interest will prevent his allowing this to take place to any great extent.

But if provisions are scarce, or even likely to be scarce, "high prices" are, in the end, frequently an advantage to the nation. They cause less corn to be used, and less to be wasted; and although this creates present inconvenience and hardship, it leaves more for a future day, and makes the same quantity last a longer time. High prices force a whole people to do what a prudent man would do of himself. He would say: "I have a certain stock of things for the year. This year I am less likely to get fresh supplies. Therefore I must be more sparing of what I have."

CHAPTER VII.

TAXES.

WE read in the history of the Jews, that when they returned from the Captivity at Babylon and began to rebuild the walls of their city Jerusalem, they were so beset by enemies as to be forced to be constantly armed and on their guard; and for fear of a sudden attack, each man worked with one hand only, and with the other hand held a weapon ready for use. Thus it took at least two men to do the work of one, but danger obliged them to put up with this inconvenience.

Many Eastern countries are at this day in a similar condition. They are so infested by robbers, principally Arabs, always roaming about in search of plunder, that no man can hope to escape being robbed unless he is well armed and on his guard. Travellers tell us, that when a husbandman goes to sow his fields, he takes with him a companion with a sword or spear to protect him from being robbed of his seed-corn. This must make the cultivation of the ground very costly, because the work which might be done by one man requires

two-one to labour, and the other to fight: and both must have a share of the crop, which would otherwise belong to one. And, after all, the protection of property must be very imperfect, for as you may suppose, the robbers often come in such force as to overpower the defenders, and plunder the industrious of all the fruits of their labours. Accordingly, in these countries, there is very little land cultivated. Most of it lies waste; the inhabitants are few-not one-twentieth of what the land could maintain-and these are miserably poor. And all this is owing to the insecurity of property.

And the same drawbacks to prosperity exist in all countries where the people are savage, or nearly so. Most of the time and labour and care of a savage is occupied in taking measures for his defence. He is occupied in providing arms, for his protection against those whom he is able to fight, or in seeking hidingplaces from those who are too strong for him. The islands of New Zealand, before Christianity and civilization were introduced, furnished a striking specimen of Savage life. Several families were obliged to join together, and build their little cabins on the top of a steep rock, which they fenced round with a trench and sharp stakes, to protect them against their neighbours of the next village; and after all, they were often taken by surprise or overpowered. In such countries, there are a hundred times as many people killed every year in proportion to their numbers, as in any part of Europe. It is true that there is not so much property lost, because there is less to lose, for people must be always exceedingly poor in such countries. In the first place, more than half their time and labour is taken up in providing for their personal safety; and in the next place, they can never be secure of enjoying the fruits of their industry.

The remedy for this miserable state of things is to be found in a settled form of government. The office of a

government is to afford protection—that is, to secure the persons and property of the people from violence and fraud. For this purpose it provides ships of war, and bodies of soldiers, to guard against foreign enemies, pirates, bands of robbers, or rebels; it also provides watchmen, constables, and other officers, to apprehend criminals; it appoints judges and courts of justice, for trials, and builds prisons for confining offenders; in short, it is responsible for everything that is necessary for the peace and security of the people.

The expenses of the army and navy, and of everything that government provides, must be paid by the people; it is but fair that they should pay for all these things which are for the public benefit. Taxes and government duties are paid for these purposes; they are the price people pay for being governed and protected. They correspond to the hire which the husbandman in an Eastern country must pay to his companion who carries the spear or sword to guard him from robbers.

Some people do not understand this, or will not acknowledge it. Many are apt to think taxes either unjust or unnecessary, and fancy that they receive nothing in exchange for them, though, in reality, this payment is as much an exchange as any other. They pay money to the baker and butcher for food, and to the tailor for clothes; and they pay the Government for protection from robbers, murderers, and cheats.

Were it not for this, men could be employed scarcely half their time in providing food and clothing; the other half would be taken up in guarding against being robbed of them, or in working for other men, who must be hired to keep watch and to fight for them. This would cost each man much more than he pays taxes; and yet, as you may see by the state of things among savage nations, that protection would be very imperfect. The very worst government that ever existed would be both much better and much cheaper than

in

no government at all. Some of the Roman emperors were most detestable tyrants, who plundered and murdered great numbers of innocent men: yet even under their reigns there were not so many of their subjects (in proportion to their numbers) plundered or murdered in ten years, as there are among the New Zealanders and other savage tribes in one year.

You can understand, now, that taxes are the hire or price paid to government in exchange for protection, just as any other payment is made in exchange for anything we want.

There is, however, one important difference. With respect to other payments, a man may please himself as to what he will buy, or what he will not buy; but every one is compelled to receive protection, and therefore to pay taxes. If I do not choose to buy shoes of a shoemaker, but to make shoes for myself at home, or to go without them, I am at liberty to do so.

But if any one should say, "I choose to protect my own person and property myself, without any assistance from soldiers or sailors, or constables or judges, and therefore I will not pay taxes"-the answer will be: "Then go and live by yourself in the wilds of America, or in some such country; or join some tribe of wild Indians, and live as they do: but, while you live with us, in a country which has a government, you cannot, even if you wish it, avoid partaking of the protection of government. The fleets and armies, which keep off foreign enemies from plundering the country, are a defence to you, as well as to us; you are protected, as well as we, by the laws and officers of justice, from the thieves and murderers who would otherwise be let loose on society. Since, therefore, the government must, whether it will or not, afford you a share of its protection, it is fair that you should be obliged, whether you will or not, to pay your share of its expenses. If you happen to be so foolish as not to like this bargain, you

must leave the country, and go and live somewhere else in the wilderness."

It is quite fair, then, that as long as a man lives in any country, he should be obliged to submit to the government, and to pay the taxes; and how much each shail pay is determined by the government. There is one great difference between this exchange and all others when you hire a man to work for you, you make your own bargain with him; and if you and he cannot agree as to the rate of payment, you will employ some one else instead. But the government of any country-whether its head be a king or a president, a senate or parliament, or whatever kind of government it may be--must always have power to make every man submit, since otherwise it could not perform the office of protecting him. It is not left to each person's choice, therefore, how much he will pay for his protection; but government fixes the taxes, and enforces the payment of them.

It is right to require that the public money should not be wastefully spent, and that we should not be called on to pay more than is necessary. Of all the commodities for which we pay, there is none so cheap, compared with what it would cost us to provide ourselves with it, as the protection which is afforded us by government. If we all made clothes and shoes for ourselves, instead of buying them of the tailor and shoemaker, our clothes and shoes would certainly not be so good as they are, and would as certainly cost us much more. But we should be far worse off if each of us had to provide by himself for the defence of his own person and property. Such protection as he would be thus able to obtain would cost a great deal, and be worth very little.

A large part, however, of the payment in the form of taxes goes to the expenses, not of the present year, but of past years—that is, to pay the interest on the