—Well, give me ten francs for the Treasury, and I will remove the restriction, and you will gain ten francs.
—Oh, I begin to see. The treasury account shows that it loses five francs on postage and five on salt, and gains ten on cloth. That is even.
—Your account is—you gain five francs on salt, five on postage, and ten on cloth.
—Total, twenty francs. This is satisfactory enough. But what becomes of the poor cloth manufacturer?
—Oh, I have thought of him. I have secured compensation for him by means of the tax reductions which are so profitable to the Treasury. What I have done for you as regards cloth, I do for him in regard to wool, coal, machinery, etc., so that he can lower his price without loss.
—But are you sure that will be an equivalent?
—The balance will be in his favor. The twenty francs that you gain on the cloth will be multiplied by those which I will save for you on grain, meat, fuel, etc. This will amount to a large sum, and each one of your 35,000,000 fellow-citizens will save the same way. There will be enough to consume the cloths of both Belgium and France. The nation will be better clothed; that is all.
—I will think on this, for it is somewhat confused in my head.
—After all, as far as clothes go, the main thing is to be clothed. Your limbs are your own, and not the manufacturer's. To shield them from cold is your business and not his. If the law takes sides for him against you, the law is unjust, and you allowed me to reason on the hypothesis that what is unjust is hurtful.
—Perhaps I admitted too much; but go on and explain your financial plan.