A BREAK IN THE CLOUDS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 81, 26 November 1931, Page 4

A BREAK IN THE CLOUDS

Probably one of the most interesting features of the recent British elections from the point of view of the overseas Dominions is the evidence they provided of the radical ehange of attitude regarding tariffs which has taken place thrpughput Great Britain in the past year or two. Tariffs for revenue. purposes have, of course, been employed in the Old Country, though it is a long time since they were as extensively used except in respect of purely luxury items, as they are in the Dominions. Even tariffs whose main purpose was the pro51 tection of industry are not unknown, the McKenna duties, which were repealed by Mr. Ramsay MacDonald's last Labour administratio.n, having been designed for this purpose. Since the days of Cobden, however, it has been impossible in England for any Government to employ the tariff on a major scale for either revenue or protective purposes. Free Trade has been a cardinal article of faith with the Englishman, especially the man from the industrial midlands and north, and pny who challenged that faith has courted politieal extinction. In the early years of the present century the great Imperialist, Joseph Chamberlain, whose son and nephew are carrying bn the family tradition of national service which he established, was broken politically for advocating a measure of Imperial preference by means of tariffs. Indeed, so savagely was he attacked by his o\yn Birmingham people that it has been claimed, and not without reason, that he was killed by the hostility of his forrner followers and friends. Manchester, for its part, gave its name to the most uncompromising school of Free Trade thought. The capture by Protectionist Conservatives, therefore, of the whole of the 10 Manchester seats and of a majority of the Birmingham and other northern industrial constituencies was as spectacular as it' appears to have been unexpected. This, notable change :of front was not, however, as sudden as it may appear. Its immediate cause undoubtedly was the prolonged industrial depression with its concomitant of widespread unemployment, but some time before these had reached their recent peak proportions there were many signs of a changing outlook in responsible quarters. In 1929 Lord Beaverbrook's Empire .Free Trade Crusade, which necessarily involved protective tariffs in favour of Empire products, won considerable support in thp Free Trade strongholds and the Manchester and Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, in their ofhcial organs, both committed themselves almost unreservedly to this policy. The recent change of front may therefore with reason be looked upon as .something far more important, from the Dominion point of view, than the panicky reaction to a national crisis which it has in some quarters been claimed to be! The full development and application of the new policy will probably not be a very rapid process. The change is so revplutionary that the greatest care in its development will be necessary if i,ts full benefits are to be enjoyed and the many dangers inseparable from all such "revolutions" avoided. This does not mean, fortunately, the enjoyment of its benefits will be equally delayed. Already, to judge from the cabled reports, Great Britain has gained a new respect fifom her foreign commercial rivals, who apparently realise that the days have passed when it was safe to twist the Lion's commercial tail, as it were, to. their hearts' content, without fear of reprisals. This in itself must have a beneficial effect on British indiistry. The knowledge that the closing of their own doors (often by comparison quite sm'all and narrow ones) against British products will result in the banging of the wide British door against theirs musf; have q salutary effect. This, in turn, must bp beneficial to the Dominions, quite apart from whether they obtain immediate preferences at Home or not, because anything which improves British industrial conditions also improves the comparative cqpacity jof their chief market, as recent market piovements have - shown, after. making full allowances for the'effects of the abandonment of the gold standard. The optim'istic note being struck by a number of candidates in the present politieal campaign would therefore appear to be justified. We do .not intend to imply that there is likely to be a rapid recovery, either here or at Home. (the world situation precludes such a hope) or that there is less need for the strictest care and eeonomy, both nationally and individually. But we do strongly feel that .the time has come to suppress, firmly and promptly, that note of pessimism which during the past two years or so has been an all too frequent feature of the pronoiincements of our politieal leaders. On psycholqgical grounds alone siich an attitude would at any time be difficuit to justify. To-day courage and an intelligent optimism are what are most needed tq rcplace tbe fearrbreechng pessimism with which the Dominion bas been afflicted.