Note 323 — Chapter XXXVIII
Reading edition
"The system of commercial licenses was no doubt mischievous. Heaven forbid that I should have laid it down as a principle. It was the invention of the English; with me it was only a momentary resource. Even the continental system, in its extent and rigour, was by me regarded as a measure occasioned by the war and temporary circumstances."—Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iv., pp. 280, 283.