T.and Problems and National Welfare 



But that the Government can to a great 

 extent guide capital to the benefit of the whole 

 country, is evident from the course pursued by 

 the majority of continental countries for many 

 years past, and more recently by our own 

 colonial governments, in encouraging the in- 

 vestment of capital in desired directions. 



In spite of enormous international trade, 

 the tendency of modern industrial development 

 is for each country to become more and more 

 self-supporting. Italy, Spain, Russia, India, 

 etc., which 50 years ago bought entirely from 

 us, are now creating great manufacturing 

 centres of their own. 



In most countries the importance of the home 

 market is preached by all politicians. 



In Italy, statesmen, having first encouraged 

 the creation of the great manufacturing dis- 

 tricts of northern Italy, further influenced the 

 flow of capital by pointing out to the manu- 

 facturing classes that the best way to invest 

 their money was in developing the agricultural 

 population around them, by teaching them to 

 make more out of the land and so to be more 

 prosperous and thus bigger purchasers of goods 

 made in the cities. These country people sur- 

 rounding the towns constitute the best and 

 nearest market, said the Italian statesmen. 



In England, our leaders of commerce not 

 only thought in hemispheres, but for many 



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