The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1884-11-04 00:00:00

FAIR TRADE V. FREE TRADE.

On Saturday night there wena very large atten-
dance at the Wimborne Corn Szohanr, for the pur-
pose of hearing a debate by Mr. J. Pettifer. of
London, who argued in fa your of Fair Trade, and Mr.
J. Howes, of Manchester who took up the side of
Free Trade. The chair was taken by Hr. J. A.
Travers, J.P., and the debate was, with the exception
, of several slight but stupid observations, listened to
THE LATTER DAY 84INT8. with great intermit throughout
i The CHAIRMAN having announced the order in
W. have been favoured with a copy of the Latter which the speakers were to address the meeting, said,
!!*•7 Uri& iliMesioi Mar, which nontaise allusion to in reply to a question, that it was not intended to
"I• tiddler in Amust, delivered in Swamis by take a vote on the subject.
Proudest F. M. Hopes. It is Ms. Ropes who I Mr. Howes, who opened the debate, prefaced his
'rasa 11. al, argeseste with a few temaska to the elect that he

hoped Mr. Pettiferj in recommending Fair Trade, OATTIIITOOE.
would say what articled he professed to tax, and the PIIXLTiVI
ssie:t,lciLauuttoheouamnricig‘uell'it tagaitvti:dletaiwhiheanosadughidnotith.totret betiFeralimP"TstaLed.te; 411111 CHargL. —ln celetesti of
tha .p Ave...ea% eorai no were preached last
ree
8 ,slay by the Rey. W. L Teeter, of Portlsel. On
was one if the chin planks in the Liberal platform nelay. October 27.6. •go ell rush., eat a ern to
Years ago the Conservative* cried out that if the j"."„l„lic,jt„'"„P,re.'„,ei I„u,lehii„‘tir.
tariffs' were abolished the country would go to Mrs Barge. The out,.
dtr".ute'rufetori°,l4 "'ea
°E.l"ale.lll7.4e,aaided""this.
but their progneetications had not proved were glean by 11 s•re. 'l. Hick.,
R as. G. Pickle. an IW. 1... Taylor. The eb owl was
a matter of fact, the people of this
country knew nothine of prosperity wad the tariff. fa" 416114 ale,ned by Mr.. B aee, Ma a Welt. man,
were abolished, 1.71, to the year 1640 the people of this 11. es Dent od, toter hasv ein Is h• 4 .g eoesee I
a t ,lay la get ,t is re as I arc introit country were so ground down by the imposition of "urd
th en. ttierehy prodecio: • elreene effar. C "heti lie
tariffs that they could scarcely live, and great were and doi.st.ons ri 1.7 1T.11,14 el which
misery prevailed. This wad not a reyolutieua-y 'shoat wil, be netted f r the Ti um Fond. H earty
country, but if a man began to tied that there was
nothing for him in this world but werk and beg, 1j.h.",,",,,,"ete: swc'eeee.e'ljedi to all had helped to make
with the werkhouee iu the end, it was a state et -
tlungs which was calculs.tei to reyoluti in.
'Tariffs were one of two things—they were either
good or bad, they were a blessing or a curse to the
country, and he thought past hiistory clearly pointed
eta theiu which it had been. If it was necessary
to protect one induary it was necessary to protect
all, and he did not eve..." they wanted that done.
(Hear, lied.) It seemed inorvelluus to him that in
this, the ninekauth century, men could be found who
were willing to go back to the old state of things.
The Tories had told them that they did not propose
to go back to the old state of things; but any way
they proposed to alter the present state of free trade,
and he clui not suppose the people wanted that done.
(Applause,) He Seined that he was what had been
celled a one-sided free trader, and said he was a
thorough going free trader, who would, if he could,
parse .de all the world to go in for it—(bear, hear)—
but if other countries chose to maintain protection he
meant to get as much free trade in this country as he
could. As a contrast between the tra in of England
and of protective countnee by referred to the returns
for the year lera—a year during which, he said,
trade was at its lowest. In that year the trade of
England, with its population of 35 millione, was
£M12,000,000 ; in Germany with a population of
44.14M0,000 the trade amounted to a:3/1,000,000; in
the United States, with a population of 50,000,000,
the trade was £23e.000,0e0 ; in Franix, with a eoeula-
Lien of 30.000,000, the trade was £313,000,0110, and in
Kumasi, with its population of $0,000,000, the trade
was only £183,000,000. In Amenca it was true the
working man got a higher wage, but a high tariff was
paid on every article he purchased. The great secret
of American sumo,* was the large amount of "virgin
roil," which cost little to cultivate, and this had
enabled the country to prosper in spite of high tariffs.
lie quoted further statistic* and pointed out that when
tariffs were high and numerous in this country wages
were low, and tan working claw., in a inionrablo con.
!Mien. The abolition ot tariffs made work plenti•
ful, and people were all the better off for the low
prices. the man who would ask for • return of the
old state of things must be mad indeed, and must
have forgotten the spirit of the tunes and the past
history of the nation. (Applause.)
Mr. Permits said that the subject which they
were met together to consider that evening was this
—Have the working classes benetitted by the present
policy of free trade fir. Howes had painted them
a glowing picture of the working classes to-day and
a deplorable picture of them in tunes past. (Laughter.)
But he had a greater authority than even Mr.
Howes for the picture ui the state of the
working classes which he would lay before
them. Mr. Joseph Chamberlain (applause)
in an article in the Pert/Pe/ay Reims of last
Deuember, said that never had the misery of the poor
been inure intense,. Sr the conditions ot their daily
life inure hopeless or degraded, than it was at this
time. Ile then proceeded to quote price* of wheat
during protection, and commenting on the present
' state of thinks, he said that free trade, as it exieted
at the present time, was not what Cobden intended.
