Evening star., 1914-10-04

a large number Of manufactured prod
ucts for the benefit of French indus
tries, Great Britain was hit along with
the rest of the world. roar OF tndig
nant protest went up from British
manufacturers and British chambers of
commerce.
The unionists. who were then fully
committed to the Chamberlain program
of fighting tariff. used the situation
as a campaign argument. They prom
ised II they got into power to. provide
retaliatory measures which would
bring France to time.
The liberal government was some
what worried at the prospect The
whole diplomatic machinery was set in
motion. Informal representations were
made to the French government as to
the bad effect on British public senti-
ment in sustaining the entente cordiale
II the duties which were SO unfavorable
to the United Kingdom were levied.
Chambers of commerce in different
cities were encouraged to send delega-
tions to France, although these were
not clothed with official authority.
The bald proposition. as the French
government had to meet 1t, finally took
the shape where it was a question
whether French national policy would
not better be served by foregoing some
OF the proposed increased duties than
by taking risks of the maintenance of
the cordial understanding with Eng
land. The outcome was that many of
the proposed duties were not levied.
British manufacturers still grumbled
about the iniquities of the new French
Tor complaint and they knew it, taking
into account the fact that France is a
protective tarir country. nl-feeling
gradually died away and when the
there was no considerable body of
English public opinion hostile to
France because of fiscal grievances af-
fecting trade.
Three or four years ago Japan re-
vtsed her tariff on a frankly protec-
tive basis. with the announced pur-
pose OF stimulating and encouraging
Japanese factories. The chief indus
tries to be stimulated were the textile
ones. Japan was importing raw cotton
from India. as well as from the United
States. for the cotton mills. Large
sums had gone into the factories. and
the government had encouraged these
investments.
The new tariff was drawn up almost
as carefully and scientifically as Ger
man tariffs are formulated. 1t was
adopted by the Japanese diet. Yet
these schedules never went into ef-
!ect. Manchester and the other tex
tile centers of the union voiced their
alarm so voctferously that the British
foreign office had to take notice. What
representations may have been made
to the Japanese government can be
surmised.
Soon the newspapers in Toxic which
were closest to the government began
to discuss the British attitude and to
regret that their ally felt so grteved
at the tariff legislation. Full exposi-
ton OF the value of the alliance to
Japan followed. Then came sugges-
tions that since the new tariff had not
been conceived in hostility to Great
Britain, and since Great Britain felt
SO badly about 1t, and moreover since
perhaps the new schedule of textiie
duties were not absolutely essential TO
Japanese industrial prosperity, the
tariff might be modified.
After time this was done. qu1etly
and unostentatiously. The British tex
tile industries did not lose their Japa-
nese market. and Japan did not lose the
support of England for the carrying
out OF its policies In the far east.
The French tariff and the japanese
tariff. In the light Of these circum-
stances, and Of the circumstances
which make them allies of England IN
the war with Germany, are living tes-
timony to- efficacy of British trade
policy as supported by British oiplo-
macy.
The British government, for the
purpose of building up British mar
kets. always has given support to the
banking groups which offered loans 20
China and to some other countries:
Contracts follow loans. In the case OF