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theses non fingo; so constantly did he appeal to facts and experience. At this time of day also, the protectionist and free trader, unless they wish to engage in a barren exchange of truisms, must be content to follow his example. And, perhaps, at the present juncture the reference of the case to a strong Royal Commission would be the most effective way of making the appeal to experience.

In taking as the basis of the present survey the ideas of Adam Smith, there is no intention of any appeal to authority; to search his scripture for texts which shall solve modern problems would be to miss entirely the spirit of his method. Accordingly, throughout, an endeavour has been made not only to illustrate by modern instances, but to express his ideas in modern equivalents.

In spite of the changes in the means and conditions of war, the military writer still appeals to the ideas and methods of the great soldiers and admirals of the past; and in this sense and in this sense only, an appeal is made to the authority of the greatest of all economists.

Incidentally, however, it seemed desirable to show the way in which Adam Smith himself applied his ideas to the similar problems of his own day, and although that was not the primary intention the present work may be considered on one side as a critical study of the Wealth of Nations; whilst on the other it deals with present problems.

In the final chapter I have given my own opinions on the ultimate aims of imperial union and on the methods by which the ideal may be approached. These opinions are in some respects different from those expressed in the chapter on Colonies and Dependencies in my Principles of Political Economy.1 The difference is in the main one of emphasis, and the change in emphasis is due to the change in conditions. Now that imperial organisation for defence has become a necessity, imperial union for other purposes may be an advantage.

J. S. N.

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH,

December 1909.

Note.

The references in the notes without special title are to the Wealth of Nations.

1 Vol. iii. Bk. v. chap. xix., first published in 1901. In an introductory essay prefixed to an edition of the Wealth of Nations published in 1884 (Nelson), I called attention to the importance of Adam Smith's ideas on the employment of labour and on imperialism. See also my Essay on Tariffs and International Commerce in the volume on Britannic Confederation (1892).

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