THE FISCAL OUTLOOK IN GREAT BRITA IN.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 9779, 12 January 1901, Page 4

THE FISCAL OUTLOOK IN GREAT BRITA IN.

(The Bpeotator.) It is quite clear that one of the ohief occupations of the coming Parliament must bo finance, Not only has the war cost a great deal more than was expeoted, bat it is evident that tbere matt be an In-

crease in our military and naval expenditure, We do not grudge, and do not believe that the nation will grudga, miking the necessary saorifioeß, but it is idle to ask if the question of finance were not one which must be faced and in a very serious spltiti

When, then, oar ralera oome to review the fiaoal situation, and to provide for the future at well as the past, it is greatly to bo hoped, in the interests of the Umpire, that they will do nothing to imperil the sanity and good sense of our existing sysi tem, but will provide for its development on sound lines, and eo lay well and truly the financial corner-stone. We shall be told that of course they will do so, and that there is nol the elightoßt fear of any other plan being adopted; bat, la spite of that,

we hold that there la need of caution, Remember that the temptation to the Cabinet to depart a little from the old old principles moßt be very great. An inoreaaed annual revenue will be required, and yet it will b 0 ' by no means eaßy to heighten the existing , tixjs, That being zo the Government will, unlesfl we are mistaken, have pressed ufon them many new and ingenious fiioul exparlmenta, Chief among them is likely to be aomi propotal for an Imperial Zollverin. Id will be plausibly argued that it would be an excellent] thing both to cement the Empire and to provide for the ooat of Imperialism by inaugurating a system under whioh there could ba free trade within the Empire, bat a small tax on one or two prime commodities to bo paid, however, >ly when the commodities wsre produced outside the Em. pile, For example, wheat and .sugar produced within the Empire should still be free but foreign whsafc and foreign sugar would pay a tax, which, we shall be told, would, though in small amount, give us several millions a year, Against all suoh Bpeclous pleaß tne Government must stand firm, for in such on abandonment of tha principle of {he free and open market would lurk the B eeds of destruction, noli merely for our fiaoal system, but also for the Empire, Tho Empire rests upon free trade and the policy of the open door, and tho moment tha' polioy is abandoned and an attempt Is mado to act in the monopolist ipirlt, whioh pre# vailed in tho Spanish and Dutoh Empires, at that moment our Empire will begin to deoline. Proteotion would breed oountlees I qaarrela and jealousies at Home and among tho colonies in their relation! to eaoh other and the mother country, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand would eaoh fancy that the other was preferred In our Imperial tarifl, and would demand redresa, while the traders at Home wonld be equally certain that the colonies were not playing M, As it is, our ports are open to all, and no part of tho Empire can plead favouritism, while lands outside the Empire, though they profias to hate üb, know and appreolate tho faot that commercial equality, and a free opportunity to all follow the Britiah fla^i

But, though we cannot help feeling that an effort will lie made to manipulate the fiscal dflfelopmonts required by the war in a protectionist direotion, we do nof" believe that the Cabinet will yield. At any rate Ihe present Chanoellor of the Exohequer is quita sound on the matter. Nothing oould have been better than the way In whioh he protested in his reosnt epeeoh, at liverpool against a so-called commercial anion with the oolonies. He did not, he deolared, believe In the Idea of preferential duties to favour theioolonies as comparedjwith foreign countries oh the imports of tho United Kliigdom, Any acoh duties would be dangerous in utmost d«gree to foreign trade whioh was essential lo'the properity of tho country,

(There ate 4,000,000 gUIs, under the age ol 9, wivw U) India,