6o FOREIGN TRADING THEN AND NOW 



creditors — or investors as they are called — 

 stipulated sums as interest. 



We now wish to see in what environment this 

 was possible many years ago, when the foreign 

 trade of Great Britain enjoyed its first great 

 outburst, and what exactly the environment 

 is now. 



The trade of every nation is composed of two 

 parts, the home trade and the foreign trade. 

 Every nation pays at least some attention to 

 the home trade ; the timie, indeed, has now arrived 

 when, with the exception of Great Britain, the 

 nations have established such measures as they 

 have found possible to protect their home trade 

 from foreign interference. 



But Great Britain differs from all other nations 

 in two respects. First, she cannot now, do what 

 she will, feed herself as other nations can ; nor 

 can she, as they very largely do, supply herself 

 with raw materials for her industries, in many 

 branches. She imports annually food and raw 

 materials to the value of ^155,000,000, for which 

 she sends out no exports ; but in addition she 

 imports annually food and raw materials to the 

 value of ;^307 ,000,000, all purchased by means of 

 exports or by services performed. 



Second, Great Britain became by circumstances, 

 and has continued to be by habit, a free-trading 

 country, and a very great foreign trader, a greater 

 foreign trader than other nations more populous 

 than herself. 



One hundred years ago Great Britain was in 

 the midst of the greatest war of her history. 



