continued to stand in that situation, which in few 
 instances only can be found to be the case. If illustration 
 is required, look to the late Belgian and Portuguese loans, 
 where the prices are low, but are in proportion to the 
 credit of the borrowers, and to their chance of repayment. 
 As regards the increase of chartered or joint stock 
 banks, the only impediment understood to be in their way 
 is the bank charter, which will soon expire; it is then 
 to be hoped that the legislature will, by its enactments, 
 encourage the creation of such banks as will afford, 
 increased security to the public in their money transac- 
 tions, and therefore be preferable to that of the small 
 banking concerns that now exist in almost every quarter 
 of the country ; but as such banks are likely to be more 
 guarded and tenacious in their issues, and in the securi- 
 ties on which they may be disposed to lend their funds, 
 when banking is transferred to these channels of increased 
 prudence and safety, it will be more likely to narrow 
 than to extend the present paper circulation. 
 
 The only change, then, that seems to be avowed and 
 understood, as requiring more particular observation, is 
 that which purposes to restore the circulation of small 
 notes ; for none have been hardy enough even to hint at 
 the direct suspension of cash payments, though various 
 schemes of securities have been broached to cover issues 
 of notes under deposits or investments, but none with 
 sufficient shape and substance to require consideration : 
 were it otherwise, I should endeavour to show that they 
 are uncalled for, and would not avail the parties who 
 
 G
 
 might take an interest in them. I therefore return to 
 the views and expectations of those who advocate 
 resuming the issue of small notes. 
 
 These parties profess to do so on the ground that it 
 would make money more abundant ; that, in proportion 
 to its abundance, the value of all the fruits of productive 
 labour, and therefore of labour itself, would increase in 
 this country ; and abundance of employment would 
 thus be afforded, and readily obtained by all the working 
 classes, whose comforts would be increased ; and that 
 with these changes general prosperity and contentment 
 would be restored ! I think I shall find no difficulty in 
 showing that this is altogether a delusion, and that such 
 results would not be produced, were the measure itself 
 practicable, which I 'do not hesitate to contend that it is 
 not. 
 
 At the period when the issue of paper money, and of 
 small notes in particular, became so general and ex- 
 tensive, the gold currency had been withdrawn and 
 applied to foreign payments, for the purposes and in the 
 manner I have stated ; nor was it any way possible to 
 recover the gold so exported until these engagements 
 terminated ; when they did so, they left the balances of 
 payments in our favour, arising from the state of trade, 
 to be received in the precious metals ; until then we 
 were necessarily and unavoidably dependent on a paper 
 currency. As the gold and silver was in this manner 
 brought back, it went into circulation, and took the 
 place of the small notes. I think it must be evident to 
 every one, that this consequence was the natural one to 
 follow, and that the gold and silver received can only 
 be employed in this manner. 
 
 It must also be kept in mind, that this importation of
 
 43 
 
 the precious metals is the fruits of national prosperity, 
 produced by the favourable state of our foreign trade ; 
 and I now ask those who propose to restore the small 
 note currency, and thus extend the paper circulation, by 
 what means they expect to effect it ? There is now an 
 ample supply of the precious metals in circulation, and 
 found to be sufficient for every purpose ; if notes are to 
 be introduced, they must displace the metallic currency, 
 and if they are to be payable in it at the will of the 
 holder, how is this to be effected without such currency, 
 were they to succeed in their object ? But supposing 
 that they did so, what is to be done with the gold now 
 in circulation, when so displaced ? or what are the 
 inducements expected to influence the public to receive 
 their payments in paper, rather than in gold, short of 
 coercion. The gold cannot be exported to other 
 countries, because we have, from the relative state of 
 our trade with them, to receive, in place of having pay- 
 ments to make ; and it cannot be supposed that the 
 bank of England, private banks, or individuals, will 
 consent to retain their gold in their coffers unemployed, 
 and therefore unproductive. It is, then, evident that 
 whilst our foreign trade remains in a prosperous state, 
 and wealth increases, however slowly, with a balance of 
 payments to receive, it can only be received in the 
 precious metals, which must necessarily be employed in 
 the currency of the realm, where it forms a safer and 
 sounder medium for internal exchanges than has yet 
 been discovered ; nor will it stop in this state with the 
 exclusion of small notes, but as the supply increases, it 
 must also displace a part of the larger description of 
 notes now in circulation. 
 
