Mr. Chamberlain, who addressed a vast agriculturist meeting at Welbeck
on Thursday afternoon, was in truly magnificent form. He taxed the foreigner ; he kept out in- truding corn, and cheese, and meat, and milk, and while he did not increase the price of food he yet raised millions in the process ; he reduced the taxes on tea and sugar; and. generally, he produced a moral and material millennium through that beneficent instrument, the tax-collector. When Mr. Chamberlain came down to particulars it was seen that his proposals were much the same as those made last year :—
" I want to extend to agriculture the same advantages that the Government promised to manufactures." [We wonder how Mr. Balfour will appreciate this somewhat crude interpretation of his anti-" dumping ' retaliation policy.] " I propose to put a 2s. duty on corn. I do not believe that will raise by a single farthing the price of bread. I propose to put such a duty on flour as will result in the whole of the milling of wheat being done in this country. FrOpalhat I expect two advantaRes. In the first place, I expect more employment. This trade, which to a certain extent we have lost, will be revived. The second advantage is that we shall keep in this country all the bran and all the offal, and, as you know better than I do,that will have the effect of cheapening feeding stuffs. I propose to put a smaller duty of 2s. a quarter on every other kind of corn, with one exception. The exception is maize. I propose a duty of 5 per cent. on meat, upon dairy produce, butter, cheese, and so on, and on preserved milk. I propose a similar duty on poultry, eggs, and upon vegetables and fruit."
Previous page
