The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-18

ALLaLLLlL. .LLI4. L.LLAL
Sir wrbTR1D IL the oficiai spokesman, had
no desire. he said, that England should, by
way Of recompense, discriminate against
the food staples Of foreign countries
which compete with Canadian products.
The duties on British goods, he de-
clared, had been lowered in the Do
| minion, not because they came from Great
Britain, but because they came from the
only country which received Canadian
products freely. The purpose was to show
England gratitude for admitting Canadian
commodities duty free, and, at the same
time, to go as far as the Dominion could In
the direction of free trade.
1t was in an interview with n reporter for
the London Daily Chronicle that the atti-
tude of the Canadian Liberal party was
thus defined. Then followed an interesting
and significant interchange Of ideas:
"Would you say No." asked the inter-
viewer, ii England proposed to tax wheat
and meat from the United States and Rus
STA and the Argentine, while admitting
free Of duty your Manitoba No. 1 hard
wheat, your Alberta ranch beef, and your
apples from Annapolis ValleyT
Sir WILFRID answered: "Well, no, per-
haps not. II England were willing to give
us a preference over other nations, taking
our goods on exceptionally favorable terms,
l would not object. 1t would be a great
boon for the time. But how long would 1t
lasti Would it be an advantage In the
long rum That Is what men who think
beyond the passing moment have to
ask themselves. Suppose England did
such a thing and abandoned her
free trade record. She would ~inevita-
bly, curtail the purchasing power of
her people. Do you not think we should
suffer from that, we who alone have natural
resources enough to feed your millions from
our fertile lands3 l have too great q belief
in the common sense of Englishmen to
think they will do any such thing. What
we have lone in the way of tariff prefer
ences to England, we have done, as 1 said,
out of gratitude and not because we want
her to enter upon the path Of protection"
While Sir WILFRID LAURIER thus put
aside the idea Of an imperial customs union,
which Mr.. CHAMBERLAIN has at heart, he
made another suggestion, for which, as yet.
the English people are by no means ripe,
namely, that the colonies might eventually
send delegates to the House Of Commons.
81 really should not be surprised he said,
elf representation were found to be, after
all, the wisest and simplest solution for tho
problem Of the British empire"
Mr.. REID, the Premier of New South
Wales, the oldest Of the Australian colonies,
was equally pronounced against everything
in the shape of an imperial Zollverein, and
acknowledged that proposals for a preferen-
tial tariff would meet with his opposition.
The question was put to him: do you
think the end in view, the close federation
Of the British empire, is more likely
to be attained through the customs
union proposed by Mr.. CHAMBERLAIN 2"
Mr.. REDS reply was that he did not
think Mr.. CHAMBERLAIN's proposals prac-
ticable, but, il he did, he should feel i'm
PEELED to reject them on general grounds.
I'm my opinion" he said, "the British
empire is better maintained by its present
policy of free trade, even with enemies, than
it could be in any other way. The British
empire he Wen on to acknowledge,
would have been an intolerable aggres-
sion upon the rights Of other nations
but for its magnanimous trading policy,
which has given the world al equal share
in the benefits of the British empire, and
which has tended to create enormous bust
ness interests in favor of peace with Great
Britain. 1 feel" he concluded, "that any
attempt on the part of England to change
her policy would, instead of strengthening
the empire, supply many new motives to
jealous nations for hostilities."
The London National Rerieu, although
the organ of Lord SALISBURY, and as such
friendly to the project Of imperial CONSOLE
dation, admits that the divergence of opin-
ion among the colonial Premiers dissipates
the dream Of those who hoped to see the
framework Of a great scheme Of fiscal fed
Grafton constructed in the jubilee year.