The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-07

or the capacity lOr Ine ldSe qudi tSi OA the year.
 The Southern Blast Furnace operators, with headquarters in Birmingham, with a capacity of over 13OO,000 tons, will co operate with the northern furnace oper- ators to prevent an over production of ron and will suspend operations to about the same extent.
 
 the country could expect to support it's growing population with it's trade prac- tically staggering for thirty years. He proceeded:
 "On the other hand, the protected coun- tries which you have been told, and myself one time believed, were going rapidly to wreck and ruin,s have pro- gressed infinitely better in proportion than ourselves, and instead of, as Cobden believed, our remaining the workshop Tor the world we are sending less and less of our manufactures abroad, whilst the protected countries are sending more and more of their manufactures here. Thus manufactured exports from nb0oO'UO0 pounds in 1872 have gradually dwindled to 73 800, 900 pounds in 1902 to the protected countries of Europe and the United States.
 'In the same period our exports to non- manufacturing countries, like Egypt, China and South America, have prac- tically remained unchanged. This loss or trade to the protected countries has not been noticed hitherto, bcause during the same period our exports to the British colonies have increased in ratio to coun- ter-balance this loss, and are now more valuable than our trade with the whole of Europe and the United States to- gether. Our colonial trade. in fact, is the ,i5 inn valuable of all our trade. Meanwhile, for eign exports to the United Kingdom have risen from 63 coo pounds in 1872 to 149, 0O0,- GOO pounds in 1902. I do not comment on that, but when I am told that we ought to hold the same opinions as our ances- tors, I reply that we should, if the cir cumstances remained the same.
 Imperial Trade Essential.
 "I have made these figures clear It Is plain that our imperial trade is es- sential to our prosperity. If it declines or fails to increase in proportion to our population, and to the loss of our foreign trade. then we shall sink into fifth rate nation. We have reached our highest point and l am not certain but that some of my opponents regard that with abso- lute complacency. l have the misfortune to be an optimist. l do not believe in the setting of the British star, but l then do not believe in the folly of the British people. l trust them and trust the working classes. l have confidence that they who are masters, electorally speak ing, will have the intelligence to see that they must wake up, that they must meet the new conditions with altogether a new policy.
 Have you ever considered why Canada takes a much larger amount per head of British manufacturers than the United States, Australia thrice as much as Can ada, and South Africa more than Austra- lia? These are all protective countries. 1 see that some of our labor leaders are persuading the workmen to maintain the system of free imports. l undertake to say that not one of them could visit the colonies for six months without singing a different tune. The vast majority of the workmen in thecolonies are protectionists and 1 am disinclined to accept the easy explanation that they are all fools. l fail to understand why a man who is in- telligent here becomes an iolot when he goes to Australia. He does, however, get rid of number of old-world prejudices and superstitions.
 History of Protection.
 Now what is the history of protection? First, there is tariff and no industries. Then gradually primary industries for which the country has natural facilities, grow up behind the tariff wall. Then secondary, industries spring up; first of necessaries. then of luxuries, until at last all the ground Is covered.
 "The countries to which have referred are in different stages of the protective process. In the United States. the pro- cess is completed She produces every thing and excludes everything. There is no trade to be done with her for a paltry six shilling per head.
 Canada has been protective a long time. The principal industries are there, and you can never get rid of them, but the secondary industries have not been created. and there is an immense trade still open to you to maintain and in- crease
 We can intervene now, but it is doubtful if we could intervene twenty years hence. We could say to our great colonies. we understand your views and aspirations and do not care to dictate or