1.  Were the nations of Europe as free and unembarrassed of established systems as we are, I do verily believe they would concur with us in the first plan.  But it is impossible.  These establishments are fixed upon them; they are interwoven with the body of their laws and the organization of their government, and they make a great part of their revenue; they cannot then get rid of them.

2.  The plan of equal imposts presents difficulties insurmountable.  For how are the equal imposts to be effected?  Is it by laying in the ports of A, an equal per cent, on the goods of B, with that which B has laid in his ports on the goods of A?  But how are we to find what is that per cent.?  For this is not the usual form of imposts.  They generally pay by the-ton, by the measure, by the weight, and not by the value.  Besides, if A sends a million’s worth of goods to B, and takes back but the half of that, and each pays the same per cent., it is evident that A pays the double of what he recovers in the same way from B:  this would be our case with Spain.  Shall we endeavor to effect equality, then, by saying A may levy so much on the sum of B’s importations into his ports, as B does on the sum of A’s importations into the ports of B.?  But how find out that sum?  Will either party lay open their custom-house books candidly to evince this sum?  Does either keep their books so exactly as to be able to do it?  This proposition was started in Congress when our instructions were formed, as you may remember, and the impossibility of executing it occasioned it to be disapproved.  Besides, who should have a right of deciding when the imposts were equal.  A would say to B, My imposts do not raise so much as yours; I raise them therefore.  B would then say, You have made them greater than mine, I will raise mine; and thus a kind of auction would be carried on between them, and a mutual irritation, which would end in any thing, sooner than equality and right.

3.  I confess then to you, that I see no alternative left but that which Congress adopted, of each party placing the other on the footing of the most favored nation.  If the nations of Europe, from their actual establishments, are not at liberty to say to America, that she shall trade in their ports duty free, they may say she may trade there paying no higher duties than the most favored nation; and this is valuable in many of these countries, where a very great difference is made between different nations.  There is no difficulty in the execution of this contract, because there is not a merchant who does not know, or may not know, the duty paid by every nation on every article.  This stipulation leaves each party at liberty to regulate their own commerce by general rules, while it secures the other from partial and oppressive discriminations.  The difficulty which arises in our case is with the nations having American territory.  Access to the West Indies is indispensably necessary to us.