FISCAL REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 471, 1 April 1909, Page 7

FISCAL REFORM.

„ —_ A SAFE CONVOY BY OUR DREADNOUGHTS MR. BALFOUR'S VIEW. PREFERENCE NOF INEVITABLE. (BY TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION* —COPYRIGHT.) (Rec. March 31, 11.40 p.m.) London, March 31. Mr. Balfour, Leader of tho Opposition, addressing ten thousand people at tho Agricultural Ilall, said: Sacrificcs Measured by Population. . "Nothing is more moving and magnificent than the unsolicited rcsponso of New Zealand, with a population equal to that of five out of the twenty-eight London boroughs. Her gift is equivalent to more per head than tho annual taxation per head of Great Britain. "If such gifts ara accepted, Britain cannot refuse tho overseas States' preference. A fiscal change is naw inevitable. A new system must grant what the whole constellation of sister States has steadily, persistently, and patiently asked for year after year." Tariff Reform Press. Tho "Morning Post" says that the German battleships havo aroused tho overseas Dominions to a full sense of the necessities of Imperial defence. After tho splendid offer of the Australian States, fiscal changes are inevitable. Tho "Daily Express" says the Australasian offers are the silver lining of the naval cloud. Imperial preference must bo the outcome of the offer of colonial Dreadnoughts.