PREFERENTIAL TRADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12409, 23 October 1903, Page 7

PREFERENTIAL TRADE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—lt is very gratifying to see the progress being made by the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain in'his preferential trade campaign. There is one aspect of the free trade discussion in England that does not appear to be fully explained by free-traders, and that is the" immense difference between the imports and exports of the United Kingdom. Free-traders tell us that if we import goods to a certain value from any country we must export goods to an equal value to that or some, other country to pay for the imports. If you can find room for the following figures I should very much like to see some ardent free-trader explain the enormous discrepancy, and I would respectfully insist that he will give facts and figures, and not merely vague statements.

Sends to Takes from England. England. Russia £23,000.000 £7,000,000 Germany 28,000,000 22,000,000 Holland 50,000,000 8,003,000 Belgium 20,000,000 8.000,000 France 50.000,000 14,000,000 Italy 2,000,000 5,000,000 Turkey 8,000,000, 6,000,000 Egypt 10,000,000 4,000,000 "United States ... 120,000.000 20,000,000 Brazil 4.000,000 7,000,000 Chili 4,000,000 3,000,000 Pern 1.500,000 1,000,000 China 3,000,000 7,000,000 Other foreign countries 64,000,000 40,000,000 Totals from and to foreign countries £369,000,000 £152,000,000 The above represents, roughly, the goods sent to England by foreign countries, and the goods sent from England to foreign countries. Certainly, Great Britain does not appear to great advantage in the above figures, and after perusing them I think most people will be inclined to think it is high time that Mr. Chamberlain should be up and doing, Let us now turn to Great Britain's trade with her colonies, and see the immense advantage sho has in trading with her own people. Sends to Takes from ■ England. England. Canada £17,000,000 £6,000,000 West Indies ... ' 3.000.000 3,000,000 Australia and N.Z. 30.000,000 22,000,000 British India ... 25,000,000 30,000,000 Cane Colony and ' Natal. 6,000,000- 14,000,000 Other British pos-. _ „„„„„„ sessions ... ... 15.090,000 10,000,000 Totals from and to ■» British posses- _ nn „„„ sions £96,000,000 £35,000,000

I may add that the above figures are taken from the Financial Reform Almanac- for 1898. This is the organ of the fre-otrade party in England. Since then the trade of Great Britain with her colonies has grown even more favourable, while that with foreign countries has grown much mote unfavourable. In the above figures I have not. included fractions, but just round numbers, which arc near enough for the purpose.—l am, etc., Joseph Flanagan.