MR BRIGHTS FORECAST OF THE FUTURE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1486, 18 September 1883, Page 2

MR BRIGHTS FORECAST OF THE FUTURE.

At the Birmingham celebration in his honor, Mr Bright, after reviewing the history of Freetrade,. went on "to say;—" There opens before me a gcuuj vision of the future. England Colonies and her dependencies, seWi India, ab this moment, haWa popiilJ" tion of 50,000,000,0f persons. I-, will not go over the Colonies where theyare dwelling, but yon know that there fiveor six- and thirty . millions id this country. '■■ 'The United' £ States, by the last census,-had. also 59i000,000. They are supposed ho* •. to have 55,000,000, and good judges/' ' sjiy by the endof the century—by the * time when a man ot 50 in. this audir/ •face reaches my age—the United States will possess a population of 100,000,000 of goals. India is-* IWtrade countr'y-with only; /one . exception,—its partsare open tpiall produce from all parts of the wojll. Nqwj.what I want to suggest to you ia this,;that if it should come, asLbV \ come, that the. Umsd-.r States, will : 'go: down ..s>■ a', sensiblerevenue '• be—l do ; 'no|/^nt' to the .'suia, ';• orthe amount-I-'mean a tariff iwhich ■'.: will permit large freedom of trade with all.the nations of the world—and then ;if■ .England and Amerioa, growing • rapidly to 100,000,000, : take' thuh; .coursp, what will be the effect onihV '■ other 1 nations of the Globe? What do:,, protectionists in Europe say: now'?.r., Theysayitis'allvory well to tell us that ftdgland Uin favor of Freetrade. • Look a't'Amefica.- there is a popular Government, a Republic, every man voting, and there they have a system of Piotection moat strenuous and most: severe; and therefore, they say, we at any rate may not be set down as ..fools and- ignorant if we have Protection here, and follow the example of. the ; free Government and the free peophf of'' North: America. But if the United States should make tho change, which, I believe, .is impending, - then th» - United States and England, with their hundred millions and more, will be an argument of a different kind and of a different force. ..to, the nations of Europe. The Freetraders of evert country will say, .Why, tho people in England, living under an ancient monarchy, are prospering with Freetrade, and the people, of the United States, living under the flag of the Republic, have followed the .'example of" England. And they will say, we are trying to follow these, countries in political freedom, why should we not follow them in the hot less magnificent and beneficent path of a. perfect freodom of industry? Now one word to which this .argument or-picture leads me. Maylaskyou'whatatthii mo : ment, are the two great of Europe? The one is the system of ' high tariffs, the war of tariffs J'iiiid'the other is the war of prras, and uunies. The one is burdensome—in fact both are burdensome ut all times, and armies arc at times more than burdensome when they are employed in destruotion and slaughter. If you were to' destroy, the tariffs of Europe you would destroy' the pretence for the maintenance of .Ijno great armies of Europe, As X discusi it and consider it, the Vision seems*to grow upon me that nations vould'bocorao one in. interest, thoir very jealous* ies would vanish as tkeir igiioranqo of ; each other would vanish. If France and Germany in the year 1870 had'' had no tariffs, if their peoples ;were trading from day to day between the two countries, as the French trade ibetween the departments of France;, 'and as we trade with Scotland, do you think it would have been possible to jhave brought these great nations into. ! a sanguinary war upon the stupid and foolish question what prince in Europe should be invited to occupy the throne of Spain—in which neither Prussia nor France, in my opinion, have the smallest possible interest? And if, thirty years ago, Russia had had no tariff more than we had/if all the • productions of England and her manufactures ■ could • have gone' freely 'toRussia, as the produce of Russia came freely to England,, do.yon, suppose.ity would have been possible in our manufacturing population to. have excited ~ the frenzy and ferocity' which were . displayed during, the continuance of.-' that deplorable strugglo? The fact is, neither emperors, nor kings/ nor statesmen, nor the public Press' will.beable to bring nations into, war! when those nations are united in their interest by perfect freedom of industry between them, And then the pretence for armies will be gone. I do not mean the pretence for armies - : which, may be necessary for internal«. peace in some cases, as in some degree the police force ia; but those vast armies of Europe, in all four iuillion-. men, I will ;not say eating their own*« heads' off, but .eating other people's : . head's off-living on the industry of, ' others'when they might be living-, honostjyJ and happily upon ■ their own ■ But when this shall and I think, it will come.in that.time —the taxes upon all the people will be greatly lessened; their comfort will be increased; education/ you may rely upon it', will be more general; and the barbarity and cruelty which distinguish:. ! . Governments and people too much will be discouraged and denounced. In', fact, if one may allow his imagination a.little play, I should Say that we should have, not a new heaven, but ; * ; ' new earth;. ,It .would not be ;gea-'' graphically greater than it is at present, but it would be greater in wealth, and , in human happiness.' Forgive me if I dream. 'lt may be so, but I will; be* lieve in a better time, If Christianity be not a fable—as I believe, and you believe, that it is not—then that bettor time must come,— . >.•-'•'■ "■'■''■* ■ ; ■ '. 'Earth's kbdt6d'jh«ll*ijt.alw»y<Bleflp{ ' Ih4'natibMßh»Hnot'ilWanwe»ii.' H .