Segak. — Statistics respecting Trend of English Trade. 499 



and we have time only to barely touch upon it, remembering 

 that our object is not to interpret the statistics fully, but 

 rather the negative one of proving that they cannot be claimed 

 as supplying an argument against the free-trade policy of 

 England. 



It is obvious, first of all, that there must be a limit to the 

 development of the industries of any nation. We have seen 

 that the commerce of England has really not ceased to 

 advance, even relatively to her population. But England has 

 reached a stage much nearer to this limit than her rivals. 

 Her freedom of trade, while raising this limit, has also 

 enabled her to approach it more rapidly. As time passes we 

 cannot in the nature of things expect her to continue always 

 to show either the same absolute or the same proportionate 

 increases in her trade and industry as some of her rivals 

 may show. Sandow is outdone every day in mere accession 

 •of strength, both absolute and relative, by growing school- 

 boys, who can nevertheless never hope to become Sandows. 

 Whilst the resources of the United Kingdom generally are 

 nearly fully developed, and some of them suffering from the 

 first signs of exhaustion, theirs are only now being developed. 

 They have been kept back by wars, divisions, and uncertain 

 politics. 



Again, the areas and resources of some of England's rivals 

 in trade being so much larger than those of England, their 

 industries and commerce must ultimately surpass hers in 

 mere volume. 



That the United States will very soon have a foreign trade 

 absolutely greater than that of the United Kingdom is beyond 

 doubt, because of its greater area and resources and its 

 rapidly growing population, combined with the high indus- 

 trial character of its people. I believe that Germany will not 

 be very long in obtaining a trade equal to that of the United 

 Kingdom in absolute value, for she has a much greater area 

 with large resources, she has a more rapidly increasing popu- 

 lation than the United Kingdom, and, like the United King- 

 dom herself, she has reached the stage of not being able to 

 grow her own food and retain anything like the present 

 standard of living, so that economic forces compel her to 

 devote the labour of her additional population mainly to 

 manufacture, and to obtain food for her people by the export 

 of the products. These economic forces at work we cannot 

 subdue. 



We cannot, then, expect that under any commercial policy 

 whatever England should almost monopolize for ever the 

 manufacturing industry and the commerce of the world. 

 Freedom of trade has enabled her, and still enables her, to 

 utilise her resources to the best advantage, and the com- 



