APPENDICES. 1G9 



clear. I waut to extend to agriculture the same advan- 

 tages that the Government promised to niauufaotiirea. I 

 wantj in ordor to equalise the competition — or, at all 

 events, to mako it more nearly equal between the foreigner 

 and ourselves — I want to put a moderate duty on the 

 chief products of foreign agriculture as well as on the 

 chief products of foreign manufacture — (cheers) ; and I 

 want to arrange this moderate taxation so that, without 

 pressing upon any class in the community, it may give 

 the greatest advantage to the farmer in regard to those 

 branches of his industry which are at the present time 

 most profitable and most capable of development. I propose 

 to put a 2s. duty on foreign corn. (Cheers.) I do not 

 believe — I speak to you frankly — I do not believe that that 

 will raise by a single farthing the price of bread ; I do 

 not think that it will raise to any substantial degree the 

 price of corn (hear, hear), and I do not think, therefore, 

 that the farmer is going to get a great deal out of that. 

 But I attach more imvortance to a duty on jly.ir. (Cheers.) 

 I propose to put such a duty on flour as will result in the 

 whole of the milling of wheat being done in this country.* 

 (Cheers.) Froau that I expect tAvo advantages. In the. 

 first 2)lnce, I expect more cmiiloyment. (Cheers.) Thia trade, 

 which, to a certain extent we have lost, will be revived. 

 There will not only be the milling of wheat in the great 

 porta, but we may expect to see mills started again in the 

 country towns, giving employment to a large number of 

 labourers in the distiict, and to that extent benefiting the 

 whole of the labourers. (Cheers.) In the second place, 

 we shall keep in this country all the bran and other offal 

 (cheers), and, as you know better than I do, that will have 

 the effect of cheapening feeding stuffs. It must have that 

 effect not merely on feeding stuffs produced in this 

 country, but on feeding stuffs imported from abroad ; and 

 in these circiimstances the farmer, the small owner, and 

 the allotment-holder would be able to keep more stock, 

 and breed and rear more stock, to increase their dairying 

 operations, and to keep more pigs. All those branches of 

 farming are at the present time the branches from which, 



* A iKirt'iridarly admirahle suggestion. 



