eat Britain had not adopted the policy of granting large
bounties upon all those commodities, iron alone excepted, when
imported into Great Britain from America. It was her interest to do
this, because at the same time, that she was thereby encouraging the
commerce of her Colonies, she was rendering a great benefit to her own
manufactures, in which she paid the Americans for those commodities,
so that her bounties turned to the account of both parts of the Empire
at once. Besides, they made her less dependent upon any foreign
nations for those commodities, and she was too well acquainted with
her commercial and political interests ever to lose sight of that
object. She could not grant a bounty upon iron without injuring her
own mines; she therefore adopted the method of exempting the iron of
America from duties, which she imposed upon all the iron imported from
any foreign country, and these duties being considerable, they had a
like effect upon American iron, as the bounties had upon the other
commodities. This system was calculated gradually to destroy the
commerce of the northern nations with Great Britain.

"Now is it not certain, take away the dependence of America upon the
empire of Great Britain, and you take away at the same time the
interest of Great Britain, to give the preference to those American
commodities? She will then procure them where she can procure them
cheapest, that is from the northern nations. When the British
bounties therefore cease, the commerce of America with Europe in those
articles will cease with them. And thus those nations will nowhere be
troubled with the dangerous concurrence in the markets of Europe on
the part of America, which has been so much talked of by the British,
and may have influenced the political systems of those powers. During
the time America was dependent upon the British empire, she has always
imported great quantities of iron and steel from Sweden through Great
Britain. She will certainly continue to import those articles when she
can obtain them so much cheaper by a direct commerce with Sweden or
Russia. Is it not then clear, that the independence of the United
States, in whatever view it is properly considered, will turn to the
benefit of all Europe, Great Britain alone excepted; that the nations
about the Baltic, Russia above all, if they adopt in season a wise
policy towards America, have everything to hope and nothing to fear
from the commerce of that country?"