The Portland daily press., 1892-05-20
SALISBURY'S SURRENDER.
He Says Free Trade Is Noble but
Not Business Like.
UTTERANCES WHICH HAVE SET
ALL ENGLAND TALKING.

The Premier Told His Hearers that Eng
land Must Fight the Commercial Bat
tie with the Weapons Used by Other
Nations and He Was Cheered-The
United States, He Thinks, Must Be Let
A1one-Compliments to Gladstone.
LONDON, May 19.-Lord Salisbury, in
his speech at Hastings yesterday, coun-
seled the workingmen to follow the ex-
ample set them by nations and substitute
arbitration for the violent methods which
were sometimes adopted for settling Ia
Dor disputes. He said that a grave mat
ter, in which the prosperity of the coun-
try was involved, was the question of
free trade. England" he declared,
'only maintains the position she occu-
pies by the vast industries existing here.
But danger is growing up. Fifty years
ago everybody believed that free trade
had conquered the world, and prophesied
that every nation would follow the ex-
| ample of England. The results, how
ever, are not what had been expected.
Despite the prophesies Of the free trade
| advocates, foreign nations are adopting
protection. They are excluding us from
their markets and are trying to kill our
trade. And this state of things appears
to grow worse. We live in an age of war
tariffs. An important point is that while
nations are negotiating to obtain each
others commercial favor, none is anxious
about the favor of Great Britain, because
Great Britain has stripped herself of the
armor and weapons with which the bat
| tie is to be fought. The attitude we
have taken in regarding it disloyal to the
glorious and sacred doctrines of free
trade to levy duties on anybody for the
sake of anything we get thereby may be
noble, but is not business like. Cheers. |
If you intend to hold your own in this
conflict of tariffs you must be prepared
| to refuse nations who injure you access
| to your markets. We complain most of
the United States, and it so happens that
| the United States mainly furnishes us
with articles which are essential to the
| good of the people, and with raw ma
| terial which is essential to our manufac-
| turers. We cannot exclude either with
out a serious injury to ourselves.
| am not prepared, in order to
punish other countries, to inflict
| dangerous wounds on ourselves. We
must coniine ourselves to those matters
| whereon we will not suffer much.
tAwhether Importation continues or dimin-
/ ishes. While we cannot raise the price
of food and raw material, there is an
enormous mass of imports, such as wine,
spirits, silks, gloves and laces, from
countries besides the United States,
| which are merely luxuries, and Of which
diminished consumption could be
risked in order to secure access to the
markets of our neighbors. I shall expect
| to be communicated for propounding
| such doctrine, but I am bound to say
| that I think the free traders have gone
too far
| Lord Salisbury dwelt at great length
on the Irish question. Fighting Mr..
Gladstone, he said, was like a combat
with ghost, or like a chapter from
''Alice in Wonderland" First there was
the verdict, then the address of the pros
ecuting counsel and lastly the Judges
summing up. The speaker character
lied it as inbecilty to compare Canada
with Ireland. ''The former" he said,
sis united with England by ties of heart
and sentiment. Ireland has long and
sad history of conflict and bitterness,
and is deeply divided by religion, race
and character. Then imagine the alb
| surdity of Canada's insisting, in addition
| to independence, upon sending hundred
members to the Imperial Parliament, as
Mr.. Gladstone wanted Ireland to do, to
| vote on laws and taxes not affecting their
| constituents. 1t is difficult to imagine a
statesman with a reputation to lose Civ
| ing the sanction of his name to anything
| so scandalous and atrocious.n
| Continuing, Lord Salisbury said that
| the amount of wrath that his recent
speech had evoked was an indication of
the sensitiveness of the conscience he had
| touched.
Sir VIM. Harcourt's jokes and Lord
Rosebery's imprecations would not dis
pei danger. 1t was ridiculous to say that
a warning of danger was to create it. The
speaker then read strong protest from
non-Episcopal ministers in Ireland
against Gladstonian Home Rule, de-
claring that priestly i influence would
be paramount in Dublin Parliament,
and would be certain to lead to civil
war. This, he said, was most important.
testimony. They could not be accused
of sympathy with the present English
| government.
After again denying that he had urged
| Ulster to rebellion, Lord Salisbury
| quoted Sir Robert Peers famous warm
! ing that ''if the Union should be repealed,
the spirit of the Protestant North would
awake from its watchful repose to de-
fend itself from vile and debasing
domination, begotten by a foul union Of
religious hatred and perverse ambition"
"With these words from the grave of
the illustrious past" said the speaker.
81 entreat you to pause before you COM
nit yourselves to this mad experiment"
The Duke of Norfolk moved vote of
thanks to Lord Salisbury, which was
| adopted. The Prime Minister was en-
thusiastically cheered on his way to the
railway station, the streets being crowded
with people.
WoRKINGMEN LIKE 1T.