THE UNITED KINGDOM

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 80, 28 December 1907, Page 12

THE UNITED KINGDOM

' MR, BALFOUR'S SPEECH. ' FOUR PRINCIPLES. ■ 'Spoaking at Birmingham'ori November 14, '.Mr. Balfour said:— "I do not think thero is a better text than ; : tho , resolution moved by Mr. Chaplin and passed by-enthusiastic, acclamation. To >tho ; V i programme- of fiscal reform—taken from a speech of heartily subscribe. . ; ■ "I am to assume what I will'subsequently provo, that tho broadening. of tho basis of R"':: ; : taxation is. absolutely, necessary for revenue . purposes, ovon if we had no colonies, and if thero wero no such thing in existence as com- , . mercial treaties, and no industrial phenqme- / ." ■ non, such as dumping. Surely four, principles ■: -may bo:laid down as practically incontrovortiblo::- : • ! -"l. Your duties shouldtbo widespread. "2. They should bo small. - .' ;' . :..-■ "3. Tlioy. should not touch raw material. ;:. );■".':;: . "4. Tlioy V should' ript . alter,, tho,. .proportion : , ■ ; ,? in • which tho. working . classes aro , asked to > contributo to tho,coat of government; ' , "Thoy should bp,small,-'becatiso:it' is small duties which do 'not intorforo with thp'natu- ... ral courso. of production or consumption j •v . thoy,should bo numerous, because, if you requiro rovonuo and your duties aid small, you must liavo many articles of consumption subi ject to thoso duties., The other two-require noiargumpnt; they havo been the'coinmon- !.■•.." places of tho 'Unionist Party. -'"In-imy judgment, vwhilo those four con- • ; -ditions should govern .any reform in'our fis i ..■■ V eal'system,- it would bo folly for/us'to go be-yond-that and to excludc,from any.Tedistribution,' or any alteration which, subject to ' thoso .'conditions, it' miyit' : be!'necessary to ~make'in our-fiscal system any articles of im- > : port whatever.- Let our general import sysi , v'., .tern bo subject to revision and consideration', byt I, ,for my .part, nover - have, 1 consented, vand'; never will . consent, either to' bind' my-,. - self or to suggest-to any friend of mine that' j■~ : ; r , he 1 should bind himself - to: exclude' - from this. :V redistributipn of this. alteratiqn, of taxation any article: of import whatever, provided— (cheers,: and a Voice: ? Yes, ,* that's it.') — • : , : first, that, it is raw• material, and secondly, that tho tax put upon. it is not a .tax i ■ would!, augment the :.proportion, paid ; by tho working man." . \ • GO FORWARD. < J "I do not ask you to go back. I ask-you :to go forward. (Cheers.): lam 'asking you ■ to abandon a system : which is antiquated, ; ;' which'was started when tho industrial world' was framed on wholly different lines. Tho ■ I whole-forces of industrial development aro ' tending towards. making it more and more - difficult for us to ; find that outlet for our . --''manufactured goods which is essontial to our national existence. ■ " "; ! : >• ,"Two generations ago our Foreign Office :. was not called upon to hy day with : , commercial rivals without having anything in , its .hand either to:givo or to withhold., The : : wholo colonial aspect is absolutely of .novel growth; born, indoed, within 15 years, and in no senso present to the minds either, of , economists "or' the legislation of Sir Robert. V;C-v'.;j-Peel.-:\-'-a;^ "Wheat is not now snbjetc to tho law of diminishing cost, and tho onormous strides which tho groirth of whoat in, Canada, • Ar- , . gontina . and ' olsewhore, the- enormous improvements in transport—however: unfortunate for tho farming plass; to which'l :, ■ —(laughter)—absolutely destroy tho whole basis'of econ'omio' argumont -familiar to, our forefathers. ■ "The last point js: When our present basis '■ "of ..taxation, was started it was easy ■ to' get : all the revenuo 'you required from .sources which aro now strained almost to breaking point. 1 Is it easy, now? , ■■ - . BROADER BASIS OF TAXATION. - . '"It.may;be ! said"that'the','present system ' of taxation at all events* is adequate for our noeds,. and that what tho country: wants it can get irom' tho present sources open to , the Chancellor of the Exchequer.; Is thorp -.'tho smallest pr(?spect .of it?,: The'present , Chancollor' : has preserited < two- Budgets, and r, nothing can be more' certain thari that; while wo are all.'desiroiis to; promoto national eco- ' i' .- nomy, it is quite impossible-that wp should ■ carry out our ; ordinary, duties • of; ■ national i and Imperial defence; and also pursue a policy of social reform: unless we havo somo possibility of increasing tho source; fr6m which ' public expenditure) must idtiniately oome. -.- ' ■ "Tha growth of Socialism is a' disquieting •' .phenomenon at the present.; Tho Chancellor • of ,tho Exchequer'is very naturally-nervous about being'confused, with these Socialists, who aro alienating' some of;his best supporters. I read a speech in v/hicli ho-cleared his character.; Mr. Asquith said:'.--'. -1 •. ." 'If they askdd'him at what point it was that Liberalism, and what was called Socialism in tho broad and strict sonso of the term parted company, hp would ansivor when li- - terty in its positive ;and not merely , in its negative sense was threatened.'";/';. \':l • : "When I return to Parliament next session : I shall look with tho greatest curiosity to sco whera .this fissuro occurs. ' (Laughter.) I ■ ghall pass my eyo from'the ainiablo' respectable capitalists 'and landowners ' who sit be- : hjnd the Treasury benchdown across tIK gangway, and then up the left hand side of the Speaker, and.l shall ask myself where tho precise division C occurs . betweon ; gentlemen who, threaten liberty oh its negativo sido and thoso who-' threaten;' liberty' on its positivo side. I should l like to havo tho Chancellor's vjows .upon,';whore' this .unhappy division' between 'Liberalism and Socialism, occurs.' "Stfcialism'has ono meaning and one meaning only.' Socialism means, and can mean . nothing elso than that ' the community, or the State, is to,'tako.all the means of production (into its own hands, .that •'.prn»te•,•. land private property arc to como to'end, and all that ;.,'private:,-enterprise and priyatp property carry with them. That is Socialism, '- and nothing else is Socialism, ' . ; SOCIAL REFORM. "Social.reform is when tho State—based upon private enterprise,; based upon private property—recognising that tho best productive result can only be obtained; by respecting privateproporty and-encouraging: privato enter-. . priso, asks them to ■ contribute towards groat _ national - social .and ; public objects. :That; is .social roform; .'There: is, and thei'6 ■ ought to be, no ambiguity between the two. "Now;.;! ,havo 'one observation to make : /. upon-the social aspect.- Socialism Iv believe to be absolutely ruinous, not- to,possessors of property principally or chiefly, but to tho wholo community, which', depends not upon: dividing the wealth of those who aro above the averago, but upon increasing the production of tho wholo community." (Cheers;)' '