 Those who from poverty or disappointment feel the
 
 u 
 
 pinch that follows both, appear to indulge the expecta- 
 tion, that if the circulation of paper money were to be 
 extended they would be benefited by it. This is also 
 a delusion. Can they suppose that those who might 
 have the power and disposition to issue small notes on a 
 large scale would part with such to them, or to any 
 other, without first receiving satisfactory security in one 
 shape or another ? And if these parties, who proclaim 
 whilst they deplore their own wants, have none such to give, 
 I ask them how they can be benefited by such issues ? 
 On the other hand, I have already shown that those 
 who do possess the means of giving such securities can 
 now receive advances of money upon them to the 
 fullest extent prudence will admit of, and consequently 
 that no further creation of capital is required. 
 
 The circulating medium of Scotland is wholly paper, 
 or nearly so, from one pound notes upwards, payable in 
 cash at the will of the holder ; but the relative situation 
 of the two countries is very dissimilar — to speak com- 
 paratively, England is rich, Scotland is poor. England, 
 with few exceptions, has always been accustomed to 
 a metallic currency, Scotland to a paper one. In 
 England, in order to benefit and promote the national 
 bank, private banking was restricted to six partners, 
 and the circulation of their paper money in many 
 instances discouraged. In Scotland no such restrictions 
 on banking existed ; the want of gold made the circula- 
 tion of small notes necessary, and without them the 
 ordinary commercial intercourse could not be carried 
 on. With few exceptions, private banking (such as 
 exists in England) has been discouraged there and 
 either chartered or joint stock companies established 
 in preference, on account of the increased safety they
 
 45 
 
 afforded. One of these deceptions, under the firm of 
 Maberly and Co., by holding out the temptation of 
 doing business on more favourable terms, succeeded, 
 some years ago, in establishing banks for issuing notes 
 in different quarters ; they have since failed, and as yet, 
 I understand, the holders of their notes have not even 
 the prospect of a dividend. On the other hand, in the 
 few instances that have occurred of joint stock banking 
 companies suspending their payments, the creditors have 
 always been paid in full: so much for the advantages 
 the Scotch system of banking possesses over that of 
 England. At the same time it must be taken into 
 consideration, that the aggregate money business of 
 Scotland is of a small amount when compared with that 
 of England ; and that the issues and circulation of 
 bank notes is controlled and checked by wholesome 
 local regulations, such as do not exist in English private 
 banking; which regulations tend essentially to protect 
 the public and benefit the banks. 
 
 I have thus endeavoured to point out the evils that 
 were produced by an excess of paper currency, as well as 
 the safety and advantages of a metallic one ; that the 
 last is the fruits of a properous foreign trade and the 
 growing wealth of the country, and that whilst this state 
 of things continues, it can neither be displaced, nor 
 paper money substituted for it, were it even desirable ; 
 that the attempt would prove a failure, and a source of 
 disappointment to its promoters. — I am not surprised to 
 observe those who feel the want of money, while they 
 see it abundant in the hands of their more fortunate 
 neighbours, attempt to build castles in the air on the 
 basis of paper kites, but I do lament to observe that 
 many successful candidates for seats in the present
 
 46 
 
 Parliament did in their addresses and speeches indulge 
 themselves, for apparently popular objects, in descrip- 
 tions of vague and undefined benefits, resting on similar 
 grounds, and such as, in my opinion, are only calculated 
 to mislead the credulous and ignorant, by creating 
 unfounded expectations. — Yours, &c. 
 
 23d Jan. 1833.
 
 47 
 
 LETTER VII.— TAXATION. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The repeal of taxes is at present a favourite 
 subject with the public, and there are few of the multi- 
 tude of petitions daily presented to Parliament, that do 
 not include a prayer for the repeal of some one or more 
 of the sources of public revenue, but without reference to 
 the national engagements for which it is pledged. 
 
