ader and patriot. As buyers
and sellers, however, mankind is, on the whole, singularly free from
international prejudices. It was thought at one time that importation of
foreign goods into England would be considerably checked by insisting
upon marks of origin, that is to say, that imported goods should be
stamped as such. This expectation, however, seems to have been entirely
disappointed, since most buyers were not concerned with the question of
the country whence the commodity that they bought came, and only
considered whether it suited their purses and was what they wanted.
Sometimes there is actually a prejudice in favour of foreign goods, and,
curiously enough, this is found to be so even in countries in which a
protective policy has been very highly developed. It is, or was a few
years ago, common to see in American newspapers, flaming advertisements
heralding sales of imported goods, which were definitely stated to be
such obviously because the sellers thought that they were likely to be
able to sell them better because they were stated to be so. It is also a
proud boast of English manufacturers that in many countries on the
Continent it is common, or was until quite lately, for native
manufacturers to sell their goods more easily in their home markets by
describing them as English. Political and national prejudice seems to be
overruled by the common human desire for something new and strange, and
consequently, in spite of all friction that has arisen from
international trade, and of the number of wars which have had their
origin in commercial questions, there is good reason for the assertion
that on the whole commerce has been a mighty promoter of intercourse
among the nations and of the unity of mankind. If it had not been for
commerce, the cheapening and quickening of communication could never
have been carried out. The trader goes first, and after him the
traveller and the tourist.

This claim can be made with perhaps even more certainty when we proceed
to the realm of finance. If commerce is international and unifying,
finance is perhaps even more so. Finance, of course, arises out of
commerce and is an essential part of its machinery. By finance we mean
the machinery of money--money-dealing and money-lending. Money becomes
necessary as soon as the exchange of commodities, which is the meaning
of trade, becomes fairly developed. At first, primitive peoples
exchanged their commodities one for another, but a