CHAPTER IX. 



THE LAND AND TARIFFS. 



Is some measure of tariff protection necessary 

 for the restoration of British agriculture ? Would 

 such tariff protection to agriculture cause such 

 an increase in the general cost of living that the 

 evil of it would outweigh the good ? Those 

 questions must be considered in any survey of 

 the land question in England. Fortunately, 

 they can be discussed now without great sus- 

 picion of pleading a cause in party politics : 

 the Liberal Party and the Labour Party have 

 declared themselves opposed to all tariff pro- 

 tection on articles of food ; the Unionist Party 

 has expressly disavowed " food taxes ' as an 

 immediate issue of politics ; if the Irish National 

 Party is at heart in favour of agricultural pro- 

 tection (as I suspect to be the case), it is its 

 policy to conceal the fact carefully. So if 



