race of fierce barbarians, is an event unexampled in the history of mankind.

'How stands the case on the other side? The Greeks, at the period of the Persian war, were a people in the flower of youth and vigour, flushed with recollections of ancient glory, filled with the loftiest spirit of national pride and independence. The whole population was regularly trained to arms, and inured to the dangers and duties of military life. Their lower classes were practised warriors, their upper ranks skilful commanders. Their armies and fleets were in a high state of discipline and equipment, and were opposed to comparatively undisciplined and unwarlike hordes. They were invaded, it is true, by the whole force of a mighty empire, of which their native country, in point of extent, would scarcely have furnished a petty province; but it was at that time fully peopled, and the single state of Attica probably contained a population little short of that of the whole of Greece proper at the present day. Their enemies were at a distance, and full time was given to prepare and concentrate their means of defence. In the case of the modern Greeks, all these favourable circumstances were reversed. In addition to the disadvantages already noticed, the wealthier classes were either merchants or servants of the Porte-a timid and time-serving race. Their warriors were brigands and outlaws, or raw unpractised peasantry; their mariners, fishermen or pirates. Commanders they had none, above the rank of a captain of bucaniers or of mountain banditti. Funds they could scarcely be said to possess at all. Their enemies were not only a race of approved valour and powerful resources, comparatively disciplined, experienced, and well equipped, but were cantoned in the heart of their country, and in possession of all its principal fortresses. In respect to numbers, the disproportion between the Christian population of Greece and the Turkish empire, may be considered virtually as great as that between the dominions of Xerxes and the states of the Hellenic confederacy. But besides this, during the two or three first years of the war, they had not only the force of their declared enemy to contend with, but the still more galling hostility of his European allies, many of whom, under the name of neutrality, used every means consistent with the shadow of its maintenance, to favour the Turks and browbeat the Greeks, Driven from their fields and homes, to make their abode for months or years "in deserts and in mountains, in dens and caves of the earth;" astonished and appalled to find themselves denounced as the common enemy of civilized Europe, in those very quarters to which they had most confidently looked for sympathy and support-under all these afflicting discouragements they never lost heart; and a few raw levies of squalid mountaineers or unwarlike fishermen, by the unaided resources of their own valour or conduct, successively overpowered the garrisons, dispersed the choicest armies, and baffled or discomfited the ponderous navies, of one of the mightiest empires of modern times.'-(Vol. i. p. 145-148.)

1842. List on the Principles of the German Customs- Union. 515

ART. VIII. Das Nationale System der Politische Oekonomie, von Dr FRIEDRICH LIST. (The National System of Political Economy, by Dr FREDERIC LIST.) 8vo. Volume I. Stuttgart and Tübingen: 1841.

BEA

EFORE we proceed to our examination of our author's pretended system, we must state the contents and the purpose of his volume, with the motives which induce us to notice it. We must preface the statement with an explanation of the causes in which this volume has originated; and, in order to this explanation, we must advert to the origin and the objects of the German Customs-Union.'

Before the continental system, established by Napoleon, closed the ports of Germany against English manufactured goods, Austria and Prussia, the principal German states, protected their own manufactures by prohibitory or restrictive tariffs. Each of the states of inferior importance, into which the rest of Germany was then divided, had its separate system of importduties as well as Austria or Prussia. The several tariffs of these numerous inferior states opposed the most mischievous obstacles to the internal commerce of Germany; but they permitted the importation of foreign manufactured goods, including those of England. It appears, moreover, from a statement made by our author, that the Prussian government had begun to perceive the mischiefs of its prohibitive and restrictive policy. In consequence of its growing tendency to a liberal commercial policy, it had considerably reduced its duties on foreign manufactured articles; and, in consequence of these reductions, its tariff no longer afforded to its own manufacturing subjects a complete protection against English competition.

From 1806 to the general peace in 1814, English manufactured goods were nearly excluded from Germany; the exclusion being caused by Napoleon's continental system, and by other obstacles to commerce which arose from the general war. In consequence of this exclusion, manufactures were created in parts of Germany which had not previously manufactured for themselves; and manufactures were extended in parts of the country in which a manufacturing industry had previously arisen. After the general peace in 1814, English manufactured goods were again imported into Germany-the Austrian states being the only parts of the country from which they were excluded by a prohibitory tariff. As the English manufacturing capitals

were larger than the German, and England was superior to Germany in the arts of manufacturing industry, this renewed importation was disastrous to the German manufacturers; and it threatened to destroy the unnatural manufacturing establishments which had been created by the war, and by Napoleon's continental system.

The manufacturing distress which generally affected Germany, in consequence of the renewed importation of English manufactured goods, fell with peculiar severity on the Rhenish provinces of Prussia. During the war, those provinces had been French departments; and, in consequence of their incorporation with that extensive country, the vast markets of France had been open to their manufactured products. Accordingly, on the transfer of the Rhenish provinces from France to Prussia, the manufacturing population of those provinces were visited with a double calamity. They were excluded from vast markets which had lately been open to their products; whilst the incompleteness of the protection afforded them by the Prussian tariff, exposed them to the crushing competition of the English manufacturers.

