The herald., 1896-06-25
THE JUBILEE Of FREE TRADE

said to be the jubilee of free trade, and
so commentaries the triumph of the
policy Of Golden and Bright, has been
made the occasion of considerable
number of newspaper paragraphs and
articles, and various opinions have been
expressed as to the results of our adop-
ton of a system of free exchange-or to
speak more precisely, of tariff for rev.
enue purposes only. One set of writer's
have, of course, declared that we owe
our whole prosperity to free trade, while
the other set have as emphatically pro-
tested that free trade has proved a gil
gantic failure. Look at the income tax
returns" shouts one side; Look at Es-
SEX" shouts the other, and in this way
very pretty paper controversy has
been maintained. Into this controversy
we do not, however. propose to enter
We are content with the fact that Eng
land has free trade and means to keep It,.
We see no use in either side trying to
show what would have happened il
we had followed the path OF protection
instead of that of unrestricted CONNER
cial intercourse. Nothing useful can
come OF discussions conducted on these
hypothetical lines. There is, however,
one matter connected with the contro-
versy which may be touched on with
profit. The protectionists occasionally
attempt to prove that free trade must be
wrong because Golden was wrong
when he prophesied that If England
would only adopt free trade, all the ma
tions of the earth would follow suit, and
that within ten years the days of tar
IFS would be over. Remember these
words. and then consider the present
state of Europe and America" say the
protectionists, and they go on to ask
what possible faith or dependence is to
be placed in the views of a man who
prophesied after this fashion. Golden
was wrong on this point, therefore he
was wrong when he advocated free
trade; so runs the logic of the protec-
tionists. moments reflection will
show the absurdity of such a conten-
ton. Cobdens policy and Cobden's
prophecy have no such interdepend-
ence as this. Because a man cannot
prophesy correctly, it does not follow
that he cannot make a correct state
ment OF fact. Suppose Newton, after he
had formulated the law of gravitation
had been so rash and so unwise as to
prophesy that all the world would in :
stantly recognize the truth of it's discov-
cry. The world did no such thing. but
remained for a time incredulous and in
different. The prophecy-if he had made
lt-would then have failed utterly. But
would 1t have been therefore reasona BILE
to argue that the law of gravitation
was unsound? Assuredly not. The law
II oVerChrown must be overthrow on
It's own dement's So with Cobden's poll
cy and prophecy. The failure of one
does not involve the failure of the other,
and free traders may feel quite uninjur-
eu ny the signal want Of success in Cob
den's attempt to forecast the future
The policy of free trade, when impugned,
must be impugned directly and with ref
erence 10 1acts and arguments germane
to the matter.
But though we hold that the policy
OF free trade is quite untouched by the
ract that Golden was wrong when he
SAID mat some day 1t would obtain uni
Versai acceptance, we have no desire to
speak OF free trade as If 1t were an in
iaillpie dogma, which it is sinful and
heretlcal TO challenge in the slightest de-
gree. We do not wish to take higher
ground for the policy Of free trade than
tnat Ol political convenience We be-
iieve that policy of free trade is d pol
icy both politically and economically ex-
peoient, and one conducive to the pros
perity. and therefore to the material
happiness and we'll being of the country
adopting 1t. But though we hold this
view as to the benefits secured by free
trade as strongly as 1t can be held. we
are perfectly willing to consider all pro-
posais Tor minor notifications of the
policy on their merits. We have no pa
tiehce with those who shout down such
proposals with the cry that they are con-
trary to free-trade principles. s If those
principles were necessarily incapable of
the slightest alteration. Take. for ex
ample, the way in which the very reas-
ohable proposal to prevent the importa.
tlon OF live cattle into our ports has been
met ny the more fanatical section of the
ioilowers OF Golden. They show that it
is an interference with the perfect free
dom OF trade, and then assume that It
must therefore be injurious. Free trade
Is good Tor the country. The prohibition
or the import of live cattle is opposed IN
Tree trade. Therefore the prohibition of
the import of live cattle is Injurious.
such is the syllogism of those who SCI,
rampant protection in necessary
measure of sanitary precaution. In
truth, freedom of trade is only good for
lne country when its effects are good.
The fact that these effects are almost al
ways good does not, however, preclude,
the possibility of exceptions. 1t is there
Iore, the duty of our statesmen not
merely to talk at large about the princi-
pies OF free trade, but to inquire In de-
tail whether the case in point Is one Of
those rare instances when restriction of
traue Is more convenient and beneficial
than freedom. In fact, the truth Is with
burke Wnen he said that nothing abso-
lutte can be affirmed on any moral or
political question.
we confess that we cannot feel any
alarm as to our present fiscal policy
nelng reversed, and one of protection be-
ing adopted in it's stead. No boubt
there Is certain amount of protection
ISL chatter in the air just now, but it
does not, we imagine, have any very
great effect on the nation. If we may be
pardoned for quoting Burke once again.
we should liken the situation to that de-
scrioed in one of his most famous DO
litical metaphors. The grasshoppers.
ne points out, make far more noise than
the stately cattle who are grazing in
silence In the same field Yet no one
considers the grasshoppers to be as pow
erful or as important al the oxen. Our
protectionist grasshoppers also make q
great deal of noise now and again, but
we must not forget to take into account
the rest of the nation who are consuming
IN silence the products of free trade.
A proof that the nation Is perfectly we'll
satisfied with its present fiscal policy.
and does not mean to change 1t, is to be
found in the fact that though there has