172 PREFERENTIAL TARIFF 



The United Kingdom, so far as her tariff policy is 

 concerned, at present stands outside the general 

 Empire movement and she is unable, so long as the 

 present policy prevails, to enter into schemes of 

 mutual Empire preference which have been dis- 

 cussed at successive Imperial Conferences, but 

 if the policy of the United Kingdom were at any 

 time to change, it is presumable that under any 

 scheme of preference which has been suggested 

 by reasonable statesmen in England, tariff advan- 

 tages would be extended to Indian products. 

 Under the scheme which, so far as is ascertainable, 

 has been generally accepted in responsible circles 

 in the Tariff Reform movement it was held, I 

 believe, that in a recent year 23,000,000 worth 

 of Indian agricultural produce and manufactures 

 would be directly benefited by tariff preferences 

 in the United Kingdom. I do not advance that 

 as my opinion. I merely allude to the opinion 

 held by those who advocate a new departure. 



What we have to consider at this stage is not 

 the details of a possible preferential tariff, but 

 rather whether India could, if called upon to join 

 in a great federation of Imperial preferences, 

 respond to that call without sacrificing the essen- 

 tially revenue character of its Customs schedule. 

 Any such movement would presumably involve, 

 in the first instance at least, a loss of revenue 

 unless we were prepared to raise the general 

 incidence of the tariff from 5 per cent., at which it 

 at present stands, to some higher figure in respect 

 of those articles or countries for which there would 

 be no preferences. That changes of this nature 

 would be difficult, I cannot conceal; that they will 

 be impossible, I do not pretend. 



It can be urged that if any changes of this 

 character were adopted in the Indian tariff, India 

 would stand to lose by retaliatory measures on 



