wheat or meat, to investigate most carefully the best way to help agriculture, to examine, co-ordinate and improve existing schemes of old-age, health and unemployment insurance, and to develop their own estate, their Empire.

The Prime Minister's speech was listened to with profound attention by an audience of some 4,000 people, but the subsequent proceedings showed that more than one attack would be necessary to convert Lancashire from its Free Trade faith. Sir Edwin Stockton, a Manchester Member of Parliament, while assuring the Prime Minister of the loyal and unswerving support of the Unionists of Manchester, warned him that the Party must be very careful indeed, in any new policy brought forward, to see that it did no damage to the great textile industry, which represented one-third of the total exports of the country. Lord Derby, who presided at the meeting, recalled the fact that at a great gathering in that very hall in 1895 Mr. Balfour had said to him, "I wonder whether you will live to see this Free Trade Hall packed with people clamouring for Protection." Had that moment arrived, asked Lord Derby, and there were cries of "Yes." Lord Derby, however, merely said that he thanked the Prime Minister for his honest advice, to which he would give. his earnest thought, in the hope of arriving at the right solution.

The Liberal rejoinder to the Prime Minister's speeches was given on November 5, by Mr. Asquith at Dewsbury. Mr. Asquith began by quoting a warning uttered by Mr. Bonar Law just a year previously, that at a period like the present, when confidence and security was what was mainly wanted, any advantage that might be obtained by changing the fiscal system would not be so great as the disadvantage which would follow the disturbance involved in such a change. What, he asked, was Mr. Baldwin's justification for his sudden and complete defiance of this weighty warning? Wherein had the situation changed during the past twelve months? This was a question which the country was bound to ask, but on which he found little guidance in the recent speeches of the Prime Minister and his colleagues. Dealing with the new policy outlined in those speeches, he said that it seemed to have two main objects-to fight unemployment at home, and to develop and cement the unity of the Empire. The first object was to be attained by protecting the home manufacturer in the home market against foreign competition, the second by protecting the Dominions as against the foreign importer. With regard to the second he pointed out that Mr. Baldwin was absolutely at variance with Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, who had consistently declared that without a tax on food there could be no Imperial Preference worthy of the name. As to unemployment, he asked what evidence there was for the proposition, which was never suggested or hinted at a year or even six months previously, that a main if not the principal cause of unemployment was the import of overseas goods. In 1913, when unemployment was only 2 per

cent., their imports were very much larger than in the last three years, when it stood at 15 per cent. Further, from an analysis which he had had prepared, he found that out of a total of some 1,340,000 unemployed only 140,000 or about 10 per cent., belonged to the trades which it was intended to protect. The trades which were most depressed, to which the great majority of the unemployed belonged-shipbuilding, engineering, cotton, and some branches of the woollen industry, not to mention distribution and transportation-were of a kind which no tariff would help. The real cause of unemployment was the shrinkage in the total trade of the world, and the remedy was not protection, but to restore the productive capacity and the exchange power of the world. That was the opinion of Mr. Baldwin himself as lately as three months ago. There was no other road, and they were walking into a blind alley if they allowed themselves to be misled by these half-hearted, short-sighted, lop-sided experiments in Protection. Liberals believed, and welcomed the opportunity of demonstrating once again, that any encroachment on Free Trade would undermine their whole industrial and financial position, and so far from curing would aggravate and multiply unemployment. They believed also that the Socialistic reconstruction would strike a fatal blow at individual initiative and enterprise, and would introduce far more anomalies and injustices than it would remedy.

The Prime Minister's programme of Protection was far from commanding the unanimous approval of the Unionist Party. For the out-and-out Protectionists it did not go nearly far enough; for the Free Traders it went much too far. From the point of view of the former it was strongly criticised by Mr. Austin Chamberlain who, on November 8, speaking at a dinner to members of the Imperial Conference, characterised it as a mere half measure. He asked the Government whether even now it was too late to consider on what ground they should join issue. It was a mistake, he said, to fight a great fight on a little issue. The Prime Minister had said enough to rally all the forces of opposition and to stir old prejudices; he had not said enough to rally his friends and give them the enthusiasm which alone could make victory certain. Protection of the home market was good as far as it went, but it was only a measure of defence which might prevent things from getting worse, but brought them no nearer to recovery or recuperation. For that purpose they required new markets, and these they could only find within the Empire. And to develop those markets England must extend preference to the main articles of Dominion production, and undertake to consume the produce which they could grow and could not eat.

The diametrically opposite view was expressed by the Glasgow Herald, one of the principal Unionist journals in the country, which, in a leading article on November 9, "protested against the Unionist Party being launched on an enterprise in

wheat or meat, to investigate most carefully the be help agriculture, to examine, co-ordinate and improv schemes of old-age, health and unemployment insur develop their own estate, their Empire.

