IMPERIAL TRADE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 51, 24 February 1912, Page 6

IMPERIAL TRADE.

THE SELFISHNESS OF COLONIAL PREFERENCE. DEBATE IN THE COMMONS (By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) C United Press Association.l London, February’ 23. In the House of Commons Captain Tryon moved an amendment to the Address-in-Reply, declaring the Government's refusal to modify the fiscal policy’ imperilled the advantages of overseas preference, and deprived the country of fair treatment from foreign countries, adversely affecting labour conditions.

Air McNamara said it was eight years since Mr Chamberlain’s doleful predictions that the country was heading for the rocks, all of which had been falsified. Unemployment and pauperism bad considerably declined. Mr Alfred Lyttelton claimed that it was not unnatural that Canada’s sacrifice of American reciprocity should have suggested some requital. It had become important to fortify the cohesion of the Empire. Already Canada, Australia, and New Zealand had almost completed preferential negotiations. The policy of independent commercial action overseas would cause friction. The time had arrived to end the futile academic objections to colonial preference.

Mr Robertson did not know what advantage the colonies would got from foreign countries which f.'.icy could not got through England. “If we entangle ourselves with colonial preference we might in turn lose the advantages of tiie most favoured nation, clauses. It ill became them to make proposals .rendering food dearer. The harvests have failed in Australia and India before now. AVliat would happen if we reversed the fiscal policy and placed our dependencies on the wheat of the dominions? Tariff reform was merely the exploitation of one part of the population in the interests of another. That is the simple explanation of the protectionists’ policy in regard to the self-gov-erning colonies.” The amendment was negatived by 258 to 193.