BRITISH TRADE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 60, 29 February 1908, Page 3

BRITISH TRADE.

A Uf.M'FEI! VKAIi. i I" Daily Chronicle.") j *o far as Ihe foreign trade of ihls country i s concerned, I'JOT was a Iwinp/r ! year. 'J'lic totals are enormous. "t in l ! whole volume of the foreign trade (ii,, jinris and Ijrilisli e\|iorisi was tj|. 07;.'-11i5.772--au ini-rviise ul i|j , n -|- the lijjures iur JIMKi. » lii.-h were Ih-in-selves by far tin- liijrhc.-i on n-i-ord, " I leli \on, said .Mr. 1 liiiinlieriain in liis not well willi Britis|, industry." actual refute his proiininicemeni.. i>itl. it may he said, the trail.■ is not every tiling. No; l„il it j s u,,. ■standard and measure which .Mr. Chamberlain himself adopted. We give a detailed analysis. :lm l from every point of view adopted by the tal'ill' Vi-lorniers the fails are seen it) refute t heir gloomy prognostications. The yearV imports show an increase if LSS.OMUMIO. Does this mean that foreign manufacturers arc encroaching'; On iho contrary. the imports uf ni;inufa>t ure> ({living the year have slightly fallen nil': the increase is all in food ami (>lill 111 oiT) in raw materials. \\V turn lo exports. WfJiuil tlic position rcveiv-d. Tin' main iucrejw hen- is in mannfae-lin-i.N. tin* total gain is UM,U4r>.i{.M. and it is .spread over the whole range of th.* tiibic. There is jio "line"' which shows a railing oil', There is not a single one of Mr. I naniholain's "dying industries'' lliul has not grown. There U aU» a large increase in tln* export of coal ( Clo,(ill,7'W}, ami some jteojde shaUe I heir heads over this. They forget I hat Hie exported eoal Jills tin;* hull-, win.ii bring back ran materials for all manufactures. and thus keeps down the rate ul freight ami Mippoi'ls tin* shipping industry. Whal N'T he use of 'l'arill' Reformers tolling us that all is nut uc ; l, j when by <veiy one of their tests the

lads I'ctu&i,' to disclose the impending doom'!

Wis are not going to labour an obvious point, or to weary the reader with many figures. .But it may be useful to iiu back to one or two of the classic utterances by Tariff Reformers, and compare them with llu* Hoard of Trade's for 1007. In the speech in which .Mr. Chamberlain tirst explained his proposals he took these tigures as his starting point:—'Total exports of British produce in 157"2, 200 millions sterling; in lIM2. 27<S millions, '• You cannot,he said, "go on supporting yot'v population ;:t

that small ruto of increase." "lint liis proposition is reduceil to alisiudity liv tlie aiMinidnm wliii-li nin.si ia>w I,|. liiadc:—Total exports of British produ.-c in li) 07. -12G millions.

Xext we take -Mr. Balfour. The figures mi which he rented his " Eeonomic Notes on Insular l ; ree 'i'rade" were those of the "exports of British produee, except < 'Oil I. maehinery. and ships." Why Ihev >hould he excepted ho failed to prove: but let I hat pass. The figures hj" gave were th"-e: -

Per head ef Tot a 1 ICxport-. Popnla t ion. Thousand i; C ISHI *ls/277 1i.2 IS!H ->i:U7t" o.:i Mill! 222.7:2(1 5.4 These figures were said to compel great " anxiety.*' Weil, if so. the anxiety >hould he similarly be allayed when ve ' 11)07 :i:i2,2:)« 7.0 The leailers of the TarilF lleform oreh"slr:i have piped a dirge; but British trade ha- ab>elnf.elv refused to dance to their