FISCAL REFORM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 241, 7 November 1903, Page 2

FISCAL REFORM.

MR OHAMIi!'-KL.UN AT BCUMINOHML BBPLY TO MR A-Q7ITH. ths PAT!iior;:»i <>k tijk colonies. MANUKACI'IIrtK.-i AKKItOTBD BY FOiucuiN ;'AHiFira. AN \MU.-,INU INCIDENT. MARYELLUUS IUsULTd FROM THB KUSO/OJ'iiOm peh p:'.i;:w associatiok. London, November 5. Mr 0.1 mborl ..in, continuing,B<tid : "Mr iiKjuith s t y.< the colonies do not s i.v the KliKht.erj'; inclination to re-J upon I, and tliev will offer nothing in rut urn. I wond«r where he diriv«B his :iH-ounrtiu 6 ' information. lam not pr. sutaptious enoigh to predict beforeband extctly what eaca would do in cases which have not arisen, but am confident they would do the right '■hinge. At any rat?, tbey asked that a ;.i eferentkl sy*>teui be given a trial and the colonial lepasenta ives wore not repudiated when they returned homo. B >,h pwtiss in Canada favoured raciprocity, and th*> Prem era of the Au«tralian Gomroon weahh and New Zealand nude preference letding article* in their programme. While sympathising with the consolidation of the Empire, Mr Asquith thinks directly you negotiate with the colonies you will quarrel. This means that you may negotiate with foreigner*, aud conclude treaties on the most ticklish subject?, bub for Heaven's sake never negotiate with your friends the colonics. The Imperial Council ha favours, which the colonies have twioa rejected as premature, if established, would deal with the delicate matters nf Imperial defence and Imperial taxation, yet Mr Asquith thinks sentiment ind good feeling wiu'd be too brittle. to talk about a tax on brasswork. I believe we may as sifely negotiate with them aa any people en the f ice of the earth, They meet us with a greater desire to come together than anyone* else. Remembering the colonies' response in our litus of stress, I am not prepared to treat tthoir proposals with contempt. I believe they would no* 1 gotiate without a , quarrel, and 'am confident thry would show juat the same generosity and patriotism as ouraoive?. I am aston ; "Mhcd :tt Mr Asquith accusing m» of ignoring the Home nurket, since the> ' main object of my uusade is to term* strong borne trade and mike Britain the centre of a self-sustaining Empire. 1 If foreign trade declines, and dumping; [. continues, the H me trade will suffar, 1 even if it is ns profp;rous as Mr Ae- ' quith thinks." | "I do not sympathise with tho fal- ; hey underlying the contention that secondary industries msy replace i primary industries; that when sugar is ' destroyed try jam; when iion ie • threatened try mousetraps; when coftou ti threatened try making doHe ayes. The building trade is one of the f,w which are naturally protested. Mr Asquith s»ys I produca few instances ' of decaying industries. I could produce scores an! scores. Jewellery, th» smaller brass manufactures, and pearl ' buttons, are ail instances appealing to ■■ Birmiughnm. They have all suffered 1 heavily from foreign tariffs." "The British export of oyoles to foreign protected countries fell ' £566,000 in a decade, and the export* < to the colonies rosa .£367,000. During > the depression in 1897 Americans 9 dumped .£460,000 worth of cycles inBritain and £340,000 in the ' which Biitain could have produced " under my policy." B lie ridiculed the big and little l<»f arguments, and exhibited two loavet ■ baked to the exact weights to show the logs under the corn tax, adding: "I am s unable personally to see the difference." 8 The speech occupied two hours. Mr Chamberlain spuke with wonderful r vivacity. ' The loaves incident convulsed tbt " malting, which passed a resolution approving his policy.

The Daily Mail and Evening Ntvn, with a Corstauce electrophone, received a verbatim :h ■ lepirters sitting in their London oftues. The speech was Belling ia the »i»«'6 20 minutes after Mr Chamberlain had concluded speaking. The butt the telegraph reports by an hour and ft half.

A FEEBLE ADDRESS. Received 6,10.25 p.m. London, November 6. Sir M. Hicks-Beach addressed 1000 Manchester commercial men. Ha did not deal with retaliation, except to say be approved of the Sugar Convention, u.d referring to Mr Balfour's practical proposal than if any great industry waa ttaoked by illegitimate competition, like sugar producing and rtfioiug, it behoved the Government and Parliament to intetfero. Mr Chamberlain h id raised a wider and larger issue by his polioy, and absolutely reversed that of Mr Gladstone's in 1860, which increased prosperity by removing bin'lrauoos to industry. He s*id that Mr Übamberlain proposed to remove the tax on tea and sugar, which Mr Gladstone decline! to do, and to impose ftt>sh duicson a hundred article*. The welfare of th» country hud undoubtedly increased under Mr Gkds.one's policy, md the condr ioa of the workers had »normously improved, but this wan not ill due to free imports. , THE (JUA.STAL TRADB QUSBZKW. Mr Anderson, a director of the Orient Company, presiding at Mr Prefcymun'a m eiing as Aldeborongh, said that Professor Faweete toH him he did not regaid free trade aa a fetish, bus favoured hitting back if hit, if it cmld be dono without harming our-' selves. Applying this argument to shipping ivli' An ierson remarked that all flags participated iu our ooastal tritd'', but, America and Russia excluded ua from theirs, Amerioa interpreting th* exclusion as operative over the whole of the Atlantic and Pacific ■waboard from New York to San Francisco. Britain ou s ht to put herself in a position todeclure that a voyage from London to Melbourne or Hjug Koog was acrvas'al v »ago iu order to secure ftir terms from oompeti ors who exohul d Us. Oau-half of Mr Chamberlain's Birmingham auJiencj were working nun. Heoeivprl b. 10.28 p,m. Lo.NB.iN, November 6. The Rdical press ridicule the assertion that Mr Ueid, leader of the Feder4 Opposition, supports Mr Chamberlain, MORB OURIOUS IDEAS. Eeodive:! 6,10.9 p.m. Londoh, November 8, Sir Edward Grey (liberal) M.P. fa

Berwick, speiking at Gainsborough, aaid the olonirs were drawiug Mr Chamberlain towards their protectionist idea!. It was better to leave them to arrange their fiscal system and not to attampi to lead them into bargains, as since their idea was fundamentally different to ours the result would certainlr lead to triction and disputes. Dumpicg gave us the iccidentrl advantages cf ten leading additional em plojmsnts for British labour. Caiv fully ret;u!at j d protection might benefi particular classes and syndicates, bu the ben>fk3 would be temporary tc < i dividuils and limited, whereas the loss would bu general, wholesale, and incus.