P. 345.

Mr. Chamberlain's Proposals. On Oct. 6th 1903, Mr. Chamberlain, freed from the responsibilities of office by his resignation from the Cabinet, opened his campaign at Glasgow. The proposals made by him at Glasgow and in subsequent speeches may be

thus summarised :-
On foreign corn and flour

28. per qr.

On foreign meat and dairy produce 5% Foreign manufactured goods. • TO %* Maize and bacon, however, should be excluded from taxation, as the latter forms the food of some of the poorest of the population; while maize is a raw material to the farmers, who

feed their stock with it.

The Colonies should have a preference by exemption from the above duties; and a substantial preference should also be given to them upon Colonial wines, and also perhaps upon Colonial fruits.

These new duties should be accompanied by the following remissions of duty :

The Present Proposals. The scheme is understood to have undergone some modification since it was propounded seven years ago. In an article which was published on the eve of the General Election of Jan. 1910 by the Birmingham Daily Post, and which was widely regarded as an authoritative expression of the Birmingham school, it was stated that: "The plan which we believe to be at present favoured is to allow raw materials to come in free, to place a duty of 5 per cent. on goods on which little labour has been spent, 10 per cent, on goods more nearly approaching the finished state, and 15 per cent. on completely manufactured articles. Just as there are to be three rates of duty, so there will be three scales in each rate. To take an example by way of illustration-if an article is deemed to come under the 10 per cent, rate, that will be the standard duty applicable to foreigners who are commercially friendly.' But there will be a lower duty-possibly 7 per cent.-to be charged on colonial produce, and a higher duty-possibly 12 or 15 per cent.-to be charged on the produce of countries which seek unduly to penalise British goods. Corn, according to present views, is to be liable to a

To be applied to foreign nations enforcing high duties on British manufactures, and to average 10%, being arranged according to the amount of labour expended on the manufactured goods.

†Then at 6d., in 1910 at 5d., per lb.

duty of 2s. a quarter when coming from a foreign country. Mr. Chamberlain proposed to remit the whole of the duty to the Colonies. There is, however, a possibility of this arrangement being modified by asking the Colonies to agree to a substantial preference which will not free them from the whole of the duty. The chief aim of any modification would be to increase the revenue, and at the same time to lend some encouragement to wheatgrowing at home. A tariff framed on the basis indicated above is calculated to produce a revenue of 16 to 20 millions, and, at the same time, to give an immense impulse to home trade and home employment. The cost of collection is put down at a maximum of a quarter of a million." It should be added, however, that the proposal to impose a duty on Colonial wheat is not supported by Mr. Balfour. In a letter dated April 15th, 1910, and addressed to Mr. Courthope, M.P., he wrote: "I have been giving the subject much consideration, and, after consultation with my colleagues, I have come to the conclusion that it [colonial wheat] should be imported free."

In his speech at Nottingham on Nov. 17th, 1910, Mr. Balfour gave a party pledge that any increase in the cost of bread due to the imposi tion of a duty on corn should be balanced by a reduction of the duties on tea and sugar.

A Tariff Reform amendment to the Address was moved by Mr. Austen Chamberlain on February 23rd, and after two days' debate was rejected by 285 to 254 votes-a majority of only 31-the Nationalist members abstaining from the vote.

The following is an outline of the arguments for and against Tariff Reform as presented by the pleaders on either side:

In

The Case for Tariff Reform. "The case for Tariff Reform, though compli cated by intricate matters of fact, really turns upon a few simple, yet comprehensive principles. As Mr. Balfour has said, it is a policy to which all the tendencies of modern commerce, all the tendencies of domestic politics, have gradually been working up. In the days of the Corn Laws the home-grown supply of wheat was 88 per cent, of the whole; it is now 25 per cent. only. The foreign supply was then only 12 per cent.; it is 75 per cent. now. 1846 our manufacturing supremacy placed us beyond all rivalry: we were the workshop of the world,' and therefore bound to dominate In other words, trade was on a co-operative every market to which we might be admitted. basis; foreign nations provided us with raw material and food, and purchased our finished goods in return. To-day, however, the dominating factor in trade is not co-operation, but foreign competition. This may be seen, first, in the extent to which other nations-notably Germany and the United States-are becoming independent of us so far as their own wants are concerned, and are, as manufacturers, competing with us in other markets; and secondly, in the extent to which they are competing with us in our own. These are facts which emerge like rocks above the mist and foam of partisan controversy. Tariff Reform, therefore, does not involve a revival of the old policy of Pro