Tha present free trade might be a plank in the Liberal
platform, but the free trade principle which Cobden
muffed to see adopted was a free interchange by all
countries in the world, so that our products might
not be taxed on the other side of the water. (isser,
hear, and applause.) They had not got free trades
or ha should not be there that evening to stand up to
say a mingle word 'against it (Applause.) Could it
be said even that we had free trade in this country?
Why, etatietics proved that Eiutiorel actually levied
more , totem house dqty than any other country in
Europe. Euglatid levied 000,000 a year in Custom
house duty, while France. a protective country, levied
only about £1.3,000,000. That 19 million was levied
almost entirely on articles consumed by the poorer
classes in this country—for instance, on tea, c'
c c
offee. and tobacco, whilst silks, satins, velvetiea°
luxuries, purchaeed chiefly by the upper classed., never
paid a single farthing duty when they were brought
into this country. Would it be any hardship to any•
elm, would it bring about such a great national
calamity as Ur. 'Cowie ho 4 held up to their view, if
the duty WWI taken off —mind, he del not say it ought
to be, but if it WAS taken ell —the poor man's
tea and coffee, and put ou the rich mum's silks
and 'otitis They hid b.'.'n frequently told
that imp irt duty was not levied by this country
,in 'nand:Laurie' articled, but many of them
would be surprised to tarn that whilst the duty
°. '.1.1".; raw leaf was 3s. Gd., i was is. 44. on manu-
factured. A (it/edit/a WWI asked him the last time
he was in Wimborne with reference to his statement
that England a export trade had fallen off recently 10
per cent., and he was asked whether that represented
bulk I,r money ; and lie now wished, in reply to that
queetion, to .331 that it represented money, as shown
by an extract (non one of gr. Chamberlain's own
etetemente. He then referred to the fact that 110
blaet furnaces ad been blown eut recently in the
country, and that the price of iron had been greatly
reduced by foreign competition. and he attributed the
present distress in Sunderland chiefiy to the .80110
natl., Among other industries which had suffered
was the match-box trade. Owing to foreign oompeti•
lion in our opea market metithee amid Is. holught for
lid. • down boxes. What did that mean to the
match-box makers in London? The public might be
able to buy two boxes of matches for a farthing, but
the poor match-box maker had to make the boles at
2W. per gross. If there was a tax of IW. on a dozen
boxes of matches those poor women who made the
boxes would get a better price. (Hear, hear, and
hissing.) lie quoted from the Tin s newspaper and
from other sources in support of his statements that
the trade of the country was much worse now than it
was before it had free foreign competition to contend
against, and made special allusion to the distress in
the cotton trade. In the course of some other remarks
he said that even if we exported as much a-s we did
, formerly it *as at a much lower price, and therefore
was n t a., good for the producer
Mr. HOWOI, in replying, complained that Mr.
Pettifer had not given him any details as to what
ehould or should not be taxed. Surely Mr. Pettifer
knew whether they ought to have protection er not •
on certain things and why diil he net say on what,
and show them how they could benefit by it' If any
definite proposal had been made by Mr. Pettifer, he
(the speaker) would have dealt with it without fear
or trembling, but on the contrary he (the last
speakthen t: )11:ePti:eerecin rrighhateveneTnatuittimuspel7. (Laughter.)
With regard to the statement by Mr. I. mberlain
which Mr. render had read, it was one Mr. Chamber-
lain made with respect to the dreadful state of the
homes and habitations of the poor in London, and
not bearing upon Free Trade at all, and therefore it
ought not to have been Quoted in the meaner it had
that night, as items likey to lead to a false impression.
tie deaied the statement that Cobden adid not
advocate the present system of Free Trade'
and in the course of further remarks awed
further in favour of people buying their goods in
the cheapest market, and in favour generally of
Free Trade,
Mr. Periwig, in replying, said he was not
called on in the words of their understanding as
to the nature of the debate to propose anything at
all, and in concluding some forcible arguments—
after asking Mr. Howes how the Chancellor of the
Exchequer could find his Maooo,ooo a year if there
was no duty on anything —'aid that the only definite
proposal he had to make was that there should be a
Government inquiry into the present state id trade.
(Cheers and counter cheered
Mr Howes', in reply, Raid he ilid not want the
Chancellor of the Exchequer to have 1335,000,000 a
year to deal with; he would cut off hereditary
pensions, abolish superfious sinecure Government
offices, and reduce other items of public expenditure.
So long as a Chancellor of the Exchequer could get
85 millions he would spend it, but when he found he
could not get it he would have to reduce his expendi-
ture lie also argued that by bringing large tracts of
lands into cultivation it would take out of the large
towns many of the rural people who had gone there
for employment, owing to the state of agriculture,
and would make it better for everybody all round.
Wait until the people got the vote and then they
would open out • crusade on this great land question.
(Cheers and counter cheers.)
qr. PaTTllltit anin replied. and said that before
more palple could be got to grow corn in England,
some scheme would have to be shown by which they
could grow it at a prolit. tie concluded by advocating
a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the present state
of trade. (Cheers and 'dues.)
The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the
Chairman.