Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/269

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He was of opinion that the mode in which it proposed to deal with the coasting trade would be found ineffectual. Before we could expect to get the advantage of the American coasting trade we must throw our own unreservedly open to that country. Any chance we could have of getting from America a share of her coasting trade must depend upon our offering her our entire coasting trade, leaving her perfectly free to accept it or not, under the regulations now affecting British ships engaged in it. But we must not expect of America that she would fetter herself towards other countries by those particular regulations which it was proposed to lay down, and which do not give up the whole coasting trade, but only portions of it; to any such regulations we could not expect that America would agree. "If we proceed by unconditional legislation, and offer up our colonial trade instead of giving up our coasting trade, I believe she will get our colonial trade, and may then be ready to give up some comparatively insignificant advantages in return; but America is not a lover of Free-trade in the abstract. The Protectionist principle is very strong in America," he continued, "although it is not so strong with reference to shipping as to manufactures." For these and other reasons Mr. Gladstone insisted on the expediency of throwing open