A tariff2, then, may be regarded in the same light as a marsh3, a rut, an obstruction4, a steep declivity—in a word, it is an obstacle, the effect of which is to augment5 the difference between the price which the producer of a commodity receives, and the price which the consumer pays for it. In the same way, it is undoubtedly6 true that marshes7 and quagmires8 are to be regarded in the same light as protective tariffs9.
There are people (few in number, it is true, but there are such people) who begin to understand that obstacles are not less obstacles because they are artificial, and that our mercantile prospects10 have more to gain from liberty than from protection, and exactly for the same reason which makes a canal more favourable11 to traffic than a steep, roundabout, and inconvenient12 road.
But they maintain that this liberty must be reciprocal. If we remove the barriers we have erected13 against the admission of Spanish goods, for example, Spain must remove the barriers she has erected against the admission of ours. They are, therefore, the advocates of commercial treaties, on the basis of exact reciprocity, concession14 for concession; let us make the sacrifice of buying, say they, to obtain the advantage of selling.
People who reason in this way, I am sorry to say, are, whether they know it or not, protectionists in principle; only, they are a little more inconsistent than pure protectionists, as the latter are more inconsistent than absolute prohibitionists.
The following apologue will demonstrate this:—
STULTA AND PUERA. There were, no matter where, two towns called Stulta and Puera. They completed at great cost a highway from the one town to the other. When this was done, Stulta said to herself, "See how Puera inundates15 us with her products; we must see to it." In consequence, they created and paid a body of obstructives, so called because their business was to place obstacles in the way of traffic coming from Puera. Soon afterwards, Puera did the same.
At the end of some centuries, knowledge having in the interim16 made great progress, the common sense of Puera enabled her to see that such reciprocal obstacles could only be reciprocally hurtful. She therefore sent a diplomatist to Stulta, who, laying aside official phraseology, spoke17 to this effect: "We have made a highway, and now we throw obstacles in the way of using it. This is absurd. It would have been better to have left things as they were. We should not, in that case, have had to pay for making the road in the first place, nor afterwards have incurred18 the expense of maintaining obstructives. In the name of Puera, I come to propose to you, not to give up opposing each other all at once—that would be to act upon a principle, and we despise principles as much as you do—but to lessen19 somewhat the present obstacles, taking care to estimate equitably20 the respective sacrifices we make for this purpose." So spoke the diplomatist. Stulta asked for time to consider the proposal, and proceeded to consult, in succession, her manufacturers and agriculturists. At length, after the lapse21 of some years, she declared that the negotiations22 were broken off.
On receiving this intimation, the inhabitants of Puera held a meeting. An old gentleman (they always suspected he had been secretly bought by Stulta) rose and said: The obstacles created by Stulta injure our sales, which is a misfortune. Those which we have ourselves created injure our purchases, which is another misfortune. With reference to the first, we are powerless; but the second rests with ourselves. Let us, at least, get quit of one, since we cannot rid ourselves of both evils. Let us suppress our obstructives without requiring Stulta to do the same. Some day, no doubt, she will come to know her own interests better.
A second counsellor, a practical, matter-of-fact man, guiltless of any acquaintance with principles, and brought up in the ways of his forefathers23, replied: "Don't listen to that Utopian dreamer, that theorist, that innovator24, that economist25, that Stultomaniac."
We shall all be undone26 if the stoppages of the road are not equalized, weighed, and balanced between Stulta and Puera. There would be greater difficulty in going than in coming, in exporting than in importing. We should find ourselves in the same condition of inferiority relatively27 to Stulta, as Havre, Nantes, Bordeaux, Lisbon, London, Hamburg, and New Orleans, are with relation to the towns situated28 at the sources of the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, the Tagus, the Thames, the Elbe, and the Mississippi, for it is more difficult for a ship to ascend29 than to descend30 a river. (A Voice: Towns at the embouchures of rivers prosper31 more than towns at their source.) This is impossible. (Same Voice: But it is so.) Well, if it be so, they have prospered32 contrary to rules. Reasoning so conclusive33 convinced the assembly, and the orator34 followed up his victory by talking largely of national independence, national honour, national dignity, national labour, inundation35 of products, tributes, murderous competition. In short, he carried the vote in favour of the maintenance of obstacles; and if you are at all curious on the subject, I can point out to you countries, where you will see with your own eyes Road-makers and Obstructives working together on the most friendly terms possible, under the orders of the same legislative36 assembly, and at the expense of the same taxpayers37, the one set endeavouring to clear the road, and the other set doing their utmost to render it impassible.
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1
onerous
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adj.繁重的 | |
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tariff
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n.关税,税率;(旅馆、饭店等)价目表,收费表 | |
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3
marsh
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n.沼泽,湿地 | |
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obstruction
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n.阻塞,堵塞;障碍物 | |
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5
augment
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vt.(使)增大,增加,增长,扩张 | |
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6
undoubtedly
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adv.确实地,无疑地 | |
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7
marshes
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n.沼泽,湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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8
quagmires
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n.沼泽地,泥潭( quagmire的名词复数 ) | |
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9
tariffs
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关税制度; 关税( tariff的名词复数 ); 关税表; (旅馆或饭店等的)收费表; 量刑标准 | |
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10
prospects
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n.希望,前途(恒为复数) | |
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11
favourable
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adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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12
inconvenient
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adj.不方便的,令人感到麻烦的 | |
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13
ERECTED
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adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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14
concession
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n.让步,妥协;特许(权) | |
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15
inundates
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v.淹没( inundate的第三人称单数 );(洪水般地)涌来;充满;给予或交予(太多事物)使难以应付 | |
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16
interim
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adj.暂时的,临时的;n.间歇,过渡期间 | |
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17
spoke
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n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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18
incurred
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[医]招致的,遭受的; incur的过去式 | |
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19
lessen
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vt.减少,减轻;缩小 | |
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20
equitably
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公平地 | |
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21
lapse
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n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效 | |
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22
negotiations
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协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过 | |
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23
forefathers
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n.祖先,先人;祖先,祖宗( forefather的名词复数 );列祖列宗;前人 | |
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24
innovator
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n.改革者;创新者 | |
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25
economist
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n.经济学家,经济专家,节俭的人 | |
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26
undone
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a.未做完的,未完成的 | |
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27
relatively
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adv.比较...地,相对地 | |
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situated
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adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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29
ascend
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vi.渐渐上升,升高;vt.攀登,登上 | |
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descend
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vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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31
prosper
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v.成功,兴隆,昌盛;使成功,使昌隆,繁荣 | |
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32
prospered
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成功,兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
conclusive
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adj.最后的,结论的;确凿的,消除怀疑的 | |
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34
orator
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n.演说者,演讲者,雄辩家 | |
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35
inundation
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n.the act or fact of overflowing | |
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36
legislative
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n.立法机构,立法权;adj.立法的,有立法权的 | |
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37
taxpayers
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纳税人,纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 ) | |
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