Economic Prosperity in the British Empire

Economic Prosperity in the British Empire. By Stephen Leacock. (Constable. 7s. ficl.)

Ix the middle of the last century this country decided to grant political self-government to its white colonies, and to

leave them in full control of their economic resources and policy. Professor Leacock, in the early chapters of an extremely interesting book, .traces the history of this period of disintegration. He regards it as a policy of errors, due to the prevailing doctrine of Cobdenism, which allowed our national trade to develop without any attempt to direct it into Empire-building. Our spare capital and population were permitted to seek their best employment in the United States and other foreign lands, instead of filling and developing the empty lands of the Empire.

By the time that the vision of a Free Trade world had faded out, and tariff walls were visible everywhere, the complete economic union of this country with the Dominions was no

longer politically feasible. The conferences—Colonial (1887, 1897, 1902) and later Imperial (front 1907)—began to work

out a form of permanent union by means of permanent separation " (p. 87). Law, defence, finance, even diplomacy and foreign relations, passed front the Central Imperial Government to the separate units. The momentarily united front presented by this free group of nations in the Great War appeared to many a complete justification of the dis- integrative policy. The admission of six Dominions as members of the League of Nations set a formal seal upon their independence.

Such has been the process which Professor Leacock seeks to reverse. Not that he desires to impair the political autonomy of the Dominions. They must ever remain free to raise and lower their tariffs as they will. His reasoning is directed to show that Britain and the Dominions alike will be immense gainers by a concerted policy of economic integra-

tion. He wishes a large agreed policy of migration and finance, which will rid Britain of her superabundant popula- tion, who will people the vacant lands of the Empire, and

will furnish the necessary capital for well-considered develop- ment. He would pool all the public debts of the United

Kingdom and the Dominions, and build a structure of Imperial credits wherewith to finance his large policy of directed migration and productive industry. Such a scheme, he con- siders, would even bring in financial aid from America and other foreign sources.

Now I am free to admit that Professor Leacock makes a plausible ease. But it would be still more plausible if he

did not confine his " Empire " to the white constituent nations. For the policy of economic integration he desiderates would seem to require the inclusion of the tropical and other

resources of our Colonies and Protectorates. It is true that

he does not contemplate complete self-sufficiency for the Empire, but financial proposals which leave out of account

our great financial and economic interests in India and Africa are crippled at the outset. Our coloured Empire also is the repository of a good many foods and raw materials essential

to white civilization. Professor Leacock has nothing to say about them, except to disclaim all responsibility for their political and economic government on the part of the Dominions. He does not even want the Dominions to meet the Colonies and Protectorates in conference.

Now there are two difficulties virtually fatal to the achieve- ment of this policy. The first relates to tariffs, the second to migration. Professor Leacock's tariff proposal runs thus :-

" That a Committee report a proposal of Empire Tariff review, following the general principles of the safeguarding of manufacture in each Dominion, an Empire super-tariff against foreign goods over and above the tariff made by each Dominion, and the right of all the Dominions, including the United Kingdom, to make inside this arrangement any further reciprocal bargain with any foreign country which may serve its commercial interest, so that the Empire tariff is not fixed and obligatory at any time, in any part, or any of the component parts, of the Empire." (P. 244.)

Now, if I understand this proposal correctly, it requires, first, that Great Britain adopt a tariff against the admission from foreign countries of all foods, materials, and manufactured goods which any Dominion may be able to supply. For when behind the tariffs, which will still keep out our manu- factures where any Dominion industry exists, the capital and labour flowing from Great Britain shall have further developed Dominion manufactures, they, like the United States, will wish to export their surplus manufactures, they are to find, if not a free, at any rate a preferential, market in Great Britain. We are to supply them with the capital and the labour which will make them economically independent of our manufactures, the only mode of payment for our imported foods and raw materials we can make !

It is true that private enterprise in this country (supported by some State encouragement and guarantee) is relied upon to secure this direction of the flow of labour and capital into the Empire. Now to suppose that sane private enter- prise will pour the necessary millions of capital into Australia and South Africa, or that Canada can safely cut herself off from the penetration of American machinery is quite incredible. Nor is any motive power provided that will impel our unem- ployed labour to leave Britain, or to fit themselves for their required tasks in the Dominions, even assuming that the workers, who form the main body of the electorate in the Dominions, would permit such invasion by the lower-paid workers from Europe.

Though the Imperial Conference may serviceably be directed to make Dominion resources and opportunities better known, and to utilize the very real harmonies of feeling, thought, language and standards of civilization, to strengthen com- mercial relations, it cannot safely engage itself in a reversal of our policy of free imports in return for such a small and precarious increase of our export market as Mr. Leacock's proposals are likely to secure. This judgment is not modified by inspection of the careful statistics of Empire and colonial trade contained in Mr. St. Clare Grondona's work entitled Empire Stock Taking (Simpkin, Marshall, 10s. Od.).

J. A. Honsott,