In consequence of the distress inflicted upon them by the renewed importation of English manufactured goods, the manufacturing subjects of the Prussian government were deeply discontented at its commercial policy; and they vehemently demanded a tariff of import duties, calculated to protect them completely against English competition. The Prussian government (if we may believe our author) was inclined to the principle of free international trade; but there were motives, arising from its position, which urged it to comply with the demand. In the first place, the Rhenish provinces at that time were dissatisfied with the transfer to Prussia; and the severe distress of their manufacturing population, sharpened their desire for a reunion with France. In the next place, laws had been recently passed by the English legislature for the protection of the landed interest. In consequence of these laws, Prussian corn and other raw products were excluded from the English markets; and, assuming that the Prussian government (agreeably to its secret inclination) had permitted the free importation of English manufactured goods, it is manifest that this exclusion (to the extent to which it operated) would ultimately have compelled its subjects to manufacture for themselves. It appears, therefore, that the English restrictions on the importation of raw products, weakened the inducement of the Prussian government to reject the demand for a more protective tariff. By rejecting the demand, it would have inflamed the existing discontent of its dis

tressed manufacturing subjects; and, owing to the tendency of those restrictions to force Prussia to manufacture for herself, it would not have secured to the body of its subjects the full advantages of free international trade.

Determined by the motives to which we have adverted, the Prussian government, in 1818, issued a new tariff of import duties; and this tariff (afterwards copied by the German CustomsUnion) amply protected the Prussian manufacturers against their English competitors.

But though it amply protected the Prussian manufactures, it increased the distress of the manufacturers in the inferior states of Germany. The new policy of the Prussian government excluded these manufacturers from the Prussian territories; as the prohibitory systems of the Austrian and French governments had previously excluded them from the Austrian and French dominions. The effect of these exclusions from the Prussian territories, and from the Austrian and French dominions, was aggravated by the obstacles to the internal commerce of Germany, which arose from the separate tariffs of the inferior German states; so that the manufacturers in each of those small communities were nearly confined to their narrow domestic market.

As

The distressed manufacturers in the inferior states of Germany, naturally turned their minds to the means of curing the evil; and, in 1819, a number of manufacturers and traders, subjects of those states, formed themselves into an association for devising and promoting a remedy. After various consultations, they de termined to direct their labours to the accomplishment of the following objects: the establishment of a tariff common to Germany, instead of the separate tariffs of the several German states; and the complete protection of the German manufacturers against English and other foreign competitors. this association consisted of 6000 members, and represented the manufacturing interests of a large portion of Germany, they had naturally much influence with the German public, and, through the German public, with the German governments. According to our author, Germany is indebted to them for the CustomsUnion; and, by their labours to diffuse their opinions, and to determine the governments to adopt their objects, they seem to have brought about the establishment of the Union, or to have contributed materially to that result. Be this as it may, their objects were ultimately accomplished. Three confederacies, tending to the promotion of those objects, were successively formed by various German states. Bavaria and Würtemburg were parties to the first; Prussia, with certain states contiguous to the Prussian dominions, were parties to the second; and certain states in

central Germany, were parties to the third. The three confederacies were subsequently united; and the German Customs-Union' is the confederacy which resulted from the fusion. Most of the German states are now members of this Union; the Austrian states, the Mecklenburgs, Holstein, Hanover, and the Hanse Towns, being, we believe, the only states still refusing to join it. The several states which are members of the Union have relinquished their separate tariffs ;—a tariff of import duties, common to all the states, has been established by their joint authority; revenue officers, empowered by the same authority, levy the duties which the tariff imposes; and the share of each state in the proceeds of the tariff, is proportioned to the amount of its population. These financial and commercial provisions have been followed by important effects on the internal commerce of Germany. Though the several countries which are members of the Union are sovereign and distinct states, they are nevertheless, for the purposes of the Union, one country with one frontier. Accordingly, few of the fiscal obstacles, naturally lying in the way of international trade, obstruct the mutual commerce of these independent communities.

Important effects on the foreign commerce of Germany have resulted from the duties imposed by the Union tariff on foreign manufactured goods. Generally speaking, these duties are proportioned to the weight, and not to the value of the article. Accordingly, they admit the importation of the finer and dearer commodities, which are exclusively consumed by the wealthier classes; and they prevent or impede the importation of the coarser and cheaper commodities, which are objects of general consumption. Considered as duties ad valorem, the duties imposed by the tariff on the coarser commodities vary from 20 to 60 per cent; so that commodities of this description, manufactured in England and other foreign countries, are nearly excluded by those duties from the states belonging to the Union. One principal object of the Union tariff is the protection and encouragement of German manufacturing industry; and in preventing the importation of the coarser, and permitting the importation of the finer commodities, the authors of the tariff adopted a measure well calculated to accomplish the purpose. As the manufacturing industry of Germany is comparatively rude, she has few or no aptitudes for producing the finer commodities; and the branches of manufacturing industry which are devoted to the production of articles generally consumed, are incomparably the most important.

It appears from the preceding statement, that the authors of the Union had two principal objects :-The removal of the ob