tection. It is imperative owing to entirely new conditions affecting our agricultural and manufacturing interests, and also to the economic needs of Empire. Tariff Reform, moreover, suggests the only rational and practicable method of raising the revenue required for Social Reform and the administration of the realm. It would secure this by removing a large part of our present oppressive taxation on food and tobacco, and put duties instead on imported foreign manufactured goods and products, which compete with things we manufacture and produce in this country. Such taxes would be paid partly or wholly by the foreigner, who would either have to reduce his prices or lose our market. Food prices would not be increased, because competition would be set up between a taxed and an untaxed supply, and such competition has a tendency to keep down prices. Tariff Reform in its Imperial aspect is concerned with the confederation and conservation of the Empire. In view of the relative growth of rival States, it becomes a primary duty to develop the wealth and productive power of every part of the Empire to the fullest possible extent, and to encourage the maximum of commercial intercourse, thus making the various parts mutually interdependent, and the whole, as far as possible, self-sufficient. Tariff Reform, therefore, means the scientific regulation of Trade and Finance in the interests of the Empire as a whole, in place of the present policy of laissez faire, which is the corollary of Free Trade."

The Case against Tariff Reform. "The main ground on which free traders resist the policy, or rather the intermixture of policies, which is popularly described by the term 'Tariff Reform, is that that policy necessarily involves a return to Protection. They contend that the substitution of what is in effect State interference with and control of the departments of productive industry and commerce for individual initiative, enterprise, technical knowledge and adaptability to varying economic conditions would prove both wasteful and pernicious. They deprecate the introduction of a fiscal system whereby taxation of commodities would be imposed not, as now, merely for the provision of necessary revenue, bat largely for the benefit of particular interests in the State. They hold that the necessity of obtaining freely from external sources a very great portion of our necessary food and the raw materials of our industries is a factor which differentiates the position of the United Kingdom from that of all other countries; and that the natural channel through which those supplies reach us could not be either dammed or diverted by the interposition of customs barriers erected ad hoc without grave economic wastage.

"The proposed taxation of imported food, and of commodities, whether manufactured or not, which are in effect the raw materials of our industry, would raise the cost of our own requirements, thus limiting the purchasing power of our population; while it would interfere with our powers of competing with our foreign rivals in neutral markets. It would thus lead to the restriction both of our home and foreign trade, with consequent unemployment, diminished wages, and lowering of our standard of comfort. At the same time it would draw from our consumers in taxation an amount

quite out of proportion to the revenue which it would provide for purposes of the State. The imposition of a Tariff Reform tariff would be immediately followed by the cancellation of the favourable tariff treatment which we now receive from practically every foreign country in the world, and the substitution of maximum tariffs against our goods.

"Free Traders deny, as contrary to the experience of all protected countries, that the burden of import duties can be transferred to the foreigner, except perhaps in a very limited number of cases, which cannot be pre-determined, and then only to a very minute and temporary degree. They deny that the fiscal manipulations, which are necessarily involved in the proposed scheme of Imperial Reciprocity or Colonial Preference, can produce any satisfactory result in strengthening the bonds of Empire, but contend that they will rather result in straining the bonds happily now existing; and finally they anticipate with dread the possibility of the growth in this country of political corruption and the fostering of selfish interests with which, in too many instances, the growth of Protection is irrevocably linked.' Investments Abroad.

