PREFERENCE PLEA.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 712, 11 January 1910, Page 5

PREFERENCE PLEA.

MR. A. CHAMBERLAIN ON SLAMMED DOORS. COLONIAL-FOREIGN TREATIES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright, • (Rec. January 10, 0.38 p.m.) ■ 1 London,' January \ 10. In an.address at East Birmingham, Mr. Austen Chamberlain; formerly; Chancellor of the Exchequer in tho Balfour Government, said:

The Colonial Door may be Shut, "The self-governing dominions are not discouraged by the Liberals' derision. of their offers of preference. Britain alolie hangs back j. but; she cannot postpone • her. decision indefinitely. If we allow Liberal leaders to discourage inter-Imperial commercial, union by . describing it - as 'a squalid...bond,' .' if we' allow ill-mannered TJnder-Secretaries to ,'slam the door' in the face 'of tho representatives of our kinsmen overseas, the .time will .come when we ourselves .will be knocking at', a shut door. ,\

Dominions' Foreign Suitors. • "The dominions . will not. come as sup-: Ipliants. . If Britain refuses their - proffered, advantages,I',other1 ',other suitors are ready to', woo.' ;Italy; Belgium, and .Germany are -seeking the closer , commercial. relations which. Canada has:, granted to Franco.. Lf !we remain -blind,, their material interests will forco our kinsmen - to make commercial treaties with foreign countries, one by one. These treaties.will limit'; the scope of any possible .preference, and may end' in weaving closer daily commercialinterests 7. with .foreign countries, than, with\ the Motherland.".,

. No Sacrifice for, British Poor. v Mr; Chamberlain; quoted: Mr.Lloyd.George's speech, at the Colonial. Conferonce, in. 1907, in which Mr. Lloyd-George emphasises, :as a ground for refusing colonial 'offers -of. preference, the' poverty of 'a largo- proportion ofthe British people;- To this Mr..:Chamberlainrepli^: ; .'.

colonial kinsmen ,ask for no sacrifice from- us. v. New ,markets .'for .British products,:' arid:: more •:work V- and .: fairer. terms -for' British -labour are thf surest' remedies for poverty and Unemployment."

BRITAIN'S POOR. MR. LLOYD-GEORGE'S REMARKS. /. .'lri his fiscal speech: before- the /Colonial Conference/in -1907, quoted by-Mr.. Chamberlain,/' Mr. 'Lloyd-Georgc.saitt: that-, the tariff,' reformers- and ' advocates ~of - pre-, fercuce: had told/them'/repeatedly-, that .a duty- 1 (if : '2s. on ; c6rn,'would: make: no/differeuce at all ill the price.- But Germany/ '•■started-'.in-1879; with: : the. small /import duty, of 25., 2d;, :whi.ch,'weiati up to-65., ;then /to.'lOsi,- back 'to 7s.;'and tnei; to.a 'still higher/ figure... / ; ./i: ; . : /;" f' ' ■ '// "Steopcd in Poverty," The. Liberal'/Government, ;Mr; -rLloyd• George added,; was not refusing to meet the; colonies. "We are .• anxious. in; our "hearts to do it,' but ! wo have; here a poor population', that you .know nothing .of. Here numbers/: of our poor peoplo \arosteeped in poverty; arid ,we' haye; to,think' /of them.. It would be 'wrong.. of- us, it would bo cruel of us, it'.would be wicked .of us, if we -/ did riot. do. it. 'I, am sure if/ : you realise;'that. it would 'mean 2s. more for people who. are already short of j shillings, tobuy/ the. very necessaries of. life,,'you would be'/the. last peoplo- iri' the world to come, and/beg; us to add to tho troubles of this poor/ population of ours. That is really why wo are hesitating." /■ ■'; .v.' :.-;■ '■./' ■ ..-/■:- In', reply to this,..:' the;/ tariffreformers, declare that their scheme involves no sacrifice • by: the: poor.' They : rely on e.Ttnuded <' markets, 1 ; increased', /.eriiploymeiii; factors in : the - fiscal .eqnatiori; to so adjust' matters that there will be no ' increase/ in/ ' "the . proportidnate : burden/, of'tho j working, man." ./• ■■': ,Another Version of 'fSlammed Door." /■/ In ' tlie' same speech, Mr.' Lloyd-Georgo 'bad"/'something'// : to::say'." about "the slammed', door"—the same . d..0r.. which Mr. Churchill,/when ./Under-Secretary for. tho Colonies, declared //to i bo. not only slammed, vbut "banged ' arid .barred -.and' boUcd." This .latter phrase, has now earned for its' author': the; imputation:, of having 1 bebri'' tin' "ill : mannered; UnderSecretary"; (vido' Mr.- Chamberlain's ad-dress-cabled above). ■ ■ ;'■■ '■ ■' ../';' • Mr.v''lilbyd-Ge'6rge''..'^e'serite'd/i-;t6.;''-the ; •Colonial' - Coriferende': a"- new./.version .. of ."the/slammed 'door.""/; After "pointing! out that the -Mother, Country gives the • colonies :ind-/.the' world an open door, 1 he//'aslced .what;iwould: be .tho /position; ;if -ithe'/rMother Country .proposed" .recip: , ; rocity in" : ;thfs r ' shape rof ;Free-trade /within the Empire.'. • . ' :/' "Our,/,colonial friends," Mr/ //Lloyd-: George-iadded./'-'would-have /l«en/bound to- rejeci/ oui/! resolution—to .adapt'./words which, have .bccomb tho commonplaces- of n pressjiwhich;, is hostile /to ;Pree-trade,' ■ they woiild have, refused, ti? listen to, the appeal of-tho/ Mother," Country to' bo : put on /equal; terms/: with her .children/ • .We .might, then/ eyen/have; said/that; the' door , had been slammed, iri the old mother's lace by her 'ungrateful ;.progei>y,"V;'; .>/;

