Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/421

 ARTICLES OF EXPORTATION. 405 stitutes. Black pepper and ginger have taken their place ; but above all, perhaps, the pimento and Chili commodities, unknown to Europe before the dis- coveiy of America, and of the route by the Cape of Good Hope. Had the finer spices, articles for which we know there is an ingenerate taste in. almost every race of men, not been rendered, by the foolish arts of the monopoly, inaccessible, the coarser and less agreeable spiceries never would have been had recourse to, no more than men would, unless compelled by necessity, consume Port wine in preference to claret, or malt liquor and spirits in preference to the former. The cases are exactly parallel. The finer spices are now by necessi- ty confined to the rich few ; and, as articles of com- merce, or subjects of revenue, are, of course, of very little consequence. If any additional proof of this being the true explanation were required, it is af- forded in this striking and remarkable fact, that the greatest diminution of consumption has been in the most costly s])ices. The diminution in the con- sumption of cloves has only been 19 per cent. ; in nutmegs it has been 465, and in mace 83} per cent. In 1621, the consumption of mace to nut- meg was as 372 is to 100 ; in 1790, as 33? is to 100 ; in 1803, as 28} is to 100 ; and, from 1814 to 1818 inclusive, as Hit' is to 100. It may not be without its utility to offer, in this place, a few speculations on the best means of