Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-10-10

workmen In the colonies are protec- tionists, and am disinclined to accept the easy explanation that they are all fools. fail to understand why a man who is intelligent here becomes an idiotwhen he goes to Australasia. He does, however, get rid of number of old world prejudices and -superstitions.
 "Now, what is the history of protec- ton? First, there is tariff and no in- dustries. Then gradually primary in- dustries for which the country has nat ural facilities grow up behind the tar If wall. Then, secondly, industries spring up-first of necessaries, then of luxurfes, until at last all the ground is covered.
 "The countries to which have re- ferred are in different stages of the protective process. Tn the United States the process is completed. She produces everything and excludes ev- erything. There is no trade to be dane with her for paltry shiilings head. Canada has been protective long time. The principal industries are there, and you can never get rid of them, but the secondary industries have not yet been created, and there is an immense trade still open to you to maintain and increase. Australasia is less developed and takes more than Canada. Tn the Cape there are prac. tically no industries.
 "We can intervene now, but it is doubtful whether we could intervene twenty years hence. We can say to ouS great colonies: We understand your views and aspirations and do not de- sire to dictate, or think ourselves su- perior to you; we recognize your right to develop your industries so as not to be dependent on foreign supplies, but there are many things you do not know how to make for which we have great capacity of production; leave them to us, do not increase the tariff walls against us, let us exchange with syou for your productions. Do it be- cause we are kinsmen because it is good for the empire as whole and because we have taken the first step and set you the example. We offer you preference; we rely upon your patriotism and your affection that we snail not De losers LnereDy.
 Suppose we had made such an offer to the United States and Germany ten or twenty years ago; do you suppose that we should not have been able Sto retain a great deal of what. we have now lost and cannot recover? I will give you an illustra ton. America is the strictest of protective nations. It has a tariff which to me is an abomi- nation, 1t Is so immoderate, unreason- able and unnecessary, and although America has profited enormously think 1t has been carried to excessive lengths, and believe that great number of intelligent Americans would gladly negotiate with us for its reduc- ton. But until very recent times even this immoderate tariff left us the great tin plate trade, amounting to millions of pounds per annum, and which we might have kept if we had given some reciprocal advantage. It would not have been worth America's while to put duty upon an article for which it had no particular use or special apti- tude.
 "If we had made some such conces- sions to Germany we should still have been exporting to that country many articles the market for which is now closed to us. Were we to lose the colo nial as we have lost our foreign trade we should have arrived at the parting of the ways. If the opportunity is not seized now 1t will not recur. Canada will fall to the level Aof the United States, Australia to the level of Can ada and South Africa to the level of Australia, and that would be the be- ginning of n general decline which would rob us of our most important trade" an
 MT. Chamberlain said he believed that the colonies are prepared to meet us in return for very moderate pref erence. They would reserve to us the trade we already enjoy and would also arrange their tariffs in the future in order not to start industries in compe- ton with those already in existence in the mother country, and not only would they enable us to retain our trade with them, but they would give us preference on all trade done with them by our foreign competitors.
 The colonial trade thus secured, said the speaker, would be sufficient to af- ford employment to 615,00O workmen at 30 shillings week and, calculating their families, to give subsistence to 3,075,000 persons. That had been call- ed squalid argument; therefore he appealed on the higher ground that the privileges of empire brought with them great responsibilities. He had spoken with many colonists who be- heved that the present colonial rela- tions could not be permanent. They must either be drawn closer together or they would drift apart, an opinion shared by Lord Rosebery, a statesman whose instincts were always right, though his actions often Jagged behind his instincts.
 He believed that it was only by a commercial union and reciprocal pref erence that they could lay the founda- tionS of a federation of the emDire. fo