The British Electors' Mandate.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20381, 30 October 1931, Page 10

The British Electors' Mandate.

It is of course perfectly easy to see why comment on the elections at Home leaps in many quarters to the assumption that a British tariff and (or) Imperial preference are now certain. The Manchester Guardian speaks of a House "protectionist to the core" and of its being a "tragedy" that Mr MacDonald and the Liberals have " done " the Conservatives' business" for them. The Prime Minister of Canada has immediately decided to invite the Governments of the Empire to confer at Ottawa, the obstacles to his plenty-for-me, what's-left-for-you proposals of last year being now swept away. American and French Press opinion takes the view that tariffs—for good or ill — are the next step; and the Leader of our own Upper House, Sir James Parr, "regards the result as an over- " whelming victory for tariffs," as the " farewell to free trade," as " the dawn "of a new era," and sugar and spice and all that's nice. But without being at all blind to the fact that there are four hundred and seventy Conservatives in the new House, together with a great many Liberals who are ready to consider an emergency tariff on its merits, it is not merely possible but necessary to recognise the truth of Mr Snowden's remark, that the electors have given Parliament " an unanswerable right to speak and act for the "nation, but not to pursue any Party " object." In other words, the electors' mandate to the Government is that it may freely investigate, make up its mind, and act. Even though the Conservatives' conviction and their huge majority within the Government and indeed over all possible opposition in the House point to a foregone conclusion, it is too soon to accept the indication as final. There are three reasons for this, at least. First, Mr Baldwin has affirmed his undiminished faith in tariffs; but lie has also undertaken obligations to his Liberal and Labour colleagues and must satisfy them. Second, although the European tariff truce negotiations broke down, they were immediately and informally revived. Several Governments asked the British Government to put specific proposals for reductions before them; several said that they were ready to reduce tariffs by mutual agreement. These conversations were interrupted by the financial crisis: they may now be resumed with greater rather than less hope of suceess. Third, if the conference between Mr Hoover and M. Laval leads to anything at all, economically, it will almost certainly lead as far as tariffs; and it will not be surprising if it leads to that point very rapidly. Great Britain may very well be at " the turn"ing point," a3 Sir James Parr says, jind the rest of the world at her elbow, waiting with her; but it ia not impossible that the turn will be, not to dam trade worse than ever, but to free it.