318 BRITAIN FOR THE BRITON 



exports of the United Kiugdom per head of the population are 

 nearly double those of any one of the three great progressive 

 countries ; (b) That British imports per head have increased in 

 money values, while the exports have fallen slightly in value in the 

 twenty-five ycai-s." 



High Incidence of Trade per Head of the Population — 



A Delusion 



Dealing first with the conclusions arrived at in this extract 

 it would appear that they should rather alarm than reassure us. 

 Great Britain is admittedly ahead of other nations as a manu- 

 facturing-exporter, and while she continues in this position her 

 exports must necessarily be larger per head of the population 

 than those of rival countries. Such an economical condition 

 may indicate weakness rather than strength, and individual 

 wealth rather than collective prosperity. This position is, how- 

 ever, being rudely assailed, as will presently be seen; indeed, 

 we have lost much of the distance by which we led other nations 

 for so many years. But the crux of the whole matter is not — 

 that our exports per head of the population — 



" are nearhj douhlc those of aiuj one of the three great ^n-ogressive 

 countries, ^^ 



but that the comiwsition of the poimlation of Great Britain is 

 totcdly different from that of these progressive countries. 



It has been shown elsewhere that France employs and 

 supports 24,000,000 of her population, and Germany 20,000,000 

 by agriculture, while Great Britain employs and supports about 

 5,000,000j or, in other words, both these countries possess an 

 enormous agricultural population in tremendous excess of our 

 own. This fact established, it at once becomes obvious that the 

 larger the agricultural population of a country the smaller 

 becomes the incidence of manufacturing exports per head of the 

 general population and — vice versa. In other words, the less 

 tbod-stulfs a country grows the more must it import, and the 

 more it imports the more must it export in exchange for the food 

 it is obliged to buy abroad. Briefly put, the British incidence 

 of exports per head of the population is the highest, perhaps, 

 in any civilised country in the world, because her agricultural 

 population is the lovKst. This appalling fact is not a subject 

 for congratulation but for infinite and genuine regret. 



Imports consist largely of Food Supplies 



Nor can consolation be drawn from the other fact — that our 

 imports are nearly double those of other progressive countries, 



