Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-08-06
THE ANrI-FREE-TRADE MOVEMENT IN
ENGLAND.

The movement against Free Trade in Eng.
land appears to be in fair way towards or.
ganization. Naturally it does not take the
shape Of an agitation in behalf of Protee-
ton, for that doctrine could not in its
naked form be made acceptable in coun-
try which has not yet forgotten the corn
laws. The new party is moving some.
what insidiously. 1t takes the ground
that free trade ought not to be maintained
with countries which refuse to reciprocate
that the products of all such countries
should be made dutiable, in fact. 1t pro.
poses further that free trade in its fullest
sense shall be restricted to the colonies
and dependencies of the United Kingdom,
and that if other countries at any time
shew disposition to remove their tariff
restrictions from English goods, they shall
be freed from duties in their turn. Apart
from the question of principles. which
indeed may be said to be aban.
doned altogether by the new party.
we are disposed to think that the
colonies would be very apt to oppose
sharp resistance to this programme. Most
of them have developed very pro.
nounced sentiment in favor of Protection,
which is generally he case in newly.settled
and undeveloped countries. They want
all the help they can get for their own
struggling industries, and they cannot be
persuaded that they are not benefting
themselves by adopting the peculiar
policy of robbing Peter to pay Paul, which
is the groundwork of Protection. The
glory OF helping to build up English manu-
features would, we think, 60 for very little
in their eyes. All colonies are naturally
more or less jealous of the mother coun-
try, and the more she assists them the less
grateful do they feel, as rule. They
never are willing to make any sacrifices
for her, though they always expect her
to defend them against the rest of
the world. They would, therefore, kick
violently against the new programme,
and some of them would be very apt to
prefer declaration of independence to
the acceptance of it. As to it's probable
reception by the English themselves, the
proposal to put duties upon breadstuffs and
other provisions seems alone sufficient to
enlist the masses against it. The consumer
is everybody, and the consumer fully ap
preciates the benefits resulting from free
importation of American wheat and beef.
Of course this is, in effect, proposition to
re-enact the corn laws, however disguised
it may be, and there is certainly no politi-
cal organization of any consequence bold or
foolish enough to assume the responsibility
for such policy. And this shows the fu.
tility of any serious effort to overthrow
Free Trade in England. No matter what
the country suffers it cannot retaliate upon
the rest of the world, because it could only
do SO by imposing new burdens upon the
masses, who are already sufficiently FESTIVE
under the existing taxes. The agricult.
ural interest cannot hope to be reinstated
in any such way. If that is its only
scheme of relief it might as we'll go into
bankruptcy at once. And as for the man.
ufacturers, since their chief grievance is
the obstinacy of foreign Governments, we
do not see how they are to improve their
situation. The cause of their trouble i,
beyond the jurisdiction of England. 1t
has been her mission to make goods
for other countries, not to export bread.
stuffs. She has sent the products of her
mills and looms all over the world, and has
bought her food abroad. Under these cir.
cumstances she cannot recur to protection
without entirely readjusting her industries,
and such readjustment would be a work
of generations, not of months or years.
The real truth is that it is not free trade
which is injuring her, but the rapid growth
of rival industries, both on the continent
and in the United States.