 Of the existing taxes, considered more or less objec- 
 tionable, those on houses and windows are among the 
 most prominent. They are represented as being unequal 
 in their application, and oppressive on the middle 
 classes; it therefore becomes desirable to inquire, and 
 give consideration to the presumed necessity for their 
 repeal. 
 
 Society, as subject to taxation, may be considered as 
 divided into three distinct classes, all differently affected 
 by its application ; — first, the wealthy, or sucl> as are in- 
 dependent in fortune ; — next, the middle class, whose for- 
 tunes are not sufficient to exempt them from either bodily 
 or mental labour ; — and, lastly, the working class, who 
 depend wholly on their personal labour for their support. 
 I think it must be admitted that the house and window 
 taxes are so framed as to fall but lightly on the first of 
 these classes, — heavily on the second, whilst they seldom, 
 and then only in a very slight degree, affect the last. 
 The middle class, therefore, almost every where complain 
 of the injustice they suffer from unequal contribution.
 
 48 
 
 The principle of taxation is considered to be founded 
 in the general protection received proportionally by the 
 parties who are taxed. The revenue is understood to be 
 equally raised in proportion to the means of each contri- 
 butor, and to be equally applied for the benefit of the 
 whole. Let us consider whether, as respects the house 
 and window taxes, this principle is fairly applied. 
 
 That portion of society which is occupied in pursuits 
 of industry, whose means are moderate, and property 
 generally personal, resides in towns or villages, where 
 the houses seldom belong to those who occupy them ; — 
 the rents paid are high in proportion to the cost of 
 building them, and as their windows increase in number, 
 the scale of taxation rapidly ascends. 
 
 On the other hand, the expensive and splendid country 
 dwellings of the wealthy are their own property, built 
 for comfort and personal gratification, without regard to 
 cost ; they are only, and rarely, to be let for rent when 
 not required for the residence of their owners, and when 
 so let, it is on such low terms as bear no relation to 
 their cost. A tradesman's house, which costs eight or 
 nine hundred pounds, will rent for £50 ; — it is taxed on 
 that rate of rent, at the same per centage with the dwellings 
 of the rich, which, not being rented, are valued for tax- 
 ation, not in proportion to their cost of ten or twenty 
 thousand pounds each, but at low valuations, such as, it 
 is alleged, and justly as regards the fact, they would 
 only bring if rented, perhaps, at £100 per annum. Thus 
 the house that costs £800, rent £50, pays £7 Is 8d tax: 
 the mansion that costs £20,000, valued at £100, (for the 
 greater the cost, the lower the rental,) pays £14 3s 4d. 
 
 The scale under which the tax on windows is laid 
 appears to be also unequal in its application and pressure; 
 it increases up to a given point, within which the dwell-
 
 49 
 
 ings of the industrious classes are placed, and rises in a 
 diminished degree after it attaches to the mansions of 
 the rich, until it reaches another point, when it ceases 
 altogether. 45 windows pay £15 16s 9d tax; 180 
 pay £46 lis 3d.; whereas, if the proportions were alike, 
 the rate would be £63 7 S > whilst any given higher num- 
 ber is not subject to additional tax. 
 
 From these facts it appears that the industry of the 
 tradesman is taxed more heavily than the property of 
 the rich, whilst the principle of taxation applies to him 
 in a lower rateable degree, as the sources of his expen- 
 diture are within himself, and what property he may 
 possess, generally personal, therefore more easily removed, 
 and standing less in need of protection than the real 
 estates of the higher classes that cannot be moved, and 
 from which their incomes and influence are drawn. 
 
 The inequality and injustice of these taxes appear to 
 be evident, and also of a nature not to admit of equaliza- 
 tion. In the house tax the rule adopted is the rate of 
 rent, the habitations of the middle classes being built for 
 profit, are rented high, whilst those of the rich, built for 
 pleasure, and intended for the owner's sole occupation, 
 are, for the reasons I have stated, not susceptible of 
 being brought within the just application of the rule. 
 The window tax may be less objectionable on this ground, 
 as the scale might be amended so as to ascend in the 
 same degree to any given number ; but in that case the 
 pressure would cause windows to be closed up, or houses 
 left unoccupied. — The repeal of both taxes seems, there- 
 fore, to be well deserving the consideration of Parlia- 
 ment, as unsound in principle and unjust in application. 
 
