The Depression of Trade.

Evening Star, Issue 7161, 15 March 1887, Page 2

The Depression of Trade.

At length the Royal Commission on the Depression of Trade and Industry have issued their final report. All the members are agreed that the trade of the country ia in an unsatisfactory condition, but considerable - difference, of opinion exist among the signatories as to the causes of the commercial stagnation, and the kind of remedies which ought to be applied by the Imperial Parliament. Tracing the history of British prosperity and adversity from the year 1875, the Committee, basing their views on the evidence laid before them, declare that there has been an actual falling-off in the amount of business transacted, and in some cases an absence of profit, with j a corresponding diminution of emploment for the laboring classes. Happily, and as a set-off, they are able to say that neither the, volume of trade nor the amount of capital invested has largely decreased; consequently, the actual existing state of things might easily be worse. It would appear that, during the decade which formed the period of the Committe’s inquiry, certain branches of trade evinced signs of Intermittent prosperity, particularly from 1880 to 1883. That, however, was but a temporary improvement; agriculture having a downward tendency, not necessarily by leaps and bounds, but slowly, steadily, and persistently, to the loss and sorrow of the landowners and their tenants, the farming classrs. Among the more obvious causes of depression in manufactures, the Committee point to over-production, a continuous fall in prices, a depreciation in the standard of value, foreign tariffs and bounties, competition from without, and increase in local taxation, preferential railway rates, legislation affecting the employment of labor in Industrial undertakings, and the superior technical education of workmen in foreign countries. The more hopeful members of the Commission contend that the result of their investigation has been to dispel much of the misapprehension which they believe to prevail on the subject of our commercial position, while at the same time they are fully alive to the fact that in order to prevent matters from going from bad to worse we must exercise all those qualities of energy, perseverance, self-restraint, and readiness of resource which formerly placed us in the van of commercial progress. On the other hand, the less optimistic portion of the Committee protest that in estimating the condition of the country too much stress has been laid on the volume and value of our foreign trade, and not enough on the unprofitable conditions under which a large proportion of it is notoriously conducted. There are also appended to the main report the separate conclusions of a dissentient minority, who avew themselves advocates of the policy of what is called Fairtrade. These gentlemen lay the blame of the persistent over-production on foreign tariffs, and recommend the imposition of duties equal to 10 or 15 per cent, ad valorem upon all manufactures imported from foreign countries, the result of which they believe would be sufficient to countervail the bounty-creating effect of the protective tariffs, and punful economy of production gained by longer hours of labor and less effective inspection and regulations of its conditions. Thus it will be perceived that oar commercial specialists and doctors disagree. Some are for trusting to Freetrade, backed by intelligence, energy, and industry, whue others would revert to Protection.— ‘ Daily Telegraph.’ ,