A BRIEF EXAMINATION UF FREE-TllADK PRlNCirLES 337 



again missed the substance. " Give tlie people Employment," 

 says Socialism. "Give us Kmi'LOYment," cry the people. "Wo 

 must find Emi'I.oyment for the people," says the Government 

 of the day ; and so all along the line the cry resounds for 

 Em ri,o Yemeni. 



Up to a certain point those who cry for employment are 

 right, but does not the experience of the past clearly show that 

 when the chief source of employment has l)een cut oil", all 

 other forms of employment must necessarily become more or 

 less precarious ? Tariff-reformers say, " Ah ! but when we 

 give home industries the chance they want, by a little judicious 

 help here and there, there will be a regular booui in our manu- 

 facturing enterprises, and there will be no lack of labour then." 

 True, again, up to a certain point ; but this sanguine prediction, 

 like Cobden's famous Free-trade prophecy, will surely fail unless 

 we grasp the eternal truth, here and now, that until we take 

 the great Laxd industry into our consideration and give it the 

 place of honour in our deliberations ; unless we regard it now, 

 and at all times, as the greatest factor in the economical con- 

 siderations of this or any other country ; unless we allow it to 

 grow up side by side with our other industries — as all other 

 civilised nations do — and encourage it with our sympathy and 

 su])))ort, and help it onwards with our aid and with our material 

 help, if necessary : our efforts to relieve the position will have 

 been made in vain. 



EoBiiiNG Peter to pay Paul 



It should be understood here that while there is no atteni])t 

 made to thwart the efforts of Tariff reformers, or in any way 

 to belittle the advantages that would undoubtedly result from 

 a judicious application of some kind of Protection for our indus- 

 tries, the writer would make it quite clear that to help our 

 manufacturing industries and to leave alone the greatest in- 

 dustry of all — agriculture, would be but robbing Peter to })ay 

 Paul. This is the very thing we have been doing for the 

 last half-century and more, but it must be obvious to every 

 man who cares to look at the matter without party bias or 

 foolish prejudice, that nothing in the shape uf real relief of a 

 permanent nature has ever resulted from any effort to relieve 

 the situation by and through the means of our manufactures, 

 while it remains certain that no lastiuc: relief can come from 

 manufactures alone — because tlie thing is impossible. Tariff- 

 reform and Land-reform combined will do what is needed, 

 but one without the other in either case would be but a lop- 

 sided aifiiir that would ensure only lop-sided results. Science 



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