TORY SENTIMENTS 
597 
for the immediate product of our own industry, or for AD lo 
whatever is purchased with that produce.” From his stand- ’ 
point it was possible to regard international trade, not 
merely as the fruitful cause of disputes, but as creating 
economic ties which may tend to political peace. 
Many years were to elapse before these new principles u soi 
could exert their full influence on our commercial policy, current 
but their immediate effect was most remarkable. This was aa 
partly due to the extraordinary simplicity and clearness of “*¥ 
his treatment as well as to the excellence of the style. But 
this simplicity was secured by the definiteness of his new 
conception as to the object of political economy. It had 
to do with the necessaries and conveniences of life, material 
commodities, definite concrete things. There was much 
clever compilation in the book, but it made no demand 
for additional statistics, nor was much stress laid on that 
impalpable abstraction, the spirit of the nation; and the 
“disagreeable discussion of metaphysical arguments” was 
avowedly abjured?. It was all to be plain sailing for the 
man of ordinary intelligence; and within a few months of 
its publication, the book had become a considerable power. 
National prosperity and relative superiority were vague and 
difficult notions, but when the whole discussion was made to 
turn on wealth, the treatment seemed to be more concrete 
and definite, and it took hold upon the public mind. 
Perhaps, however, the most important element in its success 
lay, not in any of the qualities of the book, but from the 
manner in which it appealed to each of the great political 
parties, at a juncture when Mercantilism was discredited and 
statesmen were at a loss as to the course which should be 
pursued on pressing economic questions. Adam Smith not that com- 
only brought into light the underlying principles of Whig Thself both 
Policy, by his new treatment of wealth, but by his analysis 17.92 
of exchange supplied a satisfactory basis for the maxims of 
trade which had long before commended themselves to the 
Tories. 
241. There has been occasion to enter at some length Toy pu: 
into the views of Whig statesmen during the long period treated 
2 Ih 849. 
\ Wealth of Nations (ed. Nicholson), 201,