The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-20

means that we are to restrict our tran sections with those who supply us with the greater part of what We want, and who take in exchange the largest part of what We have to sell, and to culti- cate exclusive dealing' with our smallest customers and those who are least able to supply our commercial needs. To do this would be equivalent to our deliberately committing commer- ciaI suicide. To make the proposal more preposterous our colonies are not even prepared to admit our goods free if we charge duties on all imports of raw material and food coming from outside the empire, and thus raise the price against ourselves. They are pro- etctiontsts. They want to foster their home industries. They would still claim to do this by high import duties. Take. for instance, the case of Canada. She has granted us degree of prefer ential treatment. But what has been the result? This preferential treatment encourages the importation of raw ma terial from the United States. and gives to Canadian manufacturers an advan- tage over all manufacturers outside of Canada. In the year ended June 30, 1901, the average ad valorem duty on British goods entering Canada was 183 per cent, and the average duty on American goods was 12.4 per cent. In | that year British goods entering Cana da amounted in value to nine millions, | and paid in customs duties 91,634, 900. Last year the proportion of Canadian duties derived from British goods was | twenty-four per cent, as compared 1 with tWenty-six per cent. and thirty per cent. in the two years preceding the so-called British preferential tariff. The conclusion is clear that we have gained nothing material from the pre- ferential tariff. We should make a very bad bargain for ourselves were we to agree to put an import duty on food and raw material from abroad, and let them in from our colonies free, in re- turn for similar treatment by the colo l nies toward our goods. But as mat ter of fact, not one of our colonies would consent to this. We are to let in l their products free, they are to be al- lowed to charge heavy import duty on our products.
 And why are we to sacrifice our com- mercial prosperity? It is to be offered up on the altar of Birmingham imperi- alism. We are asked to believe that, if We will make this astounding bargain, our colonies will be prepared to accept this creed and to join us in maintaining a huge aggressive fleet and army. They would do nothing of the kind Sir 1 Wilfrid Laurier has voiced the opinion of the colonies, which is that they en- 1 tirely decline to be drawn into the vor- tex of European militarism. They have already told us that they are opposed to Mir. Chamberlain's scheme of a Pan-
 Anglican Parliament. They are per fectly satisfied sto remain as they are, autonomous states, co-equal in the Anglican alliance with us, and masters
 in their own houses as we are in ours. i MT. Chamberlain seems to be under the impression that any one can be bribed
 into acceptance of anything that he may suggest. Only a day or two ago he offered the workingmen old age pen
 sions if they would consent to what he calls his new fiscal arrangements. He
 now offers the colonies to grant what is
 obviously to their advantage more than ours if they will accept his imperial
 creed. He compared the Czar to the devil in one of his contributions to the
 cause of peace and good will between
 nations. Were to follow his example
 (which I could not think of doing) I
 might compare him to the devil, when he had the impudence to offer the AL
 mighty the dominion of the world if He l would bow down and worship him.
 Just as the bribe will be rejected by our
 workingmen, so it will be rejected by the colonies, Neither they nor our workingmen will have any truck with him. What our workingmen want is cheap food, and no impediments to be placed on our selling the goods which they manufacture, for they know that if food and raw material be taxed the result must be that there will be less work for their hands. What the colo- nies want is to be left to work out their own salvation in their own way They want no colonial minister to help them. Henry Labouchere in the London Truth.