PREFERENTIAL TRADE

Otago Witness, Issue 2649, 21 December 1904, Page 38

PREFERENTIAL TRADE

A VARIETY OF OPINIONS.

LONDON. December 13

Lord Avebury, speaking at the Cobden Club on British Commerce, said that it was progressive and prosperous. Even if it w°re not, it would bs disastrous to abandon Freetrade.

December 14,

Mr Af-quith, speaking at Preston, said Mr Balfour's proposed colonial conference was another attempt at procrastination and intended to prevent a fair and square fight between Freetrade and Protection, but meantime it had served its purpose. The evil day was postponed. Colonial conferences were becoming a permanent part of the Government machine^*. There was one falling due at a distant date, but if the electors responded to Mr Balfour's call it would mean that those summoned to the eoniei-en.ee would claim it to be a 'mandate

in favour of colonial preferanc 6 - " I want," he said, "to make clear the real issue. The question is whether the country intendU sanctioning- taxation of foreign food and foreign raw material, including cotton." The one point whereon on all responsible colonial statesm-en were agreed was whether or not they received preference they would remain true to the Empire, and he ventuired to say the Empire would remain true to them.

The Chronicle says the Colonial Conference is no longer fiscal ad hoc, but Imperial at large, and precisely such as the Liberals would assuredly summon if returned to power.

December 15.

The Chronicle says : " After Mr Watson's avowal that he is not inclined to reduce duties in favour of Britain, will Mr Chamberlain claim Mr Watson, nevertheless, as a supporter of his scheme, and if so, what is his scheme? — all give and not take, .t seems."

Mr Brcdrick, Secretary of War, speaking at Windsor, reminded Mr Asquith that a tax on raw material had never been proposed by the Government.

Sir Edward Grey, in a speech at Kendall,, declared that Mr Balfour's conference was foredoomed to failure. He argued that if ever the Motherland taxed food in favour of the colonies she would

then immediately begin to interfere with the colonies' fiscal freedom, whereon the

Empire's unity depended. He m*ged the necessity of a large independent Liberal majority st the next elections in order to redress ihe errors of the Government in domestic and financial questions, and to safeguard the future.

The Daily Mail says that Mr Watson had plainly hinted to our Freetraders that he would not be disposed without preference to reduce the tariff.

Louis Creswick's life of Mr Chamberlain, just published, includes a letter from Mr George Reid describing the writer's opinions on preference, and, while disagreeing with Mr Chambeiiain, admits that he has grand objects in view.

The Westminster Gazette says that if Mr Watson voices Australian opinion on preference, then it is idle to talk of any intelligible colonial offer.

December 16. Mr Chamberlain, addressing a meeting of 3500 at Limehouse, saM unrestricted imports rendered the protection of labour impossible. Cobden was opposed to the protection of labour as of trade, but the country overruled the notion that men ought to be left to struggle against the overpowering pressure of circumstances ; hence the factory legislation due to Lord Shaftesbury. Free education, small holdings, allotments, and workmen's accident compensation were all due to the Conservatives andi Unionists. The Compensation Act ought to be extended to every class of labour. But if we would not stand to have imposed on the employer additional obligation and extra cost of production, we should establish a balance in order to place him on an equality with the foreign competitor, or wages would fall and employment fail. He dealt next with aliens, and recommended an asylum in J£ast Africa under British or international protection. He recapitulated/ his own fiscal policy, and used many homely iUaStrations. He warned the Motherland of the urgency of an arrangement with the colonies for a constructive commercial policy. It was no question of loyalty, but a question of organisation.

Mr Chamberl'iin continuing, said it was easy to arrange a trade treaty such as Sir ,W. Laurier's. He offered to discuss any other question of mutual interest Mr Balfour and himself , had been convicted beforehand. If the colonies attended the conference they would be there to show preference, and we would soon know what they were prepared to give and what we could give, and whether their offer wps worthy of our i-ttention. The Liberals declared this was undermining our prosperity and breaking up Empire. They were ready to make a treaty -nith France, Germany, or the King of the Caunibal Islands, and did not fear the consequences, but were afraid to meet their kinsmen lest, they shouH come to blnws. Thoy treated tli^m as suppliants for grace, and suspected them of wishing to get everything and give nothing. That was not his idea of true Imperialism, curiously they emphasised in flic; same breath the colonies" loyalty. How long would they be loyal if loyalty wag reciprocated in such a spirit. Ha

denounced Sir H. C. Bannerman's little Englandism, and Lord Rosebery's gas and water thunderbolts, and said: "If you feel the importance oi maintaining and increasing the good feeling and' bringing it to practical shape, then give the Government a. mandate for this conference. Mr Asquith may rest assured the question of tariff reform once raised will never die."

