A Fair Retort — 508
Mr. Cobden, in one of his speeches, said that he once asked an enthusiastic American lady why her country could not rest satisfied with the immense unoccupied territories it already possesses, but must ever be lusting after the lands of its neighbours. Her somewhat remarkable reply was, “Oh! the propensity is a very bad one, I admit; but we came honestly by it, for we inherited it from you.”