"

The interpretation to be placed upon the growth of British investments abroad is a matter of keen controversy between Tariff Reformers and Free Traders. The rival views are indicated by the terms of the resolution moved by Mr. Baldwin (Tariff Reformer) in the House of Commons on March 17th, 1909, and the amendment moved by Mr. Russell Rea. Thus crystallised, the Tariff Reform view is that "the feeling of insecurity due to the policy of the Liberal Government, to the unfair competition of foreign producers in British markets, and to the high tariffs of foreign countries, has caused capital to be employed abroad which might have been used at home to the great advantage of the wage-earning population of the country.' Free Traders, on the other hand, regard "both the steady increase in the amount of British capital invested in British colonies and foreign countries, and the character and distribution of such investments, with satisfaction, as being a consequence and an evidence of the fundamental stability and prosperity of the domestic industries and the commerce of the United Kingdom, a constantly increasing support and guarantee of their growth in the future, as well as an important instrument for maintaining cheap supplies of food for the people and raw materials for the manufacturers of this country, and would view with disfavour any attempt artificially to regulate the distribution and direction of British enterprise and industry.'

In a paper read before the Royal Statistical Society in June 1909, Mr. George Paish stated that if the Inland Revenue Commissioners were to bring together all the income of companies trading abroad and distributing interest and profits in this country the total would be about £140,000,000. To obtain this income Great Britain had invested about £2,700,000,000 and was obtaining an all-round return of 5'2 per cent.

For reasons which are set forth at length by the Inland Revenue Commissioners in their latest report [Cd. 5308], price is. 3d., full statistical information as to foreign investment is not available. So far as it is identified, the

£ 9,037,209 14,093,110

1,240,737 3,348,636

523,699 3,998,289

£

23,130,319

9,111,361

£32,241,680

It has been estimated that French investments abroad amount to £1,600,000,000, of which £500,000,000 are invested in Russia. German investments abroad amount to about £1,500,000,000.

Fiscal Associations and Organisations. The following is a list of associations both for promoting and for opposing Mr. Chamberlain's policy:

For Mr. Chamberlain's Proposals. The Tariff Commission was established by Mr. Chamberlain at the beginning of 1904, "to examine the fiscal proposals which he has submitted to the country; and to report as to (1) their probable effect on present conditions; (2) whether any modifications are desirable, and, if so, what should be the nature of such modifications, having due regard to the general interests of the community; (3) the best way in which, where there are conflicting interests, those interests can be harmonised; (4) what duties, if any, should be recommended." Hon. President, Rt. Hon. J. Chamberlain, M.P.; Chairman, Sir V. Caillard; Vice-Chairman, Mr. C. A. Pearson; Secretary, Mr. W. A. S. Hewins; Assist. Sec., Mr. Percy A. Hurd. Office, 7, Victoria Street, London, S. W. The members of the Commission are as follows: Col. Sir Charles Allen. Hon, Sir J. A. CockMr. F. Baynes. burn, K.C.M.G. Mr. J. H. Birchenough, Mr. J. Howard Colls. C.M.G. Mr. J. G. Colmer,

Rt. Hon. C. Booth,
F.R.S.
Mr. H. Bostock.
Sir S. B. Boulton, Bart.
Mr. Richard Burbidge.
Mr. J. J. Candlish.
Rt. Hon. Henry Chap-
lin, M.P.

C.M.G.

Gibbs.
Mr. Alfred Gilbey.
Sir William J. Gould-
ing, Bart.
Mr. F. L. Harris, M.P.
Mr. J. M. Harris.
Mr. W. Harrison.
Sir Alex. Henderson,
Bart.

Mr. Arthur Keen.
Mr. J. J. Keswick.

Mr. 1. Levinstein.
Sir W. T. Lewis, Bart.
Mr. Robert Littlejohn.
Mr. Charles Lyle.
Mr. A. W. Maconochie.
Mr. W. H. Mitchell.

Since the Commission commenced work in Jan. 1904 upwards of 15,000 firms and associations in every part of the United Kingdom have filled up forms and made written statements on the manufacturing industries.

The Commission has published the volumes of its Report dealing with 13 leading industries, viz. Iron and Steel, Cotton, Wool, Hosiery, Lace, Carpets, Silk, Flax, Hemp and Jute, Engineering (including Shipbuilding), Pottery, Glass, Sugar and Confectionery, and Agriculture; and a number of Memoranda.