 These taxes produce a revenue of above two millions 
 and a half ; — their repeal would cause a deficiency that 
 could only be supplied by substituting some other of a 
 n
 
 50 
 
 less objectionable character, which in these times is not 
 a matter of light consideration. A property tax has 
 many advocates ; it could only be adopted if applied to 
 income, and to be equally so, it must include the profits 
 of all capital employed in commerce, trade, and manu- 
 facture, as well as the fruits of professional life ; and 
 although the rates levied on these sources might, from 
 their more uncertain nature, be placed on a lower scale 
 than those arising from real property, the public funds, 
 annuities, mortgages, or others of a more certain charac- 
 ter, yet, still, the industrious classes would feel them 
 heavily, whilst their unavoidable inquisitorial operation, 
 calling often for disclosures and explanations of the most 
 painful nature, would lead to endless vexation and fre- 
 quent frauds for the purpose of concealment, and would 
 thus hold out, as it were, a premium for perjury ! — It, 
 therefore, appears to be alike impolitic, impracticable, and 
 revolting to the feelings of Englishmen, to raise a per- 
 manent revenue from a tax on income. 
 
 Taxation on consumption is certainly less felt than 
 direct taxation by the community at large, being more 
 widely spread, and imperceptibly levied ; all classes being 
 subject to its operation in proportion to their optional 
 consumption ; and, as the expenditure of the rich is 
 usually in proportion to their fortunes, so, in that in- 
 creased degree, they are influenced by and contribute to 
 indirect taxation. But, to this department of taxation, 
 it is objected that it presses heavily on the labouring 
 classes ; which does not appear to me to be well founded ; 
 for whilst the supply of labour exceeds the demand for it, 
 as unfortunately it does now, and is too likely to continue 
 to be the case, wages for labour sink down to the lowest 
 points of remuneration, which are such as are absolutely 
 necessary to preserve life for the purposes of labour;
 
 51 
 
 therefore, if articles necessary for their use are taxed, 
 their cost is in that proportion enhanced, and must be 
 included in the price paid for their labour ; but if they 
 were not so taxed, the price would in that proportion be 
 diminished, and their wages reduced in the same degree. 
 It therefore follows, that whilst this surplus of labour 
 beyond demand continues, the repeal of such taxes on 
 consumption would produce no benefit to the working 
 classes. The truth seems to be, that, generally speaking, 
 property is, with few exceptions, directly or indirectly, 
 the more immediate object of taxation, and the most 
 permanent source of revenue; where such exceptions 
 exist, as in the case of duties on houses and windows 
 paid by the middle classes, the sooner they can be got 
 free of, the better it will be for the community at large. 
 If I might venture to suggest a substitute for the 
 house and window tax, it would be a tax on the inheritance 
 of real property, of the same amount with that now 
 levied from the heirs of personal property. In principle, 
 perhaps, the rate ought even to be higher, as the protec- 
 tion required to such property is greater; but it is, at the 
 same time, to be considered that the inheritance of real 
 property is subject to other charges from which that of 
 personal is exempt; but it does seem most unjust that 
 the heir of the wealthy owner of real estates should be 
 exempt from tax, and the comparatively poor man, who 
 succeeds to personal property only, should be liable to it. 
 From such a source a very large revenue might justly be 
 drawn : it seems well deserving the consideration of the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer, pressed, as he now is, from 
 all quarters for relief from existing taxes ; and, as our 
 present government is said to be chiefly formed of rich 
 and patriotic men, who look to and desire their country's, 
 more than their individual advantage, a favourable op-
 
 52 
 
 portunity seems thus to be afforded them for setting the 
 example to the other wealthy members of the community, 
 by promoting a measure which would be alike just 
 towards others, and honourable to themselves. 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 Mercator. 
 22nd March.