New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-11-16
BRITISH TRADE INTERESTS.

TESSOg TAWCFTT.
ITRON TIN REGULAR CORRESPONDENT or rlrE rRIntNhl
LONDON oct 2i.-Tho tokens Of disturbance m
the Free Trade camp multiply and The latest Is most
significant Of All. Until now the recent discussion
has been carried on by men who have direct pTact-
cal or political interest IN maintaining the pohcy
which has been the almost unqucsiioned poIcy oi
England for thirty years. The speeches oi MI
Bright Of Sir Stafford Northcote, the Chancellor of
The Fxchcquer. of Lord Salisbury, of Mr.. Chamber
lain are IN pitched In the old KEY, and all embody
art Of protest against any real examination into
the soundness 81 the doctrines which lie at the root
OF the economical leqsaton-or the greater part Of
it-of ENGLAND. The discussions m the newspapers
have followed the same lead They have all as
sumcd that the growing discomfort among English
uanufact urcrs and the talk about Reciprocity fol-
lowed bV the muttering az the still more ominous
word Retaliation spring from temporary causes,
aud would speedily die ont Of themselves nj most,
needed to be hushcd 20 silence by few authonta-
five voices Whatever happens" said Lord
SALISBURY. don't allow yourselves to question the
soundness Of the Free Trade idea. mat IT.
thing demonstrated One or two members OF far-
lamont ias. session took mp the grievances ~ the
workingncn. among whom also the notion OF Ieclp-
rocitv has begun to make way. They spoke timidy;
they were rebukcd in the most lofty tone Bnt the
workingmeu themselves. 10 is found do not NINA
the lofty tone. The manufacturers who ere losing
money d. foreign competition I'm foreign markets,
find the balance st ON the wrong side Of The ledger
The disposition 20 seek for the causes Of
their distress cannot Dee checked; 1t IN
crcascs: n1y q popular newspaper tells us that
tho notion that Frc Trade is failure
il n growing drlusion." Dcluson or NOT t grows
o. FAST tha the whole question may he said To- he TO-
opened: tlt idea o sitting discussion i7 abandoned;
and one az tIc most eminent of living English econ
e. ri la
Trade the contest which wa. supposed 90 have been
tonight ont when the Corn Laws. and with them
most of the Other Protective laws of England were
repealed Nr Flwcctt. w. T.. for Hackney. anthor
of o. Manual of Political ECONOMY and Professor
of Political Economy in the University OF
Cambrdgr began last Saturday. iu That University,
n cour~. off lectures upon Free Trade and li"t''-
ton with special reference to the causes Which.
since the introduction OF Free Trade INTO ENGLAND
have retarded los progress 90 other countrc'. lS
first lecture b. reported verbatim ~ The Nf"d7I"'
srilt may hc iler,d a- marking Now point of
d,parturc do mot mcan that Professor tavcrft,
f.th bon Free Trade shaken. There IS uo evidence
ofthat. Bur Poo hl, become aware how widely the
faith ofotfcrs is shaken. and sets himself seriously
torccouvort tine tack,lilcrs among the people OF
Tryaui ard to convert Doe world 900 general.
IIi. Gr~t discourse is NOT doctrual il is survey
Of fhc ground and 10 contains some remarkable ad-
may be- plrtrularlv commended to The attention of
certain writers on Free Trade in America who have
inflated thc fault which Mr. Fawcctt rcproycs IN
ms own countrvuen H. rcbukcs, with some stern
re.. the arrogance of tone adopted by Free Traders
toward protect,oni>ts lc warn, them That such
tone is not calculated to convince those who differ
from tl.cu Ilc advises them To- stop speaking Of
Iroi,c, oui.is as if they were solely prompted 10y
d,sirc to sacrifice th' welfare of The community 10
promote tl.rovu -,lu-hcud ; 90 stop dcrdIug hem
o. the victim, of economic ftla,i,- transparent
that tie, ought NOT 90 mi,cad 20 child. iic reminds
them Chat DO is mot many years since the great ma
joIi'y ftI. English people ardent Protection
isis AND the fllgcics for which they profess 50
much contempt were Whc>i'atiugly accepted by
many of the most eminent of their ,Ouutrm"u. lie
insists t'at thc arguments M fayorof Protection
should bc fairly stated and carefully considered,
and De- declares that the pr'grr, of Free Trade has
been materially r,taId boy los advocates assuming
atlo cort.mptupus tone toward the supporters OF
Irl.rcfi. 100 200 otl,f countries.
i short. with the courage and caudoT which have
AWAY. distinguished hmm. Professor fawcett uudcr-
fakes 20 meet the case against him ON its merits.
Il. has too much honesty and too much good sense
O. pretend that Protection is ou ts last beg, every
where. lu reading some American dissertations on
this subject Won mcIt suppose FREQ Trade was tri-
yIrp,aut hc world over, and that only few selfish
manufacturer 900 America SIM tNnG To IIoit'lioh.
People who write 90 that way viii have o. suppress
MI Fau,ctt. admission Chat be seeks to explain thc
causcs which in recent years have not only retarded
a general adoption Of Free Trade, but have
in many countries given fresh vitality
70 the doctrines of Protection. Most
countries he TELLS us seem as di,iucned to ahan-
don Protection as IL TIE Free Trade experiments in
England bad failed rs sisnally as he believes they
have succeeded. Not only do old countries refuse
10 abandon h. but new countries display an e1g,T-
n.., 90 Introduce IT, In France itself (which
most T.. ghshmcu believe Cobdcn won over 10 his
views, Protection o., so powerful that the renewal of
the commercial treaty with England viii have 10
cortond with more opposition than when first
proposed iu 1860 Nh Favcett ouits 10 point ont
how far TIE Cobdc0 tr.aty was from being a Free
Trade measure. M Mill long since remarked,
quoting sir. Henry G.. Carey whose au-
thouty le pronounced uuimpeachabe, that
the French tariff was better protec-
tive tarH than the American Nh. Carey
declared the Morrill, tauif u be- considerably more
liberal than the reformed French tariff under Mr..
Coulcu's treaty: iu,omuch That be, PrOtectonst,
would bee clad % exchange his own protective tanh
for LON, Napoe0u's frce-trade one. As the Morrill,
tariff Is commonly referred 10 in England as thc
sum and embodiment of protective impurities, Nr
Fawcctt might considerably strengthen his appeal
by explaining iu % future lecture how much less
wicked 10 j., than the treaty TO which Golden gave
The sanction Of hi, name.
Nor, than tins when The example Of England Is
quoted 20 must in fairness be stated, says Mr. Faw-
cctt. that between ENGLAND and the countries which
now maintain Protection there is this fundamental
In Iflf1 II ffr4l