A resolution in support was carried with enthusiasm.

Sir M. Hicks-Beacli, speaking at Newkssbviry, supported Mr Balfour's retaliation oroposals, which v ould substitute natural for artificial conditions and extend Freetrade throughout the world.

The Standard (C.) says that an investigation, of the facts of the factories' trad© shows that changes of immense significance must become inevitable, and) a conference would remove the conflicting interpretations of the colonial disposition -towards preference. The paper hopes that both partieswill loyally abide the result of an appeal to the colonial Caesar. It attributes the Duke of Devonshire's attitude laigtly to> t-lie supposed absence in the colonies of a, spirit of reciprocity, and agrees that onesided preference is more absurd than onesided Freetrade, but hopes that later Grace will suggest such modifications as will bring Unionists into true union.

The Radical press taunts Mr Chamberlain with not referring to sugar. OTTAWA, December 17.

Canadian newspapers warn Britain that other nations are alive to the importance of colonial trad© if she is not. A commercial alliance with the United States -would yield immediate magnificent material advantages, but at the price of eventual detachment from the Empire. Canada had resisted the temptation from sentiVental reasons.

MELBOURNE, December 13.

In the Senate Mr Pulsford moved a series of resolutions deprecating preferential trade. He declared that the whole proposal was not preferential tracle but penalised trade. Australia will gain nothing because Mr Chamberlain's scheme did not affect raw material.

December 14.

In the House of Representatives Mr Reid, speaking to Mr Doakin's Preferential Trade motion, deprecated the raising of hopes in the breasts of the British people that Australia would be prepared to allow their products to come ill mc-ie freely. Prefeier.tial Trade appeared to him to present innumerable difficulties, and it was a matter of the gravest doubt if such a. policy would conduce to the stability and prosperity of the Empire. The motive and ruling power of Mr Chamberlain's proposals were the desire to bring the self-governing States into an intimate responsibility of Empire. It was under quite different conditions that the British Empire of our day had arisen with loyalty as the true bond between all the self-governing people ia the Empire. That feeling- of loyalty was woith many armies. Mutual arrangements, however, would not infringe our liberty, but business arrangements between close relations ware not the- best method to promote peace and happiness in a family. Business bargains between our own flesh and blood when difficulties and quarrels arose led to them being fur more bitter and obstinate than those between people not l'elated.

When he saw the great landed interests, the great manufacturing interests, the great financial interests in London all massed together, ifc was plain thac they represented everything but the people crouching behind Mr Chamberlain. Could they fail to see that it was not in the interests of the colonies? It was <iiis movement which h;.u started all these interests into seeking to renew, behind this bulwark of Imperial unity, the privileges and monopolies that had been marked with so much injury to the people in ages gone by.

The rock on which Mr Chamberlain's proposal was smashed, as far as the British Government were concerned, was the taxation of food. The tremendous burden ot naval and military taxation borne by the British taxpayer was the genesis of the Preferential Trade agitation. Tho Metier Country had a right to look to her children for help. Some people thought that the present was an instance of great generosity on the phrt of Australia; but we were bound to look our responsibility to the British Empire more squarely in the face. Mr Reid went on to remind the House

that there was only one thing between Australia and invasion by a foreign Power, and that was the British Flag. He was bo desirous of recognising their obligations to the Mother Country that if the people of Great Britain wished for Preferenti; 'Trade he would offer no sort of difficulty to it. He believed that a majority of the people of Australia had pronounced them-eelvc-s in favour in the abstract of Preferential Trade, but no doubt a great majority simply desired to do anything that the Mother Country thought would help her. No doubt, also, many people thought that the scheme would give an •unlimited market for Australian produce. He was thoroughly in favour of Mr Balfour's idea of a conferen^ce, and he was thoroughly in favour of their representatives going to that conference with perfectly open nurds.- If the British people were in favour of Preference, his greatest objection to the .scheme went, but if it was to be a bargaining business, let us approach the Mother Country in the most generous spirit. ■We should then endeavour to give substantial Prefererce for substantial Preference. The debate on Preferential Trade was resumed in the House of Bepresentatives. . "Mr Glyiiii moved as an amendment — " That continued- loyalty to the Empire to no extent depends on preferential fiscal treatment." •