Imperial Tariff Committee, Birmingham. President, Rt. Hon. J. Chamberlain, M.P.; Treasurer, Neville Chamberlain; Hon. Sec., W. Byng Kenrick; General Sec., C. A. Vince, M.A. Organising Sec., W. Jenkins. Office, 39, Edmund Street, Birmingham.

Tariff Reform League, inaugurated July 21st, 1903 (Mr. Chamberlain later on became a vicepresident).-President, Duke of Sutherland, K.G.; Chairman of the League, The Viscount Edward Goulding, M.P.; Sec., T. W. A. Bagley; Ridley; Chairman of Organisation Committee, Literary Sec., G. Graham Anderson. Office, 7, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.

Liberal Union Club.-President, Lord Lansdowne, K.G.; Hon. Sec., H. Pike Pease. Address, 9, Great George Street, Westminster, S.W.

Birmingham and Midlands Women's Imperial Tariff Reform League. 39, Edmund Street.President, Lady Smith; Hon. Sec., Mrs. W. Farrow.

Against Mr. Chamberlain's Proposals.

Constitutional Free Trade Association.-Presi dent, Earl of Cromer; Sec., E. G. Brunker. Office, 34, Victoria Street, S.W.

Free Trade Union. - President, Rt. Hon. Arnold Morley; Hon. Treasurers, Earl Beauchamp and Sir Alfred Mond, Bart., M.P.; Hon. Secs., Capt. the Hon. C. Bigham, C M.G., and Chas. Mallet, M.P.; Gen. Sec., G. Wallace Carter. Office, 8, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.

Women's Free Trade Union.-President, Mrs. Harcourt; Chairman, Mrs. Thomas Lough; Hon. Treasurer, Lady Mond; Hon. Sec., Mrs. W. P. Byles, Office, 185, Palace Chambers, Westminster, S.W.

Cobden Club.-Chairman of Committee, Lord Welby; Treasurer, Rt. Hon. Russell Rea, M.P. Sec.. J. A. Murray Macdonald, M.P. Office, Caxton House, Tothill Street, Westminster, S.W.

Chief Liberal Organisations. The chief Liberal organisations are:Eighty Club, 3, Hare Court, Temple, London, E.C. Formed in 1880 to promote Liberal Education and stimulate Liberal organisation. The members lecture on political subjects and address Liberal Associations and meetings throughout the country. No fees are charged. Sec., R. C. Hawkin.

Liberal Central Association. The recognised and official headquarters of the party, the chairman of the association always being the Chief Liberal Whip for the time being President, The Rt. Hon. H. H. Asquith, K.C., M.P.; Chairman, The Master of Elibank, M.P.; Treasurer, Jesse Herbert; Hon. Sec., Sir Robert Hudson, 21, Abingdon Street, Westminster. Liberal Colonial Club. Formed in 1906 as a centre for Liberals interested in Colonial affairs, and to study Colonial methods of dealing with social problems. Chairman of Committee, Sir West Ridgeway; Hon. Sec., E. T. Cook, 1, Gordon Place, Tavistock Square, W.C.; Sec., Sir A. W. Lawrence, 3, King's Bench Walk, Temple, E.C.

Liberal Publication Department, The, has offices at 42, Parliament Street, S.W., and issues monthly the Liberal Magazine and the Liberal Monthly. The Liberal Year Book is published annually at the end of the year, and pamphlets and leaflets on current politics are issued at frequent intervals. Chairman, The Rt. Hon. Russell Rea, M.P.; Sec., Charles Geake. London Liberal Federation, 41, Parliament Street, Westminster. Chairman, W. H. Dickinson, M.P.; Hon. Sec., Sydney W. Pascall; Assistant-Sec., W. G. Rattey.

National League of Young Liberals. Established 1903. Affiliated branches, 400. President, The Rt. Hon. Walter Runciman, M.P.; Hon. Treasurer, Francis Maclaren, M.P.; Hon. Sec., J. Aubrey Rees, 447, Strand, W.C.

