- The inherent evils of Government trading and Government monopoly
are well brought out by this attempt, for such it really is, to force men to use matches, rather than a patent contrivance, to light their cigarettes. The next step to protect the monopoly—supposing that people still persist in using the patent lighters rather than matches—would be to insist that every person must use, or at any rate buy, so many boxes of matches per year, and that any refusal to take the quota would be regarded as an attempt to defraud the public revenue. This sounds a mad suggestion, but, curiously, something very like it actually took place in France in the eighteenth century. Salt was a Government monopoly, and to get more money when they were in difficulties Ministers raised the price of salt. The people were desperately poor, and accordingly they had to meet the rise in prices by using less salt. "This will never do," said the Government. "The people are cheating the revenue. They must be made to use as much salt as before." Therefore it was enacted that every family must, whether they liked it or not, buy a minimum amount of salt each year. An Act insisting on the purchase of a minimum number of boxes of matches would not be more absurd.
Previous page
