Another  method  of  opening  up  new  trade  would  be  to  establish  a
commercial  depot  at  some  point  on  the  coast,  where  samples  of  goods
should  be  kept  for  inspection.
This  could  be  done  by  the  government  and  merchants  together,  the
government  furnishing  the  man  in  charge,  who  could  be  a  government
official,  and  who  might  give  bonds  for  the  faithful  and  honest  perform-
ance of  his  duty,  in  which  case  merchants  would  no  doubt  furnish  sam-
ples of  their  goods  free,  depending  on  future  orders  for  their  remunera-
tion. It  would,  in  other  words,  be  opening  an  exposition  where  all
merchants  and  travelers  as  they  pass  up  and  down  the  coast  inspect  free
of  charge  the  goods  and  give  their  orders ;  it  would  be  an  American
market  to  which  all  merchants,  North  and  South,  at  very  little  expense,
could  come  for  their  supplies  instead,  of  visiting  Now  York,  Boston,
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Chicago  for  their  goods ;  they  would  find
nearly  as  favorable  a  chance  to  select  goods  near  at  home,  and  the  gov-
ernment could  assist  in  an  enterprise  of  this  kind,  and  the  merchants
combined  would  do  the  balance.
