New-York tribune., 1904-09-04
THE C0TSW0LDS.
?arqg England, and Parallels About
Free Trade end Protection.


5r,A Cotswoid district is z more primitive bit
= -p-aI England than Mr. Hardy's Wessex. It
a .ract Of biIowy hin country stretching from
stroud 20 Broadway and covering three hundred
crsre miles OF western England. IN Saxon
.,nes e was probably a rough, uncultivated
ooor and during the Elizabethan period it
ra hunting ground for 1our great shires, with
h. stag as the best quarry and with ccursinS
nd hawking as popular recreat!ons- Il is stil
hunting country. with the scent of The fox
l-awiDg packs OF hounds ard mounted sports
rs1 into the narrow valleys and thick under
rood. and with game preserves well stocked
,-,, -ressants and -sb5Its; and the wind swept
r,s are either sheep PASTURES or barley farms,
gb.1 not reserved for the pleasures ot wealthy
,-n.res and leisurely landed proDrietors. Cots
rold barley x eagerly taken by brewers. and
hare are large crops Of It when the Light SOL Is
7,eHctertly v-atered in showery seasons; and
he.o sar-ltng hzs become more profitable since
-os,-5reeC.ng hsz 5eea introduced between the
III 6gcss ard the Hampshire downs; yet agri-
,,ltliTe Is not rs-kaps IN mora hopeless state
tnv7yaere - England shan It IS IN these broad
rr.tches Of stony upland. shakespeare's IA
,o-.ts hunting ground, where he learned the
s,auage ot ta,cou-y ana the chase, was a sheep
rsu, IN Queen Anre's time and 4 prosperous
vnest growing belt during the Georgian period;
nd q has reverted largely to pasturage and
,een nearly enptted Of farm lahorers since the
l5oition Of the corn laws A few Of the most
intelligent farmers. owning large focks OF sheep
nd broad tracts OF barley land, are well 10 do.
nut the small tenants and sluggish Iaborers are
he victims OF hard times and agricultural de-
Eession.
This bleak but beautiful tableland. with its
arrow valleys and sparkling brooks. is silent
ountry as one walks or drives through 1t.
~ he
vhir Of harvesting machinery IS seldom heard
rbe villages remote from the railways seem de-
.ar+ed and tenantless. Sometimes the manor
,ouses where the oIdtine. foxhunting squires
3sed 70 hold high rsvelry. in ruins, and often
1,ev are closed because the owners cannot af-
ord 20 I've n them IN proper style and are
,nabIe 10 ind tenants. Stately and beautiful
trs these ivy clad EIizabethan and Jacobean
manor houses, ana the parish churches. with
heir ernbattled towers and high uaves and
.hoirs, are hou1eike landmarks Of quaint rural
England, and the stone cottages, built two or
hree centuries ago, are as picturesque es the
lucient 5a-rs with their buttressed walls, point
ID windows and oaken roofs. Every village is
l reminder Of = mere prosperous period, when
IS much care vas bestowed upon the constFuc-
aon ot g 1.-THE earn upon q church choir or
he dining hall OF Z manor house. When the great
house has been closed work has become scarce
1aaI the Iaboring folk has been thinned out by
migration 70 the nearest town. where there are
1zctory stacks. The stone walls falling out
Z repst- n the barley fields and sheep walks;
he country 2arsoas are preaching TO smaller
md more lgaorsnt Eocks, and the shadows Of
--pov--3sa-nent and decay are lengthening alike
'rer the gray manor houses. with their spacious
szrde-s and the limestone cottages. with their
parches Of hoIyhocks. poppies and marigoIds.
VIII thkra aver q revival q aZriCI1IrlJral
tsTests? That !s a question which Hodge dis
ousses n 4 hopIess tone with his neighbor on
rainy days. when there iE no work aheld. The
oldtfrns stage coaches no longer carry the news
u Che ration from village 10 village, but here
ocd there 4 newspaper is taken among the
cotswcId hamers, and political issues are
noissd about even when there is no excitement
oye- ny-eIections Mr. ChamberIain's fiscal pro
Posals 5iG not interest the agricultural Iaborers
= the first Instance. because he seemed TO care
more about the remote colonies than the home
country and there was an equal degree Of in
sens!biliLy when he was advocating q 10 per
cent tariff On manufactures as q relief measure
for the evils OF foreign dumping Il was not
until scraps from his Wubeck Abbey speech
were read al the village inns that Hodge pricked
up his ears and begin 10 wag his head dis
trUsuULg. Protection Tor English agriculture
vas the policy which many OF the squires and
parsons had favored SIS the only political method
OF Increasing the tiUage ot land creating de-
nane for farm labor and raising the wages of
cottagers; but they had not considered a re-
version 10 corn laws possible until some great
catastrophe, like prolonged European war or
series Of bad ha-vests in America, had warned
British statesmen that Il was extremely haz-
ardous 20 depend upon foreign food supply. Mr.
chamberlain apparently was not content with
\ z1rT ayfe- OF
Vas wiling 70 grant protection by law at once
-o- al classes OF agricultural produce and was
aI great pains 70 explain that, while the colonies
hho The farming interests would profit by it,
-0od could not be dearer and nobody would be
worse on |he agricultural Ia borer has not vet
mastered This idea. He is not Convinced that
me Squires e1d large farmers would raise the
ta's of wages sor reid work II there were a two
smiling duty en- corn and a 8 per cent tariff on
dairy produce
Hodge IS a. heart a Radical. at least in the
NotsRods and. while he Acknowledges that he
owes something 10 Mr.. Chamberlain for the
-Alotfnents act and more to the Unionist party
.oF his increas sed activity as parish politician,
ne expects that his redemption viii come from
une Liberal party and SIS natural alliance in
country as IL town with TIE forces Of English
i4ooF u this account il 5 Interesting to notice
"Hat advanced thinkers on the .'ree Trade or
-~osral side nave 10 offer for the restoration Of
A's -ortunes- Mr. Fisher Unwin has published
Us week a.. important pamphlet, entitled The
opportunity of Liberalism and It contains the
"A.ai'g that while Mr. Chamberlain has tenn
'c-a-fly o-srshot lAe mark by proposing taxes
oh food. Protection VIII survive its first defeat
~oo DC heard Of again. Consequently the Liberals
A1e advised 70 associate themselves closely not
W. With the .aterests Of trade unions and IN
'FsaEized labor ln the towns, but also with the