86 HOME TRADE AND FOREIGN TRADE 



the one production of each article it is necessary 

 to Icnow, the total production. In the meantime, 

 owing to the action of Government, in publishing 

 accounts of British foreign trade only, attention 

 is fixed on that trade, as if it were the sole 

 criterion of trade success or failure, and were 

 bound to be, for all time, the one great trade 

 of the United Kingdom. That is the trade that 

 is written about and discussed. Sometimes it is 

 the exports that are enlarged on in a boastful 

 spirit, as though Great Britain were still supply- 

 ing the world with all it needs, which she is very 

 far from doing in these days. Seldom is the 

 home trade mentioned ; few people know any- 

 thing about it ; attention is hardly ever drawn to 

 it, much less fixed on it. 



In her foreign trade Great Britain is relatively 

 losing ground, as is proved in statistical tables 

 of the Board of Trade, If steps be not taken 

 at once to enlighten public opinion as to the 

 state of the home trade, to fix public attention on 

 its progress, and to obtain for the preparation of 

 a tariff list the information required, all action 

 may come too late. So momentous is this, it 

 must be repeated. To report in detail on only 

 a part of the trade of the country, to leave out of 

 sight, comparatively unnoticed, another and great 

 part of the trade, is to direct exclusive attention 

 to the part reported on, to lead every one to 

 the conclusion that the part reported on is the 

 only part that matters, that the part not noticed 

 is of no consequence. 



Statistics of foreign trade are very easily pro- 



