Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-07-11

/ ship building, which is a mechanical art
rather than a manufacturing industry, and
1 Glasgow also mas a large ocean carving
/ trade, so that il may be said truly that
Manchester is the largest city in Great
Britain or in the world dependen, on manu-
! facture without the aid Of shipping trade.
Manchester also Is noteG as being the birth
/ place of the political formula Of free trade
For many years the free-trade party in
| England was spoken OF as "the Manches ter
school. For many years John Bright rep
| resented Manchester in Parliament, and
its manufacturing appendix Of Stockport
| senC Richard Golden to the house Of COM
mons.
These Introductory remarks are made
! that the Chicago Tribune, Times and
Herald, lately spoken Of by the London
Financial Times as "strong-sided champ
ions of the British interest In Chicago,
may receive tie figures which we are about
to present with that respectful assent
which they are accustomed to yield to any
information of English origin. The tig-
ureS are CONVERSATIONS from parliamentary
report upon the external trade of foreign
countries as compared with that of Great
Britain, and, lest our city contemporaries
SHOULD suspect that the condensations
have been made by American friends Of
the protective doctrine, we will add that
they are quoted from the Manchester
Courier of June 10, 1891, and are the work
of Mr.. George AugustaIns Hang, who, Ger
tainly. is neither an American nor pre-
tectionist Before giving the figures it IS
needful to say tiiat free trade has been in
practical operation for NOR than thirty FIVE
years in Great Britain. and that the statts-
ties about to be presented cover these
specific thirty-fNe years. Ten countries of
Europe are so far from the practice of free
entitled to rank as protective; they are
France, Belgium, Holland, Russia,
Austria Hungary, Denmark, Norway,
Sweden, Spain and Portugal
In 1854 these protective countries i'm
ported goods to the value of Elb9 6l4,O 600
In 1880 they imported to the value of
1929 1890
Increased imports of ten protective
countries during thirty years e449,
SOS 900.
In 1854 Great Britain imported to the
value of el52, $50 900, and in 1889 to the
value of G427 ,63S, 900.
Increas imports of the non-protected
country curing thirty-tive years e275, 249, .
600.
In 1854 the zen protective countries eX-
ported goods worth flS5, $50 900. In 1889
to the value of G62l, 952, 900
Increase of exports from protective
countries in thirty five years, e436, 4O9,-
900.
in 1854 Great Britian's exports were
worth els, 1871 900 and in 1899 ell4,7O5,
600
Increase of exports in non-protective
country during thirty-hye years. Gl9S, $50,
| 600
What becomes of the free-trade dogma
! that no country can greatly increase It's
| exports while it levies tariffs on goods I'M
ported from other countries when it is
submitted to the test of figures which
prove that the countries of Europe thai DO
| levy high tariffs on imports have increared
their exports at more than double the
rates achieved 10y the only country that has
practical free trade?
As frequently has been remarked, the
/ British free-trader seldom juggles with
/ figures; ne gives them their true value,
anu looks their consequence full in the
| face; and, though it hurts him, processes
! that the protective nations are increasing
1 the volume of their trade more rapidly
than one free-trade country Of ciylliza-
ton Your Briton is free trader only
/ because he cannot raise enough bread for
his workmen to eat. SO long as the pop.
ulation of Britain could be fed by the
farms of Britain your Briton was a
staunch protectionist. He now desires
that we should become free traders; but
ne would laugh at our simplicity if we
yielded to his desire,
We again commend these British stats
tics to the consideration of American free
| traders