Morning journal and courier., 1884-09-13
For State officers.
HOW FREE TRADE HELPS ENG-

HOW FREE TRADE HELPS ENG.
 LAND.
 Free trade, according to some people, has done great deal for England. But MT. Robert P. Porter, who has lately made an exhaustive study of the matter, says that the contrary is true, and that free trade has done great deal of harm to England Agricul- ture, says MT. Porter, has been measurably ruined by it, and in this assertion he is backed up by plenty of proof. The agricul tural population of Great Britain is dwin- ding, land is going out of cultivation, the number of people working on the land is sadly lessening, noblemen and other rich landed proprietors are getting more and more of the land and the farming interest generally has been almost ruined under the practical workings of free trade. Already 1000, 900 Zone mi11ion) of acres have gone out of wheat cultivation in England and BOO 900 acres of arabic cultivation in Ireland farmer has lost $1 ,000, 100000 Gone thousand millions of dollars) of late years It has been found impossible to retain the sheep hus- bandry, which was brought into existence by protective measures, and the f1ocks have decreased 6,O00,00O (six million) There were 25, ,964 per cent. fewer farmers in 1881 than in 1871, and IS per cent. more farm ers' bailiffs.
 So of the other industries-the miners, the boot and shoemakers, the silk workers, the producers of gloves, straw goods, linen and lace goods, etc.; all have declined, like the farm laborers, under the disastrous workings of free trade Even the boasted shipbuild- ing interest on the Clyde only pays it's skilled laborers average of .24 a week. Its unskilled laborers only earn 8. 50 week and all such are heading straight to the almshouse. During the last eight years the deposits in the British postofice savings banks show steady falling off. In 1875 the artisans and laborers constituted g 84-100 per cent. of all these depositors; now, they are only IT 8-10. These official figures. Mir. Porter presents a shocking picture of the scenes he personally witnessed among the laboring people in the nail-making region of England. Women work at the forge and anvil all day to help support the family by ekeing out their husbands scanty wages, yet the husbands earned but $5 and the women
 
 l slaves All lived in wretchedness such as we see little of here He adds that this ] statement was ''assailed right and left by free traders in the United States,'' and copies of it were sent to the London newspapers, to obtain a contradiction of the facts-but nc contradiction came.
 In public speech in England Mr.. Porter reiterated these statements. So far from be ing challenged the facts were sustained by | the audience-voices shouting that not one l half had been told. One speaker declared | that in Birmingham alone 1000 people l were living in filthy back courts, in wha | were little better than pig styes. Meetings O l working people in England are loudly de manding royal commission of inquiry, ol \ a return to protection. Under free trade tht cost of pauperism and crime had increased | from thirty million dollars, in 1840, to eighty millions in 1881l-while the population onl! increased from 26, 800, 600 to 5000, 900. En | glish capital is going over to the Continent l and setting up works there, under protection \ which it finds cannot thrive at home under \ free trade.
 ] All this does not look much like the won derful progress we hear so much about iron l free trade orators. Free trade would do fo the United States similar work to that de scribed above We do not believe the ma | jority of the people of this country want o will have any of it.