by four, diminishing by three steps, and rising two feet to the base of the die, which is a solid block three feet by two feet four, and five feet high-On the top are piled symmetrically, cavalry appointments, and on two of the sides, wreathes of laurel between Egyptian laychrymal vases; all of which are of solid brass bronzed. The height of the monument is twelve feet from the ground, and the effect of the whole is chaste, and imposing-It has the merit of being entirely American in design, materials, and execution.

ART. VII.-On Imposts. Tranlated from the late work of Count Chaptal on 'the National Industry of France.'

A GOOD system of Impost-duties, is, perhaps, of all problems which arise in the administration of government, the most difficult to resolve: the great object is, to reconcile opposing interests; and, as this is impossible, every law which is proposed, must in some degree hazard the interests of one class, for the good of another, and the legislator is always placed between approbation and censure.

The agriculturist wishes him to prohibit, or lay duties upon the importation of all those articles which the French soil can furnish, either for manufacture, or for the consumption of man; the manufacturer insists that those raw-materials should be free of duty, which, concurrently with others of domestic origin, nourish his industry, and that all foreign manufactures should be excluded; the merchant, whose interest differs from all, desires that he should permit the import and export, without restriction or duty, of every article of commerce; the consumer, whose only object is to subsist at the cheapest rate, would prefer that he should restrict the exportion of every production of the soil, and of industry, and that he should freely admit similar productions from abroad; government, which calculates the proceeds of import duties among the number of its resources, must legislate in

such a way as not to deprive the treasury of a needed supply.

It is between such conflicting interests that the financier must open his way; but, as it is impossible to reconcile all, he must find some other basis upon which to establish his decisions.

After what has just been observed, the partisans of unlimited non-restriction would not fail to conclude, that all impost duties must be suppressed: I am very far from being of this opinion; to refute it, we have only to look at the consequences of such a suppression.

If the impost duties were abolished, we should soon see those numerous establishments, where, now, iron can be manufactured to the amount of more than forty millions, fall to the ground, as these manufactures can hardly compete with those of the north of Europe, notwithstanding the enormous duties paid by the latter: we should see those beautiful workshops for thread, for weaving and printing cotton, shut up, which, established in our day, have not yet acquired sufficient strength, nor can they command sufficient capital to contend with those of other countries: we should see those precious manufactories of hard-ware disappear, which could not have been formed but under the guarantee of duties and prohibitions to check the imports from abroad, and we should reduce to misery, millions of active and industrious inhabitants, whose very existence depends upon those employments, at the same time that we should annihilate a prodigious capital vested in machinery and buildings; which would cease to be productive upon the cessation of these works of industry.

I shall doubtless be answered, that this part of our industrious population would be restored to agriculture; but can there be instanced a single spot on the surface of France, where hands are wanted for field labours?

Do we not see that many provinces are over-peopled, and that a large excess of inhabitants is yearly furnished for the

population of other countries? Agriculture is an employment, which, like all others, has its apprenticeship, requires experience, in which bodily strength is necessary, and other circumstances which could hardly be hoped for in labourers grown old in the manufactories. That portion of population which is compelled to subsist by labour, is naturally divided between the country, and the workshops of the town, in proportion to their respective wants; to change this order, is to destroy the equilibrium, and cause a fluctuation which would produce misery in the extreme.

It may be observed, also, that the consumer, which is the whole nation, will find an advantage, from the free introduction of those products of industry, which foreigners can furnish us at the lowest price: but I would ask, how should we pay foreigners for the ten hundred millions (plus d'un milliard,) of these products, which are now supplied by our own manufactories? Should it be with the productions of our soil? But the measure of foreign consumption has long since been determined, and this does not go an hundred millions beyond our own wants. It is said, that this will be augmented; I do not think so; but if it should be augmented, the amount now reserved for home consumption would still be of more value; then the consumer would lose that which he hoped to gain, and the nation would sacrifice the advantages of manual labour, by no means inconsiderable in the products of industry, in which, a greater part of the produce of the soil is employed. Should we pay the excess of our imports in specie? Where are our mines, especially, since by the insurrection in South America we are deprived of fifty millions which we drew from Spain, annually, by our commerce? Should it be by the fine cloths and silks of Lyons, the principal works of industry that we could export to advantage? If the foreign market for these articles should be doubled, which is not probable, we should not export to the value of one hundred and fifty millions. France, then, could not