gainer? England without doubt. There would instantly arise in France an
immense demand for the cottons, woollens, and iron of England; while
wines, brandies, and silks, the staple articles of France, are less
likely to come into general demand here, nor would the consumption of
such productions, it is probable, be so rapidly increased by the fall of
price. The fall would probably be very great before France could obtain
a vent in England for so much of her exports as would suffice to pay for
the probable amount of her imports. There would be a considerable flow
of the precious metals out of France into England. The English consumer
of French wine would not merely save the amount of the duty which that
wine now pays, but would find the wine itself falling-in prime cost,
while his means of purchasing it would be increased by the augmentation
of his own money income. The French consumer of English cottons, on the
contrary, would not long continue to be able to purchase them at the
price they now sell for in England. He would gain less, as the English
would gain more, than might appear from a mere comparison between the
present prices of commodities in the two countries.

Various consequences would flow from opening the trade between France
and England, which are not expected, either by the friends or by the
opponents of the present restrictive system. The wine-growers of France,
who imagine that free trade would relieve their distress by raising the
price of their wine, might not improbably find that price actually
lowered. On the other hand, our silk manufacturers would be surprised if
they were told that the free admission of our cottons and hardware into
the French market, would endanger _their_ branch of manufacture: yet
such might very possibly be the effect. France, it is likely, could most
advantageously pay us in silks for a portion of the large amount of
cottons and hardware which we should sell to her; and though our silk
manufacturers may now be able to compete advantageously, in some