The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. MONDAY, MAT 11, 1396.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 109, 11 May 1896, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

MONDAY, MAT 11, 1396.

For ths Mass that lse-s ftssistattc. . or'the .runs Vlifit . «eds ?e_st__cs, Fer-lie fataro i_ the _3ta.cu, Aad the good that ttb can ao.

Mr Secretary Chamberlain is nothing if not business-like. The " bonds of patriotic sentiment which link the colonies to the Mother Country "are, no doubt, strong and real, but they would, in the right honourable gentleman's opinion, be infinitely stronger, infinitely more realj and certainly more likely to last, if cemented by fiscal union. That this desideratum was within the bounds of practical politics, formed the text of a brilliant speech by the Colonial Secretary at the Canada Club six weeks ago. " He," according to the " Times," "departed upon a point of vital importance from the traditional commonplaces of Imperial officialism, and struck boldly the keynoie ol freetrade within the Empire." One would have expected Printing House Square to be horrified at the mere suggestion of differential duties, but ou the contrary the editor cautiously approves Mr Chamberlain's proposals. Not so the " Daily News," which states that they will be " strenuously resisted by every free trader in the United Kingdom." "We do not agree with Mr Chamberlain " (the editor goes on) "in thinking that even to please our colonial fellow-subjects we should reverse the tried and proved policy of half a century. But to reverse it against the colonies, in spite of colonial protests, and for no useful purpose, is a wild and fatuous escapade which cannot be too strongly condemned."

Mr Chamberlain's speech makes it perfectly clear that in return for a differential tax upon foreign products England would expect absolute freetrade with her colonies. Dealing with this aspect of the question he said :

A true Zollverein for the Empire—free trade established throughout the Empire— although ib would involve the imposition of duties againsb foreign countries, and would bo a derogation of Free Trade, and the practice of the colonies, still would be a proper subject for discussion, and mighb probably lead to a satisfactory arrangement, if tho colonies on their parb were willing bo consider it. It has been assumed in Lord Papon's despatch, and in mauy other documents, that the colonies musb necessarily refuse to consider a proposal of this kind, because itwouldjnberfere with the interests of bheir revenue, and that they could nob enter upon such, an agreement as this without providing ways aud means which are ab presenb altogether unpopular in many of our colonies. lam not ignorant of tbe truth of thab statement, and t want especially to point oub that the advantages of such a proposal ore so enormous to 'the colonies thab they would undoubtedly lead to tho earliest possible development of their greab natural resources—would open to the enormous markets of the United Kingdom their food, thoir timber, their sugar. The advantages are so enormous that it appears to me thab the colonists 'themselves would be bound to givo to any such suggestion a careful consideration. ; . . Tha principle which I claim musb be accepted is thab na between the different partß of the Empire Protection shall disappear. The duties should bo revenue duties, and not protective duties in the sense ot protecting ono part of tho Empire againsb the industries of another. It seems to me thab if thab principle were adopted there would be at least a reason for calling a Council of tho Empire.

Before the agreement which, in Mr Chamberlain's opinion, must precede the convocation of a general council, can take place, difficulties which we believe to be practically insuperable must be overcome. 1 No one knows this better than the shrewd Colonial Secretary ; he is tolerably safe, therefore, in making as much capital as he can out ol an Imperialist boom. There is, first of all, the enormous difficulty of providing for the loss of revenue that would result from the free importation of English, goods into colonies which collect a large proportion of their taxation through the Customs. But even if that were overcome by the acceptance of an enlarged scheme of direct taxation, there would still be the thousands who are engaged in existing manufactures to reckon.with, and if we measure the storm of dissent that might be anticipated by the agitation which followed the minor changes in the tariff of last session, it would require a very great revulsion of public opinion in this colony before such a pro position could receive parliamentary endorsement.

If England were prepared to make the duty in favour of colonial products substantial, the bid would no doubt be a very big one, and its acceptance would give an extraordinary impetus to agricultural production in all the colonies, but we doubt whether English opinion would stand such a departure from established free trade principles as would be of much service to us. The "Times," which among the great English papers speaks most cordially in favour of Mr Chamberlain's scheme, says :—" A very moderate advantage given to our colonial fellow-subjects would have scarcely a perceptible influence on the great bulk of our foreign trade. At the same time

it would be a substantial guarantee to the colonists of a position in the Home market, trie importance of which is likely to increase from year to year." But already British ports are absolutely free for the admission of all our products, and large concessions would have to be made to compensate us for such a complete disorganisation of our fiscal system as is contemplated under these proposals.

It is instructive to observe what views are entertained in AngloColonial circles with reference to Mr ChamDeilain's scheme. Our Lon-

don correspondent informs us that the "Chronicle" has been sounding colonial opinion on the subject through the Agents-General, and has found that it has made " a notable mark." Mr Chamberlain's speech is recognised as a more definite pronouncement on the- commercial union of the Empire than we have ever had before from a head of the Colonial Office. "Nay, more," the writer goes on, "ie was put down by one of the authorities I saw, as giving the whole subject a distinct foundation from which some sort of action ' could hardly fail to spring." The same observer opined that Mr Chamberlain had grasped his subject boldly and had made "concrete suggestions," had in fact provided materials out of which a bargain oouid be struck between the mother country and the colonies. He recognised. that when two parties come to strike a bargain both will at first ask more than they willbe content to accept in the end. The great thing is to make a beginning. In addition to holding that the Colonial Secretary has "put on the table materials out of which it may be possible to build," the same authority thought that we ought to add a personal consideration which can hardly fail to have some weight with the colonies. It is that we have now—have for the first time— a Colonial Minister who is also a business man. That means a chance for organising a Zollverein which once let slip may not readily occur again.

Another Agent-General thought Australian federation would be necessary before the scheme mapped out by Mr Chamberlain could be successfully dealt with. His words were: "Australian federation would give one set of conditions alone to be met by tbe mother country in reference to Australia. At present you would have to meet a separate set of conditions for each ol the four Australian colonies,. Now I believe Australian federation must come, and come before very long, and Mr Chamberlain's speech may even give an impetus to that."

Altogether, the "Chronicle" man gathered that there are two main aud outstanding questions in the scheme for a Zollverein, as that scheme is contemplated from the colonial standpoint. The responsibility of one would rest on the mother country, the responsibility of the other on the colonies. The first is this — that treaties at present exist between England and Germany and England and Belgium, under which imports from these two countries practically have access to the colonial markets on the samefootingas English goods. "Solong as the objectionable clauses of those treaties exist (said one Agent-General) there can be no Zollverein of the Empire-' We should be dealing with Germany and with Belgium as if they were integral parts of the Empire-—giving them the same advantages-' Therefore let the Imperial Government take those treaties in band and abolish or modify them, as may be necessary, and then the colonies will have an earnest that something absolute is to be done towards a Zollverein of the Empire:"

The second question is this—that Mr Chamberlain's plan would revolutionise the system of import duties under which the colonies now get most of their revenue. A commercial union with the mother country would destroy or largely interfere with this source of revenue. The problem is, therefore, whether they would be willing to face a revolution in their fiscal system, and the most direct answer the interviewer could get on that was, "Well, I hope we may all be educated up to the changes which a real customs federation would involve."