HEAVY BURDEN OF THE BRITISH WORKER. . : TARIFF . REFbRMER'S - CONFIDENCE SHAKEN. , / :', (Prom.' Our. / Spccial Oorresboaderiu: , -. Christchurch, January 10./ Mr. .George/-Gould, 'who ; returned , on, Saturday .from''X/visit; to . England,;'was 1 seen , by- a-represeritative/,0f./"The. Press;" to whom : he- /spoke''of some ■' of ' the' im-; pressions /he. had formed. of tho trend of, pußlib";affairs: in.-, Great; Britain.:/ The' /ti'ip. Mr; Gould'has' returnkl-.from' is. the tenth ho has taken, and he has- iw hesitation in '.saying that the'-return; passage, in- the. New.:Zealarid. Shipping -Company's: new/.'steamer/ Ruahine is /the. most comfortable.: one he has experienced. ■', /•/;

Unionist Working Majority Doubtful. . Referring to : the present.l political , crisis in England, l Mr;' .Gould' said that' person-; ally ho! questioned-'the 'of the action of ! the House : of; Lords ; in'throwing out the Budget. . .There J was,. however, !a good deal to be said on both sides of the question, 1 and- of course-'the issues, raised by tho Budget had not been previously before the-country; If .tho House of I<ords had allowed it to pass, arid if tho Liberals', had 1 remained iri: power. :for,;a. few months, ho thought that they then would have .suffered the .unpopularity "of their. own' measure's ; when 'put. into practice." ; For -instance; , at present the . additional on,tobacco"; arid whisky' were , very unpopular with the ' working olasses.'As<. thingswere/just now, , the general opinion; at -Homo ■ appeared . ' to be that' it' Svas doubtful whether,' as, tho . result of. the general, elections, the Conservatives would bo;re-; turned with'a:wprking majority. ; Either Sido Must Adopt Many Budget Taxes. In order to: m?et' tho ; heavy, demands on ; the Exxhequer for old age pensions and : for the Navy, similar to many! of.', those' in the Budget would be necessary, whichever side igot in; arid it was-: a -very/ difficult/thing' to raise :an extra <£20,000,000 -I'by taxation"even in a rich country liko England without pinching somebody's toes. ....' "I . .went. Home a very strong . Tariff ■Reformer,"..-said'.Mr.. Gould. ''Tariff reform proposals have still a great. ; at traction for, me, but/after reading.and hearing a":-.considerable ■; amount about' both sides 'of.; the subject, I am very doubtful if the benefits to England, apart from/what they might; be to hoi; colonies, would be' as great as are anticipated by the advocates-of tariff reform.l thinkat any rate that a preference involving, the taxation of food is only, permissible, to the- extent of tho present , taxes on food.' I don't.' think that it would be either nice; or proper to put any.;further; load on'the shoulders of tlio working meni of Groat;-Britain, arid ; if preferential: duties are placed on foo(l, relief to an equivalent amount must bo given by reductions in .. the . present revenue from food• taxes. , : Rovenuo and Other Difficulties. Further, if the. tariff- is confined to the, taxation of- - foreign manufactures, the revenue derived therefrom .will be: in-

sufficient to avoid the necessity of .raising money By some of the 1 methods' proposed by the Liberal Budget. The taxing of partly-manufactured goods, which are, lareely imported—or, as some • say, 'duinped'—into England, is also a very difficult 'question,' because I. am informed in . soma of England's' largest' and mostimportant trades thby , are :■ dependent on ' the supply of :' these goods,'.and only by their, importations is the English manufacturer able •to ' hold his own in foreign markets. I think that if the Conservatives get into power they will have anything but :'a- rosy .time when they attempt, to put "their;' tariff reform measures into practice. Every trado will endeavour to get its own measure of protection, and at the same time ask. for the retention on tie free liet .of some .partly-manufactured imported article which.;it:may consider .essential'to profitable production.' "/ "

: Fiscal Duel Won by Free-trader. Recently, Mr.' J.'Ellis Barker, with: the approval., of his party, - stated . tliat..lie would publish in the . 'Daily Express' one hundred ..and'.' one' reason's'-'in:' favour'.: of tariff, reform, and Mr. Chiozza;.Money (Liberal M.P.) . undertook to ' publish replies to these reasons in the .'. Daily News.': At the end of/thirty days Mr: Ellis .Barker,. threw/ up., the. sponge, ■. and' published the / balance of-his reasons m pamphlet form. It may he. that Mr. Money is the abler of . the. two, but having read .both the reasons and the replies, it appeared to. me. very.obvious vthat either Mr. 'Money was too many for Mr. Ellis-Barker, or else he had a very much better case, to nvguc." .