National Liberal Federation. A union for national purposes of all the Liberal Associations throughout England and Wales. The whole Federation represents and gives effect to the ascertained opinions of the rank and file of the party in the constituencies. Head Offices, 42, Parliament Street, S.W. President, Sir William Angus; Chairman of Committee, Sir Edward Evans; Sec., Sir Robert Hudson; Assist. Sec., Frank Barter. Telegraphic address, "Liberalize," London; Telephone, 2131 Victoria. The National Reform Union was formed in 1864 by members of the Committee of the Anti Corn-Law League, who took up the question of Parliamentary Reform after the defeat of Protection. Has over 250 branches, and sends out lecturers and distributes political literature all over the country. President, Rt. Hon. Lord Weardale of Stanhope; Hon. Sec., H. J. Ogden; Treasurer, George Rhodes, K.C.; Chairman of Executive, J. Herbert Thewlis; Sec., Arthur G. Symonds, M.A. Central Office, 50, Haworth's Buildings, 5, Cross Street, Manchester; London Office, 10, Adelphi Terrace, W.C. Scottish Liberal Association. Hon. Treasurer, J. W. Gulland, M.P. Eastern Section: Sec., A. D. Wood, 95, Princes Street, Edinburgh. Western Section: Sec., William Webster, 7, West George Street, Glasgow. Scottish Women's Liberal Federation, 7, West George Street, Glasgow. Sec., Miss Alice Younger, M.A.

Women's National Liberal Association, 138, Palace Chambers, Westminster, S.W. President, The Hon. Mrs. Henry Gladstone; Chairman of Executive, Mrs. W. P. Byles; Sec., Miss E. E. Page.

Young Scots Society. Founded 1900. Its objects are to promote advanced Liberalism in Scotland chiefly by educational propaganda among young men, and in particular to advance the cause of Scottish Home Rule. 50 branches. Hon. President, J. W. Gulland, M.P.; President, Robert Hay, Dunfermline; Hon. Gen. Sec. J. M. Crosthwaite, 207, West George Street, Glasgow; Hon. Gen. Treas., J. S. Saunders, 22, St. John Street,

Perth.

Chief Unionist Organisations.

The chief Unionist organisations are:Association of Conservative Clubs, St. Stephen's Chambers, S. W. Sec., Frank Solbé.

Conservative Central Office, St. Stephen's Chambers, Bridge Street, Westminster, S.W. Tel. 5720 Gerrard. Telegrams, "Conservative, London." Principal Agent. J. Percival Hughes. National Conservative League. Grand Sec., F. H. Relton, 9, Broughton Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey.

National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations, England and Wales, St. Stephen's Chambers, Westminster, S.W. President, The Rt. Hon. the Earl of Derby; Chairman of Council, The Rt. Hon. Henry Chaplin, M.P.; Sec., Thomas Cox; Librarian and Assist. Sec., W. J. Marshall.

National Union of Conservative Associations for Scotland, 1, Castle St., Edinburgh. President, William Whitelaw; Sec., George Brown, Advocate.

Primrose League. A league founded in 1833, which supports three principles-the maintenance of Religion, the Estates of the Realm and the Imperial Ascendency of the British Empire. Supplies a large number of workers at election times, and during the interval between elections carries on a campaign of edu. cational work in the constituencies. Grand Master, Right Hon. A. J. Balfour; Chancellor and Chairman of Grand Council, Lord Des borough. K.C.V.O.; Treasurer, Right Hon. Sir loseph Dimsdale, Bart., K.C.V O.; President Ladies' Grand Council, Miss Balfour. Members enrolled up to Oct. 1910 number, including Scotland, 2, 102.348, divided among 2662 Habitations. Vice-Chancellor, George Lane-Fox; Deputy Vice Chancellor, The Lord Hyde; Registrar, F. Willis; Clerk of the Council, R. Bennett Head Offices: 64, Victoria Street, S.W. Official Organ, The Primrose League Gazette (monthly), id.

Liberal Unionist Council, formerly the Liberal Unionist Association, was formed to resist the Home Rule policy adopted by Mr. Gladstone in 1886. President, Right Hon. J. Chamberlain, M.P. Chairman of Committees, Right Hon. Sir Savile B. Crossley, Bart., K.C.V.O. Sec.. John Boraston, J.P. Offices, 9, Great George Street, S.W.