THE LAND AND TARIFFS. 193 



sell at unremunerative rates as an alternative to 

 not selling at all. It does not seem to be probable 

 that any large increase in British agricultural 

 products could be secured unless the British 

 farmer had some tariff protection to help him in 

 his local market. 



That is an argument for the new producer, 

 the man who is to be attracted to the land to 

 restore new acres to cultivation, and who is 

 really in the position of embarking on an " infant 

 industry." For the old-established producer, 

 the man who is to-day making agriculture in 

 England pay, in a kind of way, there is also 

 an argument that seems to be incontrovertible. 

 He, as a cultivator of the land, with a very large 

 capital invested in his industry, needs assurance 

 of a steady market. He cannot " shut down ' 

 his land during a dull time, or put his hands 

 on short time. He cannot store up its products 

 indefinitely. He is in a much more precarious 

 position as a producer than a miner, a steel- 

 maker, a cotton- spinner. If some world de- 

 velopment increases suddenly the supply of 

 his staple, and the surplus is poured into his 

 market — the only Free Trade market — then his 



