d with the means, as if
manufacturers existed for their own sake and not in order to
produce. I have seen the commercial competition between various
countries compared with a horse race. Just as some horses are
handicapped, so customs duties must be levied on the productions of
certain countries to give the others a fair chance! The comparison
would be relevant if the object of a handicap were that the best
horse should win, but the race itself is the object. Bastiat has
reduced this view of commerce to an absurdity in his famous
petition. It is a petition supposed to be presented by the dealers
in oil, tallow, lamps, &c., in Paris, who request that all shutters,
windows, and other apertures for light may be closed against the
sun, which spoils their business by shining so brightly during the
day. If wheat rained from heaven some people would tax it to protect
the farmers. But Free Trade may be made an object of worship in
itself, and can then do nothing but harm. It may be made a rule of
life, not merely a rule of trade. The satisfaction of material needs
is most necessary, and lies at the bottom of civilization, but it is
not therefore the most important, and it is quite conceivable that
the moral advantages to be derived by a community through reliance
on their own energies, may more than compensate for the higher price
of particular articles. It has been found not to be good for the
human race to have things made too pleasant. The West Indian
negroes, "who toil not, neither do they spin," but pick the fruits
of the earth ready to their hands, are not the most exalted
specimens of mankind. It may be a good thing for a man _not_ to have
things too cheaply, if owing to this he is stirred up to work, and
can get money enough to live. Free Traders argue that free trade
will prevent war, by making evident the inconveniences thereby
occasioned to commerce, yet history has never shown that such
considerations have been of much weight when strong national
feelings are aroused. Nor is it, in my opinion, a desirable thing
that they should have a decisive effect. With this class of
arguments Free Traders are powerless to deal.

The absence of caste is a noticeable feature in Australian life. Any
man, whatever his original position, can rise to the highest
offices, and, as a matter of fact, the ministers are frequently
tradesmen. None the worse for that, of course; but it was amusingly
illustrated in the Assembly the other day