As the excerpt is not provided I will quote the sentence from Thomas Paine's Common Sense. The sentence is as below:
That she hath engrossed us is true, and defended the continent at our expense as well as her own is admitted, and she would have defended Turkey from the same motive, viz., the sake of trade and dominion.
Here it is plainly said that despite the fact that England helped the settlements, it helped simply because mischief would make hurt England too. He indicates out Turkey for instance that they would likewise be helped if the assistance would help England.
