NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ON Monday at Ashton-under-Lyne Mr. Bonar Law made his eagerly awaited speech on Food Taxes. After sur- veying the Parliamentary situation and the condition of the working classes, he arrived at Tariff Reform through an expres- sion of his belief that by Tariff Reform the State could do some- thing to raise the level of wages. He replied to Lord Crewe's criticism of his speech, in which he had asserted the right of Great Britain to equality of treatment in the Indian market on the ground of British services to India. He maintained his belief that what he proposed would be better for India than the present system. He then explained the principles on which Tariff Reform would be founded. There was no thought of setting up industries in this country to which the country was not naturally suited. The Unionist Party would impose duties smaller than those in any other country. All that he intended to do was to give to British workmen a pre- ference in their own market which would enable them to compete more easily with foreigners.