The Prime Minister's speech was listened to wi attention by an audience of some 4,000 people, sequent proceedings showed that more than one necessary to convert Lancashire from its Free T Edwin Stockton, a Manchester Member of I assuring the Prime Minister of the loyal and 11: of the Unionists of Manchester, warned hi must be very careful indeed, in any new poli to see that it did no damage to the great ter represented one-third of the total exports Derby, who presided at the meeting, rec great gathering in that very hall in 1895 him, "I wonder whether you will live Hall packed with people clamouring f moment arrived, asked Lord Der! "Yes." Lord Derby, however, m Prime Minister for his honest a his earnest thought, in the hope The Liberal rejoinder to t given on November 5, by Asquith began by quoting a just a year previously, tha confidence and security advantage that might be would not be so great the disturbance invo was Mr. Baldwin's defiance of this w

I

ing in the direction of an early settlement,

a strong desire to assist. With regard to tist movement, he said that the Government roughly bad, and was determined not to give The Prime Minister cautioned his hearers tion of a fresh national enmity, which would cause of peace in Europe. Nothing might do now than a tremendous moral indignation. It n they required infinite tact and patience; but zon he thought that with American help somee done.

Minister's speech at the Lord Mayor's Guildhall November 9 did not throw any fresh light on the

policy either at home or abroad. He made no ice to the Monarchist rising which had just taken many, causing deep concern to the Allied Governe situation in Western Europe, he said, was still ve anxiety, and it could not be said that the Great incipally involved had so far been very successful in lution. But it was not to be thought of that Europe allowed to drift to her doom while the Powers looked Aded arms, and therefore the entire weight of British and influence was being thrown into the scale in 20-operation with America. But, he said, it would be e to hazard a guess as to the particular form that their rts would take. On Tariff Reform the Premier was uncommunicative. He merely summed up the results mperial Conferences which had just ended, and expressed viction that what had been done would commend itself · Parliament at home.

3

t a meeting of the Imperial Economic Conference on ember 7 the President of the Board of Trade announced ↑ the British Government had been considering further preences, and had decided to make certain recommendations to arliament on the matter, viz., that apples, canned salmon, ait juices and honey should be allowed in free from the Dominions but taxed if coming from other countries, and that the preference on tobacco should be increased from one-sixth to one-fourth. The Government was of opinion that these changes came within the limits of Mr. Bonar Law's pledge. On the next day the Conference was informed that the Government had further decided on a considerable increase in the existing preference on Empire wines.

The Imperial Conference ended on November 9, and with commendable promptitude, issued an official report of its proings within three days of its concluding meeting. The + added some interesting details to those which had y been communicated to the public. It stated that the dis1 of international affairs had not been confined to any ular session, but had been resumed from day to day with

be regarded pacy of

the Conference actor in the

alimbed to, it

Consider very

threw out a cares supperan - zinete statement that in the even the ma-i unght be desirable for the most of carefully the sinability = sing a coerence itself in order to examine the nanna ai emer protiem in its widest aspect. The Comerens as rermiede opmion that any policy which would resan i braking of the wary of the German State was menorent with the Treaty otigations entered into both by Germany and the Fowers

The Conference expressed us emprant approval of the action that had been taken by and the support that had been given to the representatives of the East Empire on the occasion of the sitting of the Connell and Assent of the League of Nations at Genera which had dealt with the Italo-Greek incident. In regard to the United States proposal for extending the right of search in territonal waters on which the Government had asked it to decide, the Conference, while affirming and safeguarding the doctrine of the three-mile limit, came to the conclusion that it was both practicable and desirable to meet the request of the United States for an extension of the right of search to a limit of 12 miles in case of suspected liquor smuggling.

The Conference devoted great attention to the consideration of the principles which should govern the relations of the various parts of the Empire in connexion with the negotiation, etc., of treaties. By a resolution passed on the subject it was declared to be "the now established practice" that on any British Empire Delegation which took part in the negotiating of international treaties, the Dominions and India should be separately represented. That the Delegation would be unanimous seemed to be taken for granted. By the same resolution each Dominion was accorded the right of concluding independent treaties on matters which concerned itself only, subject only to the granting of a "full power" to its representative by the Home Government.

The principle that the Empire was now a commonwealth of equal and independent partners and that authority in it was no langor contralised in London was affirmed even more decisively by the resolutions on Defence, one of which expressly recognised that it was for the Parliaments of the several parts of the Empire, on the recommendations of their respective Governments, to