"A SCIENTIFIC TARIFF"

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 23, 27 July 1927, Page 10

"A SCIENTIFIC TARIFF"

"Each item must be considered nn its merits. It is a scientific tariff which we must consider." In these words addressed to the Partners' tTjiion Conference yesterday the Prime Minister summed up what wo may accept as the Government's tariff policy. It is not Free Trade and it is not Protection, and Mr. Coates expressed clearly his

own doubts whether any such clear-cut policy as either Free Trade or Protection could be maue good. In a

measure his» words were a warning to those of his hearers who might feel disposed to rush in with ready-made policies denouncing Protection as a burden on the farmers. Protection, may, of course, be a burden upon the farmers, but whether it is a burden or a help depends entirely upon the method of application. If Protection is applied so as to shelter small industries which can never pay their way it will be a burden; but if it is a means of promoting the establishment-of ctasirable secondary industries, especially those using the raw materials at hand, it will be a help. The difficulty which faces the Government is to devise a scientific method of application. Help can be given in this task by such bodies as the Farmers' Union if they will concentrate on facts, and endeavour to present these for the guidance of the Government.