"Oh! I begin to follow you. The account with the Treasury will then stand thus: The revenue loses 5 francs upon salt, and 5 upon postages, and gains 10 francs upon cloth. The one balances the other." "And your own account stands thus: You gain 5 francs upon salt, 5 francs upon postages, and 10 francs upon cloth." "Total, 20 francs. I like your plan; but what comes of the poor cloth-manufacturer?" "Oh! I have not lost sight of him. I manage to give him compensation likewise by means of _dégrèvements_ which are profitable to the revenue; and what I have done for you as regards cloth, I do for him as regards wool, coals, machinery, etc., so that he is enabled to reduce his price without being a loser." "But are you sure that the one will balance the other?" "The balance will be in his favour. The 20 francs which I enable you to gain upon cloth, will be augmented by the amount I enable you to save upon corn, meat, fuel, etc. This will amount to a large sum; and a similar saving will be realized by each of your 35 millions of fellow-countrymen. In this way, you will find the means of consuming all the cloth produced at Verviers and Elbeuf. The nation will be better clothed; that is all." "I shall think over it; for all this, I confess, confuses my head somewhat." "After all, as regards clothing, the main consideration is to be clothed. Your limbs are your own, and not the property of the manufacturer. To protect them from the cold is your business and not his! If the law takes his part against you, the law is unjust; and we have been reasoning hitherto on the hypothesis that what is unjust is injurious." "Perhaps I make too free with you; but I beg you to complete the explanation of your financial plan." "I shall have a new law of Customs." "In two volumes folio?" "No, in two articles." "For once, then, we may dispense with repeating the famous axiom, 'No one is supposed to be ignorant of the law'--_Nul n'est cerné ignorer la loi_; which is a fiction. Let us see, then, your proposed tariff." "Here it is: "'Art. 1st.--All imported merchandise shall pay a duty of 5 per cent. _ad valorem_.'" "Even raw materials?" "Except those which are destitute of value." "But they are all possessed of value, less or more." "In that case they must pay duty, less or more." "How do you suppose that our manufacturers can compete with foreign manufacturers who have their raw materials free?" "The expenditure of the State being given, if we shut up this source of revenue, we must open another. That will not do away with the relative inferiority of our manufactures, and we shall have an additional staff of officials to create and to pay for." "True. I reason as if the problem were to do away with taxation, and not to substitute one tax for another. I shall think over it. What is your second article?" "'Art. 2d.--All merchandise exported shall pay a duty of 5 per cent, _ad valorem_.'"