FISCAL POLICY

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 37, 13 February 1930, Page 9

FISCAL POLICY

PEOTECTION' CAMPAIGN LORD LLOYD'S SUPPORT (From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, 19th December. Some additional interest was given to the annual luncheon of the Empire Industries Association because of the moral support given by each of the speakers to Lord Beaverbrook in his effort to educate the public on fiscal matters. Many of the guests (including the Eight Hon. Lord Lloyd, the chief speaker) were men who, in the past, had stumped the country preaching the gospel of protection. Now, after all these years, they are full of enthusiasm in their effort to destroy tlio prejudice in this country against anything that savours of a tariff. One remembers that on the last occasion on which the late Mr. Massey was in London he had the courage to express the opinion that' England should throw over the old fetish of freo trade and protect herself against the rest of the world. Since- that time a Conservative Party has been thrown out of power for daring to suggest some measure of protection. They came back to power with that plank in. their platform removed. Now a Labour Government is in power pledged not only to retain free trade, but to abolish the safeguarding of several of the important industries. Yet the- number of unemployed remains much the same, foreign countries flood Great Britain with manufactured goods which could bo made by English workmen, and raw materials and food in large quantitios como from foreign producers, when much ,of it— or all of it with proper organisation— plight be bought from within the British Empire. "We stand to-day," said Mr. L. S. Amery (Dominions Secretary in, the Late Conservative Government), "on the brink of a sweeping revolution in the whole fiscal policy. The people of this country are, I believe, prepared to adopt a wholly new basis for their conception of economics and a wholly new method of national policy, the basis of which is the British Empire. All of us hero arc grateful to Lord Beaverbrook for the courage and energy with which he has thrown himself iuto the campaign for an Empire outlook on politics, and certainly, speaking for myself, I wholeheartedly welcome the campaign and wish it every success." A "MOMENT OF PERIL." Lord Lloyd, late High Commissioner for Egypt, said he had a profound conviction tha.t there.would be a revulsion of feeling in favour of th j only policy which was going to bring a return to prosperity in this country. Industrial disaster was facing us in the loss of our overseas markets to-day. Ho referred to the "rudderless ineptitude" of the Government in dealing with this question, and said every country except Soviet Kussia had done far better in handling its ■ economic difficulties than we had. We had completely failed under our economic system to deal with the situation. Ho wa,rmly welcomed Lord Beaverbrook's efforts to teach the people of this country the way to avoid disaster, and to see the enormous opportunity that lay roady to their hand if only they could fling aside a few of the old prejudices which had existed in this country so long. Tho inomen'. was one of real grave peril to this country, and he believed that the way tut lay ready to our hand. He urged the people who believed in the policy to stop bickering among themselves and preach their faith, quite regardless of their careers and consequences. If they would go out and preach their faith, there would bo a stirring of the waters which meant new hope for British industry. Lord Melchett said that there was nothing so stupid as people who would not learn and who endeavoured to apply the ideas of one period to an entirely different set of conditions. The trade conditions were entirely altered and yet people went about mumbling thejr old shibboleths. You could not make all kinds of i auditions and restrictions it regard to tho manufacture of commodities and then leave tho selling sido of the business to look after itself. This was the principle applied to tho nation under free trade. If a private firm ran their business on those lines it would be in the Bankruptcy Court within, a month or two.