Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/579

* IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 505 IMPOSTORS. is economically a unit. Thus we read of the ini- jjorts and exports of medieval cities, and the in- lercolonial trade in America before the Itevolu- lion is classified in imports and exports. Since, however, almost all of our knowledi.'e of imports and exports is connected with the collection of duties from them, it has become customary to a[ii)ly the terms to goods carried into or away from regions which are units politically, in which no part levies discriminating duties against goods from another part. The trade between ilitTerent parts of Australia, which formerly fig- ured in statistics of imports and exports, has ceased to be so classed since the federation of the .ustralian colonies. A mere customs union of independent political units, however, would not change the character of the trade among its mem- bers. Tlie formation of extensive empires and federa- tions which has taken place in modern times would in itself have largely diminished imports and ex])orts. So also would the great diversifi- cation of indus'try which has marked the recent economic historj- of the chief modern States. -Agricultural countries are rapidly becoming man- ufacturing countries also, and lience have less reason to export raw produce and imjiort manu- factures. On tlie other hand, the great cheapen- ing of transportation and the development of a wider range of wants have had a tendency greatly to increase imports and exports. How greatly the latter set of forces have overbalanced the former may be seen by comparing the statistics of foreign trade of a hundred years ago with those of the present. See Commerce. Since the opening of the modern epoch there has existed a feeling that imports are injurious to a country, while exports are advantageous to it. Early statesmen believed that imports tended to drain a country of its bullion, while ex|)orts tended to restore that form of wealth. Hence the niunerous regulations of the mercantile period whicii aimed to discourage importation and en- courage exportation. The special character of English imports and exports of the time assisted in dev<'lo|iing this prejudice against imports. England largely exported wool and corn — com- modities of high utility — and imported chiefly line wares and articles of luxury, which were re- garded by statesmen as injurious. The ])hysio- cratie school of writers, on the other hand, argued that since exportation of useful articles encour- aged their production, it was to the advantage of a country (o import its luxuries and devote itself to prodviction of necessaries. But this point of view has never been widely adopted by practical statesmen. Prejudice against imports still exists ; but it is ehieily on the ground that importation tends to diminish the employment of labor and cajiital within a coimtry. Exports are regarded with favor as encouraging industry. Economists have shown that exports and imports have an irresisti- ble tendency to balance each other. -An excess of import.s, followed by a drain of specie, lowers prices in the importing nation, and so encourages exportation. On the other hand, development of export trade must sooner or later result in an inflow of specie, higher prices, and consequent importation. The advantages of foreign trade in its entirety should, therefore, be the subject of study, not the advantages and disadvantages of the correlative phenomena that compose it. In practical politics much stress is still laid upon the character of imports and exports. It is commonly regarded as highly desirable that a nation should export manufactures, and that its imports should as far as possible be raw niate- riah. Manufacturers draw less upon the natural resources of a country and more upon the indus- try of its pecjjile. It is obvious, however, that a. country with unique natural resources may at- tain a higher standard of well-being if it devotes its labor and capital to the ex|iloitation of those resources, instead of endeavoring to produce manufactures in which it would have no relative advantage over other countries. It has been said that there is a natural ten- dency for imports and exports to balance each other. This is true, however, only with quali- fications. The total value of imports of the world must naturally exceed that of exports, since the cost of carriage enhances the value of goods transported from one nation to another. A nation like England, which does a more than proportionate part of the world's carrying trade, can permanently import more than it exports; while the United Statej, since it carries only a small part of its imports and exports, must i)er- manently have a balance of exports. Again, a nation may invest the wealth gained by exporta- tion in foreign enterprises, and will therefore have no corresponding surplus of imports until the returns from such enterprises begin to come in. Thereafter it may receive a permanent sur- plus of imports. So England, having invested lieavily in other countries, normally shows a great excess of imports over exports, as does also Ifrance, while the countries which are heavily indebted to foreign capitalists export as a rule far more than they import. See Commerce; In- TERXATIOXAL TkADE ; BALANCE OF TRADE. IMPOST (Fr. iinposte, from Lat. impositus, p.p. of imponere, to place upon, from in, in 4- poiiere, to place, from po-, Gk. a-6, apo, away -4- sinere, to allow). The point where an arch rests en a wall cir column, or the part of the structure from which it springs. It is usually marked by horizontal moldings: but sometimes these are absent, especially in Gothic architecture, where dift'erent forms of impost are used. These have been classed as — first, the continuous impost, where the arch moldings are carried down the pier; second, the discontinuous impost, where the arch moldings abut and are stopped on the pier; third, the shafted impost, where the arch moldings spring from a capital, and are diflferent from those of the pier, the form used in liest CJothic; fourth, the l)anded impost, where the ]iier and arch have the same moldings, but the impost is marked by a band of horizontal mold- ings, as is frequently the ease in Italian-Gothic buildings. Two adjoining arches often spring from the same impost block. The member which receives this name was unknown before mediaeval architecture. IMPOSTORS, TnF, Three (Lat. Do Trihus Impostorihus). The name given to a work al- leged to deny all divine revelation, characteriz- ing the three great foinders of religions — Closes, Jesus, and Mohammed — as impostors. Though it is often mentioned since fhe tenth century, and attributed to heretics of various ages and various degrees of eminence, ro authentic copy is known to have ever been seen. A book bearing this title, and professedly published in 1598, was reprinted