FAIR-TRADE LEAGUE. 



FAITH-CURE. 



329 



cial Department of the Foreign Office ; S. Sel- 

 don, Principal of the {Statistical Department of 

 the Customs ; R. P. Harding, chief receiver in 

 bankruptcy ; J. S. Purcell, Registrar of Joint- 

 Stock Companies and Controller of Stamps ; 

 A. West, Chairman of the Board of Inland 

 Revenue ; J. A. Crowe, Commercial Attach^ 

 to her Majesty's Embassy at Paris ; and D. E. 

 Colnaghi, British consul-general at Florence. 

 It also contained the replies sent by various 

 chambers of commerce to inquiries as to the 

 state of trade sent to them by the commis- 

 sion. 



The Fair-Trade League and the fair-traders 

 generally repudiate any desire to reinstitute 

 the corn laws, or even to impose protective du- 

 ties. What they aim at is reciprocity or re- 

 taliation, with a view to the ultimate establish- 

 ment of free-trade among nations. With re- 

 gard to the practical application of the reci- 

 procity principle", the fair-traders propose a 

 close federation between England and her colo- 

 nies, and the establishment of internal free- 

 trade throughout the empire, but with the im- 

 position of retaliatory or countervailing duties 

 on imports from other countries. The free- 

 traders, in objection to this proposed policy, 

 while admitting that foreign tariffs in many 

 instances have operated injuriously to the Brit- 

 ish manufacturer, and that at the existing low 

 price of food, resulting from the free-trade sys- 

 tem, British farmers could not profitably com- 

 pete with their foreign rivals, yet maintained 

 that the fact of being able to obtain food and 

 raw materials on the lowest terms gave them 

 an enormous advantage over other countries, 

 and enabled their manufacturers to compete 

 with all comers in the neutral markets of the 

 world. The free-traders also asserted that the 

 great advantage of the application of their 

 doctrine was proved by the fact that England 

 was not only the greatest manufacturing pow- 

 er, but had secured for herself the bulk of the 

 carry ing- trade and the banking business of the 

 world. 



Lord Salisbury, in his speech at the Victo- 

 ria Hall in November, 1885, though avowing 

 himself a free-trader, and protesting against 

 the taxing of food and raw materials, thought 

 there could be no harm in trying the experi- 

 ment of retaliatory duties upon manufactures. 

 The free-traders show, however, that some 

 manufactures are the raw materials of others. 

 Again, the free-traders contend that protective 

 tariffs increase the cost of production, and 

 that, accordingly, protected countries not only 

 can not compete with free-trade countries in 

 neutral markets, but can only inflict partial in- 

 jury by competing in free-trade markets ; also 

 that while particular industries are injured by 

 the admission of foreign goods duty free, the 

 community is benefited. As for the distress 

 of agriculturists, it is contended that the rem- 

 edy is not protection, which would simply 

 send up rents and increase the price of every- 

 thing except labor, but the removal of the 



restrictions that are imposed under the exist- 

 ing land system. 



FAITH-CURE, an alleged effect of perfect re- 

 ligious faith, which has come into prominence 

 within the past three years. One of the in- 

 stances sustaining the theory was reported 

 from Connecticut in 1884. The narrative 



reads as follows: "Mrs. has for many 



years been a victim to the opium-habit and 

 asthma. She is now fifty -five years old. Over 

 forty years ago she suffered from an attack of 

 ill-health, and her physician prescribed opium. 

 She is of a nervous temperament. The use of 

 the drug as a medicine developed an appetite 

 for it, to which she gave way. She continued 

 its use up to the time of her cure, five weeks 

 ago. She was also a great snuff -taker, and 

 in addition there was the asthmatic trouble, 

 which the drug was used to relieve. All the 

 local doctors agreed that an opium-habit of 

 forty years' standing was an incurable disease. 

 The quantity used had steadily grown larger, 

 until she would consume half an ounce of the 

 drug in a day. The asthmatic affection was 

 serious and constant, and, of course, peculiarly 

 distressing. She could not remain long in the 

 room with three or four other persons. Life 

 was a burden, and she looked for and expected 



no relief. Mrs. resented the suggestion 



of friends that a prayer-meeting for her recov- 

 ery be held at her house, and told them she 

 had no faith in the proposed plan. She plainly 

 intimated that they had better mind their own 

 business, and not meddle with her concerns. 

 But she finally made the attempt to break off 

 both the opium and the snuff habit by the 

 means suggested. She prayed herself, and her 

 friends prayed for her. The abrupt stoppage 

 of the doses of opium, of course, resulted in a 

 decided breaking up of the system, and very 



shortly Mrs. became quite ill. One day, 



about a week ago, two or three of Mrs. 's 



friends met at her residence, and a season of 

 earnest prayer was determined upon. Prayers 

 were offered and continued with earnestness 

 by those present, and the invocations con- 

 tinued for some time. It was during this pe- 

 riod that Mrs. says she experienced a 



peculiar sensation of mind and body unlike 

 anything she had ever experienced before. 

 She calls it the ' blessings of the Holy Spirit.' 

 From that moment she dates her complete 

 cure, and she and her friends declare she has 

 not touched opium or snuff, nor has she felt 

 any desire for them, and, what seems the most 

 singular part of the cure, she has been entirely 

 freed from the asthmatical trouble. She now 

 declares herself in perfect health ; her appe- 

 tite is good, and her general appearance that 

 of a person in good health. She attributes 

 her cure entirely to prayer and faith." Other 

 instances of a similar nature might be men- 

 tioned ; but the above is a fair illustration of 

 what is claimed by those who believe in the 

 faith-cure. Special gifts of healing are also 

 claimed for certain ministers and laymen who 



