With this object in view it is impressed on.the notice of Prussiahow greatly her agriculture might gain by the reduction of theEnglish corn and timber duties， and how unimportant hermanufacturing interest is.With the same view， the prospect isoffered to Prussia of a reduction of the duties on brandy.And inorder that the other states may not go quite empty away a five percent reduction of the duties on N黵emberg wares， children's toys，eau de Cologne， and other trifles， is promised.That givessatisfaction to the small German states， and also does not costmuch.
The next attempt will be to convince the German governments， bymeans of this report， how advantageous to them it would be to letEngland spin cotton and linen yarns for them.It cannot be doubtedthat hitherto the policy adopted by the Union， first of all toencourage and protect the printing of cloths and then weaving， andto import the medium and finer yarns， has been the right one.Butfrom that it in nowise follows that it would continue to be theright one for all time.The tariff legislation must advance as thenational industry advances if it is rightly to fulfil its purpose.
We have already shown that the spinning factories， quite apart fromtheir importance in themselves， yet are the source of furtherincalculable benefits， inasmuch as they place us in directcommercial communication with the countries of warm climate， andhence that they exercise an incalculable influence on ournavigation and on our export of manufactures， and that they benefitour manufactories of machinery more than any other branch ofmanufacture.Inasmuch as it cannot be doubted that Germany cannotbe hindered either by want of water power and of capable workmen，or by lack of material capital or intelligence， from carrying onfor herself this great and fruitful industry， so we cannot see whywe should not gradually protect the spinning of yarns from onenumber to another， in such a way that in the course of five to tenyears we may be able to spin for ourselves the greater part of whatwe require.However highly one may estimate the advantages of theexport of grain and timber， they cannot nearly equal the benefitswhich must accrue to us from the spinning manufacture.Indeed， wehave no hesitation in expressing the belief that it could beincontestably proved， by a calculation of the consumption ofagricultural products and timber which would be created by thespinning industry， that from this branch of manufacture alone fargreater benefits must accrue to the German landowners than theforeign market will ever or can ever offer them.
Dr Bowring doubts that Hanover， Brunswick， the twoMecklenburgs， Oldenburg， and the Hanse Towns will join the Union，unless the latter is willing to make a radical reduction in itsimport duties.The latter proposal， however， cannot be seriouslyconsidered， because it would be immeasurably worse than the evilwhich by it， it is desired to remedy.
Our confidence in the prosperity of the future of Germany is，however， by no means so weak as that of the author of the report.
Just as the Revolution of July has proved beneficial to the GermanCommercial Union， so must the next great general convulsion make anend of all the minor hesitations by which these small states havehitherto been withheld from yielding to the greater requirements ofthe German nationality.Of what value the commercial unity has beento the nationality， and of what value it is to German governments，quite apart from mere material interests， has been recently for thefirst time very strongly demonstrated， when the desire to acquirethe Rhine frontier has been loudly expressed in France.
From day to day it is necessary that the governments andpeoples of Germany should be more convinced that national unity isthe rock on which the edifice of their welfare， their honour， theirpower， their present security and existence， and their futuregreatness， must be founded.Thus from day to day the apostasy ofthese small maritime states will appear more and more， not only tothe states in the Union， but to these small states themselves， inthe light of a national scandal which must be got rid of at anyprice.Also， if the matter is intelligently considered， thematerial advantages of joining the Union are much greater for thosestates themselves than the sacrifice which it requires.The morethat manufacturing industry， that the internal means of transport，the navigation， and the foreign trade of Germany， developthemselves， in that degree in which under a wise commercial policythey can and must be developed in accordance with the resources ofthe nation， so much the more will the desire become more vigorouson the part of those small states directly to participate in theseadvantages， and so much the more will they leave off the bad habitof looking to foreign countries for blessings and prosperity.
In reference to the Hanse Towns especially， the spirit ofimperial citizenship of the sovereign parish of Hamburg in no waydeters us from our hopes.In those cities， according to thetestimony of the author of the report himself， dwell a great numberof men who comprehend that Hamburg， Bremen， and Lubeck are and mustbe to the German nation that which London and Liverpool are to theEnglish， that which New York， Boston， and Philadelphia are to theAmericans -- men who clearly see that the Commercial Union canoffer advantages to their commerce with the world which far exceedthe disadvantages of subjection to the regulations of the Union，and that a prosperity without any guarantee for its continuance isfundamentally a delusion.