REMEDIES SUGGESTED. 55 



old friend of dear food, in order to catch the public's favour 

 for what is distinctly opposed to public interest ? If not, 

 we shall have to place Colonial corn, like hostile, on the 

 Index. 



Let us reflect for one moment ! We are " out " to punish 

 Germany. Be it so ! She richly deserves it. But, for 

 the sake of punishing her, are we at the same time also to 

 punish ourselves even more severely ? Other articles of 

 course do not at present concern us. But nevertheless let 

 us ask : by boycotting German and Austrian goods — 

 which ex hypothesi we must a^ssume pro hac vice to be cheaper 

 than our own, or they would not come into account, and in 

 the shape of which Germany and Austria are eventually 

 to pay us our indemnity, if they are to pay it at all — are 

 we forcibly to compel those two Empires to form their 

 redoubtable " Central European Union," a greatly magnified 

 " Customs Union, as it w^ould be, to which the Balkan 

 states, the Scandinavian kingdoms and Switzerland neces- 

 sarily mtist gravitate, and from which we cannot reasonably 

 expect Russia and Italy, geographically situated as they 

 are, long to hold aloof — necessarily animated with a distinct 

 hostile and retaliatory animus against us ? We should be 

 like the snake of the fable which rasped her own gums 

 upon the attacked file. However, that affects us here only 

 indirectly — although indirectly not a little. But how is 

 our protecting wheat, whether it be by a bounty or a tariff, 

 to injure either Germany or Austria ? Certainly not Ger- 

 many. For we should only be handing over neutral wheat 

 markets to the undisputed possession of the enemy country, 

 which would not be slow to take advantage of the mono- 

 poly so pressed upon it. 



However, let us for a moment look at the history of the 

 Protection of corn in this country and see what is its record ! 



There is no occasion to recapitulate the story of the 

 " Hungry 'Forties," and the general miseries of that period, 

 more specifically those of the industrial and labouring 

 population. The industrial and labouring population had 

 little to say in the affairs of State then and could do little 

 more than voice its discontent by riots, and buckle its 



