The question of fiscal policy came up on Tuesday, when
Dr. Cunningham, in a paper on " The Failure of Free- Traders to Attain their Ideals," denounced the policy of laissez faire and advocated the imposition of retaliatory tariffs. Dr. Edwin Cannan followed with a slashing and brilliantly witty attack on the mediaeval arguments of the New Protectionists. There was something, he ad- mitted, in the old idea of a self-sufficient United Kingdom for military purposes. At any rate, it was not nearly so ridiculous as the modern idea of a self-sufficient British Empire. "A compact area might well be safer if self- sufficient, but an Empire composed of parts scattered all over the globe would almost certainly be safer if its centre depended on supplies from neutrals than from its other parts." He pleaded for an intelligent, as opposed to an alarmist, anticipation of the future. "Why not wait till the evil came? The United States would not become full and stop exporting produce with a bang, or even at four months' notice like Mr. Chamberlain's campaign."
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